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SUNDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2015 (PAGE-4) MOVIE-REVIEW PERSONALITY Comedy as a poor joke A teacher on a mission Saibal Chatterjee As completely meaningless as its silly title, Singh is Bliing is an Gopal Sharma NOBODY COMES HERE BUT THIS MADAM OFTEN COMES AND HAS attempted comedy that is funny for all the wrong reasons. It has no sto- Notwithstanding the innumerous hurdles and eco- ry, no screenplay and no logic. nomic constraints, a very humble and optimistic Gov- ENGAGED TWO FEMALE TEACHERS FOR OUR CHILDREN’S STUDY. SHE EVEN Co-produced by Akshay Kumar himself, the film is designed to give ernment teacher is moving ahead with her missionary the Bollywood star a standard range of things to do on the screen. On zeal to reform the children taking to rag- picking and TEACHES ON SUNDAYS. WE ARE PAYING NOTHING AND EVEN THE BOOKS, his part, with all his mannerisms intact, he plunges headlong into the begging and imparting them free education in a labour assignment. colony near Jammu Railway Station. NOTEBOOKS, PENS/ PENCILS, BAGS ETC ARE MANAGED BY THIS TEACHER. Unfortunately, Singh is Bliing is so utterly brainless that no matter While doing justice with her job and teaching chil- how enthusiastically Akshay strives to make it work with his brand of dren at a Govt Higher Secondary School in district Sam- buffoonery, he only hits his head against a shoddy wall of a script. ba (Sumb), this teacher (Lecturer) is also sparing time Singh is Bliing is Prabhudheva's first 'original' Hindi film, but it recy- for these children of ‘lesser God’ and trying hard to illu- cles all the cliched, lowbrow tropes he is known for. But the gags that minate their minds with the knowledge. With her dedi- he comes up with are vacuous and the dialogue borders on the utterly cation and support of two young teachers whom she is inane. paying honorariums out of her salary, she has trans- formed many children of the labour class who were turn- Punjab, Goa, ing drug addicts and indulging in smoking and chewing Romania - the Tobacco / Chutki. Many others who had taken to beg- film travels across ging at Railway Station or other city places, have joined three locations. this school- ‘Sangharash Vidhya Kendra’ with the efforts Cinematographer of this missionary teacher and her team. Dudley frames the This very humble and a little unknown social activist beauty of the of the Jammu city, Kanchan Sharma, needs no certifi- landscapes and cate or recognition from anybody. Ms Kanchan says that the skylines to she had been doing this struggle (Sanghrash) since Sep- great effect. tember 2009 and shall continue to do so till her last If only the film breath. “ My heart once wept for these children while just had more sub- passing through this area of Maratha Basti near Jammu stance, the contri- Railway Station. I made up mind to do something for bution of the cam- these children and decided to create awareness among erawork would the parents of these children and also motivate the chil- dren to go for studies”, she said. have made a dif- ference to the The initial great challenge was to motivate their par- final product. ents and asking them not to send their children for beg- ging or rag picking but allowing them to join school. Reformed from rag-picking and begging children getting education at “Sanghrash Vidya Kendra’, Jammu. The male pro- They were also told that they have to pay nothing for it. - Excelsior/Rakesh tagonist of Singh They will be getting free education and books, note books school and then I got the school registered and started forms and shoes. There is no regular support to this is Bliing is a Pun- etc will also be provided. The second challenge was to teaching here in September 2009 in a small Jhugi (Hut),” school from Government agency or any NGO so far but jab villager motivate these children, reform them and educate them Ms Kanchan maintained. this teacher is managing somehow to run this school Raftaar Singh not to indulge in the dirty habits of smoking, chewing despite many challenges. She revealed that as her salary (Akshay) who, in A dwelling head, Shivji told the Excelsior that Chutki/ Tobacco, taking liquor etc. After joining school madam has come here as an angel for their children. He has not been released for the last six months after her the company of their habits were developed to take bath regularly and said most of the children of this Basti of nearly 250 fam- transfer to GHSS, Sumb from Jammu then she had to his robust friends, keep their body and clothes clean. This was done