FilmSnobReviews

Title: 150 Million Magical Sparrows
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Director: Brahmanand S Siingh, Tanvi Jain
Starring: Boman Irani, Sanjay Suri, Divya Dutta
Runtime: 1 hr 42 mins

What It Is: In a twinkle of an eye, a life-altering disappearance of her 7-year old kid brother sets Jhalki off on a mission to find him at all costs. Armed with an intimate folk-tale of a tireless sparrow and her own charming presence of mind, Jhalki embarks on a relentless journey to find and free her brother. Unaware and ignorant of the deep-rooted corruption and cobwebs of the system, Jhalki takes on the monstrous and the conniving with a purity of pursuit that is at once uplifting and inspirational.

Is Jhalki’s journey the start of a spiral that will change the lives of thousands for good? What price must she pay to get what she wants? Inspired by true events, with a backdrop of human-trafficking and child-labor, the film becomes an atypical thriller of hope, courage, self-belief, and perseverance in an inhuman world, seen through the eyes of a 9-year-old girl, who will not stop anywhere short of a triumph.

What We Think: A film centered on a tragedy in humanity, the film eclipses the tenacity of Jhalki’s search for her brother with the Indian folk tale of the determined sparrow. From the opening scenes to the ribbon run through the streets where she relentlessly searches for Babu, we are consistently reminded of the social normalizing of child slavery. Ramprasand, the child trafficker, is revered in the village rather than condemned as we watch parent after parent turns over their child to an unconfirmed fate. Jhalki, seemingly wise beyond her years, refuses to allow her brother to go alone, evading drowning, and heartless men to hold tight to Babu, only to lose him in a trick.

As the folk tale of the determined sparrow plays over and over within the film, we watch Jhalki refuse to allow the adults to turn away. She pushes back on the idea of helplessness and acceptance of corruption, amongst adults wholly aware of their own part in it.

Jhalki herself is representative of a generation unwillingly to accept the destruction of their humanity, and she does so in a way that shifts the culture. Her ability to reduce the adults around her down to their own cowardice demonstrates bravery that is needed to change the levels of worldwide human trafficking.

Our Grade: B+, 150 Million Magical Sparrows, the number seems almost incomprehensible. But when we compare the number to those that Kailash Satyarthi has rescued in India alone, from brothels, and sweatshops, it almost seems almost an un-winnable fight. Yet knowing that the tenacious, brave, young lady Jhalki on which the main character is based on, actually exists, one has reason to hope. It is obvious that the film was made both to exemplify Jhalki and to give credence to a part of humanity that is actively being dehumanized but also to show that efforts are not in vain. The film does a good job of staying on topic, only diverting once to hint at the next level of darkness attributed to the abuse of these children. But If the film inspires someone to be a Jhalki, or a Kailash, or causes one consumer to pause before purchasing those goods, then the battle continues on with a win for humanity. #IAmWithJhalki and make the pledge towards a free childhood.