Habji Gabji trailer: Film confronts reality of smartphone addiction among children

The trailer of Raj Chakraborty’s upcoming film Habji Gabji showcases the consequences of using technology as a substitute for parenting.

The central theme of the film hits the viewer from the very beginning, without bombarding the audience with unnecessary visuals.

Parambrata Chatterjee and Subhasree Ganguly play a busy and ambitious couple, who hardly have time for their kid Anish (Samontak Dyuti Maitra). To keep Anish occupied as he awaits the return of his parents from office, he is introduced to mobile games. Ganguly sometimes warns Chatterjee that this might turn the kid into a gaming addict, but the latter fails to realize this until its too late.

We see the precocious Anish asking for his gift before celebrating his birthday with his friends. His present, the latest mobile phone, comes to occupy his mind and grows into an obsession.

His parents' eyes are opened as Anish hardly looks up from the phone screen and turns violent when his father scolds him for not paying attention and threatens to snatch the device away.

The parents visit a psychiatrist and the latter advises them to take the boy to a place where there is very poor network connectivity. However, the scenic journey and tranquil location fail to divert Anish’s attention from his games.

Chatterjee, instead of trying to converse with the child, begins threatening him and Anish replies in the same language. Their verbal sparring shows how the absence of love and care rob kids of sensitivity and tenderness.

The crisis gets out of hand and Anish goes missing and tries to replicate his world of violent games in the real world.

While the parents are at their wits' end, facing their own faults turns out to be the biggest challenge for them. We can see that while they receive help from their relatives while searching for their missing son, they conceal the truth behind the unfortunate development.

The cinematic look of the trailer's visuals is quite promising. Needless to say, the title of the film is a satiric reference to the popular, now banned, game PUBG (PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds).

The trailer begins with a message stating that the film is an essential watch for the parents. While Chatterjee and Ganguly consider themselves happy at the beginning of the trailer, they do not realise that their lonely kid child hardly shares their idea of happiness. Interestingly, the trailer doesn’t end on a happy note nor does it hint at a happy reconciliation between Anish and his parents.

Check out the trailer and let us know if you are keen on watching the film.