MY REVIEW OF "NIL BATTEY SANNATA"

On 21-Aug-2016, my wife and I watched the Hindi movie Nil Battey Sannata. This blog post is my review of the movie.

The movie has a simple story: a maid (or "bai", in Mumbai lexicon) wants her daughter to take studies and school seriously. The bai Deepa Sahai dotes on her daughter Apeksha, fondly called Apu. Deepa works at a doctor's house where her employers are supportive of her. The doctor's wife is called "didi", by Deepa, the term of respect used commonly by maids to address their employers.

Deepa bares her heart to didi about her worry regarding Apu's maths knowledge and her general lack of interest in studies. It is now that the women realise that both of them are also Nil Battey Sannata (loosely: good for nothings, according to a search on the Web) in maths, just like Apu !

Didi now suggests a radical idea: Deepa herself could enroll into tenth standard ! In this way, she would achieve two objectives: complete her disrupted education and also provoke her daughter into studying harder !

Deepa does this. So, one sees a rivalry spring up between mother and daughter. Deepa learns concepts of maths from a studious boy and exceeds Apu's maths marks in one of the tests. As a result, Apu becomes envious of both Deepa's new-found knowledge and her popularity among the students.

Deepa is forced to change jobs to accommodate school hours and to accumulate funds for her daughter's future education. Apu misunderstands her late hours, which leads to a full blown fight with Deepa. Later, the studious boy reveals the sacrifices made by Deepa. It is after learning of Deepa's sacrifice that Apu's attitude changes, finally. She turns over a new leaf.

I was reminded of the Hrishikesh Mukherjee type of movies that showed simple stories set in a middle-class milieu as I watched Nil Battey Sannata.

Are there any drawbacks in the movie? I feel that the music is ordinary. Also, the movie is almost preachy, which works against it. I noticed another oddity: Apu jokes about Ranbir Kapoor and Salman Khan in the beginning of the movie. That would mean that the movie is set around the year 2012 or so. In the end, she is shown as an adult ! Did she grow up to be a woman in less than five years?! The time travelling is bewildering to me.

What I cherish from the movie are several things: first, the helpful people shown in the movie. A collector asks his driver to apologise to Deepa and treats her with the utmost courtesy. Apu (and Deepa's) teacher is a strict man, but he is also fair when it comes to recognition. In today's cut-throat world of competition, the decency demonstrated by the collector and the old-worldly style of teaching are endearing. One wishes that there were more of such teachers and collectors !

Second, the intimacy between Deepa and her didi is brought out well. The employer and maid relationship is present, of course. The good part is that it is accompanied by a kinship that is heart warming to see. Didi senses when Deepa is upset. When didi has to go away, Deepa openly conveys to her that she will miss her. This equation between the two women is depicted well.

Deepa's speech to Apu with the Taj Mahal in the background is a key passage in the movie. It comes suddenly and serves to link with the climax. It is quite an inspirational speech on the power of dreams.

Personally, I liked the scene at the end of the first day of school for Apu. She and her friends joyously run. The boy does cartwheels to express his delight! I could completely identify with the feeling of joy and relief.

The acting by Swara Bhaskar as Deepa and Ria Shukla as Apu is good. To me, the highlights of the movie are the direction by Ashwiny Ashwini Iyer Tiwari and the story, along with the simplicity of the characters populating it. The combination makes for delightful viewing, in my opinion. I recommend watching it.