I Am Kalam

Nila Madhab Panda's 'I Am Kalam' tells the inspiring tale of an impoverished boy, Kalam, forced by circumstances, to work at a local tea shop owned by Bhatti. Kalam looks at life with a pinch of salt and optimism. He's a fast learner and befriends the customers. His dream is to wear a school uniform and tie and go to school. This dream seems to come close to becoming true when he befriends a young prince but trouble soon follows Kalam.

'I Am Kalam' has both a fairy tale feel and a feel of realness. It is the director's splendid fusion of the two that makes this little film a magical experience. The direction, the score and Sanjay Chauhan's writing are quite simple yet sincere and the story is very easy to relate to. It also has a very lyrical feel to it. The score is mostly a combination of simple sound created with simple instruments (with the exception of the traditional Rajasthani song that takes place in the palace) but it's mesmerizing and among the best I've heard in recent times. The cinematography effectively captures the beauty of Rajathan and the art direction is pleasantly colourful and authentic.

The performances are outstanding. Gulshan Grover delivers one of his finest to date. The rest of the supporting performances by Pitobash, Beatrice Ordeix and especially Hussan Saad are excellent. However, where acting is concerned, the most outstanding performance comes from Harsh Mayar. Extracting a good performance from a child couldn't have been easy but Panda has done it and Mayar delivers one of the most natural performances on screen.

'I Am Kalam' is light and optimistic. It carries the simple message that every single child must be educated and deserves the right to live like a child. The film never preaches this but merely demonstrates it through the story. There is not a single melodramatic moment for it is evident that 'I Am Kalam' comes straight from the heart. Simple, Sincere, Uplifting, Inspiring and Spellbinding are at least five words to describe this precious little gem.

Smile Foundation's I AM KALAM is an award winning movie, which has received many honors and appreciated reviews both in abroad as well as in India. No doubt the subject of the film remains one of the favourites of the award giving authorities which happens to be child labour, child education and class divide in India, exploiting the colorful key features of Rajasthan and its people.

But overall I found the film, too simple and sweet with an evenly paced narration and nothing exceptional. It starts off with a poor mother leaving his 10 years old son at a road side dhaba to work in order to help her financially. The dhaba is owned by a kind hearted person and has also another young man working as a helper who is a big fan of Amitabh Bachchan. As the story moves forward the kid becomes friends with another boy of his age only who is a local prince belonging to a royal family of Rajasthan. Now this boy working at the Dhaba, likes to be called Kalam, as his wants to be a big person like the former president Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. With the help of his friend, he starts studying taking his school books at the dhaba. Later, due to few misunderstanding, Kalam leaves for Delhi to meet the president and the rest come after, searching for him.

Now if we talk about the merits of the film, the biggest one remains the award winning child artist, Harsh Mayar's performance who is confident, impressive and sweet all together in the role of Kalam. In fact he is the only one who carries the whole film on his small shoulders like a mature actor and stands tall in front of veteran Gulshan Grover. And both Gulshan and Pitobash Tripathy shine brightly in their underwritten roles too. The other merit of the film is its pace and editing which doesn't give you any dull moment and the film reaches its end quite effortlessly.

Director Nila Madhab Panda shows his sparks in his debut venture, especially in the way he gets the job done from the kids involved in the film. Plus he also takes great care that there must not be any slow moment in his movie right till the end and it should not have any un- necessary melodrama becoming preachy for the audience. The film has a fine background score, striking dialogues and has an eye-catching cinematography showcasing Bikaner, camels and its hotel turned castles elegantly. And I strongly feel that its camera capturing Rajasthan in all its sparkling colours must have influenced the western viewers as usual.

However I really didn't like the way the DOP captured the world famous Karni Mata's Temple of Bikaner, which has thousands of rats moving in the premises of temple freely. If possible do visit the place if you really want to see the unbelievable with your own eyes.

Coming to the points which force me to declare its nothing exceptional, the first has to be the overall feel of the movie. As I see it, I AM KALAM keeps floating on the verge of a deep sea and never enters its deepness. The message of the film does not hit you hard about child education or abolishing the class system in the society.

