The Blue Umbrella (2005 film) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Blue Umbrella
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Vishal Bhardwaj
Produced by	Ronnie Screwvala Vishal Bhardwaj
Written by	Vishal Bhardwaj Abhishek Chaubey Minty
Starring	Pankaj Kapoor Shreya Sharma Deepak Dobriyal
Music by	Vishal Bhardwaj
Cinematography	Sachin Kumar Krishnan
Editing by	Aarif Shaikh
Distributed by	UTV Motion Pictures
Release date(s)	12 October 2005 (2005-10-12) (Pusan International Film Festival) 10 August 2007 (2007-08-10) (India)
Running time	92 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Budget	₹ 2,00,00,000
Money made	₹ 36,00,000 (loss)

The Blue Umbrella is a movie from India released in 2005. It is a drama film based on a book called The Blue Umbrella by Ruskin Bond. Vishal Bhardwaj directed the film. The main actors were Shreya Sharma and Pankaj Kapur. Vishal Bhardwaj also created the music, and Gulzar wrote the song lyrics.

Story of the Blue Umbrella

The story takes place in a small village. This village is located near Banikhet in Himachal Pradesh, India. The main characters are Biniya, a nine-year-old girl, and Nandakishore "Nandu" Khatri. Nandu Khatri is the only shopkeeper in the village. Biniya lives with her mother and older brother.

Biniya's New Umbrella

One day, Biniya is looking after her family's cows. She sees a group of tourists. They have a beautiful blue Japanese umbrella. Biniya really likes the umbrella. She trades her special bear claw necklace for it. This necklace was thought to bring good luck. Biniya's mother is a bit upset about the trade.

Everyone in the village is amazed by the umbrella's beauty. Biniya becomes very popular because of it. This makes some people feel jealous. Nandu Khatri, the shopkeeper, is especially jealous. He wants an umbrella like that but cannot afford one. He tries to buy Biniya's umbrella, but she says no.

The Missing Umbrella

Khatri's shop helper, Rajaram, offers to help him get the umbrella. Rajaram wants more money for his help. One day, Biniya is in a field and finds her umbrella is gone. She is very sad and thinks Khatri took it. People search Khatri's shop, but they do not find the umbrella.

Khatri feels very embarrassed. He promises to buy his own special umbrella. Soon, he gets a similar red umbrella. He tells everyone he bought it from Delhi. Now, the villagers start paying more attention to Khatri. They even choose him to lead the village wrestling competition.

The Truth Comes Out

Biniya keeps looking for clues about her umbrella. She finds out that Khatri's red umbrella came from a fabric dyer. This dyer lives in a nearby town called Banikhet. Biniya goes with the village policeman to Banikhet to find out the truth.

At the same time, Khatri is leading the wrestling competition. It starts to rain. The red color washes off his umbrella. Everyone sees that it is not a new umbrella. It was dyed red to hide that it was Biniya's. Because he took the umbrella and lied, the villagers stop talking to Khatri.

A Kind Gesture

After the villagers stop talking to him, Khatri's life becomes very hard. No one visits his shop. Even Rajaram, his helper, leaves him. Biniya feels sorry for Khatri. She decides that he should have the umbrella. She gives her blue umbrella to Khatri. After this kind act, the villagers accept Khatri back into the community.

Meet the Cast

• Pankaj Kapur as Nandakishore 'Nandu' Khatri
• Shreya Sharma as Biniya
• Rahul Kumar as Tikku
• Paramjit Singh Kakran as Rajaram
• Piu Dutt as Binya's mother
• Samrat Mukerji as Bijju
• Kamal Tiwari as Mukhiya
• Dolly Ahluwalia as Lillavati
• Alok Mathur as Masterji
• Rajesh Sharma as Policeman
• Deepak Dobriyal as Guy with robot
• Manek Bedi as Arjun

Awards and Recognition

• 2007: The film won the National Film Award for Best Children's Film. This award is given to the best movie for children in India.

Soundtrack

The music for The Blue Umbrella was created by Vishal Bhardwaj. Here are the songs from the movie: