{"id":1316,"date":"2016-06-16T20:43:01","date_gmt":"2016-06-16T20:43:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=1316"},"modified":"2026-07-17T14:03:37","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T14:03:37","slug":"sniff-review-amol-gupte","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=1316","title":{"rendered":"Sniff and the Smell of Nostalgia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

L<\/span><\/p><\/div>

ittle Chandni Bakshi was nine years old on this particular day when she was playing hide-and-seek during the school recess. It was her turn to hide and time was running out as the seeker was finishing the count. So Chandni ran and hid underneath the last lunch table in the corner, not noticing a rotten lunch box kept on that table. She stayed there for quite some time, when eventually her friend found her, and asked her why had she chosen such a smelly place. Chandni\u2019s response was one of uncertainty: \u201cSmelly? What is smelly?\u201d<\/span>\n\nThat day Chandni realised she had anosmia \u2013 a clinical disease, which results in the full or partial loss of the sense of smell. Chandni realised why she loved the smooth slipperiness of pasta over the corrosive homemade sabzi<\/span>, <\/span><\/i>why she always chose texture over smell.<\/span> She suddenly got super conscious of the smells she emanated, as she couldn\u2019t detect her own body odour or breath. She wasn\u2019t sad about it though. Like all of us who don\u2019t know what we lack, she didn\u2019t know what she was missing out on. There was nothing to be sad about. <\/span>\n\nHow Chandni dealt with the absence of olfactory senses is quite the opposite of how the protagonist in Amole Gupte\u2019s <\/span>Sniff<\/span><\/i> deals with it. Little Sunny, played by Khushmeet Gill, plays his part as the \u201cadorable Sardar boy\u201d with big eyes and eminently edible cheeks very well, honouring the hoary tradition set in the time of <\/span>\u201cTussi ja rahe ho?\u201d Tussi na jaao.\u201d<\/span><\/a> But Sunny\u2019s pretty sad about not being able to smell anything. He doesn\u2019t like it that boys in the school poke fun at him for not realising that he\u2019d stepped on shit; his grandmother\u2019s laments that he can\u2019t take over the meagre family business of manufacturing aachaar disheartens him. Amol Gupte fills the screen with Sunny\u2019s dread, accompanied by long shots of him meandering in solitude, trying to wash his shoes <\/span>alone in a giant school<\/span>, or looking longingly outside the window, with the background score propelling the quiet confusion of his heart. <\/span>\n\n\"\"\n

\n

Sunny wakes up one day and after a chemical accident in the school lab, his olfactory senses suddenly go into overdrive.<\/p>\n

Image Credit \/ Eros Now, YouTube<\/p>\n<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\nAmol Gupte\u2019s world in the film has, unlike Chandni\u2019s in real life, forced Sunny to think of himself as inadequate and different. And this great weakness brings him down. It\u2019s not different what I, and many others, felt like while growing up. I was very tiny (still am!) and wished to wake up one day as a tall giant, who would excel at sports. We all tend to allow ourselves to be defined by one thing \u2013 we are too fat or too <\/span>skinny<\/span><\/a>, too short or too dark. We all dream of waking up one day, hoping to turn our weaknesses into strengths, to show the school bullies or the asshole Hindi teacher or the bickering aunties that we\u2019re better than that. <\/span>\n\n

Amol Gupte has been trying to indulge his idea of reminding children of the possibility of an ideal childhood; when possibilities were endless and we believed hope could spring eternal.<\/p><\/blockquote> \n\nWhat amazes me is how well Amol Gupte understands this feeling, and turns <\/span>Sniff<\/span><\/i> on its head, from reality to fantasy, metamorphosing Sunny\u2019s life into every child\u2019s dream. Sunny wakes up one day and after a chemical accident in the school lab, his olfactory senses suddenly go into overdrive. He can catch a smell that is emanating from a place two kilometers away, and suddenly he\u2019s the cool kid in school, making even his parents proud. He then fulfils every child\u2019s most desired dream since the dawn of time: Setting up a detective cave with his best friends and solving mysteries \u2013 a car-stealing racket wreaking havoc in Mumbai. The plot of <\/span>Sniff<\/span><\/i> is the stuff childhood dreams are made of. <\/span>\n\nSniff<\/span><\/i>, in a way then, <\/span>is <\/span>The Metamorphosis<\/span><\/i> in reverse, as the transformation is one that Sunny\u2019s heart desires, not like that of Gregor Samsa who wakes up as vermin. <\/span>But just like the vermin in Kafka\u2019s story, <\/span>Sniff <\/span><\/i>struggles to articulate its central idea. <\/span>\n\n\"\"\n

