Chhota Bheem Himalayan Adventure (U/A)

Directors: Rusauro B. Adorable, Rajiv Chilaka
Script: Teja Pratap
Music: John Stewart Eduri
Running time: 97 minutes

Chhota Bheem and his team— Chutki, Indumati, Raju, Jaggu, Kalia, Dholu and Bholu — want to enjoy winter to the fullest and have some fun with snow, so they head to Manali. But there’s trouble in the mountains as daku Hirambak and his gang descend on Himachal ki shaan Manali to loot and kill as they please. The Manali sena doesn’t stand a chance against the band of robbers. So, Bheem and friends to the rescue! The heroes of Dholakpur put an end to the menace by finishing Hirambak and his band.

Chhota Bheem Himalayan Adventure tells the predictable story of the wonder boy and his equally wondrous friends battling evil and restoring peace. The action sequences, honestly, don’t have the brilliance of Chhota Bheem’s last big screen outing — Chhota Bheem and The Throne of Bali. However, this one has enough to ensure that the kids do have fun. Here are five things that my little big boys — age eight and six — loved about Chhota Bheem Himalayan Adventure .

1) The breathtaking visuals of the snow-covered Himalayas drew them in right from the beginning. They were transported into the snowy world of Manali, where they had a ball witnessing the Bheem team playing in the snow and throwing snowballs at each other, dressed in smart snowsuits, ditching their village attire of dhotis and lehngas. 

2) There are small lessons tucked into all the action, like why do we exhale vapour in extreme cold.... Then there’s the bigger lesson — quite a detailed tutorial in skiing, which they watched with rapt attention.

3) The soundtrack is peppy, with the highlight being the song Zip zap zoom, to which Bheem dances Bolly-style with Chutki and Indumati by his side. 

4) While they have witnessed Bheem’s fighting skills in different settings, the action is quite unique here in the sense that it all happens while skiing. Bheem even learns to ski backwards to match Hirambak’s tactics. :)

5) There’s a twist in the taste for Chhota Bheem: while he often mouths the dialogue “Dholakpur ke laddoo jitne meethe Dholakpur ke mukke utne teekhe”, the said laddoo has been replaced by the movie’s energy partner Parle G! So, instead of Tuntun Mausi’s laddoos, Bheem pops a Parle G biscuit every time he needs an energy booster. Bheem G, anyone?! 

Smita Roy Chowdhury