Set against Ahmedabad's Uttarayan kite festival, the film follows eleven-year-old Zaid, an ordinary boy transformed into a fierce, single-minded kite runner. As the biggest flying day nears, he runs into an obstacle that threatens to keep him off the rooftops he lives for. What unfolds is his fight for a terrace, and for the one thing he loves most.
Amdavad Ma Famous turns a single childhood obsession into a portrait of a whole city. Over roughly 29 minutes, Hardik Mehta follows eleven-year-old Zaid through the run-up to Uttarayan, the kite festival that empties Ahmedabad onto its rooftops every January. The boy is not a prodigy or a case study, just a kid who lives to chase and fly kites, and the film watches him fight for the one thing standing between him and the sky, a good terrace on the big day.
What critics kept returning to was the texture. CNN-IBN wrote that it captured the Uttarayan skies unlike any Bhansali film, and reviewers at the Huffington Post and A Potpourri of Vestiges reached for words like soaring and intoxicating, which fit a documentary this alive to colour, noise and rooftop chaos. Mehta, who also edited, keeps the cutting quick and the tone warm without tipping into postcard nostalgia. The camera stays at Zaid's height, so the stakes feel real even when the subject is only string and paper. The result is small in scale but generous in feeling, closer to a short story than a report.
The awards followed the affection. It took the National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film at the 63rd National Film Awards, then collected prizes from Budapest to Doha to Mumbai, where Mehta also won Best Editor. If there is a limit, it is length. At under half an hour the film leaves you wanting a fuller arc, and anyone hunting for narration or a hard plot will find neither. But as a piece of pure observation it is hard to beat, and it remains one of the warmest things Gujarati nonfiction has produced.
Verdict
A soaring, warmly observed short that earns its National Award and stands as one of the best things Gujarati nonfiction has put on screen.
What works
- Gorgeous, alive photography of the Uttarayan skies
- Zaid is a charming, unforced subject
- Tight, warm editing by Hardik Mehta
- Rooted in real Ahmedabad texture, not postcard nostalgia
What holds it back
- Under 30 minutes, it ends just as you settle in
- No narration or strong narrative arc
- Slice-of-life shape offers little conflict
- Hard to track down on streaming now
Cast & crew
Cast: Zaid (Himself, the kite runner)
Producers: Akanksha Tewari, Arya A. Menon
Watch the trailer
Play the official trailer on YouTubeMore Documentary Gujarati films
Frequently asked
Is Amdavad Ma Famous worth watching?
A soaring, warmly observed short that earns its National Award and stands as one of the best things Gujarati nonfiction has put on screen. Kevu Che rates it 4.5 out of 5.
What is Amdavad Ma Famous about?
Set against Ahmedabad's Uttarayan kite festival, the film follows eleven-year-old Zaid, an ordinary boy transformed into a fierce, single-minded kite runner. As the biggest flying day nears, he runs into an obstacle that threatens to keep him off the rooftops he lives for. What unfolds is his fight for a terrace, and for the one thing he loves most.
What is the IMDb rating of Amdavad Ma Famous?
Amdavad Ma Famous (2015) holds an IMDb rating of 7.6 out of 10.