Teachers are the backbone of a society and cinema has always made an effort to pay moving tributes to teachers with stories that focus on the nuances of a relationship between mentors and students. Here’s our pick for some interesting stories that you can binge-watch this Teacher’s Day on September 5.
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Sir Sir Sarla
Written and directed by Makarand Deshpande, Sir Sir Sarla debuted on stage in 2001 and since then has been performed with great success across India. As a Zee Theatre teleplay as well, it has wowed audiences across generations. The teleplay takes a look at a relationship between an idealistic student Sarla and Professor Palekar. When Sarla develops feelings for him, he convinces her to marry an affluent man but years later, she returns to confront him.
The play stars Deshpande himself, Aahana Kumra, Sanjay Dadhich, and Anjum Sharma. Filmed by Suman Mukhopadhyay, the teleplay can be watched on September 6 on Airtel Spotlight, Dish TV Rangmanch Active and D2H Rangmanch Active.
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Super 30
Do marginalised youth have equal access to quality education? This is the question that the film Super 30 asks. Based on the life of Anand Kumar, a brilliant mathematician whose dreams of higher studies were crushed by his circumstances, the film narrates how he then went on to run a free coaching program for underprivileged students in Patna. The story depicts his struggles to train 30 students for the Indian Institute of Technology's (IIT) entrance exam against great odds, death threats, and even an attempt on his life.
Directed by Vikas Bahl, the film stars Hrithik Roshan, Mrunal Thakur, Pankaj Tripathi, Aditya Srivastava, Veerendra Saxena and Vijay Varma. Watch it on Disney+ Hotstar.
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Chak De!
This rousing film is not just about how little attention is paid to women's sports but also about the importance of inspired coaching. It shows how an erstwhile hockey player with a painful past decides to coach a struggling and deeply divided women's national hockey team. His first task is to unite the team members into one unit and then to mentor them to reach their full potential in the face of sexism, prejudice and discrimination. The team then goes on to win the Women's Hockey World Cup.
Directed by Shimit Amin, Chak De! India stars Shah Rukh Khan, Vidya Malvade, Shilpa Shukla, Sagarika Ghatge, Chitrashi Rawat, Anjan Srivastav and Vibha Chibber. Watch it on Prime Video.
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To Sir, With Love
E. R. Braithwaite's 1959 autobiographical novel, To Sir, With Love gained global fame when it was adapted into a film with none other than Sidney Poitier playing the lead role. In the film, Sidney plays Mark Thackeray, a black engineer who has suffered acute racial discrimination in the job market and is then forced to work at a resource-starved school of academic rejects.
Directed by James Clavell, the film also stars Judy Geeson, Christian Roberts, Suzy Kendall and Lulu. You can watch it on Apple TV or rent it on Amazon Prime Video.
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Aarakshan
The contentious issue of reservation is tackled with great power and sensitivity in this Prakash Jha film. Amitabh Bachchan plays the idealistic principal Dr. Prabhakar Anand who heads the prestigious STM College. His dream is to make quality education accessible to all students regardless of their caste and economic background but when a power struggle breaks out between the faculty and also students, he is forced to choose a side and to vacate his post.
Aarakshan stars Saif Ali Khan, Manoj Bajpayee, Deepika Padukone and Prateik Babbar. Watch it on Amazon Prime Video.