Before I went to watch the movie, I was wondering how similar or dissimilar are Hrithik Roshan’s looks in Super 30 and Kites, both having him a bearded look. Does one make him look ‘on the streets, but rich’, while the other gives a slummy look? Anyway..
Super 30 is a film that comes in a while to not just entertain but inspire you. The last film that was made on similar lines was Aamir Khan’s 3 Idiots which questioned the education system of India.
This film attacks the gatekeepers of those elite institutions who allow entry only to those with a deep pocket or those with the right connections. This film celebrates those who have a brilliant mind, but not the resources to pursue their dreams of IIT coaching and traces their journey of reaching their destination.
The reason why I am comparing this film to 3 idiots is that both films have overarching themes of not to study just to score marks but to innovate and solve problems. Just the way Rancho uses the principals of electricity to drive away bullying seniors, Anand Kumar’s kids, when faced with the problem of having only one book for a class of 30, use everyday materials and waste to create something that helps the entire class read from that one book.
The first half shows the journey of Anand Kumar as a young school kid who gets selected for Cambridge but isn’t able to go due to lack of funds. Soon after, his father dies trying to accumulate money for him for Cambridge. But the dual shock of him not going to Cambridge and his father’s death forces him to abandon all hopes of studying any further and start supporting his family by selling papads. He also asks his love interest, played by Mrunal Thakur, to leave him and accept one of the rishtas coming for her.
Things take a turn when he is approached by an IIT coaching institute owner to start teaching in his institute. In return, he is rewarded with all the conveniences of a middle-class family’s life and his life betters almost overnight. He is seen riding a motorbike, wearing a gold chain, renovating his house, which in small-town India means you have arrived arrived. In between, his girlfriend also makes a return seeing his success.
However, an incident makes Anand Kumar remember something that his father said and is something that is repeated too often in the film, almost to turn you off of it.
Raja ka beta raja nahi banega, raja wo banega jo hakdaar hoga.
He remembers that by teaching in this institute, which probably resembles IIT coaching institutes like FIITJEE, Bansal Classes, Aakash Institute or so many like them, which only the well to do can afford, he is basically continuing with the same trend of making the raja ka beta raja and not helping those who really need it.
He invests all his savings, and is also seen selling off his clothes and utensils to run the Super 30 coaching classes. Brilliant IIT aspirants who are otherwise made to do odd jobs apply and 30 most deserving get selected.
Just when the Super 30 class, Patna is about to start, one aspirant who did not get selected because of one mark walks in and requests to be accommodated. He is turned down and he is made an example to make the class realise the value of one mark and how it can separate those who enter IIT and those who don’t. Later the kid is asked to work hard and apply next year. I would have hated to be that kid.
Another incident, where a rich kid, who was once Anand sir’s student in the ‘rich kid IIT coaching institute’, asks him “I want you as my teacher. But is it my fault that I am rich?” This makes you feel for the kid who has done no wrong to not be taught by Anand Kumar. But then he quickly asks him a question to answer him. He asks did you eat today and the kid nods in affirmation. He then points to his batch of Super 30 and says, they haven’t. That is why they are deserving. Because a rich man can easily hire an equally good or a better tutor than Anand Kumar, but a poor person does not have the luxury to do so.
The second half is a bit loose and you fail to connect with the children’s or Anand Kumar’s struggles to meet everyday needs. Some portions are also very filmy and do not have much connection with reality. However, Hrithik’s brilliant acting tries to hold every scene together.
If you have an unfulfilled desire and the going seems tough, watch this film as it might just surprise you as to how many everyday things we take for granted and how much power do we all have to accomplish whatever we set our mind to.