Taare Zameen Par to Udaan: 10 Bollywood films that show school life like it is

When Bollywood gave us true glimpses into the lives of students and teachers from the educational world

Shamita Harsh
Oct 04, 2017

Bollywood has a knack of showing unrealistic norms of our life. It may borrow a page or two from reality but the rest all is fiction. But Bollywood has also been kind in its representation of certain real-life situations for instance situations from a school. From Taare Zameen Par to Udaan, these films have shown what goes on within the four walls of an educational institution where a child is constantly pushed into the path of struggle and has to carve his/her own way out.

Here are 10 films that show tales from the school that no one has ever talked about:

Jagriti (1954): The film that won Filmfare Best Movie Award in 1956 is about a spoiled rich kid, Ajay who creates a lot of problems and hence is sent away to a boarding school by his grandfather. At the boarding school, he meets Shekhar who tries unorthodox teaching method to gain his students’ trust and educate them.
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Guddi (1971): One of Jaya Bhaduri’s most celebrated films, this film provides a glimpse into the life of a fangirl who loves Dharmendra. She eventually realizes that Bollywood is not all it promises and learns to deal with harsh reality.
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Sir (1993): This Bollywood film directed by Mahesh Bhatt shows how a teacher helps troubled students at school and emerges as the true hero of the film.
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Rockford (1999): Directed by Nagesh Kuknoor, this film revolves around the life of a teenager who finds himself lost among hundreds in a boarding school, until he befriends a teacher. The movie gave a glimpse into the life of a child at a boarding school.
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Taare Zameen Par (2007): This film broke stereotypes and was an inspiration for all. Telling the tale of a dyslexic child, Ishaan, the movie traipses through the hardships of disabilities, stigma and life at a boarding school.
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Udaan (2010): This movie is a stellar representation of an estranged father-son duo. Rohn, who has recently been expelled from the school, is forced to work at his father’s factory even though he wants to write. This movie was an eye-opener for many parents who pressurize their kids into leaving their dreams to pursue mainstream jobs.
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Paathshala (2010): Even though this film didn’t do wonders at the box-office, the simplistic script chose to touch upon the subject of commercialisation of educational institutions that have led to the devaluation of quality of education.
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Stanley Ka Dabba (2011): Stanley is a school kid who doesn’t carry a tiffin box with himself. A teacher notices this and forces kids to share their food with him. The entire film revolves around the struggle of how the boy must get a lunch box if he wants to attend school.
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Chalk n Duster (2016): This film is the need of the hour as it talks about the importance of teachers’ and students’ communication. The film is an emotional journey of two teachers Vidya (Shabana Azmi) and Jyoti (Juhi Chawla), who work with a Mumbai–based high school. Their passion for teaching shows us the flip side of the coin and tells the story from a teacher’s perspective.
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Hindi Medium (2017): Raj and Mita, parents of a young girl Pia are on a quest to educate their daughter from a reputed school. They realise that their affluent background is preventing them from enjoying the benefits that a lower class family may avail. It is in their mission to appear poorer than they really are, the duo unveils the harsh realities of the education system.
Credit: Indian Express