Mishan Impossible, streaming on Netflix, is a rare children's film in Telugu cinema made with a lot of heart

For the longest time, Telugu cinema hasn't cared much about making films exclusively aimed at children. We're too happy in churning out what ultimately sells in the market - big names, violence, crime and sex. The influence of mainstream cinema has been such that we're even normalising kids uttering sexualised dialogues from films with a hint of double entendre. We always convince the adults to take their kids along with them to the theatres for films made for an adult audience but don't take enough care to tell stories through the eyes of the young.

A rare film like Mishan Impossible, written and directed by Swaroop RSJ, made a humble attempt to change this discourse. The most heartening aspect of the film is that the story is centred on three kids despite the lead cast having someone of Taapsee Pannu's stature. The story revolves around three adventurous kids who try to nab Dawood Ibrahim in Mumbai in the quest for a sum of Rs 50 lakh and later get trapped by a group of child traffickers. Taapsee is cast as a child rights activist in the same.

The kids in the film are incidentally named Raghupati, Raghava and Raja Ram. While the trio remains adventurous throughout, the writer-director does well to showcase their innocence with a pinch of humour and sensitivity. If Raghupati wants to become a filmmaker, an ignorant Raghava aims to win a Rs 1 crore sum at Meelo Evaru Koteeswarudu, with Raja Ram wanting to become a professional cricketer. They have lofty aims but no worldly wisdom and the clash between their innocence and the harsh realities of the world makes for an intriguing watch.

The first hour is an out-and-out humourous ride while establishing the daily lives of the three kids with a series of sequences establishing why they would want to catch someone as deadly as Dawood Ibrahim. Once in a while, the director also hints at what's to arrive next, with the scenes involving Taapsee and Ravindra Vijay. The fact Ravindra Vijay himself has a child who's been a victim of child trafficking lends more credibility to their 'mishan'.

The film takes a darker turn later, where the director tones down the humour and presents the street smartness of the kids to get out of potentially tricky situations. There are enough thrills, intelligence and humour and the pre-climactic stretch where the kids execute a plan to hand over the child-trafficking group to the police is a delight to watch. There's a lot of originality in the storytelling and the absence of any similar reference point in Telugu cinema makes you all the more eager to watch it.

Mishan Impossible is an unlikely blend of innocence, humour and a topic as serious as child trafficking and yet Swaroop RSJ pulls this off with elan. It's incredibly brave of a successful filmmaker to choose such a theme only in his next film. Intelligent writing, terrific performances by the kids Harsh Roshan, Bhanu Prakash and Jayateertha with Taapsee so graciously lending her presence to a simple, well-told story - Mishan Impossible deserves your time. You can afford to 'Netflix and chill' with Mishan Impossible this weekend.