Hichki | Review and Box Office Thread - Page 2

Hichki movie review: Tale of an underdog made well

Hichki' film review: Rani Mukerji offers earnest lessons in helping the underdog to shine

The actor plays a teacher with Tourette Syndrome as director Siddharth P. Malhotra keeps the narrative moving along smoothly.

Naina Mathur (Rani Mukerji) is a trained and qualified teacher. However her various applications for teaching positions over five years have been unsuccessful. The primary reason is her speech impediment. Naina has lived with Tourette Syndrome since childhood, and made peace with it in adulthood. But the world around her, including her father (Sachin Pilgaonkar), is uncomfortable with the involuntary sounds and movements that emanate from Naina's mouth. "Tourette is in my speech, not in my intellect, she says.

Very early on, Naina (Rani Mukerji) educates a panel of school administrators, and the audience, about the nature of Tourette's. When she bags a job commandeering a classroom of misfits, inducted into the school system under the Right to Education mandate, she educates the 14 delinquents (and us) on what it's like living with a tic. The school principal (Shiv Subramaniam) has appointed an underdog to school division number 9F which is populated with underdogs who come from the wrong side of the tracks.

Naina's path is not an easy one. Not only must she convince the school board, and her fellow teachers, of her abilities but also win over 14 cocky, disinterested, rebellious and disrespectful students who could be on permanent detention. "There are no bad students, only bad teachers, she declares defiantly to her nemesis and colleague Mr Wadia (played villainously by Neeraj Kabi), a conservative and snooty educator.

Director Siddharth P. Malhotra keeps the narrative moving, without unnecessary side plots, focussing on the student-student, student-teacher and staff room politics. Naina's daily life is shown through her interactions with her family which includes a supportive mother (Supriya Pilgaonkar) and brother. Avinash Arun's lensing is delightful and the design and direction of the classroom scenes is wholly believable. (During an exam scene I actually felt the nerves associated with finals!)

Based on Brad Cohen's memoir Front of the Class: How Tourette Syndrome Made Me the Teacher I Never Had (which was adapted into a film in 2008), Hichki is no Dead Poet's Society, but there are scenes that will remind you of Robin Williams's Mr. Keating and a class that saluted him with "O Captain! My Captain!

Mukerji delivers an earnest performance incorporating the tics and involuntary gestures seamlessly into her portrayal. The school children and her colleagues offer indispensable support.

At times Hichki feels too righteous. Loaded with messages from equality, right to education, tolerance to a gratuitous walk through a Mumbai slum with the camera gingerly peeking into the difficult lives of class 9F. Fortunately the story is strongly underlined by the instances of the resourcefulness of the students and the idea that education should not be a one-size-fits-all concept.

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• 3 minute read

The miracle is that despite the uneven writing, Hichki manages to move you. There were a few scenes in which I found myself getting teary. I think that's largely because of the sheer force that is Rani Mukerji who is back on screen after four years. I don't know enough about Tourette syndrome to know if her rendition of it is accurate but within the context of this film, her performance is solid and sincere. She is in almost every frame and she stays the course. I also enjoyed the performances of Harsh Mayar and Vikrant Soni who play the most truant children in the class Atish and Killam.

Hichki is a genuinely earnest film made with heart. But it doesn't take enough risks and consequently doesn't touch a raw nerve in the way that Taare Zameen Par did. But it's always nice to see a talented actress with all guns blazing.

Movie Review: Hichki

Review by Bollywood Hungama News Network

HICHKI is inspired by the Hollywood flick FRONT OF THE CLASS based on the book by Brad Cohen, Front of the Class: How Tourette Syndrome Made Me the Teacher I Never Had, co-authored by Lisa Wysocky. The premise is old and films like HINDI MEDIUM and TAARE ZAMEEN PAR come to mind when one thinks of HICHKI.

The film works when it comes to the basic storytelling and holds the attention in the first half. While the story is predictable, the screenplay is engaging and keeps you hooked on to its first half. Anckur Chaudhry's dialogue, story and screenplay starts off on a great note. It is sharp, clever, zingy and funny but slips eventually towards the second half. Director Siddharth Malhotra has co-written the story and screenplay with Chaudhry, Ambar Hadap and Ganesh Pandit. Though their intention was genuine, they try too hard to somehow to drive the message home towards the end.

Director Siddharth P. Malhotra has done an earnest job by creating heart-warming moments between Naina and her students who slowly but surely come around to appreciate their teacher's efforts. Malhotra takes a simple story but keeps it engaging throughout and that speaks a lot about his talent as a story-teller.

What makes HICHKI a decent watch really is Rani Mukerji's effervescent performance and the way she shoulders the film throughout with a renewed zest. Rani is likeable and inspiring and you sure empathize with her cause. She is relentless, spirited and totally right into her character. She does not lose her bearing even once and holds your attention with her amazing screen presence. There is a little act' in her acting and it makes you wish she did more films! The actors playing her students are true to their characters and do a brilliant job in their bearing of the rebellious turned studious kids. Harsh Mayar playing the role of Aatish stands out. Neeraj Kabi as the disapproving teacher is spectacular. Ivan Rodrigues as the Principal is good. Supriya Pilgaonkar, Kunal Shinde, Shivkumar Subramaniam, Asif Basra, Hussain Dalal, Suprio Bose, Jannat Zubair Rahmani are all fantastic.