contin- ilies, are either connected with rag picking or begging. take financial support from her retired husband. uously with the help of a head of the Mazdoor Basti and bumbles his way Many of them have turned addict and spoiling their lives. Unfortunately, no Government agency has ever from one mischief some women who even helped to raise school in a small He said it is perhaps tradition in this basti that male hut of tin and plastic sheets with wooden walls. There is encouraged or supported this teacher running this to another, earning the ire of the family patriarch (Yograj Singh). members mostly either go rag picking or spend whole school, but several NGOs and Red Cross members were Constantly shielded by his doting mother (Rati Agnihotri), Raftaar no compound for morning assembly and somehow, it is time in gambling while women work to feed children. done inside the ‘Jhuggi’. influenced by the holy mission of this lady teacher and makes a hash of a job as a zookeeper. A lion escapes from its cage and The parents have also forced their children to rag pick- accorded her honour on certain occasions. She has a Raftaar is compelled to replace the feline with a dog. This Primary School located near Maratha Basti has ing and beggary. They are not worried about the future dream to raise good school for these children having His exasperated and angry papaji sends him to Goa to work for a now been registered with the Chief Education Office of their children. good environment and facilities but perhaps it is beyond Jammu and has seventy children. While Kanchan Shar- casino owner. There he earns the confidence of his employer and is giv- Shivji further said that with the support of a few good her personal capacity. She explained that for this some ma normally bears the expenditure to run this school but men of the Basti, a hut was raised with own resources funds are needed and mostly NGOs and people do some- en charge of Sara Rana, an English-speaking girl (Amy Jackson), who she sometimes takes help from her husband R C Kha- and support of this madam to raise a school. Some times thing from where they can earn publicity or if they have has arrived from Romania to look for her mother. juria, who retired as additional secretary in the J&K Gov- when all children are not accommodated in this hut, some vested interests. No politician or legislator ren- Trouble is that Raftaar Singh doesn't know a word of English and he ernment few years back. She says some times J&K Red dered help when she approached them on certain occa- has to fall back on an interpreter (Lara Dutta) to communicate with the Cross Society renders some help and once a local NGO some children are shifted in a nearby Jhuggi. “We are beautiful guest who, as it transpires, needs no bodyguard. and Jain Attachi House owner donated school bags for highly thankful to this pure human being who is caring sions in past. Now, she has left hope and doing it at her Sara is a bare-knuckles freestyle fighter who can reduce the tough- the children and uniforms. During rainy season water for our children, reformed many of them from bad habits own. If some helping hand is rendered by some body, she welcomes it but it is received hardly once or twice est pf men to quivering wrecks in a jiffy. peeps into the school room. There is only one hut where and comes here to educate them. Nobody comes here but these children study under one roof. Some of them were this madam often comes and has engaged two female during the whole year. In the film's only out-of-the-ordinary sequence, a drug dealer and teachers for our children’s study. She even teaches on his men pulverize Raftaar in a bar. Sara steps in to rescue the hero. By found to be quite interested in studies having sharp mind Showing attendance register and performance of the but the domestic circumstances of many others did not Sundays. We are paying nothing and even the books, children, the school teacher indicated that children have the end of the brawl, the lady is the only person standing. notebooks, pens/ pencils, bags etc are managed by this Singh is Bliing is only for Akshay Kumar fans, but both Amy Jack- allow them to join school. talent but they need care and support from the parents teacher. We are highly indebted to her,” the Basti head and society. Their life can be reformed if the society starts son and Lara Dutta to have their moments. Jackson is a pretty face but Referring to her initial struggle, Ms Kanchan said, man maintained. “For about about three years, from 2005 onwards, she caring for them.

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