From Parichay to Super 30 – Bollywood Movies that Beautifully Portrayed Student-Teacher Bond

A Student-Teacher relationship is often Bitter-sweet. While someday she’s a ‘Mother’ to us, the other day we consider her as our biggest ‘Enemy.’ Whatever the case may be, we cannot deny that a Teacher plays a crucial role in our lives. We make so make memories with these guiding angels that they become the most important and beautiful chapters of our story.

Bollywood has often followed the path of escapism with its masala dramas and romantic storylines. But, once in a while, there comes a film that not only entertains you but takes you back to your school or college days.

Teachers can be strict, they can love, they can fun and they can touch people’s lives in ways others cannot. Over the years, Bollywood movies have captured all such different emotions in all their glory, and given us some of the finest portrayals of the teacher-student relationship that make us revisit the good times.

While some take us back to the happy memory lane, some highlight shortcomings of the profession.

On the occasion of Teacher’s Day, let us take a look at popular films portrayed the spectrum of the teacher-student bond - the emotional, the turbulent and also the romantic. 

Parichay (1972)

Parichay sensitively manages a teacher’s relationships with his students as well as their parents. A beautiful portrayal of emotions and melodious songs, it is one of the classics of the yesteryears.  The story revolves around Ravi, played by Jeetendra who tutors five notorious grandchildren of a prominent man. These kids try to make Ravi’s life miserable but eventually find out that their pranks weren’t affecting him. Supporting the children consistently, Ravi befriends them and untangles the complicated relationship they share with grandfather.  Ravi’s efforts bring the family back together, and they have a happy-ever-after.  Isn’t this the parent-teacher meeting we all want?

Sir (1993)

If you’re a Naseeruddin Shah fan, you will surely remember the seasoned actor for his spectacular role in ‘Sir’. As the name suggests, Shah played till a fun-loving teacher in and showed how teachers can be friends to their students too. He took decisions beyond his call of duty and extended a helping hand to his on-screen students, Pooja Bhatt, and Atul Agnihotri, in their difficult times.

Rockford (1999)

Rockford is a story of a teenager who finds himself lost among thousands in a boarding school until he befriends his teacher. Helmed by Nagesh Kukunoor, it sensitizes the audience about the difficulties that boarding school children face. The film leaves a message on how a healthy teacher-student bond can encourage students to believe in themselves and lead a better life.

Mohabbatein (2000)

Mohabbattein not only had a grand cast including Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, and Aishwarya Rai, it also gave out a strong message of a student-teacher relationship. Big B justified his character as a strict principal of an all-boys institution. On the contrary, King of Romance, Shah Rukh Khan essayed a young music teacher who believed in change and openly accepted new ideologies. Mohobattein showed how an understanding teacher’s ways can prove to be better than those of a disciplinarian.

Munna Bhai MBBS (2003)

Munna Bhai MBBS starring Sanjay Dutt highlighted the wrong behavior of medical professor with his students and patients.  It not only gave an insight into the flaws in the medical institutions but also taught what a good and responsible teacher could give his students.

Main Hoon Na (2004)

Haven’t we all wished for a young hot teacher to add the spice to a boring subject? Well, after watching Main Hoon Naa, many of us prayed for a teacher like Chandani Chopra. Chandani, played by Sushmita Sen, is a chemistry teacher always draped in gorgeous chiffon sarees and sexy blouses. This hot-sexy teacher didn’t just give chemistry lessons, but also gave us some serious fashion tips. Apart from bookish knowledge, Chandani here helped us learn the ‘Chemistry’ between a teacher and student. And, we must appreciate, her real-life lessons have stayed with us till date. Not to forget, Boman Irani and Bindu add the extra ‘fun’ teacher element in the movie.

Black (2005)

Black redefined of how we looked at a student-teacher relationship. It is a sensitive story of a teacher who ardently stands by a visually challenged and deaf and mute girl, to help her overcome her inefficiencies. This Sanjay Leela Bhansali directorial depicts how the confidence and faith of a ‘guru’ in his student can make mountains move. With awe-inspiring performances by Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukerji, “Black” delves into a medley of emotions that a ‘guru-shishya’ can share.

Iqbal (2005)

Iqbal is yet another movie of a special child who made it big with his teacher’s help. Helmed by Nagesh Kukunoor, it is a story of a deaf and mute boy, Iqbal, a farmer’s son, who fought through all the difficulties to be a part of the Indian National Cricket Team. It shows how the support of his coach and mentor Mohit, a former cricketer-turned alcoholic, made his dream and achieve big. His teacher’s  (coach),  helped him throughout his journey.

