Paathshaala (2010)

Redundant and unnecessary.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

The first must-see film of the year.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

After watching the first ten minutes, I thought the movie to be a remake of "Dead Poet's Society" closer than Mohabbatein but was totally disappointment.The movie wants to deliver a great social message, the idea could be exploited better, the script could be made several times better, but the direction lacks all the essential effort. There's no parallelism in the script. No character buildup. No love stories either. The songs were well-sung and could be filmed as great love songs, but were grossly mistreated. Nana Patekar's acting was very introverted. I couldn't see any effort from other actors, except from Anjan Shrivastav. Only Shahid and Ayesha gave decent performances. Overall, it was a dull show.

As excited I was to watch a movie with Shahid Kapoor, I was also hesitant because of the weak cast involved in the making of this film.The movie started off slow, remained slow, and ended with a pace which would even make a snail feel sorry. Moving on to the story line - well, there was none. Just because it deals with an issue pertaining to the common Indian parent, doesn't make it a relate-able movie.The movie incorporated outright cheap script, story dynamics, and horrible direction.Super flop!I want my time back!

Some reviewers here go on rambling on about matters of movie making technique. It is just like how Indians discuss cricket - every one has a theory about how the players played - but less than 0.004 % have ever picked up a bat in their lives.Great deal of art does not have to do with technique but it has more to do with conveying the feelings of the artist. It is like love making - after the act is over - the only thing that endures is whether it was done with feeling. Paathshaala is a sincere movie and one with a circumspect message. If that message resonates with the viewer, this movie is splendid - splendid enough for me to register and write my first review in IMDb.

Core idea of this movie is good; it deals with the transformation of Indian education system into a profit driven machine than puts money over education of the students. Slowly study pressure on students is being replaced by pressure to gain glamor and fame at young age. Every one wants their son or daughter to be in a reality TV show and win one. It is sad to look at these young kids going through these auditions and being made a mockery of by TV channels in front of the whole country. Parents of these kids have expectations for which many of these kids have no interest or basic training. It's only the attraction of quick fame that brings them to these auditions.That said direction and screen play are mediocre at best. No memorable songs in the movie. Good actors cannot makeup for bad direction and screen play. Overall movie is a wasted effort.