Stanley Ka Dabba (2011)

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Stanley ka Dabba is a film written and directed by Amole Gupte. I never felt the need actually to see this film as I didn't feel much attracted to the subject before. But after seeing the film, I can say that I was overjoyed. These films go out to prove that stories with good content still do exist in Bollywood.Plot: The story of a Hindi Teacher who scolds a child for not bringing his own tiffin.Story and direction: The film doesn't start out with that much interesting scene. It paces very slowly to introduce us to the world of Stanley, our protagonist. But as it catches up I remember being hooked to this film. I myself have studied in a Christian school in Mumbai for 8 years of my life. So I could very easily relate to the school environment portrayed in the movie. The Christian schools have mostly English speaking teachers. I laud Amole for bringing that fact in the teachers of this film. Also, each time a tiffin used to open in any scene, my mouth watered. The climactic revelation also shocked me for almost 5 minutes. That was just like someone punched me in the face. But still there are some flaws in this film. The film's camera work wasn't that great. It sometimes looked that a documentary was being shot and there are so many shots where the focus is on someone's face i.e. no wide angle shots. Also, it looked like in some scenes that Amole Gupte was trying to replicate Taare Zameen Par. If he had treated this film different than that film, I would have been more happier.Performances: Partho Gupte stole the whole movie. The innocence that his character portrayed was perfect. No wonder he got a special mention in the National Awards that year. Amole Gupte was also good as the Hindi teacher (He is just named 'Khadoos'). He can safely be called the villain of the film. Divya Dutta was also good as Rosy. Rahul Singh was perfect as the Christian principal of the school. All the kids in supporting cast were also just right.Music: The songs for this film are mostly situation related. 'Dabba' by Sukhwinder Singh was my track of the film. The rest were just OK.Favorite Scene: The scene where Stanley brings up a science project to the teacher and she immediately rejects it stating it's not related to the course and a bit expensive. This scene highlighted to me the problem of our education system right away. We don't want children to think out of the box.Verdict: This film affected me a lot in a whole other dimension. Watch this film for Partho Gupte. He is one hell of a child artist.I am going to go with an 8.5/10

Amole Gupte tells a splendid and tasty little heartwarming story that is poignant and entertaining. It reminded me of Nila Madhab Panda equally terrific 'I Am Kalam'. While Panda's film had a more fairy tale feel to it, Gupte's film is more of a slice of life. He has penned down a solid script. He has vastly improved since 'Taare Zameen Par' (which tended to be preachy at times). He shows a very keen understanding of children's psyche. Moreover, Gupte has done a stupendous job as director.Much of the film is set inside a school and it focuses on the teacher's and student's interaction and yet it is done with so much authenticity and sincerity. The innocence and playful nature of the children is beautifully demonstrated and the weariness of everyday school, that we have once experienced, is well captured.The execution is simple and superb. The art direction and cinematography are very good. The songs are soothing, with nice lyrics and music. The performances are brilliant, especially the child actors. Amole Gupte is excellent as the voracious Hindi teacher and Divya Dutta can easily make a strong impression with her presence alone and here she brings positive energy. But the film centers on Partho Gupte who is outstanding with a natural performance which is easily one of the finest of the year.I was initially under the impression that this was a children's film but that's not the case. Both children AND adults ought to watch this because it's an important film that pretty much makes the same point that Panda's 'I Am Kalam' does: All children deserve to live their childhood like a child and they must be educated.

I cried a few times. Some times when I remembered feeling like Stanley. Many a times when I remembered knowing somebody like Stanley. In many ways, adults are less wise, more insecure and less resilient than kids - 9 year olds in this case. We seek pity, we are quick to judge and somewhere along the way we came to know reality through our lens of cynicism and apathy. Kids seem to get on with it, take people on face value and see reality as this manifestation of their own imagination.In India, child labour is a reality and quite frankly in many parts of the world, some developed, some developing, to varying degrees, unchildlike acts of bonded labour, abuse and trafficking happen. But what is really worthy of a 10 is not that this film gets you thinking from your mind, but that it gets you feeling from your heart for this uncomplicated, slice-of-life story with child protagonists but I dare say extremely appropriate for adult audiences. Amole Gupte has made a brilliant film, with a fantastic script, amazing photography from Amol Gole, an excellent ensemble cast including all of the kids. He translates his passion for cinema so exactingly on to the screen as a director. For his performance as Khadoos, he should be top contender for Best Villain Award at next year's "Some atrocious sponsor Flimsy Affair Awards". This film reminded of a poem in the Hindustan Times some 20 years ago about 'Groan-Ups'. 10/10.

'Stanley Ka Dabba' is a GEM of a film. Writer-Producer-Director-Actor-Cinematographer, Amole Gupte, makes a film, that is soft, simple & seamless. It doesn't have superstars, it doesn't have chart-buster songs, it doesn't have stunning locales to boast....but what it has...is a Big Heart! 'Stanley Ka Dabba' is a nearly flawless film about a child, who comes to school without a Dabba. And as he can't get a Dabba, a greedy school teacher, who hogs from every Dabba in the school, kicks him out of the school. It's then Stanley's journey to get to back to school, with a Dabba! 'Stanley Ka Dabba' is one of the most moving, well-written & well-executed films in the past 5 years. It has a story to tell, it has it's heart at the very right place. Amole Gupte is truly a supremely talented personality. 'TZP', was a fabulous film, but 'Stanley Ka Dabba' is a nearly flawless cinema. Apart from it's slow-pace in the beginning, I found everything, in terms of writing, direction, acting, cinematography as well as the editing, to be super.The Soundtrack is decent. Performance-Wise: Gupte, steals the show with a fascinating performance. He plays the greedy teacher, with perfect understanding and rare ease. Partho, who plays Stanley, is very sincere. Divvya Dutta is good. Raj Zutshi & all the other actors who portray the roles of the teachers, are first-rate.On the whole, 'Stanley Ka Dabba' is amongst the best films in the past 5 years, as it has story to tell, which is simple, seamless & very interesting too. Don't Miss This One!