For most people the best way to
kill a lazy weekend is by watching a movie. Last weekend was a lazy one and we
thought of watching a movie too J.
I came across this movie ‘Nil Battey
Sannata’ while checking for options @ bookmyshow app.
2. Dreams
are not only for the Rich:
I didn’t know what to expect out
of this movie but the rating was good and most people recommended this one and thus,
the tickets were booked.
What I watched for 1 hour 45
minutes was absolutely brilliant and what I call meaningful cinema. The story
is about a single mother and her daughter. The mother is a bai who does small jobs to provide for her and her daughter. She
has big dreams for her daughter.
Initially, the title sounded weird,
but intriguing. It was during the movie I actually understood the meaning and
realised the title was so apt. Nil means
nothing or Zero, battey is for
division, sannata is silence or nothing
which means Zero/Nothing is zero and talked about how education can change your
life from zero to something more meaningful.
I was glued to the movie and yes,
it made me unlearn and learn lot of things about life. I could see my mom in
Swara Bhaskar, when she yelled at her girl to get ready for school or when she
would not study, or when she would pamper her and dream big for her. Swara
Bhaskar was the show stopper with her power packed performance. I loved her for
her role in Tanu weds Manu too, but his one was kickass.
I thought I must share what
touched me about the movie:
1. A
Mother is a Mother is a Mother:
She may be a Doctor,
a Business Tycoon, a Teacher or a bai,
but She is always a Mother first. She will always think well for us and guide
us so that we achieve big in life. We may not realise this as kids and feel
that she is pressurising us or wanting us to achieve what she couldn’t. But
when we grow up, we can’t thank her enough for what she does for us.
In the movie,
Swara Bhaskar aka Chanda is a bai who
does multiple small jobs to earn for herself and her daughter. She wants her
daughter to get good education, so that she becomes a Doctor/ Engineer/ IAS. She too pampers her girl, scolds her,
plans for her future like every mother does.
Chanda had big
dreams for her daughter Apu, she also knew dreams don’t come free and that she
will have to earn money and save that for her daughter’s education.
Apu, on the
other hand didn’t have any dreams. She gave her mother the shock of her life,
when she told her, “I will become a bai,
bai ki beti bai”. She told her she didn’t need education for that and that
her mother won’t be able to provide for big dreams. Dreams are only for the
rich. Hence, her interest in studies was declining and she dreaded Mathematics.
Chanda had thought
that she will do whatever it takes to make her daughter realise that her dream
is not to become a bai.
3. A
little effort from our side can help someone in achieving their dreams:
One of Chanda’s employers,
the humanitarian Doctor who she called ‘didi’
(played by Ratna Pathak Shah) was her guide, her sister and did her best to
help her out. She suggested that Chanda should get Apu enrolled in Mathematics
tuitions and referred her to someone. The tutor told her he would give her 50%
discount if her daughter got 50% marks in pre-boards.
Didi realised her helplessness was
because she was a class 10 dropout, else she would have understood where Apu
was struggling. She suggested that Chanda should start her studies and in the
same school as Apu so that she realises what all her mother is doing for her,
hence she accompanied her to Apu’s school for admission.
4. It
is never too late to start:
We may want to
learn so much in life or do things that please us, but something or the other
stops us from going ahead. We fear about people’s opinions about us. We are
afraid of going out of our comfort zone.
Chanda too had
these fears, but she could overcome those and start school again. She learnt and
also pushed her daughter to learn.
5. Where
there is a will, there is a way:
Chanda could
have been like other bais and not given importance to her daughter’s future. She knew she would need money and
motivation. She worked at multiple places to earn money and studied for herself
and her daughter.
She fought her
way out and could touch her daughter’s heart and make her realise that she must
study and education is what can change her life. The movie ends with Apu’s IAS interview,
when she is asked, “Aap IAS kyun karna chahti
hain?” and she responds, “kyunki main
bai nahi banna chahti.”
To
summarize the movie – “An amazing and inspiring movie that puts
everyone at par irrespective of the social status and tells everyone about their right to dream and inspire others.
Waiting for more such inspiring movies.
