After watching this, I couldn't help noticing how beautifully the movie was directed. It was nice seeing the directorial dimension of Aamir Khan. Reminded me of Kamal Haasan as well. Not saying they're the best in their fields, but they're one of the rare folks who have multi dimensional exposure/experience in the field called cinema. Strangely, there is one do-it-all guy, though he isn't that respected! The direction is "precise". Just the right pace - delves into details where required and skims across otherwise. Even in retrospect, I am wondering if it can be improved.
This movie is beautiful. At the end, I had to shamelessly watch tears roll down my cheeks! That boy - what casting! Innocence drips from him in every frame. The movie is very relevant to our educational system. Even if the system itself doesn't change, it should have at least made teachers think. I understand "individual attention" is close to impossible when sixty students are crammed in one class. But it can be a good check point to stop the ruthlessness against the "low performers". Guilt is a very strong medicine. It can actually make children think and believe they are doing something wrong. (I speak from personal experience during my childhood). They way we are setup, it is impossible to provide customized attention to each child. But it is very essential to make them not feel insufficient - more so because they fail to cater to society's needs. Today, children are forced through this tailoring machine called efficiency and productivity for the market place. Those who come out of the other end successfully lose their happiness and playfulness. Those who do not cope up [inevitably some will - because the treatment is one-size fits all] are discarded as failures.
We can do simple things without even changing the system drastically:
(All the below are written from the assumption that schooling is happening in a military fashion which is not going to change overnight. If education is happening in an enjoyable fashion, *none* of what I am saying will apply. Let it happen 24x7 in that case!)
- Stop taking classes on Saturdays. Here in our IT company which is driven for profit, we don't work Saturdays. Why children? Stop driving them so hard! I really wish the Govt brings a law on this aspect.
- Any school that physically abuses children must have its license disbarred. (I remember some teachers from my school who invented innovative methods to cause pain to children)
- Don't allow schools to teach 12th syllabus in 11th. Another madness!
- I hear there is this new madness of IIT coaching that starts from 8th grade. Seriously - give it a break!!
- Summer vacations - make any activity for students optional. Don't force anything - but encourage them to play a lot!
- Apart from rote education, make two other art forms mandatory.
- This pressure on 10th standard performance can be taken out. Only 12th matters. After 10th, gently inculcate the need and importance of that year.
Thank you Aamir Khan. Your directorial debut couldn't have been better! It really got me going! I wish it is remade or at least dubbed in multiple languages.
Footnote: Needless to say but required to say (!!), this entire post is India-centric! [except the fact that children must be happiest at this place called h-o-m-e!]
2 comments:
Really, this saturday school is cruelty.
Have you heard of 8th grade kids going for IIT coaching at 4am in Hyderabad? Urrgh.
I hate this education system- the competition and the branding, I hope it evolves into something better in my lifetime.
In TZP, I didn't like the winning at the end. What if the kid wasn't good at drawing too? Anywayz, it was to make a point. The way the kid depresses and withdraws into a cocoon from Calvin is worth noting - for all parents and teachers.
Already I can see kids getting smarter about college choices. Maybe things *will* change for the better.
Yeah, I think the winning serves multiple purposes:
1) Tells that the potential of a child is maximized when he learns without pressure. Dramatized for cinema, but this point is 100% true!
2) Audience likes euphoric endings!
3) Mainly from a cinema perspective, it has to keep one feet where mainstream audience are and the next feet where it is supposed to be. There are some compromises involved. Without drama, it might not have caught audience attention that much!
When I look back, the two pieces that touched me were - when Ishaant finds out what Aamir had painted. Second, when he breaks his inhibitions and hugs Aamir first!
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