Opinion Dabba Of Good Times

The matter was put to rest by Aamir who in an interview with me confessed that he had indeed directed ‘Taare

Zameen Par’. The film released. It was a huge hit and the world hailed Aamir as a super director. Amole preferred to be dignified in his silence. He didn’t offer his version of the truth. He let it be.

Cut to 2011,Amole Gupte has finally spoken. Not in interviews or sound bytes but with his directorial debut,’Stanley Ka Dabba’. As for the reputation,here’s the deal: Amole Gupte can direct. ‘Stanley Ka Dabba’ is an expression and quite a beautiful one at that.

‘Stanley Ka Dabba’ is a delightful little film,full of heart and love. Other than Amole,the film also marks another magnificent debut—of his precious son,Partho who plays Stanley with such natural joie de vivre that he can put some of our leading men to shame. The other children in the film are also delightful. Take a bow,Numaan Sheikh who plays Aman Mehra,Abhishek Reddy,Saisharan Shetty,Monty Sarkar,Walter D’Souza and gang. You guys rocked it.

‘Stanley Ka Dabba’ is cinema at its purest. It’s a simple little story of a schoolboy,his friends,his teachers especially his Hindi teacher aka Khadoos who is the ogre of Stanley’s life. The film’s simplicity is Amole’s biggest success. It’s a children’s film that is meant for adults as well as children. As the creator,Amole takes a slightly rose tinted view of childhood but what the heck? In today’s cynical world,it takes courage to be idealistic.

Amole shot the movie quite idealistically too. The film was shot in Amole’s alma mater,Mumbai’s Holy Family High School,where Amole and his crew of six people work shopped with school children for one and a half years only on Saturdays and vacation days. The children were not given any script,instead they were given situations from the film and asked to react naturally and be themselves. ‘Stanley Ka Dabba’ was then pieced together as a film after some 75 odd such workshop sessions.

‘Stanley Ka Dabba’ chokes you because it’s so real to life. It talks about a childhood we have all spent,you know,those good old days when submitting a science project was the biggest crisis of our life. Amole sprinkles his debut with delightful little vignettes of school life. Anyone who has shared a bench and jostled with your partner because both of you feel the other is taking more space will identify whole-heartedly. Those who were caught dancing on filmi songs when the teacher was away will get nostalgic.

We all have our dabba stories. Sharing a dabba is a sacred ritual during which lifelong friendships are formed. We have all been there and done that. I still remember the taste of my school friend,Sheeba ke ghar ke aloo paranthe. In ‘Stanley Ka Dabba’ Amole treats food as a character. There is lots of food in the movie,in fact,the film is bound to make you hungry.

So go ahead grab a plate. You’ll relish what Stanley has in his dabba.

As for me,I can’t wait to see what Amole dishes up next.