Taare Zameen Par (2007)

Many of us often regarded a person’s reading and writing difficulty as a disability. But, after Taare Zameen Par hit the screens, it changed our entire outlook. It showed ‘How Special a Special Child is!’ Aamir Khan’s directorial debut, where he played a teacher, brought out the creative and unique side of a special child’s abilities. Aamir made learning easy and fun for Dyslexic students and helped them tap their hidden talents.  This movie showcased ways to deal with special children and encourage them to prove who they are.

Chak De! India (2007)

Tagged as one of the Landmarks of Hindi cinema, Chak De! India revolves around Kabir Khan, former Indian National Men’s Hockey team, who quit the sport on allegations of cheating the nation. But, Kabir was a passionate and patriotic sports person. When appointed as the coach of India’s Women Hockey team, he skillfully brought women from different parts of the country as a team and guided them to win the Hockey World Cup. A very silent, strange yet trustworthy bond between Coach and the Team can be felt. 

3 Idiots (2009)

Yet another strict, ambitious, weird but supremely entertaining college dean, VIRUS, for whom books and grades were a top priority, won all hearts by the changes he adapted.  The changes came after a smart student, played by Aamir Khan, proved that life goes beyond textbooks, and learning can take place beyond the four walls of the classrooms. 3 Idiots turned out to be blockbuster and are till date tagged as the most remarkable movies ever made.

Paathshala (2009)

 Even though Paathshala couldn’t gather much appreciation from critics and audiences, it managed to leave a great impact on the working of the education system. It highlighted the important subject of ‘Commercialisation of Education’. Shahid Kapoor, a music teacher, showed the way of how students and teachers can be encouraged to stand up against the inefficiencies of school management. It pleasingly put forth the idea that students and teachers are parts of the same coin that cannot survive without each other’s support.

Aarakshan (2011)

Based on a crucial and serious issue of Reservation, Aarakshan beautifully brings out the essence of student-teacher relationships. Amitabh Bachchan essays the role of a strict principal, Prabhakar Anand. While we’ve seen many Bollywood Principal’s, here we came across a leader who went out of his way to help and save his student’s life. Amitabh turns into a social activist to fight injustice in the education system and bring a positive change. This socio-political drama sent out a strong message and paved the way for an unbiased society.

Stanley Ka Dabba (2011)

Stanley Ka Dabba, directed by Amole Gupte, the beauty of Stanley Ka Dabba lies in its sheer simplicity and authenticity. The film creates a slice of life from the pages of every school where kids just want to have fun and teachers want to be the proverbial killjoys. Of course, there are exceptions, like Miss Rosie (Divya Dutta) who generously sprinkles her conversations with terms of endearments and encourages every glimpse of creativity in the kids. However, the biggest bugbear is Sir Babubhai Verma (Amole Gupte) who is more interested in gobbling the kids' food rather than teaching.

Student of the Year (2012)

While teachers teaching students a lesson is common, what happens when the exact opposite takes place? Yes, this is what ‘Student of the Year’ perfectly captures. Karan Johar’s rom-com starring Alia, Varun, and Siddharth revolves around an annual competition at a school that ruins friendships and relationships. Until a brave student confronts the dean, Rishi Kapoor, about the vicious concept which helps the dean to realize that he was wrong all these years.

Hichki (2018)

The Bollywood version of Brad Cohen's autobiography, 'Front of the Class',  Hichki is a story of a woman, played Rani Mukerji, suffering from Tourette syndrome who desires to be Teacher.  It narrates how she landed up in an elite school and turned her weakness into her biggest strength. Rani's character faces strong resistance by her students but her determination to help students prove their mettle, makes her their best friend. Hichki weaves a beautifully emotional bond of faith and trust between students and a teacher.

Super 30 (2019)

Super 30, a film that hit the theaters early this year, proved to be super on the box office. The film is based on the real-life of a Super Hero, Anand Kumar, played by Hrithik Roshan. It was not only fantastic in its casting, but also the story and acting.  It chronicled around the struggle of Anand, an Indian mathematician who quit his job as a teacher in a top coaching center to teach underprivileged children. Hrithik’s character strived through all the hardships to school his students, making them capable of a seat at the coveted IITs.

Paying an ode to teachers, Bollywood has celebrated the student-teacher relationship quite beautifully. While some films portrayed the bond between teachers and students, others showed sacrifices of teacher for their students. Though it isn’t practically possible to go back to school or college days, these movies will help you cherish those amazing memories back again.

Remember, “You’re what you are because you had a wonderful Teacher and Friend.” Don’t forget to wish your support-system this year.

Happy Teachers’ Day to All the wonderful Teachers from Apeksha News Network!