Secondly, I was very disappointed with the under-written character of Gulshan Grover playing Bhaati, the dhaba owner. He is very much interested in teaching the kid how to make Tea, but he is not interested in sending him to the nearby school ever.

Thirdly, what was the purpose of the one sided love angle track between the foreigner girl and Gulshan Grover? Undoubtedly this seems to be added only to involve the western audiences with the movie and nothing else since the plot has nothing to do with the main theme of the script. Fourthly, there is very less emphasis given to the reason why the boy wants to become KALAM.

Lastly is the most interesting fact which struck me in the last half an hour of the film when Kalam runs away to Delhi in order to meet the honorable President. The plot reminded me of a 1957 Black & White Classic produced by Raj Kapoor and directed by Amar Kumar called AB DILLI DOOR NAHIN.

It was based around a small kid who after being told about the Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru, becomes confident that only Chacha Nehru can solve the problems of his father and family. So, he decides to go to Delhi to meet the Prime Minister himself with a letter for him explaining all his problems. Here in I AM KALAM too, the boy sets off to Delhi to meet Dr. Kalam with a letter in his hand for the President. I don't know whether the makers had this classic in mind or not but it does have these acute similarities in its sub plot with the original film. Plus this particular part of the movie also remains its weakest one where everything keeps happening so easily around the key locations of Delhi.

In the acting department, other than the spirited act by Kalam, Gulshan Grover supports the film with his full heart and Pitobash delivers an enjoyable performance. The second child actor, Husaan Saad playing the royal prince acts well and Beatrice Ordeix takes care of the glamour factor in the movie quite easily.

Overall, it remains a simple and sweet movie made around a relevant subject which in turn forced me to go for AB DILLI DOOR NAHIN once again. But I wasn't convinced looking at the list of awards it has won in various festivals and am still wondering why it is being given such a high rating by all.

I just attended the screening of the movie and I must confess that I was overwhelmed with emotions.

Debutant director, Nila Madhab Panda has woven a beautiful story with some heart touching moments which will bring a tear to your eyes. There are superb performances by veteran Indian actor Gulshan Grover, both the child protagonist (the child playing Kalam even won a National award for the role) along with Pitobash,and French theatre actress Beatric Ordeix as Lucy.

The story is about friendship, love, truthfulness self belief and dreams.

Shot in the beautiful and colorful Rajasthan, the movie realistically portrays the relationship between various communities and touches upon topics like child labor, caste, class and the value of education and friendship.

When the director introduced the movie before the screening, he said that the movie was made with very little budget but with a lot of passion, I must say that the passion was evident in each shot. the topic is so sensitive that it could have gone easily into the clichés, thankfully the director remained true to his believes and the final product is one of the masterpieces which have taken the Indian Cinema into a very different and exciting platform.

I would suggest that this movie should not be missed by anyone, especially by children.

Go and watch the movie, you won't regret it.

Tonight, I attended a screening of I AM KALAM, starring Gulshan Grover, along with a superb cast. It is a charming story that speaks to the truth that one's life is guided much more by one's actions than by a predetermined destiny...The main setting, at a roadside snack stand near Delhi is, at once, mundane and exotic, as the workers and foreign visitors interact on a daily basis. And, glimpses inside the private quarters of a royal family are nothing less than eye candy for viewers.

The meat of the story derives from the delightful performances of Mr. Grover and the charming young actor who plays Kalam with fearless truthfulness. Even Laxmi, the camel, draws us in with her gentle ways.

As of this writing, the film lacks a US distribution company...some smart executive should pick it up and get it to American audiences!

India is considered as third world country and the reason is justified with over 70% population below the economic level. Whenever we move out in the open we tend to forcefully ignore the scenario. As passerby we observe little kid working in tea stalls to meet their day's meal. Rarely one bother to feel for him, his wish and needs. Even being ignored they tend to build their own world of dreams and live optimistically. This year two brilliant cinema dealt with those kids for whom the world hardly cares – "Stanley Ka dabba" and then this week release "I am Kalam". Both the films are very different in their execution but both sensitively dealt with the issue of Child labor, a poignant problem of his otherwise "prosperous" nation. It also reflects that the young generation is more responsible and sensible than the orthodox old ones and they have the power to build the nation through their liberal views.

