KidsBestFest 2012- I Am Kalam (Bollywood)

Date: 02/21/2012 Time: 2:00 pm

Location
Academy of Music

India•ages 7+up•87 minutes• subtitled•$3 at the door

International Award Winning Film

One day a prince and a pauper meet. The pauper eyes the crisp tie the prince is wearing. The prince eyes the camel the pauper has tamed. And thus Prince Ranvijay of the royal mansion and Chhotu, a boy working in Bhati’s small time roadside food joint, strike a chord defying the age-old relationship of exploitation between the “haves” and the “have-nots.” The story revolves around “Chhotu” — that’s what people call all laboring boys when no one cares about their identity. “What is your real name?” Chhotu doesn’t have an answer. The question changes his life. He realizes he doesn’t want to be Chhotu like the thousands and millions of Chhotus working in food joints and other industries across the country. “I am Kalam,” Chhotu finds himself saying. Why can’t he be Kalam? Kalam is the name of India’s former President! Well, he too was ten years old once, and Chhotu saw on TV that he was once a poor boy like “Chhotu,” selling newspapers when he was a kid. Chhotu is a dreamer. Ranvijay will do anything to make Chhotu’s dream come true.