Contribution Of Indian Cinema In Shifting Narratives In Context Of Educational Systems

Film and cinema is one such media which makes it very easy to communicate any message be making people aware of social issues, or narrating life stories of people who have contributed to this world, women empowerment or making the audience aware of the importance of education. Education acts as a tool in shaping the current young generation of the country who are going to grab the opportunity of the demographic dividend in India.

There is a transformation in the way the society looks at education after the movie, tare Zameen par (2008) which puts light on the fact that each child is different, and that they have different capabilities. Not every child is born to be academically brilliant. It can be inferred that ‘every child learns differently’ and it doesn’t imply inferiority which is the first theme. ‘Ishaan’ played by Darshil Safari who is shown dyslexic, convinced the CBSE to grant extra time to special children in board examinations. Also, Mumbai's civic body, which runs 1188 schools, started 12 classrooms for autistics after the movie was released. Students with disabilities were looked down and were not given equal preference in schools and colleges but after this movie a lot more acceptance has been observed for this sector of the society. The art and design teacher - Ram Shankar, played by Aamir khan is shown to be a friend, a mentor, somebody who understands Ishaan and his disability. It is also seen how with corrective measures and effort Aamir khan is able to cure this problem and towards the end of the movie Ishaan is able to read and write effectively. This movie also brings the concept of the ‘command-control’ model which is portrayed through the teachers of the boarding school who use rulers to hit the students. It was believed that teachers have ‘control’ over the students. It can be inferred that in earlier times, (80’s and 90’s) there was not an open relationship between the teacher and the student. It would be a ‘crime’ if the student ever cross questioned the teacher about what they taught. It was more of a one way communication rather than a two way communication. This movie in particular showed this aspect along with the main theme.

The second theme which is “freedom of selecting the carrier stream” can be studied through the movies ‘3 idiots’ and ‘FALTU’. 3 idiots (2009) appeared to be the voice of many high school graduates in the last decade who were pressurised by their parents to take up a carrier path which provides a 9-5 job. This movie encouraged the students to follow their passion and not success. This movie faced a lot of criticisms, but according to a review by Rajeev Masand, Rancho played by Aamir khan, empowers his friends Farhan and Raju to opt for photography and recover from the suicide respectively, which shows how important it is to take a stand for one’s own career choices and make the students realise that suicide is not the way to deal with pressure! It is very important for parents to understand what the child wishes to pursue and to help them pursue their passion so as to make them love what they do.

A similar story line is seen in the movie FALTU, which revolves around the life of college going students as they build a fake university named as Fakirchand and Lakirchand Trust University (F.A.L.T.U) as they aren’t able to get admissions in existing college due to poor academic performance. But when actual effort is put into making it a place for students to study this college turns out to be one of its kind. It offers subjects unheard. Students can choose whatever they wish to pursue. Staring from being a gym trainer to a hair stylist, chef to doctor, Dancer to magician, this college offers students any stream they want to study. It gives the message of following what you love doing. Each stream, broadly science, commerce and arts; is given equal importance. This wasn’t the case earlier. A decade ago parents only focused on streams that give pass outs a defined job. This mentality is also seen in the movie 3 idiots. It is after this movie that the parents as well as students have been quite open and proud about every carrier option. It has been quite successful in changing the mind sets of people.

Theme 3 is about “Education and status”. In the 90’s education was taken as a luxury and not as a fundamental right. It was considered a privilege to be educated in the Indian society. People realised the value of education and started to strive for it. ‘I am Kalam’ depicts the relationship between Chotu and Ranvijay and their Zeal to learn from each other. I am Kalam depicts the rural Indian mentality which was prevalent in the typical Indian society. We see how Indians have the fire within them to rise and learn as Chotu manages the chores of the shop while keeping interest in learning from Ranvijay. We see how Ranvijay and Chotu crossed some obstacles in their way and finally confronted in front if their parents how they were growing and learning together despite their economic and caste differences. According to the review in economic times by Gaurav Malani, “The keen-observer and quick-learner Chotu is aided by his friend Ranvijay in his quest for education. Further, on learning that President Abdul Kalam too suffered several hardships in his childhood, Chotu rechristens himself as Kalam and aims to be just like him. Though chotu is poverty-struck, the film at no point emphasizes on the inadequacy in his life but is rather focused on his pursuit for knowledge.”

Secondly the theme of education and status is very well narrated in the movie Hindi medium which talks about the differences in economic statuses and image in society. Raj (Irrfan Khan) and Mithu (Pakistani actress, Saba Quamar) live in Chandni Chowk. Mithu dreams of sending her daughter to a fancy school, not a government school, like the one her husband went to. Raj owns a sari shop but in the social hierarchy he is a mere shopkeeper.

