When was the last time you watched a good movie completely devoid of cynicism?

A lot of Nipun Dharmadhikari’s debut film Dhappa is a childlike fantasy, but everything that occurs in it reflects real world problems. It is constantly, and playfully inventive, filled with little touches that surprise the viewer by offering a child’s perspective of looking at things. The film may set out to charm the viewer, but it does so with a bracing quality, and it is all put together in a palette that mashes whimsy with socio-political commentary, all in a non-cynical, positive sense.

The setting is wholly un-filmy. We are introduced to a Pune housing society and the rat pack of kids that inhabit it. There is the smart one, the fat one, the angsty one, the charming one, as well as the leader who must take charge but also double as the conduit to the adults who (sometimes) parent them. The gang attempts to put together a play and things do not go according to plan, but like in all films about rebellious children, they execute a scheme against the grain of society, and flip the bird to anyone and anything that stands in their way.

Throughout the film, Nipun and co-writer Girish Kulkarni tread the line between rampant sentiment and casual admonition of the modern world and all its questionable policies. That is no mean feat, because the children depicted here, one of which is in almost every scene, represent hope, and a sense of time having passed between generations, with a burning faith in inherent goodness rather than violent stubbornness you expect from a story like this one. The kids’ experiences and encounters are all rooted in every day reality — like the grumpy old uncle who has an unhealthy obsession with the fruits on a tree in the society, or the fact that the building watchman’s son is treated with impunity as opposed to the other kids. The film movies with ease between perfectly twee moments of kids having fun, how issues like racism are seen through their eyes and how they respond to fixing what they think are 'adults' problems.

In a key writing move, the parents too, have an important part to play here, representing a watchfulness, a layer of redemption, as well as the need to stand up for the right thing and parent with compassion rather than fear. Paying attention to both perspectives is what turns the film into an almost entirely winning and compelling account of the kids’ attempt to preserve the purity of their aspirations in a world rife with political skirmishes, religious bigotry and boring society meetings— in short, their attempt to grow up.

There is a particularly charming scene where the physically weakest member of the gang (nicknamed Hawkya presumably after Stephen Hawking) pays a visit to the local goon and ruffles his feathers. The charm is only matched by the nuance within the wholesomeness, like in the moments where the aforementioned watchman’s kid is considered by the kids as a part of the gang, no different from the kid from the rich family, or the kid in a wheelchair. There is a thematic consistency that lurks beneath the surface of this apparently lightweight feel-good movie. The performances truly elevate the film, and despite the bevy of well known adult faces here, this is quite the youngsters' show — it is hard to believe that the child actors are newcomers since their work shows such confidence, free of the usual cutesiness you see in most kids’ films.

If there is any fault to be found in Dhappa, it is the first few moments of the second half — after an exciting and inventive first half, the film slacks off stylistically as well narratively that makes it less offbeat and more sentiment-driven, wishy-washy and conventional. The introduction of a bunch of goons disrupting building for political reasons is a little too simplistic, and the preparation the kids do to rebel against the goons and make their play regardless of consequences could have been explored in a lengthier manner, so when their efforts threaten to go down the drain, the impact would have been more pronounced. I would have like the play itself to be a bit more challenging so when the big scene in the end that spells out the message of the movie comes, it would not seem unilateral.

These things do not ruin the film but they keep it from reaching all-time classic levels. We get a very cute little fable of a movie instead, ultimately not very insightful but pleasant anyway. The fact that the film won a National Award and was sitting on shelves for two years speaks more about our film industry’s distribution and the adults in charge of it — maybe it is time to hand over the reigns into the capable and uncorrupted hands of children.