As the previous day was dated the 5th of September and marked the birthday of Dr. Sarvapalli Radakrishan, which is also celebrated as Teacher’s Day, we at SPINS thought why not do something different.
Teachers are the most important people in our life after our parents. They shape our minds, our character, our thoughts. While I strictly believe that everyone in our lives teach us something, and that even the minutest of beings are great teachers. But still there is a special place reserved for all our school and college teachers. So, celebrating the sense of teacher-hood, we present to you a list of 9 Bollywood movies that salute the spirit of our teachers. So, grab a comfortable place to sit and adjust to your screens properly, as this blog is going to be a long one.
- Taare Zameen Par (2007)
Without a question, this film holds the first place. Close to all our hearts, this movie is the story of a young boy Ishaan, who is looked down upon by his schoolteachers and parents due to his poor academic performance. Soon he is sent to a boarding school, where Ishaan meets Ram, the teacher who changed his life. Ram is drawn towards Ishaan and discovers that the boy is suffering from Dyslexia. The story revolves around how Ram helped Ishaan overcome his disorder and be at par with all other students. Ram truly valued Ishaan’s talent and was the only one to understand and believe in him. Filled with inspiration and emotions, this movie is a must-watch and truly defines the extent to which a teacher can go to help their students.
- Hichki (2018)
The Rani Mukherjee starrer movie is also a perfect example of how dedicated a teacher can be for her students. Suffering from Tourette’s syndrome, Rani Mukherjee gets rejected at various interviews for the role of a teacher. But her passion for teaching never took a step down and she finally got selected for an elite school. Her hardships began when she is assigned to handle the most naughty and rebellious class of the school. How will Rani succeed in doing so? The answers to all the questions can be found in the movie. So, this Teacher’s Day make sure to watch this movie.
- Black (2005)
We all have heard the name of Anne Sullivan and Helen Keller. Anne Sullivan is known as one of the greatest teachers who sacrificed her own life to teacher blind student Helen. The perfect adaptation of this was the Bollywood movie, Black. The story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan was depicted by the amazing acting skills of Rani Mukherjee and Amitabh Bachchan. Inspired by a true story, Black however old will always be one of the best teacher-student movies.
- Iqbal (2005)
Iqbal is the story of an aspiring handicapped boy who dreams of securing a position in the Indian cricket team. Though his father is adamant about the idea, his mother and his resourceful sister do every bit to turn Iqbal’s dreams into reality. The movie is about Iqbal and his late found drunkard cricket coach. So, if you ask me about a movie that defines the passion of a student and a teacher, then Iqbal is definitely the answer.
- F.A.L.T.U (2011)
Though this movie failed to achieve much recognition, it surely did have some relevant content. F.A.L.T.U gave education a very different perspective. It showed the teacher in a very different way. The movie never emphasized on the fact that a teacher must be in school or college, it showed the world that we can learn on our own and from the minuscule of things. Education is not limited to just books, but it is about the practical world that you face.
- Paathshala (2010) & Chalk n Duster (2016)
The reason why we have clubbed both these films together is because of the similarity they have. Both the movies emphasize on the grave issue of using education as a profitable business. Both the stories revolve around the change in the management of school and privatization of public schools, the snatching of the right to free thoughts from teachers as well as the students. Both the movies show that the teachers come united to fight such oppression and how they succeed in doing so. Both movies are worth your time.
- Aarakshan (2011)
Again, a masterpiece on the privatization of education is Aarakshan. It gives us a different angle though. Partly a political drama, Aarakshan shows the true bond between a teacher and a student and how a true student always stands by his teacher. It shows the selflessness of a teacher. The cast is amazing, and many people have shown much love for this movie.
- Super 30 (2019)
Super 30 is again the real-life story of Anand Kumar. The movie is the journey of Anand Kumar from a student himself to becoming the teacher to many poor students. Known as the IIT Factory, his batch of Super 30 is a bunch of intelligent minds who never get a chance to rise-up. The role of Anand Kumar has been beautifully portrayed by Hrithik Roshan and the movie has received much love.
- 3 Idiots (2009)
While many of you would say that the movie is based on friendship, we beg to differ a bit. The movie undoubtedly depicts the tales of true friendship, but it also acknowledges us with the idea of education and learning. It shows that the complex of lessons in our books is actually the simplest of things in the outer world. It teaches us ‘Jugaad’, the much-needed virtue. So, on these parameters, we list 3 Idiots in the list of best Teacher oriented movies of Bollywood.
Conclusion
With this, the list ends and so does our blog. We hope you like our list. Do let us know if you have any movies in mind that should be present in this list. We would love to hear from you. And in the end, let’s salute the spirit of all the teachers in our lives, be it our parents, our school or college teachers, small children, our friends, or even nature. And again, a very Happy Teacher’s Day (belated).
–Sampurna Panigrahi
SPINS 