\n

There is no Ram Shankar Nikumbh-type character to connect with \u2013 there\u2019s not much interest in the lives of adults in the film.<\/p>\n

Image Credit \/ Eros Now, YouTube<\/p>\n<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\nAmol <\/span>Gupte has been trying to indulge his idea of reminding children of the possibility of an ideal childhood; he keeps on doggedly engaging in that specific point in our childhood, when possibilities were endless and we believed hope could spring eternal. <\/span>Old people, with their well-crafted receptivity of bullshit, don\u2019t interest Amole Gupte. <\/span>His most recognised story yet, <\/span>Taare Zameen Par,<\/span><\/i> wasn\u2019t supposed to have a big role for the teacher. It was meant to remind children that every child is special, not sermonise on parenthood like Aamir Khan\u2019s Ram Shankar Nikumbh eventually did. <\/span>In <\/span>Sniff<\/span><\/i>, Gupte\u2019s focus rests simply on the tenderness of Sunny and his friends.<\/span>\n\nWhich is why then<\/span> Sniff <\/span><\/i>is a children\u2019s movie, made entirely for children, leaving adults at a loss of how to interpret it. <\/span>In <\/span>Sniff<\/span><\/i>, there is no sermonising and<\/span> it lacks exposition of its main character. Other than staring out into the emptiness<\/span>, only if Sunny found a way to express his moroseness or happiness. Perhaps adulting has divested me of the belief in the supernatural. Or maybe <\/span>there is no Nikumbh-type to character to connect with \u2013 there\u2019s <\/span>not much interest in the lives of adults in the film.<\/span> The <\/span>answer then, for who is at fault for an adult\u2019s average cinematic experience, perhaps lies with me, for ageing and losing my sense of wonder<\/span>. <\/span>\n\nIn real life, my friend Chandni eventually internalised her \u201csmell problem\u201d. But now, living alone, she wishes she could smell; she fears she may not know if the gas in her house is leaking or something\u2019s on fire. Sunny goes the other way: He dreams a dream and comes out triumphant, highlighting <\/span>Sniff\u2019s<\/span><\/i> childlike filminess opposed to the grimness of a gas leak or a fire. It\u2019s why <\/span>Sniff<\/span><\/i> is fantastical, telling the story of growing up with an oddball problem, and how with some little chemical luck, we might wake up one day and go from being Princes of Darkness to Kings of our Little Kingdoms.<\/span>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Amol Gupte\u2019s Sniff, Sunny, who cannot smell, thinks of himself as inadequate and different. And this great weakness brings him down. It\u2019s like what many of us felt while growing up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":82,"featured_media":1320,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[2240,1003,2241,2242,2243,2244,1994],"class_list":["post-1316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pop-culture","tag-anosima","tag-children","tag-ram-shankar-nikumbh","tag-sense","tag-smell","tag-sniff-review-amol-gupte","tag-taare-zameen-par"],"yoast_head":"\nSniff and the Smell of Nostalgia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In Amol Gupte\u2019s Sniff, Sunny, who cannot smell, thinks of himself as inadequate and different. And this great weakness brings him down. It\u2019s like what many of us felt while growing up.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1316\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sniff and the Smell of Nostalgia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In Amol Gupte\u2019s Sniff, Sunny, who cannot smell, thinks of himself as inadequate and different. And this great weakness brings him down. It\u2019s like what many of us felt while growing up.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1316\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arr\u00e9\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-06-16T20:43:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-17T14:03:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1503821924.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"860\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Parthshri Arora\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Sniff and the Smell of Nostalgia\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"In Amol Gupte\u2019s Sniff, Sunny, who cannot smell, thinks of himself as inadequate and different. And this great weakness brings him down. It\u2019s like what many of us felt while growing up.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Parthshri Arora\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=1316#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=1316\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Parthshri Arora\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/180b81cbbbd9f5079a562ca43e45cb9c\"},\"headline\":\"Sniff and the Smell of Nostalgia\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-06-16T20:43:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-17T14:03:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=1316\"},\"wordCount\":1090,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=1316#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1503821924.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"anosima\",\"Children\",\"ram shankar nikumbh\",\"sense\",\"smell\",\"Sniff review. amol gupte\",\"taare zameen par\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Pop Culture\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=1316\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=1316\",\"name\":\"Sniff and the Smell of Nostalgia\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=1316#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=1316#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1503821924.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-06-16T20:43:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-17T14:03:37+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/180b81cbbbd9f5079a562ca43e45cb9c\"},\"description\":\"In Amol Gupte\u2019s Sniff, Sunny, who cannot smell, thinks of himself as inadequate and different. And this great weakness brings him down. It\u2019s like what many of us felt while growing up.