INTERVIEW: Milind Ukey

PAATHSHAALA: NO LONGER CHILD'S PLAY

At a time when the news media are flooded with stories about academic pressure on students comes a film that tries to focus on this issue and ring a note of caution. Milind Ukey's Paathshaala grew out of choreographer Ahmed Khan's own experiences as a parent and is based on a script he has written. "Today academics has taken a backseat and the purpose of education seems to be defeated because of the commercialisation of schools. There's pressure on parents and on students. Our film takes a stand on this Issue highlighting all the problems children today face and that society needs to take note of," says director Milind Ukey, a former assistant of Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

"The day that the Prime Minister declared education as a fundamental right, 250 students in a Ghaziabad school were thrown out for their inability to pay their fees." Ukey sees himself as a socially conscious filmmaker who wants to use cinema as a medium to put forth his ideas. A Mechanical Engineer from Nagpur who switched tracks in search of creative satisfaction, he joined the FTII, an experience that changed his life. Watching Tarkovsky and Godard and Latin-American filmmakers honed his own cinematic vision. "While the Institute gave me a theoretical and conceptual understanding of cinema, working with Sanjay Bhansali gave me solid practical experience. He knows how to mount a film and is a very methodical director, leaving nothing to chance."

Ukey won acclaim for his debut Marathi film Devaki, but he hasn't yet tasted success in Hindi cinema and perhaps Paathshaala, which is his first work with stars like Shahid Kapoor, Ayesha Takia and Nana Patekar, will pave the way. "Shahid is an intelligent actor who likes to discuss his character and nuances of dialogue in great detail. Nana Patekar isn't difficult to work with, but you've to be thoroughly prepared with him because he won't tolerate anything sub-standard."

The real challenge though was directing an army of school kids and working around their own school schedules. "I've directed kids before and already had some experience in handling them. But this time round there were just too many kids. The ones who have prominent roles like Swini Khare, Dwij Yadav and Ali Haji are all professional actors. But for our climax we required 2000 kids and it was impossible to get them to stand in a queue. On any given day I'd be working with 100 kids."

Paathshaala doesn't offer a readymade solution to the questions it raises, but the director hopes it will initiate a debate in society and perhaps alleviate some of the stress that students must now live with in their daily lives.