Cast- Irrfan Khan, Saba Qamar, Deepak Dobriyal, Dishita Sehgal, Amrita Singh, Rajesh Sharma, Tilottama Shome
Director- Saket Chaudhary
Writers- Saket Chaudhary, Zeenat Lakhani
Is a sarcastic take on the admission angst and procedural horrors that parents ,who aspire for good schools for their kids , go through.
Raj and Mita (Irfan and Saba Qamar) are an affluent couple who have made it good after a humble childhood and schooling. They drive a BMW but reside in Chandni Chowk. They have the money but are not fluent in English. They have a thriving business but not the upwardly mobile lifestyle. Like most parents, they fall prey to their aspiration for their child to be in the top 5 schools of Delhi, hence their struggles begin.
There’s bound to be a bit of exaggeration without which the plot wouldn’t have been possible. But quite a bit of the rigmarole that’s shown has a lot of truth in it.
Right from the fight to get the forms, to filling up the forms (all fancy stuff with the right language),trying to fall in the right category/ quota, clearing the challenge of neighbourhood criteria of address, to preparing self and the kid for the interview, trying to apply all the right pulls and tugs, every step will remind all the recent generation parents of their experiences.
The punches thrown at the condescending attitude of the English speaking educated strata and the misplaced prestige issues attached to it are funny and thought provoking at the same time.
The plot itself is hot and of current scenario. Direction and editing are good. The dialogues give an ample chance of diverse reactions ranging from smiles, giggles, laughter, misty eyed moments.
But the star undoubtedly is Irfan. With his fantastic dialogue delivery and comic timing, he shines through out and almost carries the movie on his shoulders. Performances by all actors are good including Saba Qamar and Deepak Dobrial. Amrita Singh is appropriate as the tough-nut Principal.
Enough has been read and written about our admission woes and the rat race and business that goes on. The movie does raise pertinent questions without keeping it too heavy which is appreciable. But some sequences seemed too exaggerated, some even sagged. The climax was not convincing enough to leave a deep impact or suggest a practical solution.
But overall, the movie is worth a watch, for the relevant, relatable and interesting plot, for the funny punches, convincing performances and most of all for the never failing Irfan who’s always a pleasure to watch.
Score 7 on 10
BHAVNA TALKIES 