Editor Shweta Venkat Mathew does a decent job, though the second half could've been tighter. Avinash Arun handles the cinematography well as he plays with his lens to highlight small quirks about the key character of the film. His camera work makes the film look good overall. Music by Jasleen Royal is average. However background score by Hitesh Sonik is good and goes with the narrative.

Overall, HICHKI is a simple, meaningful and an inspiring film that stays with you. Rani Mukerji is back in full form and her fans will be immensely impressed. At the box office, the film will mainly appeal to the younger audiences.

Rating: ****

When we hear the name, Rani Mukerji, we often make an image of an actress of yesteryears in our mind and think of her as some forgotten artist. But if we look at her career, the longest gap between films was between her last film Mardaani in 2014 and Hichki in 2018. And she maintains the same spirited presence as she did in her previous performances.

Hichki starts off with Naina Mathur (Rani Mukerji) being interviewed for a teaching job and to no surprise gets rejected again and again. The flashbacks pour in and then we get to see the hiccups of her life as well as the hiccups due to her neurological disorder named Tourette syndrome. Though inspired by the 2008 American drama Front of the Class, the film differs by conveying the message of right to education more than being a sob story about a syndrome.

The best thing about the film is that it doesn't let the protagonist play victim of a disorder and instead focuses more on the methodology of teaching students with underprivileged resources. Director Sidharth P Malhotra executes the idea of fair education in a fair way. He subtly explains the difference between Why' & Why Not' and also sheds light on why the lower class' children are often a nuisance in a High Class' school with students allotted in section A to F as per their academic calibre, with A being the toppers and F for the assumed failures.

There are continuity errors but they are overshadowed by the excellent casting by the casting director. Neeraj Kabi is excellent as the teacher who wants the F section to fail and he sets a fearful aura whenever he arrives on screen. The child actors, especially the most notorious Aatish (played by Harsh Mayar), are a delight to watch. All other 13 child actors too performed well and were well suited for their roles. Rani Mukerji is the soul of the film and proves yet again why old is gold. Her Mardaani act was stellar and now this one as Naina is way better.

The music by Jasleen Royal is fair enough but no song is worth being remembered, though Madamji Go Easy has a foot-tapping tune. The cinematography by Avinash Arun is spot on for a film with light tone. The use of lighting is well done and it sets the mood right for the respective scenes.

Hichki is not like Taare Zameen Par that had several emotional and hard hitting scenes. It plays well as a light-hearted film with a number of social messages, treating everyone equally being the most important one. Barring all the little absurdity in the story, such as why Class 9 was the most important class and not Class 10, 11 or 12, the film is still a must watch for everyone.

Hichki movie review: Rani Mukerji bedazzles on-screen with Black-like act

Storyline

Shot in Mumbai, Rani Mukerji plays a school teacher with Tourette Syndrome, a neuropsychiatric disorder. The plot of the film revolves around how Naina Mathur (Rani Mukerji) after giving several interviews and facing numerous rejections, lands a job as a teacher in an elite school. Well, the challenge is the rebellious bunch of 14 slum kids who are in the school because of Right To Education. Will Rani be able to bring a change in them? Will the school accept the kids? Naina Mathur has four months to prove that the kids 'belong' and moreover, she belongs in the 'normal' world too.

With some interesting twists (watch the film for that) and brilliant acting, the film will leave you with a happy feeling.

Performances

Rani Mukerji's power-packed performance made every frame engaging. It just didn't feel as if she was returning on-screen after 4 years. With so much ease, she shows how it feels to live with Tourette Syndrome. Her vocal and motor tics looked real.

Neeraj Kabi, as an antagonist was brilliant and complimented Rani very well. His acting was commendable.

Supriya and Sachin Pilgaonkar play Naina Mathur's parents, and Hussain Dalal plays her brother. Naina Mathur's relationship with her father because of 'this condition' also is a major plus point on the film.

The kids. Each one of them excelled in the film.

Positives

First of all, kudos to the casting director Shanoo Sharma for bringing out some amazing talent in Hichki. Especially the last shot where the kids grow up gave goosebumps! Brilliant casting.

The background score of the film was light and soulful. All the songs were also very well blended.

The climax scene brought back memories Rani Mukerji's 'Black'. Hats off. Top it up with Jasleen Royal's song, the ending left many with a huge smile.

Dialogues were bang on a few will stay in your mind. My favourite was when Mr. Wadia (Neeraj Kabi) asks if Naina would be able to handle the kids with the speech defect She replies: 'It's a speech defect and not an intellectual one.'

Sidharth P Malhotra has done a good job with direction and a neat screenplay. One of the main highlights was that there is no sympathy that people are showing for Rani. So, the story will surprise you in many ways like that.

Negatives

Only one flaw: the melodramatic scenes in the second half were cliche.

Verdict

A well-made film. All the performances are phenomenal. It is emotional, inspirational and happy. You will leave the theatre with a smile and some lesson or two.