The Dabba Half Full

Point one: this is a LONG overdue post.
Point two: this is the first time I’m posting over my BB so pardon any formatting errors!

I went for Stanley Ka Dabba some time ago. Quiet frankly, I wasn’t too keen on the movie since I still had to catch Kungfu Panda 2 and Hangover 2, both of which I hear are unmissables.
But the family was keen on this one, so we caught the 9.00pm show.
I was pleasantly surprised. Not a bad make, I think. But definitely a one time see movie.
Several people I know claimed that it was a cut-paste version of Taare Zameen Par (TZP). Well, in some parts, I agree. In others, I’d say the film got its own unique flavor to the table.

Animated Start: I liked the little animated clip that went with the title. It was a good summation of power games. It was cute.
Actors: I loved the kids! They were so natural! Generally, child artists can get into over acting but these guys were too good! Partho, who played Stanley was so earnest! The character’s beautiful nature came out wonderfully in his scenes. The Dabba Gang too was amazing. They weren’t camera conscious which goes to show that a lot of work was put into training these young artists. The staff too was amazingly realistic! In fact, Mrs. Iyer reminded me of one of my teachers! Also, It was a TZP déjà vu. Just like I felt back then, I am sure almost every student knows some ‘Rosy Miss’ and some ‘Khadoos’.
Script, Story, Screenplay and Dialogs: I liked the topic picked. It brought to mind, the sort of life we live here in Mumbai; despite the fact that we meet and interact with people every day, we might not know the other side of their lives. It sure is a disturbing thought.
I am guessing that the character sketches must have been very well written. Detailed and whisked into perfection. The story however would have done with a little more work. The first half of the film needed some more layering, a little more content. It was entertaining to see Stanley’s character and the way he behaved. But I had a niggling feeling that there was too much left unsaid. After the first 15 minutes, I was like, “Ok, Stanley is this cute, intelligent kid with something mysterious about him, he probably doesn’t have a mother and the kids in class like him. He doesn’t get a dabba. Now what?” but the story told me these things for the entire first half with the inclusion of Khadoos and Rosy Miss. I would have really liked it if we’d seen Stanley’s background a little earlier in the story with a touch and go situation with his friends almost finding out about his life beyond school. The dialog work was nice without being too dramatic. The mixing of English and Hindi like they do in typical missionary schools was well managed.
Music: The music was wonderful! It blended well with the movie. It had a nice flow and charm. Not exactly memorable, but the soundtrack was appropriate and did not stick out like a sore thumb. It wasn’t abrupt.
Camerawork: There is something called Piece to Camera where a character talks directly into the camera, in effect, speaking to the audience. Generally, it is a direct address. What they used in the film was somewhat similar, where the character is supposed to be speaking to another character but addresses the camera, in effect, putting the audience in the position of the other character. Not used often but we saw a lot of it in this movie. It was an interesting addition. I liked the effect but I wish they had used it more character specifically. The rest of it was clean and good. Point of view shots too were neat.
The Missing Pieces:
Like I said, I felt a lot was left unsaid. Being a teacher’s daughter myself, I am closely acquainted with the sort of characters shown. I had a few issues with some things that I think should have happened.
Rosy Miss: It didn’t get established for a long time that Rosy Miss was the class teacher. They could have shown her taking the roll call at least once. Also, she seemed to be the sort of teacher who cared about her class like her own children. Wouldn’t such a teacher try to find out more about the families of her pupils? Wouldn’t she have found out about Stanley’s background before? Especially after the dabba and khadoos incident, wouldn’t it have come to her that there was something amiss about a kid who would rather stay at home than bring a dabba? Also, after the concert, if Stanley said his mom was nearby, wouldn’t she have wanted to meet her?
Stanley’s equation with the Principal: The man obviously knew about Stanley’s life. I’d have liked to see more of their interactions. I’ve been a part of a Christian Missionary Institute and trust me, a Priest who brings in a kid like Stanley into his school would sought him out regularly to check how he is doing.
What’s with Khadoos: There were constant parallels on how Mr. Verma a.k.a Khadoos didn’t bring a dabba; just like Stanley. I wanted to know more about him. Why was he the way he was? Maybe he was a bachelor with no means of making food. Whatever. I wanted to know more about him.
Raj sir: With Raj Zutshi’s entry, I was looking forward to seeing more of him too. What was with him offering his dabba to Khadoos? What impact did his character have? I’d have loved to see more of him (also because he is one of the better actors in the industry, he should have been utilized a little more.)

I felt that a lot of strings were left unattached. Over all feel of the make was nice. The story of Stanley reached out to me. The school atmosphere has been captured very well. Nuances of child behavior, typical teachers etc shows a keen observation of people having gone into the making. I give the movie 3 stars, most of which is thanks to the kids.

All in all, I left the theatre thinking of all those things that could have made that potentially good thought into a real good movie….