Paathshaala (2010)

I sure did.Principal stops kid on stairs and asks politely why he is late. Kid pees his pants and sobs. Principal leaves.New English teacher dresses like a 16 year old, tries really hard to smile as boyishly as possible, gives a lame-ass speech about not wanting to teach music to kids cause he's here to teach English.Cheery school Nutritionist likes to nonchalantly dress in super bright clothes, tries to delicately arm-twist English teacher into teaching the kids music.English teacher is found lip-syncing really badly to an uninspiring song holding a guitar and pretending to play it but failing miserably as he "charms" a bunch of kids into singing along with him.School Nutritionist leaps off exultantly with the wind blowing her perfectly curled hair away from her face...... I couldn't bear it, so I Shift+Deleted the file.Sorry, I have no clue what the movie was about but if the start was so painfully boring I couldn't force myself to suffer through another of Shahid's attempt at being the super-chilled-cool-happening-hip-Dude who quite frankly... isn't.

Teaching is supposed to be a noble profession and school is supposed to be a temple. It was so once upon a time. Has it remained so. This is what the movie tries to say.The movie is a satire and a blow to all those schools who want to make a business out of the school by modernizing them. This is a blow to all those parents those who want their child to be seen in television reality shows rather than top in studies.They have tried to show the pressure on the students, random fee hikes, punishing the students inhumanly. The movie tries to answer many such questions in this movie and they have successfully shown it. They have tried to show that education has taken a back seat while everything else is being highlighted.Shaheed Kapoor has Rahul Prakash Udyavar has done a wonderful role as the teacher and Ayesha Takia as the Nutrionalist is watchable. Overall, the movie is good.

As excited I was to watch a movie with Shahid Kapoor, I was also hesitant because of the weak cast involved in the making of this film.The movie started off slow, remained slow, and ended with a pace which would even make a snail feel sorry. Moving on to the story line - well, there was none. Just because it deals with an issue pertaining to the common Indian parent, doesn't make it a relate-able movie.The movie incorporated outright cheap script, story dynamics, and horrible direction.Super flop!I want my time back!

"It horrifies me that ethics is only an optional extra at Harvard Business School". - John HarveyFinally, a refreshing film that deals with disgusting realities of some of these top-notch private schools in India: donation issues, discrimination against children based on their parents' financial status, the obnoxious atmosphere that reality TV shows create in a school's learning environment and unbridled interference by corporate trustees in school affairs. The message of Pattshaala is simple - left to its own devices and without proper checks and controls, the teaching profession, one of the few remaining noble professions in this country, can also become victim of the same corrupt mindset that presently plagues other institutions especially corporate ones - putting profits before people, considering the end more important than the means and the top-down strategy of creating an environment of fear by dangling the carrot of money and the threat of expulsions. The film is indeed a hard-hitting commentary on the impact that can take place over an entire organization (in this case, a school) when the leader (the Principal, played by Nana Patekar) decides to compromise core ethical values, and buckle under outside influence to create an unlivable atmosphere in the school, for both students as well as teachers. Against this backdrop, a lone protagonist (played by Shahid Kapur) resists, rising up to unify all teachers and students in questioning the decisions of the management and Principal, and giving a live demo to their pupils that passive resistance is the only way to achieve social justice. An oft-quoted liner from the film, "The age of revolutions is not been relegated to the past. It can occur anytime, anywhere today." Indeed, for too long we Indians have relied on Gandhi, Subhash Chandra Bose and other charismatic leaders of the independence era to find our ethical compass as a nation- fact remains, with each passing generation, we need a new set of leaders, young and dynamic, who are able to selflessly dedicate themselves to refashion the youth's moral fabric. And let me add, such people do exist. But, the media largely ignores their contributions, instead focusing on uninspiring and irrelevant stories that glorifies all sorts of scoundrels I see on TV today.In summary, Patahshaala is a must-watch film, and a real exercise in coming face to face with your moral backbone. The film poses an interesting set of questions - what should one do when faced with dilemmas that are faced by the school principal depicted in the film. Indeed, the author is of the opinion that ethics should be a compulsory subject in all primary schools of the country, and also institutions of higher learning, no matter what the stream is, technical or non- technical. Well, we do have something called "social studies" in schools but in my opinion, the subject can be broadly restructured to incorporate a strong ethical element, that too with practical lessons. Past studies has shown that if children are exposed to ethical decision- making through intensive class- room discussions, they're more likely to grow up into well-rounded citizens as adults, and question the wrongs and moral decay in society. Performances by all lead characters were good, and thoroughly convincing. A few characters, such as that of the repugnant school administrator were a bit over-the-top and exaggerated, but understandable from the point of view of the script - there's no point in showing such characters in grey. Their underlying motive is abhorrent, and should be exposed in the true light.