Based on a novel by the same name by Anand Suspi, Half Pants Full Pants follows the story of a young boy and the episodes in his life filled with curiosity that shapes up a part of his childhood. The story definitely will manage to put a smile on your face due to its simplicity, a period were technology was non-existent. In fact, the drama did remind me of the good ol’ Malgudi Days that I had a lot of fun watching in my childhood. Those were the good old days for me personally too, free of tension and heartbreaks where the biggest problem was on why did I not get a bat while playing cricket. So there is an instant sense of nostalgia that did strike me while watching this beautiful drama. The screenplay standing at 8 episodes of just about 20 to 30 odd minutes each ensures that the drama is brisk and doesn’t overstay its welcome.

The tone of the drama is set by the voiceover that is powerful enough to transport you back to your childhood when mobile phones did not exist. The focus was on physical interaction with the people around you as opposed to the virtual one as it stands today. The drama is coated with saccharine that will light up your day with the right amount of sweetness. The conflicts are simplistic that reflects well on the curious minds of kids. I did like how each conflict was unique and simple with an even more simpler resolution. But the proceedings wern’t standalone or random. There was an underlying thread that linked every episode.

The drama is engaging and parts of it relatable too. The episode featuring the young protagonist saving up for his mother for her birthday did make me teary eyed. That episode was enough to make a grown up man like me cry. The vibe was so heartwarming and pure that it instantly did tug the strings of my heart. In another episode, the Bruce Lee fan craze was nicely explored as well where cinema slowly crept into the life of the protagonist. I was reminded of my childhood when I had watched the Salman Khan starrer Judwaa and after the film had ended I momentarily had started behaving like the character that Salman was essaying, ofcourse momentarily so😅. Good old days indeed!

On the slight downside, the writing does lose a bit of its innocence in a couple of episodes before the final act. I did feel that if the writing had continued to be simplistic, it would have been slightly more effective. But after the small detour(episode 6 and 7), the final episode had multiple feel good moments that did constitute a rather heartfelt drama. The message at the end was something that needs to be noted and implemented by all young parents, to ensure that their children do not lose their individuality, more so in times of social media. Overall, the writing is simple yet nostalgic and 3 hours of pure bliss.