Thirdly “Neil batte sannata” left the viewers with the question that is a maid’s daughter condemned to being a maid the rest of her life? In Hindi Medium, the question is: is a shopkeeper’s child condemned to sitting in the family’s sari shop all her life?

Furthermore the fourth theme which is “Education is not about business” can be studied through movies like ‘chalk and duster’ (2016). In the present day situation, it is very evident that education has been very closely related to business and an opportunity of making money rather than keeping it as a mode of learning for students. Schools nowadays focus more on establishing themselves nationally and they want to be recognised by a larger audience. The movie Chalk and Duster has a similar story line. From old Indian to education to modern education there have been many positive changes in the system and outlook but this particular issue, of schools investing time and resources in making money and profits rather than using them in education is widely seen. Modern Indian schools are trying to recruit teachers who have “Class”, who can represent their “international status”. Mumbai’s Kantaben school shown in the movie run by the evil principal – Kamini gupta (Divya dutta). She does mean things like taking away the chairs of the teachers and making them stand for long hours. On the other side are teachers like Vidhya (Shabana Azmi) and Jyoti (Juhi Chawla) who are extremely good and ready to give all that they have to their students. Jyoti’s speech towards the end of the movie acts as an eye opener for the parents and the schools today that no matter how much they ‘decorate’ their schools, or no matter what international tie ups they offer, the factor that distinguishes them from the rest is their teachers. This movie creates an impact in a way of making people realise the value of good teachers. It conveys the message of not doing business with the future of young minds. It is a very common mistake which schools nowadays are making which is getting ‘Jay’ over other competitors rather than gaining ‘Vijay’ over itself. This movie clearly shows why Kamini gupta fails in achieving her ambitious goals.

Moving further, the fifth theme talks about ‘Straddling patriarchal and linguistic hegemony’. This has become an important concern in today’s generation. Even today in India, many parents of the millennials aren’t very comfortable with communicating in English. It is a sign of being educated for them. This was the case with Shashi (Shridevi) in the movie ‘English Vinglish’. It is a movie which depicts Shashi as a doting mother who is entangled in the male chauvinist society. She finds education as her way out from the insults faced from her children as well as her husband. She decides to sign up for the four week English course in London. Regardless of her tireless efforts, she is considered to be a docile mother who is incompetent of any given task. Education seems to be a way out of this drudgery for Shashi as she would be able to communicate in a better manner with her family. Unfortunately, even after years of decolonization, the hegemony over the English language prevails in our society. Education helped her to love herself and gave her the required self-confidence to face her family. The film also gives us a lesson on how it is never too late to learn and there is no age for it. Shashi finally overcomes her fear and also gives a speech on the wedding and proves that she is no more a victim. Education turned her life for good. It tells us that language is not an important factor for being educated. It is the matter that matters, it’s the knowledge that matters and language is just a means of communication. Being fluent in English, in the sadly skewed universe of contemporary India, automatically codes you as modern, fashionable, worthy of respect. Not being fluent in it relegates you to the backroom, a second-class citizen, unworthy of display. Language is just one subset of education. This is also very well depicted in one part of the movie ‘Namaste London’ (2007) where Arjun Ballu Singh (Akshay Kumar) defends India in Hindi, in Front of the english men. He was applauded for his speech and it was clear that to make your point or being educated is not equal to being able to speak, read, write and understand English. It is way beyond that. Lastly, education is defined as, “The process of acquiring the body of knowledge and skills that people are expected to have in your society. A good education develops a critical thought process in addition to learning accepted facts. It also encourages intellectual curiosity, which will lead to lifelong learning.” It summaries the entire argument.

In conclusion to the above mentioned themes and their following discussions, it can be said that Indian cinema has definitely played an important role in changing the perspective of education in the minds of its viewers. It is also a medium which reaches a large number of audience in one go. From making parents understand that every child learns differently, to convincing them in letting their children pursue what they want and not restricting education to one particular sector of the economy; over the years cinema has been able to prove every aspect with extra ordinary movies. Furthermore, such movies have also been appreciated majorly for their extraordinary story, theme and powerful portrayal of their characters which can truly make the audience connect to and feel the emotion. Over the years movies like Chalk and Duster, English Vinglish and Hindi medium have also made us realise that education is more of developing the right thought process and skills to do something meaningful in life and not just being a part of a good infrastructure with good amenities.