Movie Review: Paathshaala….not a good school to go to!

Paathshaala is a promising film gone wrong. It raises the right questions and the right demands but that goes so over the top that you stop feeling anything about the issue other than, “YAAR ITNA THODI HOTA HAI”! Also, it gets a little scattered at times as it intents to cover a lot of issues in one go. Even the climax is confusing and lacks punch. Nana’s speech is so not the Nana we know, it does not flaunt any passion he talks about throughout the movie!

There are times when you feel that the directors don’t really see the movie from audiences perspective and acknowledge their intelligence. One Example – While filming for a cooking show, chillies go into the eyes of the kid and the director keeps on capturing that on the camera saying ‘Wow kya baat hai, yeh capture karte rahe, isse TRP badenge’– Please keep it believable man!

Let’s get to the story – the movie begins with a new English teacher, Rahul Prakash Udyavar [Shahid Kapoor], joining Saraswati Vidya Mandir School [SVM]. He strikes an instant chord with both students and teachers. The school principal, Sahay, [Nana Patekar] is forced to make unwanted changes in the school policies by the profit obsessed management. The polices go to an extent of punishing students if their demands like hike in tuition fee and canteen prices are not adhered by the parents! Rahul unifies the teachers and students against the management whom Nana Patekar has to support unwillingly and for the modernization of the school.

Director Milind Ukey, chosen by Ahmed Khan shows some positive signs but overall it does not have the IMPACT that such a subject is ought to make. Hanif Shaikh’s music is average to good. Some songs are really good…especially Aye Khuda (already a rage) and Bekaraar (although it comes with the credits in the end)

For the performances, NANA underplays his character well, but I wish he would have got more presence and the same for Shahid(our next SRK along with Ranbir Kapoor), he performs well but you expect more from him. Ayesha Takia is good except that she flashes only smiles along with a few dialogues in the movie. Amongst the other teachers Saurabh Shukla and Sushant Singh are the best.

Overall, as I said earlier, Paathshaala is made with the right intent but not executed in the right manner, the film gets unreal at times, looks scattered and lacks clarity. So, it’s quite a bland movie in itself…

My Rating – 2/5