Jun 01, 2011 02:57 PM
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It’s almost 6 years and 4 months since I attended school. During leisure hours, I often try remembering my school days. But I couldn’t recollect more than just few sporadic funny or tragic incidents. However, Stanley Ka Dabba made me revisit my childhood. It brought alive those memories of school which I thought was long forgotten! Along with helping me visit down memory lane, Stanley Ka Dabba also tells a beautiful story in the most simplistic way, instantly winning hearts. Definitely one of the gems of 2011!
The story of the movie: Stanley (Partho) comes very early to school, long before the opening hours. He often has injury marks on his face. He’s unusually smart. And he never brings a tiffin box to his class. He’s admired by his classmates who have no qualms sharing their tiffin box with Stanley. However, their teacher Verma Sir (Amole Gupte) turns out to be a headache for Stanley. Verma Sir was notorious among his students and fellow teachers for not bringing anything to eat and eating from other’s boxes. While people willingly shared their dabba with Stanley, that wasn’t the case with Verma Sir.
Why did Stanley never bring dabba to school?
Why does he come so early?
Who inflicts those injury marks on Stanley’s face?
Watch Stanley Ka Dabba to find out!
The animation during the opening titles nicely set the mood for the film as it shows a school teacher trying to grab a red tiffin box from a child but the child outwitting him everytime. It provides lots of laughs but the animation ends in a dramatic manner, which in a way gives you an idea of the plot at the very onset. The film provides ample reasons for you to smile, thanks to the wonderful performances and direction. It kind of celebrates the daily life of students in school like change of periods, recess time, eternal friendship amongst classmates and much more. And being a film about a child and his problems and happiness, every section of audience can identify with it because everyone was a child once. Romantic/suspense films that way, at times, have restricted audience as children might not relate with the goings-on. However, in case of Stanley Ka Dabba, children will love it as they see their reflection in Stanley while grownups too shall enjoy as it transports them back to their childhood, as it did in my case!
Intermission arrives in just 40 minutes. There’s hardly any movement in the plot in the 1st half and it just establishes the characters. However, the hour-long second half turns out to be quite an enjoyable fare with significant developments in the story. The sequence where kids harass Verma Sir in order to avoid him taking away their lunch was very funny, smart as well as sweet. Verma’s confrontation sequence was impactful and you actually feel bad for him even though he was the film’s ‘villain’. However, the entire sequence of Stanley performing at the inter-school competition could have been more interesting. Moreover, viewers couldn’t hear what the performers were speaking or singing as it was camouflaged by the song Nanhi Si Jaan. However, soon the film gets back on track when Stanley gets his dabba to school and also, the final twist in climax. The twist simply shocks you and all you wanna do is salute the lad for being so optimistic and happy-go-lucky inspite of facing odds and traumas everyday!
The star of the film is undoubtedly Partho, who so effortlessly played Stanley. The plus point was that he had a ‘mamooli’ face and quality and hence looked every inch a lower class student of a city school. Lovable performance indeed! The rest of the kids too pitch in a natural performance, be it Aman Mehra (who always bought the biggest dabba) or Stanley’s best buddy Abhishek.
As for the adult actors, Divya Dutta (as Rosy Miss) leaves a mark greater than Amole Gupte. We all had one cute and sweet teacher in our school that never got angry on her kids and treated them like her own. Divya plays such a character and was extremely likeable. Stanley Ka Dabba would surely be remembered over the years as one of her best performances! On the other hand, there were teachers who never smiled or acknowledged their students and always carried a frown. Divya Jagdale played such a role (Mrs Iyer) and excelled very well! Amole Gupte is, we all know, a great performer and needless to say, he did total justice to his character. He would also be seen in Bheja Fry 2! Raj Zutshi was too good and so was Rahul Singh, although he looked a bit odd in priest’s attire. Aditya Lakhia was natural as the peon. Shashank Shende (Stanley’s uncle) and Jitendra Rai (Akram) play their respective parts well.
Stanley Ka Dabba could have been a songless film. But music (Hitesh Sonik), relegated to the background, compliment the situation well. Amol Gole’s cinematography was exceptional, considering that a 5D camera was used. Special mention must be made of Gitanjali Rao for the wonderful animation in the beginning of the film. Appreciation should also go to the entire staff of Holy Family School (where the film was shot) and parents, Fox Star Studios and others who whole-heartedly supported the film and backed it!
Finally, Amole Gupte’s direction was just brilliant! What also impressed me was the manner in which the film was shot. The children were filmed only on weekends and holidays and that too for 4-5 hours only with adequate breaks in between. This is a terrific feat, considering that India is a country where kids are made to work for long hours in TV serials and reality shows. Also, children were told that a workshop is being done and they didn’t even have a slightest idea that they are actually working in a film! This also applies to Partho, who is Amole Gupte’s son! There’s more…child-actors were not given long dialogues to memorize…they were explained the situation and told to mouth their own dialogues. Hence, their conversation sounds very true and realistic! Although the film gets little slow at times, it is still engrossing and tugs to your heart! Hats off to Gupte…you rock!
Some of the best scenes:
Stanley explaining to Rosy Miss why he got hurt
Rosy Miss finding a solution to Stanley’s left handed ‘problem’
Verma Sir steals jalebi from fellow teacher’s purse!
Rosy Miss admiring Stanley’s model while Mrs Iyer hating it
Verma Sir harassed by Stanley and his buddies
Guilt-ridden Verma Sir asks where is Stanley
The last 10 minutes
On the whole, Stanley Ka Dabba is indeed a little film with a big heart! The tale of a little boy, beautifully shot in the most humane conditions possible for children, instantly impresses you for its realistic and simplistic depiction. If not possible in theatres, at least watch it later on TV/DVD! You can’t afford to miss this gem of a film!
