Paathshaala is one such movie, which proves that it requires more than a good intention to make a successful movie which strikes a chord with the audiences and sucks them into the on goings and makes them feel for the characters. It is the movie about the commercialisation of the education system in today's world and the extent to which the management could go to gain attention and to rake in the moolah. The idea is a noble one but what fails here is the writing and direction.
From the movie, which stars the likes of Nana Patekar (as Aditya Sahay, the noble principal), Shahid Kapoor (as Rahul Prakash Udhyavar, English teacher cum music instructor) and Ayesha Takia (as Anjali Mehta, The Nutritionist), one has high expectations. But to the audiences disappointment, all of them are wasted and don’t have much to do. The only character that stands out is Sharmaji (the management puppet) played by Saurabh Shukla, gets all the funny lines.
The main culprit here is the script which has many loose ends, like the love sparks between the students, the fight between the girl's brother and the boy, the attraction of the teen girl to her teacher, to name a few. Even the editing of the movie is bad. The music and background score by Hanif Shaik is fine. The songs "Aye Khuda," "Teri Marzi," and "Bekarar" are easy on ears.
In the end, would say that it would be a crime to even think about comparing this movie with "Taare Zameen Par" and "3 Idiots" which were on similar grounds but were far superior.
Only for the earnest idea, I would give director Milind Ukey's Paathshaala a generous two star rating.
