Cast : Swara Bhaskar , Ria Shukla, Ratna Pathak Shah , Pankaj Triphati.
Direction : Ashwini Iyer Tiwari
Plot : Chanda (Swara) is a Bai who juggles work between various houses . Appu , her daughter who is in the tenth standard is weak in studies , esp maths . She is not interested in studies because she has made up her mind that she will also be a Bai like her mother . Chanda tries various stunts to get Appu to be interested in studies,till one day she joins Appu’s school in the same class . Things take a different turn from there.
My View :
Nil Battey Sanaate starts with the start of the day , with Chanda coaxing Appu to wake up and get ready for her first day at Xth standard . Appu is seen sleeping even when Chanda leaves for work . Chanda is always on time for work , with Didi (Ratna Pathak Shah) asking ‘Arre , ek din late kyu nahi aa sakti?’ , while on the other hand , Appu is punished for being late to school . Didi and Chanda share a bond that is further from that of a maid and the employer . They are friends , where Didi is always willing to help Chanda , even without the latter asking for it even once.
Pankaj Tripathi as Srivasatav , the principal , reminded me of my class teacher in Xth standard , who would always say , if you work hard this year , you can relax for the rest of your life(which was definitely misleading) . Shukla sir ya Khadoos similarly asks the children to work hard and be the ‘lambi race ka ghoda’. He uses dark humor to rebuke Apeksha when she scores low marks each time. This again reminded me of my maths teacher , who would use funny examples to ridicule low performing students , which would have the entire class in splits.
Chanda reminded me of my mother who would stay up late in the night along with me, during my Xth and XIIth standard, to ensure that I was not alone in the game . She would also learn my math problems and we would compete against each other to see who came first (this in turn improved my speed in solving problems , which helped me in my entrance exams ). I have always attributed my love for maths to her . Chanda is a woman of steel and never moves away from her dream of seeing her daughter educated.She has the same apprehensions and sleepless nights about her rebellious daughter’s future ,that I have seen in many other mothers.
Ria Shukla as Appu , on the other hand is a rebel without a cause . I felt like spanking her for her disrespect towards Chanda and her lack of gratitude towards life , in general , a lot many times. I cringed with anger when she stole money from home , to have a good time with her friends. Another time I had my eyes moist was ,when she said , hume sapne dekhna ka haqq nahi.
Sanjay suri has a cameo which is of significant importance in the movie.
The other three children Pintu , Sweety and Amar add on to NBS with their performances .
The writers have touched upon real life issues like how education has become an industry now .
I missed watching NBS at the theater , but I watched it on DVD and will definitely watch it a lot many times . It is a beautiful movie which will remind of moments all of us would have experienced atleast once or more than once in life. I suggest not missing this beautiful movie.
Quotes that caught me :
Upsc.
Collector banne ke liye kaunsa college mein jaate hai?
Engineer ka beta engineer banta hai, doctor ka beta doctor banta hai, toh Bai ki beti Bai banti hai.
Image courtesy : http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report-watch-swara-bhaskar-in-heartwarming-trailer-of-nil-battey-sannata-2192454
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