The film directed by Nila Madhab Panda straightaway comes to the point without beating around the bushes. It introduces Chotu (one of the best child performances in recent times by national award winner Harsh Mayar) who comes with his single mother to the town to earn for living. While on the way the bright eyes of Chotu stares earnestly at the school bus and the uniformed kids.It seemed the whole audience in the theater desperately wanted to see his dream fulfilled. His mother left him in arms of his distant Bhatti Mamosa meaning uncle (a superlative performance by Gulshan Grover) who owns a tea-stall and serves tea to the nearby Haveli (King's palace) and the surrounding hotels where the foreign tourists are lodged. Chotu remains true to his claims picks it up instantly whatever he see, be it making world class tea or understanding the small nuances which are liked by the foreign tourists. Sooner he becomes the blue eyed boy for Mamosa and the foreign tourists.So much so that the filmy bug Laptan (worth mentioning performance by Pitobash) who is the other assistant in Bhatti's shop started becoming jealous of him. Amidst all this Chotu become friends with Kumar Sahab, the prince of the haveli. Chotu also aspires to become like President Kalam and thus starts the heartwarming journey of education and friendship. Even he calls himself Kalam and copied Dr Kalam's hairstyle.

Already the film has received national and international awards and acclaims before hitting the silver screen. Indeed the film rightly deserves the accolades it is receiving. Debutant director Nila Madhab Panda knows his craft and with co-writer Sanjay Chauhan they created magic on screen. The character of Chotu aka Kalam is written with utmost sensibilities. The way his intelligence is gradually depicted is noteworthy. It is not only a tale about education but also about friendship and changing mindset. The director first created an invisible mirror to showcase some stark contradiction in the society by the way he depicted the scenes of Chotu and Kumar Sahab. Chotu trying to read under the street lights while Kumar Sahab is at his luxurious best. The contradiction is depicted and it ends there only. The rest is a heart warming tale of two young bright boys who are mutually exchanging education in their own ways. While Chotu is teaching Kumar Sahab Hindi the same is happening other way round and thus build a strong bond of trust. The writers carefully tried to capture the changing mindset of young generation and the stagnating mindset of the older one as the king plays chess leisurely and talks about "time" flowing by. While on one hand the king believes in kismet (destiny) the Kumar (prince) rightly retaliates by pointing that "karma" (deed) is bigger and thereby showing the liberal new generation. The way Kumar goes against his father's orders by becoming friends with a low caste guy it shows the strength of his character. And similarly for Chotu who didn't befriend Kumar as he saves him in the pre-climax. Without telling the climax the directors successfully portrayed the need for changing mindset which will change the future generation. Harsh Mayar as Chotu or Kalam is a spontaneous performer and was given a deserving national award for his realistic performance. He is one of the best child actors in the business. His performance was so earnest that every audience in the theater stood for a standing ovation as the end credit roles. Gulshan Grover sheds his bad man image and molded himself with ease as he plays the kind hearted Bhatti. French actress Beatrice Ordeix did a splendid job as Lucy, the benevolent tourist who feels for Chotu. Pitobash (after his marvelous performance in Shor in the City) excels in the role of Laptan.The jealousy within him was reflected in each expression of his. Hussan Saad is also talented and quiet confidently plays the role of Kumar Ranvijay. The supporting castes with less known faces gave commendable performances. Technically speaking the landscape of Rajasthan is captured with picturesque perfection by Mohan Krishna whose debut in Ishqiya was also worth mentioning. Prashant Naik craftsmanship as editor needs mention for his flawless juxtaposition of frames. Music composer Abhishek Ray did his job well whose music had the local flavor in it. There is a sequence where different person starts playing different instruments with a mellifluous amalgamation of music of both east and west. On the whole I Am Kalam is a fine piece of art which has its heart and soul in the right place. SMILE foundation needs to be applauded for producing this film and taking the issue to an elevated level. With changing mindset of people one hopes more will contribute to child education thus witnessing a far more developed India in coming years. Hope movies like I am Kalam will change the mindset of those audiences who are watching it and they would eagerly take the cause forward. Cheers to whole team of I Am Kalam.