Chak de - Teachers. Review on Chalk N Duster

Two dedicated middle class school teachers take on the ruthless School Management and fight for justice to restore their prestige.

Story: Jackie Shroff heads the No.1 school in the region - the DGM High School where children of the elite are registered and recognized for their merit. In contrast Kantiben High School controlled by Aryan Babbar have children from not so well off families. Indu Shastri(Zarina Wahab) is the upright Principal of Kantiben High School but is succeeded by a crafty Kamini Gupta(Divya Dutta) who was once a Supervisor, infamous for her ruthless Hitler style Management. The Gujju Trustees want their school to be No.1 – by hook or by crook thus deploying unethical practices, cost cutting measures and hiking school fees. New rules are implemented to ensure older staff are made to suffer so they eventually leave. The ensuing drama results in the termination of Vidya Sawant(Shabana Azmi) - the Maths teacher, and Jyoti Thakkar(Juhi Chawla) - the Arts & Dance teacher. Then enters a leading TV journalist(Richa Chadda) who fights for their cause and exposes the atrocities of the School Management. This is countered by another TV channel which supports the Management, blaming the teachers as being incompetent and unable to comprehend the new syllabus. Lot of support is generated by ex-students who were inspired by Vidya and Jyoti and were now in prominent positions in their respective careers. Finally, Vidya and Jyoti are challenged by the School Management to a KBC type quiz which involved 10 questions. If they failed to answer even one, their teaching career would end. If they answered all 10, they could end up winning Rs.5 Crore and the Management's apology.

Cast Performance: Shabana Azmi and Juhi Chawla were drowned in their characters as middle class school teachers. Divya Dutta was impressive in a negative role. Girish Karnard as the husband of Shabana Azmi and Sameer Soni as Juhi’s husband were exemplary in their supportive role. Aarya Babbar as the Gujju Trustee was impressive. Jackie Shroff’s brief role was inspiring. Richa Chadda looked glamorous and was effective as the lead journalist of a national TV channel. Upasana Singh as one of the teaching staff was remarkable. Rishi Kapoor shined hosting the KBC type quiz.

Pros: The script was decent. The screen was dominated by Shabana Azmi, Juhi Chawla and Divya Dutta who gave a splendid performance. The screenplay was effective in getting the audience involved emotionally and empathized with the characters. The film is successful in highlighting the plight of those in the teaching profession, their exploitation, meagre pay, insecurity of job, Management politics and the like. The quiz added much required thrill, excitement and generated interest.

Cons: The camerawork was modest but lacked touch of class. Cinematography was ordinary. It appeared as if one was watching a movie shot in the 80’s. The start was haphazard and songs forgettable. It was only after 30 minutes into the film that it started making some sense. The Hitler style school Management seemed too much and on the extreme. Overall, the direction of Jayant Gilatar was just passable coz it was the performance of the veterans that stole the show.

Conclusion: The movie is not polished and highlights the plight of teachers, student – teacher relationships, which may not be of interest to all. However, the content & drama is inspiring and has plus points as it drives an effective social message in an era where education profession, once considered as honorable is today into money making business. The answers to the 10 quiz questions are definitely worth your money and will add to your knowledge. ‘Chalk N Duster’ is a tribute to those dedicated to the teaching profession and hence definitely worth a watch especially for those in this noble profession.