Paathshaala

Rating : 2/10
Release Date : 16th April, 2010
Time : 135 minutes
Director : Milind Ukey; Writer : Ahmed Khan; Music : Hanif Sheikh
Starring : Shahid Kapoor, Ayesha Takia, Nana Patekar, Saurabh Shukla, Sushant Singh

Sitting on a slab of ice for 30 minutes or a hot metal pipe for 15 or a bed of nails for 5 minutes. All are roughly equally painful as watching Paathshaala. Maybe that was their intent, their way of teaching us Einstein’s Theory of Relativity.


The film is ostensibly about the commercialisation of the education system. So we have a venerable principal (Nana Patekar) who is grumpy, instils fear in teachers and students alike. We have very wooden characters in the form of teachers / students. And we have a new, sickly sweet teacher (Shahid) who charms one and all. And then for reasons unknown to them, Nana gives in to crass commercialism, starts overcharging parents, making the students undergo humiliation after humiliation, all in the name of making more money. What is happening ? How will the situation resolve itself ?


The lack of intelligence demonstrated by the makers in terms of putting together a coherent script / story makes it impossible for any good to come out of this effort. What they show is so far removed from reality, that you keep sinking lower and lower in your seat. Even the acting is bad, Shahid sporting basically Look A and Look B, as depicted in the photographs in this review. Since none of the actions of any of the characters makes sense, even seasoned actors like Saurabh Shukla, Sushant Singh look hammy.

I actually saw this film in a youth lounge. Which is what the afternoon screening in the multiplex seemed to have become, as kids with high disposable incomes chose this as the best way to beat the summer. About 20% disappeared midway, I guess preferring the heat to the film. And the rest of us, I guess, just weren’t brave enough !