Cast: Shreya Sharma, Pankaj Kapoor
Direction, Music Director and Dialouge Writer: Vishal Bharadwaj
Lyrics: Gulzar
Story: Based on Ruskin Bond's novel Blue Umbrella, this is a story about an 11 yr old girl Biniya(Shreya Sharma) whose dearest possesion is her Blue Umbrella. Once the life of the village, Biniya looses all her cheerfulness when Nandkishore (Pankaj Kapoor) ,the greedy shopkeeper of the village steals the umbrella. Biniya is however successful in getting back her possesion and the whole village boycotts the grumpy shopkeeper. The movie ends with Biniya giving away her umbrella to Nandkishore.
My Take: Shot in the picturesque hills of Himachal Pradesh, The Blue Umbrella is a very cute and innocent children movie. Like all other Vishal Bharadwaj movies, the characters have been depicted in minute details(and so has been the life of the villagers in Himachal). The brilliance of the movie lies in its simplicity. Shreya Sharma's as Biniya is good, but the real show stealer remains the veteran actor Pankaj Kapoor. Cinematographer Sachin K Krishn is worth mentioning for complimenting director's vision with his brilliant work. The Blue Umbrella won National Award for "Best Children Movie" and is quite a treat to watch for all ages.