More flaky chalk dust than meaningful
Film: Chalk n Duster
Cast: Shabana Azmi, Juhi Chawla, Divya Dutta, Upasna Singh, Girish Karnad, Zarina Wahab, Aarya Babbar, Samir Soni and Adi Irani with special appearances by Rishi Kapoor, Jackie Shroff and Richa Chaddha
Director: Jayant Gilatar
Rating: * * ½
Runtime: 130 mins
When teachers fall prey to institutional politics, they become just another pawn for the management to play around with. Well, that’s as much of a lesson you can take home from this movie experience that tries to modernize it’s struggle while sticking to the nostalgic notion that old-school ‘teachers’ are the framework that helps build careers and a nation thereof. And it’s all done in piece-meal fashion.
Kamini Gupta (Divya Dutta) usurps Shastri Madam’s (Zarina Wahab) hotseat as Principal. And from thereon she unleashes a series of shenanigans that will put even the fishiest vamp to shame. All her detractors are treated to obverse forms of cruelty while her henchwomen are rewarded with the plumpest of posts. Gupta with help from the management and coerced support from the Parents –teachers body is all set to give the school an International up-market makeover. And for that she needs to get rid of the poorer students and the older teachers. A warning to a widowed single mother-teacher and a termination letter to a stalwart teacher Vidya Sawant (Shabana Azmi) raises the heckles of the rest. But the only one to go for the jugular is Jyoti(Juhi Chawla) ,who therefore has to pay the price with her own unceremonious termination from Kantaben school. The villainous chairman (Aarya Babbar) of the school is only too happy at the turn of events until the rival and a far-more-reputed school’s chairman (Jackie Shroff) decides to get the press involved in Kantaben’s administrative hara-kiri. It’s only a matter of time before a reporter (Richa Chadha) gets into the act and puts up the expose on national television. An unlikely and completely unjustified ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ like endplay referendum with Rishi Kapoor as the gregarious quizmaster, only ends up defaming the tremulous and melodramatic narrative further.
Written by Ranjeev and Neetu Verma, ‘Chalk N Duster’ focuses on painting a likeable picture about teachers, their tough job requirements and their ability to instill heavy doses of knowledge in their wards. And the bad guys are villains of the piece. There’s not much reason for their contrariness and their humaneness is totally wiped clean.
While the film is obvious in it’s efforts to eulogize yeoman efforts put in by sincere teachers all over, the manner in which it’s done leaves a bad taste. The contrived drama and internal politics may well be a fair picture of the state of educational institutes today but the intemperate narration and the overdependence on emotional subplots takes away from the genuineness of this exercise. Shabana, Juhi , Divya Dutta and Zarina Wahab lend nobility to this exercise by contributing individual riveting moments . The old fashioned tricks and obvious contrivances puts paid to any sincerity of effort or attachment to be had thereof. Girish Karnad and Samir Soni , as husbands, have the thankless task of looking like window dressing. The film tries to hammer home the point that teachers because of their low pay profession should be idolized and revered. Obviously, in the real world , this cannot be a rule- for there are as many bad apples in the teaching profession as there are good ones. And the convoluted dramatics evolving in the picture only reinforces the view that the system as a whole is corrupted beyond redemption and teachers themselves are just as responsible for the rot as much as management. The script’s over dependence on personal difficulties and ailing health to bring home the sympathy only makes this effort more of a mockery. There’s really not much to hold on to here!
