Sniff trailer: Amole Gupte's new film tracks the rise of a nosey superhero

Filmmaker Amole Gupte's Sniff is the latest in a line of the director's growing list of films about children. The trailer for the film was released today, and tells the story of a unique little superhero, who is gifted with the sense of smell.

A mix of comedy and sensitive story telling, Sniff is the story of Sunny Gill, a tiny Punjabi kid who lacks the ability to smell. While his family worries about this problem, he remains curious and interested in the world around him. Incidentally, Gupte's earlier films have also focussed on children who are different from their peers, and suffer because of it.

However, a chemical accident in the school laboratory leads to Sunny regaining his ability to smell, except this time it has been increased exponentially. The boy can now smell things past 2 kilometers and even, some people's last dinner. This ability soon leads him to track the society's biggest menace — thieves.

In some ways, the trailer carries a familiar reminder of Salman Rushdie's iconic Booker Prize winning novel, Midnight's Children. Rushdie's hero, Saleem Sinai, was blessed with a similar power of supernatural smell. However, Gupte's film carries a far lighter tone than Rushdie's novel did.

Gupte has already established his knack for great films about children through Stanley Ka Dabba (2011) and Hawaa Hawaai (2014). Sniff carries some elements of the same sensitivity and comic timing. The trailer also introduces audiences to Khushmeet Gill, who plays the eight-year-old wonder boy.

Speaking about the film, director Gupte said, "Sniff!!! is about sniffing — what else could it be! It’s about this wonder boy, Sunny Gill, who walks a lonely path and goes on to become a superhero because of a miracle. He is going to put wings to your imagination and take you on a roller-coaster ride."

Watch the trailer here.