Let's start with the obvious: the casting here is a gift. Gulshan Devaiah has spent years proving he can do basically anything, and watching him settle into a grounded family-man role is a treat. There's a scene early on where he's trying to hold it together for the kid while clearly falling apart inside, and it's the kind of quiet acting that reminds you why he's one of the most underrated performers working today. Rasika Dugal matches him beat for beat, bringing a lived-in warmth and a sharp edge when the script calls for it. These two could read a grocery list and make it compelling.
Then there's the kid. Hridansh Parekh steps into the title role and carries a huge chunk of the film on small shoulders. Child performances are a coin flip - you either get magic or you get a kid reciting lines at a camera. Parekh lands firmly in the magic column, all wide eyes and unguarded reactions. The film wisely lets him react more than he explains, and it works.
Kaushal Oza directs with a light touch and an evident love for the period setting. The 90s Goa backdrop isn't just wallpaper - it informs the mood, the pacing, even the humor. The comedy here is gentle and observational rather than belly-laugh funny, the sort of thing that comes from real family dynamics rather than punchlines.
Where it stumbles is in the middle stretch. The narrative meanders, and a few subplots feel like they're marking time rather than building toward anything. The film's gentle rhythm is a feature, not a bug, but there are moments where gentle tips into sleepy. A touch more narrative momentum would've elevated the whole thing.
Still, this is a movie with a big, beating heart, and that counts for a lot. It won't reinvent cinema, but it might just remind you why you love watching families figure things out on screen.
