Expectations

Aamir Khan directed film 'Taare Zameen Par', was one such film which connected the two different worlds of children and their parents. The movie explored the world and problems from a child's perspective and was presented in such a manner that every parent managed to feel and connect with it. The success of 'Taare Zameen Par' also motivated many film makers to make films based on such human tales and we did witness some great films under this genre. The latest to join the niche list of such films is 'Nil Battey Sannata' starring talented actress Swara Bhaskar, who is known for her character roles in films like 'Raanjhaana' and 'Prem Ratan Dhan Payo'. The first promo followed by a cute song has managed to raise the expectation level and there is a good amount of curiosity related to this film, especially among the family audience.

Story

'Nil Battey Sannata' is a story of a Chanda (Swara Bhaskar), a single mother working as a house maid at a retired doctor's (Ratna Pathak Shah) house. Along with this work, Chanda keeps doing various odd jobs in order to live up to her dreams. Chanda's only dream is to make her daughter Apeksha / Appu (Riya Shukla) complete her education. Appu on the other end is least bothered about her school and academic results. Chanda is highly worried over Appu's declining grades in Math and other subjects. She tried hard to get an additional tution for Appu, but fails miserably. In order to teach Appu a lesson and also to understand her problems related to Math, Chanda joins her school as a fellow student. This angers Appu and she too joins in to compete with Chanda.

The 'Glitz' Factor

The story is simple yet, brilliant. The first half of the film is outstandingly brilliant. The whole concept of this movie is narrated in totally entertaining manner. 'Nil Battey Sannata' is a film of moments but despite of several great moments this movie also works on some fantastic featuring Swara, Ratna, Pankaj and Riya. The movie never goes overboard nor does it tend to divert from its theme. The dialogues acts like an additional screenplay in the film. Director Ashwini Iyer Tiwari comes up with a simple tale and narrates it with total honesty. Right from the first scene of the film, she makes you connect with her characters and makes you feel their emotions. You will connect totally with the emotional angle of the film. Swara Bhaskar is simply fabulous. She enhances her performance with help of her facial expressions and body language. Riya Shukla is a sweet rascal who essays her part with total grace. Ratna Pathak Shah in a small role is totally impactful. Pankaj Tripati is outstanding in his supporting role. Sanjay Suri lends good support.

The ‘Non-Glitz’ Factor

On the flip side, the narrative part is bit slow at times. Also, the sums and problems related to the Math of tenth standard seemed little bit unconvincing. The finale part should have been bit trimmed down.The music is sweet, but except for 'Dabba Gul' there is nothing memorable. Also, the last twenty minutes of the film seemed repetitive, dragging and preachy. The escapist film lovers will fail to connect with the film and might find it too arty or boring at times.

Final 'Glitz'

'Nil Battey Sannata' is an outstandingly honest film which caters to all those who love good cinema with lots of emotional angle attached to it, especially a must watch for the teenagers and their parents. Though, the masala movie loving audience might shy away from this film.