This film is inspiring and entertaining. In the face of suffering -- humanity and youthful vitality -- and most of all a love of life, is what this film leaves you with.
Like director Nimisha Mukerji's award-winning documentary 65_RedRoses (2009), this film is true to it's characters, and is never reduced to overly sentimental story lines. Divya (14) and Imran (24) whose very lives depend on getting drugs to treat their conditions, do not come across as victims, but as vibrant young people, determined to find their way, with a little help from the films hero "Uncle Venay".
Venay Shetty is likable and eccentric, in his mission to bring adequate health care to all youth in Mumbai, who like Divya and Imram are afflicted with thalassemia, a treatable blood disease -- if you can afford the medicine. To do this work he has to battle stereotypes, myths and misinformation. While this true story is set in India, centred around a specific disease, Shetty's battle for health-justice reflects a universal struggle.
Like director Nimisha Mukerji's award-winning documentary 65_RedRoses (2009), this film is true to it's characters, and is never reduced to overly sentimental story lines. Divya (14) and Imran (24) whose very lives depend on getting drugs to treat their conditions, do not come across as victims, but as vibrant young people, determined to find their way, with a little help from the films hero "Uncle Venay".
Venay Shetty is likable and eccentric, in his mission to bring adequate health care to all youth in Mumbai, who like Divya and Imram are afflicted with thalassemia, a treatable blood disease -- if you can afford the medicine. To do this work he has to battle stereotypes, myths and misinformation. While this true story is set in India, centred around a specific disease, Shetty's battle for health-justice reflects a universal struggle.
