Bollywood and Student- Life: A story too Good to be Real, but too Captivating to Ignore
Bollywood and Student-life have shared a very long and fascinating relationship. From the happening college life in ‘Jo Jita Wohi Sikander’ to the daring and mischievous students in ‘Fukrey’; they make us reminisce the happy times of our lives with no restrictions, no responsibilities, mere fun and only a pinch of studies. Don't you feel like going back to your school/college?
There is soon going to be new film that will delve into student’s life. Yes, it is none other than Sushant and Shraddha starrer "Chhichore".
Student-life is one of the best phases in an individual’s life and thus Bollywood has time and again taken this theme to produce some marvelous flicks depicting the life of students- their struggles, relationships, careers and so on. Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Main Hoon Naa, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, Rang Dey Basanti, Yaariyaan, Student of the Year and 3 Idiots; the sheer name of the movie will take you to a life that has been so close to your heart and that you wish to relive time and again.
But do the Bollywood movies show the reality of this so-called student life? Let's take a quick view at some points that every college/school going student would disagree with the portrayal of the Student-life in Bollywood movies.
The Larger than Life Campuses
Most of the movies show massive campuses. The colleges have a personal football court, big multi-cuisine canteen, a library that is almost a size of a 5 bedroom hall kitchen and never-ending corridors. Come on! We live in a country where housing facilities are not fully sufficient and you expect normal college life to be this great. It only makes us want to experience the reel-life college once in a lifetime.
Groupism
Well, I'd agree groupism is a phenomenon in colleges but it is not true that the rich only jell-up with people of their financial status and bully the others. Also, it is not always that a student from a low-income family is a nerd and doesn't know how to enjoy life or is jealous of his rich friends. The real-life college scenario is quite engaging and the beauty lies in togetherness than the policy of divide and rule.
Campus Elections
College elections are given so much undue importance. The dirty politics, mind-games and the rage to win the seat under any circumstances, only portrays the negativity that surrounds. Campus elections are held for the proper functioning of the college and providing help to students, but this is missed out in these masala- flicks.
Student- Teacher Relationship
Movies like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Main Hood Na show a very supportive and loving Student-Teacher bond. It is not that such a passionate bond doesn't exist, but in today's fast-moving life, students hardly attend lectures, merely know their subjects, they real student-teacher bond is mostly the opposite, where you enter a class and the teacher asks you, "Are you a student of this class? I haven't seen you in any lecture before?"
Ultimate Freedom
Dil Dosti, Rang De Basanti, and others have made us all so envious with a group of friends deciding to roam around the city, the strong bond that always holds them together and together clearing the year. Wish that happened in real life too! In real life, bunking a lecture is a difficult task; the permission to visit Goa with your gang is a dream far from reality. The late-night drives, parties on weekends, aren’t that cool as shown to lure our attention.
These are just a few points that we would disagree too. But it goes unsaid that we connect with such movies greatly, the sole reason being they take us back in the good-old-days and for people who are still enjoying that phase, it gives them new ways to enjoy and make the most of it. College/School life is all about friendship, bonds, and struggles. While most of the movies include the former very well, they fail to demonstrate the struggles that go around.
3 idiots and Stanley ka Dabba have beautifully portrayed the hardships of a student and we hope that Chhichhore will live up to our expectations!
