Education has always been a topic of fascination for Cinema. Cinema allows us to look at education from an appreciative, critical as well as a satirical lens all at once. It teaches us that education is more than the sum of its parts. This issue, Corporate Citizen presents the best education related movies you should watch!
Starring – Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor, R Madhavan, Sharman Joshi
3 Idiots is not just the story of three engineering students; The movie presents the pressures of the education system on students and the undue expectations society places on them. It effectively highlights the problem of parents pushing their children to choose what they don’t like and make them forget or ignore their hobbies that could have become a great profession for them. The great thing about the movie is that it is never preachy, it is always relatable to every past, present and future student out there. The message 3 Idiots conveys stays with you long after the movie is over – Follow your dreams, and success will follow you!
Starring – Aamir Khan, Darsheel Safary
The movie is about an eight-year-old boy Ishaan Awasthi (Darsheel Safary) who finds it difficult to fit in with his other classmates. Ram Shankar Nikumbh (Aamir Khan) gets appointed as a temporary art teacher of the boarding school. Unlike other teachers who follow definite norms in educating children, Ram makes them think out of books, outside the four walls of the classroom and paint their imaginations. Ram takes effort to understand Ishaan and his problems. He makes Ishaan’s parents and other teachers realise that he is not abnormal but a very special child with talents of his own. Aamir Khan, who has also directed the film, has handled this delicate theme with dexterity and precision, pointing out that education is not just scoring marks, it is opening your mind to limitless possibilities.
Starring – Atul Kulkarni
Dahavi Fa (translation: Tenth 'F') is a Marathi drama film based on a story of how teachers discriminate against the students failing the exams. Kids from class 10 'F' realise that they are the victims of brutal discrimination. They are not willing to accept tags like goons or thugs. Frustrated with the situation, these kids decide to take matters in their own hands and end up vandalising school properties. As a result, they get suspended from school. Atul Kulkarni, who plays the teacher in the film, however teaches students to channelize their anger in a positive way. The film was so popular that it was screened for 35 weeks when it released in 2002.
Starring – Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan, Manoj Bajpai
Prakash Jha has always been known for his socio-political movies, and Aarakshan is no exception. Aarakshan is loosely based centered on the Supreme Court's 2008 verdict on the approval of additional reservations for other backward classes, and the impact it has had on the education system. The film is hard hitting, well researched and conveys a social message about the growing commercialisation of education. Watch it for powerfull performances by Amitabh Bachchan and Manoj Bajpai as well as Prakash Jha’s skillfull direction.
Starring – Matt Damon
The film stars Matt Damon as a janitor at MIT who likes to party and hang around the old neighbourhood. He is also a mathematical genius who can solve the most complex of math problems, but who never attended school growing up in bad company. Lambeau, a professor at MIT, offers a prize to any student who can solve a difficult problem. The next morning, the answer is written on a blackboard standing in the hall. But none of the students managed to solve it. Lambeau finds out that it was actually the janitor who solved it. Good Will Hunting is the story of how this kid's life edges toward self-destruction and how a concerned professor tries to haul him back by getting him to enroll in school again. Don’t miss it for the world.
By Neeraj Varty
