'Stanley Ka Dabba' will leave you licking your fingers

Film: Stanley Ka Dabba (U)
Director: Amole Gupte
Cast: Partho, Divya Dutta, Amole Gupte and others
Rating: ****

Amole Gupte shot Stanley Ka Dabba on Saturdays, during five hour-long workshops he conducted with children at a school in Chakala, Mumbai. The budget was minimal, but the determination to tell a good story was supreme. The result is a film you need to not just watch but cherish.

'Life Bahot Simple Hai' (life’s simple), a song in Stanley Ka Dabba tells you. In the scene that precedes it, an affectionate teacher makes her two students — one a lefty, another who writes with his right hand — exchange seats instead of squabbling over how one’s hand hits the other’s while writing simultaneously.

In an earlier sequence, another teacher, Mr Varma aka Khadoos, tells the lefty Stanley to switch to writing with his other hand. “Right hand se likhoge toh zindagi right hogi,” he says philosophically, befuddling the child in the process.

Life bahot simple hai. At the same time, it’s not without problems that need dealing with; battles that need to be fought; hurdles that need to be overcome. For little Stanley, there’s a hurdle too. It’s Khadoos.

Khadoos, you see, is a compulsive foodie, to the extent that it makes him run around school in search of kids gorging on some delicious homemade khana. Or slyly eat the sides of jalebis another teacher brings to school, so the jalebi count doesn’t go down and she never finds out someone’s been stealing her food.

Stanley, who never gets a dabba to school, faces Khadoos’s ire. “Khud ka dabba toh laatey nahi, doosron ka khaate rehte ho,” he tells Stanley, hurting the self-respecting lad.

Stanley is an outstanding creation. Gupte gives us an unlikely hero: a boy who is around 9-10, simple on the outside but tremendously strong within. Partho, who plays Stanley, is a wonder. Whether spinning yarns about how he beat up a boy twice his size, or nonchalantly gifting an outstanding science project he worked on to his favourite teacher, or eyeing his more fortunate friends enjoy their dabbas, Partho is sparkling.

Life bahot simple hai. Life may not be all that simple for Stanley, but it doesn’t deter him. He goes out there, and he fights it out. And he wins. But Khadoos is merely a battle. There is an entire life to live; more battles to win. And you know Stanley will, even though the odds seem to be stacked against him. It’s the hope the film leaves you with.

Like his protagonist, Gupte’s film might seem ordinary on the surface. But underneath is an extraordinary story. There is a message too, if you care for it. But Gupte doesn’t hammer it in.

The beauty of Stanley Ka Dabba lies in its subtlety. Taare Zameen Par, which was Gupte’s brainchild too, explored a similar space — it spoke of determination, and the need to understand the vast potential each child carries within.

But unlike in TZP, Amole Gupte lets his directorial debut revel in its plainness, making an impact with a heartwarming story, lovable characters and honesty in storytelling that’s hard to find.

It’s hard to imagine Stanley Ka Dabba without its songs. 'Dabba' is my favourite, and you have to watch its picturisation to know why.

The actors are all fantastic. Divya Dutta is extremely lovable as the teacher who dotes on her students, and Divya Jagdale reminds you of the Science teacher you have all had to deal with in school.

But it’s the kids who steal the show. Stanley’s two friends, the generous Aman who shares lunch with all his friends, and the boy who is Stanley’s benchmate, are especially fantastic.

Gupte’s acting talent is unmistakable, and after Kaminey and Phas Gaye Re Obama, he impresses again. But it’s as a filmmaker that he truly shines. Along with editor and co-producer Deepa Bhatia, who ensures that the story flows seamlessly, and cinematographer Amol Gole, Gupte serves something that’s delicious, and at the same time extremely satiating too.

Watch Stanley Ka Dabba as soon as you can. It’ll probably be the best film you’ll be watching for a long time to come.