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=1316#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=1316\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=1316#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1503821924.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1503821924.jpg\",\"width\":860,\"height\":500},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=1316#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Sniff and the Smell of Nostalgia\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/\",\"name\":\"Arr\u00e9\",\"description\":\"In every person lies a creator and in every creator, an enterprise.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/180b81cbbbd9f5079a562ca43e45cb9c\",\"name\":\"Parthshri Arora\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/51d717e940900e9db49b49678c826ac576e4b0538ad5da11ba762a9fd0137b36?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/51d717e940900e9db49b49678c826ac576e4b0538ad5da11ba762a9fd0137b36?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/51d717e940900e9db49b49678c826ac576e4b0538ad5da11ba762a9fd0137b36?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Parthshri Arora\"},\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?author=82\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Sniff and the Smell of Nostalgia","description":"In Amol Gupte\u2019s Sniff, Sunny, who cannot smell, thinks of himself as inadequate and different. And this great weakness brings him down. It\u2019s like what many of us felt while growing up.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1316","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Sniff and the Smell of Nostalgia","og_description":"In Amol Gupte\u2019s Sniff, Sunny, who cannot smell, thinks of himself as inadequate and different. And this great weakness brings him down. It\u2019s like what many of us felt while growing up.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1316","og_site_name":"Arr\u00e9","article_published_time":"2016-06-16T20:43:01+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-07-17T14:03:37+00:00","og_image":[{"width":860,"height":500,"url":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1503821924.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Parthshri Arora","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Sniff and the Smell of Nostalgia","twitter_description":"In Amol Gupte\u2019s Sniff, Sunny, who cannot smell, thinks of himself as inadequate and different. And this great weakness brings him down. It\u2019s like what many of us felt while growing up.","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Parthshri Arora","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1316#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1316"},"author":{"name":"Parthshri Arora","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/180b81cbbbd9f5079a562ca43e45cb9c"},"headline":"Sniff and the Smell of Nostalgia","datePublished":"2016-06-16T20:43:01+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-17T14:03:37+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1316"},"wordCount":1090,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1316#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1503821924.jpg","keywords":["anosima","Children","ram shankar nikumbh","sense","smell","Sniff review. amol gupte","taare zameen par"],"articleSection":["Pop Culture"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1316","url":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1316","name":"Sniff and the Smell of Nostalgia","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1316#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1316#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1503821924.jpg","datePublished":"2016-06-16T20:43:01+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-17T14:03:37+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/180b81cbbbd9f5079a562ca43e45cb9c"},"description":"In Amol Gupte\u2019s Sniff, Sunny, who cannot smell, thinks of himself as inadequate and different. And this great weakness brings him down. It\u2019s like what many of us felt while growing up.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1316#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1316"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1316#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1503821924.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1503821924.jpg","width":860,"height":500},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1316#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Sniff and the Smell of Nostalgia"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#website","url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/","name":"Arr\u00e9","description":"In every person lies a creator and in every creator, an enterprise.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/180b81cbbbd9f5079a562ca43e45cb9c","name":"Parthshri Arora","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/51d717e940900e9db49b49678c826ac576e4b0538ad5da11ba762a9fd0137b36?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/51d717e940900e9db49b49678c826ac576e4b0538ad5da11ba762a9fd0137b36?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/51d717e940900e9db49b49678c826ac576e4b0538ad5da11ba762a9fd0137b36?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Parthshri Arora"},"url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?author=82"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1503821924.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/82"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1316"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1316\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1319,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1316\/revisions\/1319"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1320"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}