Year 2007 has proved consequential and significant for child actors and they have proved themselves to be media savvy and a delight for masses with their consistent on-screen brilliance. Oscar nominated 'Water' has the brilliance of Baby Sarla that was followed by the "tiny" wonder act of Baby Swini Khara's confident performance in surprise hit 'Cheeni Kum'. The good news continued with the impressive show by Master Siddarth Gupta ('Swami') and the austerely innocent charm of Master Krish Parekh in soul-stirring 'Dharm'. Debutante director Kitu Salooja's 'Chain Kulli Ki Main Kulli Ki' ('CK2MK') brings out wonder boy Master Zain Khan as the lead protagonist of the film with great success.

This 96-minute child entertainer promises to swim against the tide and succeeds to a large extent in creating a niche for itself. Child fiction, an unexplored and unsuccessful genre, takes an impressive turn with 'Chain Kulli Ki Main Kulli Ki' in a positive way. This lovable child entertainer works aggressively with its theme and tagline "Magic lies in you" and comes out with message "Believe in yourself and the world will be at your feet".

Director Kitu Salooja, an assistant to director Ken Ghosh, succeeds as a competent storyteller and delivers a "magical" tale that promises entertainment for kids. Besides his proficient and skilled expertise, the film banks and succeeds heavily on Rahul Bose's acting strength. The actor who is fresh from his last hit 'Pyar Ke Side Effects' comes out with another winner in 'Chain Kulli Ki Main Kulli Ki'. The icing on the cake is the guest appearance of cricket hurricane Kapil Dev, shown as source of inspiration for kids. Due to its unconventional theme and grim face value, it might struggle to find major multiplexes but it delivers what it promises. It would have been better to conceive this concept in home video format than foraying it on the big screen.

'Chain Kulli Ki Main Kulli Ki' hires its inspirational backdrop of playful orphanage from the adventures of "Oliver Twist". The character of cricketing wonder Karan (Master Zain Khan) has been a sketch on the guidelines of "Oliver Twist" and has blended it with fun, magic, music and emotions to appease and attract Indian audiences. It can be termed as "mini Lagaan", where the spirited moral values of the protagonist prove to be boon for him and his countrymen. Sports based entertainers have never been fancied by viewers but this promises loads of prankish entertainment in all its frames and shots. All cricket fans will enjoy every hilarious and gripping moment of this fanfare as the climax has the backdrop of hustling-bustling cricket ground and field.

Sadly, the basic plot is so coarsely implied that only a novice won't understand where the film is going to end. Like typical erotic thrillers, the main protagonist (Emraan Hashmi) has been tamed as scapegoat for all misdoings but ends up being the winner over the wrong doer. How different! 'Chain Kulli Ki Main Kulli Ki' works on two major characters - Karan (Master Zain Khan), a prodigal orphan boy who lives in a dilapidated orphanage and Varun (Rahul Bose), captain of Indian cricket time and a young man who learns to accept others around him in the way they are and finally discovers a whole new family for himself. The film works as a journey for this 13 year old boy who dares dream big and proves his credibility to the world. The film is tailor made for child audiences and every frame holds amusement for them.

'Chain Kulli Ki Main Kulli Ki' is the story of a ramshackle orphanage run by greedy and unfriendly owner and Warden John Kakkad (Rajesh Khera). The orphanage is filled with children who are at the mercy of John and pray for their freedom. Karan (Master Zain Khan), a bright and aspiring kid, loves to be part of a loving family while the rest of the kids crave for material gains. Raghav (Master Raj Bhansali) rules the orphanage and often teases Karan and his friends. One day Bholu dada (Sushil Parasher), a gentle and caring old man, brings loads of toys and playful stuff for the orphanage. Karan picks up "magical" bat which has the initials "KD 83" (Kapil Dev 1983) written on it. This bat has "magical" supernatural strength and its powers enthrall everybody.

Indian cricket team has been facing its major crisis after losing two consecutive one-dayers to arch rival Pakistan. Indian Cricket captain Varun Roy (Rahul Bose) and cricket coach (Suresh Crishna) show their concern over these defeats. Karan's "magical" bat strikes big blow on coach's car and by virtue of luck gets selected for the Indian cricket team. Karan's association with Varun on the cricket field brings fruitful returns and glory with two consecutive wins. Karan's innocence and modesty attracts Varun and there are some playful antics that spark laughter and hilarity.

Once rejected by adopting couples, Karan turns the most sought after kid in the country. Karan finds true companionship in Varun's benevolence and develops a strong emotional bond. Varun has painful past of broken family but after Karan's arrival in his life, he comes across true relationship. Varun's love interest Malini (Meera Vasudevan) feels special about Karan and even she accepts him as her family member.

'Chain Kulli Ki Main Kulli Ki' has conventional climax where Raghav dismantles Karan's bat and thus he loses the supernatural strength. The final sequences are spine-chilling, engrossing and give out a 'Lagaan' (Aamir Khan starrer) feel where Karan's hit outs boundary at the last ball of the final match. Karan finds a true lovable family with Varun and Malini and the concept of "Magic is in you" becomes his everlasting "mantra".

Rahul Bose excels magnificently as reliable performer in a kid entertainer 'Chain Kulli Ki Main Kulli Ki'. The intense scene where he emotes sensitively about his "troublesome childhood" in front of his parents is noteworthy and shows his strength as an actor. His scenes with Master Zain Khan are affable with the film's subject and draws hilarious moments. Master Zain Khan proves to be another worthy child actor after the success of Mater Krish Parekh ('Dharm'), Baby Swini Khara ('Cheeni Kum') and Baby Sarla ('Water'). His innocent acting skills work appreciably with the film's pace and matter. Zain's cricketing abilities are another major surprise that makes this an entertaining fare. Meera Vasudevan delivers a decent performance while Naseer Abdullah is apt for the situation. Rajesh Khera's villainous act is too prankish but still it's an impressive inspirational lift from "The Adventures of Oliver Twist".

Salim-Suleiman's music fails to create any stir in the film except for the sentimental "Khula Aasman" and ear-splitting "Dhoom Dhadaka". Cinematography (Pramod Kumar H Pradhan) is sporty and bizarre and captures the festive spirit of cricket mania with full zest and strength.

Jay Shewakarmani's story is innovative and spell-binding and should attract kids to theatres. Despite the fact that the secret of "magical bat" was not unveiled yet it manages to grip viewers. The screenplay by Nupur Asthana is notable in drawing the viewer's attention to the screen and there is hardly any space for boredom in the theatre. Dialogues (Satyam K Tripathy) are filled with tongue twisting prankish "one-liners" but fail to be catchy or attractive with its difficult diction. The dialogues are crisper in the first half where the chemistry between Rahul Bose and Zain Khan develops. Even the emotional scenes are well narrated with expressive dialogues and scripting.

Debutante director Kituu Salooja emerges as winner in all departments in his first outing as a director. 'Chain Kulli Ki Main Kulli Ki' will attract the media and its target audiences for its valued entertainment strength and skilled workmanship. Due to its unpopular and unconventional theme, it will face hurdles in getting major multiplexes but it will conquer mind and hearts of viewers. The dull and dry box office is facing major blow after the debacle of 'Jhoom Barabar Jhoom' and if "good word" of publicity materializes then this can be a major surprise of the year. In short, "mini- Lagaan" proves to be tiny "magical" wonder!