‘Srikanth’ That’s why it is a very important film because it strongly attacks the conservative thinking of the society. In which a culture of looking at the disabled with helplessness has developed. In a dialogue in the film, Srikanth says that the blind population in our country is only two percent, Which even the remaining ninety-eight percent of people cannot see. The dialogue of the film is quite good.
cine-friendship
‘Koshish’, ‘Dosti’, ‘Sadma’, ‘Black’, ‘Qabil’, ‘Iqbal’, ‘Margherita with a Straw’, ‘Barfi’, ‘Taare Zameen Par’ and many such films and recently There is a similarity in Rajkummar Rao’s film ‘Srikanth’ released in 1997. In all these, there are stories woven keeping some physical or mental struggle and disability at the center. It is noteworthy that earlier the deformity which was mostly ignored in Hindi cinema, now the number of such films is continuously increasing. In films, characters with ‘disability’ are not only being kept at the center, but are also being viewed from the point of view of extreme empathy. This is a very positive trend. Obviously, this has a direct impact on that section of the society for whom cinema, along with entertainment, is the most effective medium for forming opinions and discussing various topics in their lives, even if informally. In any society of the world, if a dialogue on any topic can be started because of cinema, then it is considered a very positive step towards the significance of cinema.
Although ‘Srikanth’ is a biopic, it has a balanced ratio of entertainment as well as motivation. The story of the film is about the struggle-filled journey of the inspiring life of Bolant Industries founder Shrikant Bolla. An important specialty of this film is that its filmmaker Tushar Hiranandani has clearly avoided showing disability as helplessness in the film. Not only this, Shrikant Bolla is such an inspiring personality, who with his divine vision has created employment for many ‘blind’ people. Before ‘Srikanth’, director Tushar Hiranandani had made a very interesting film ‘Saand Ki Aankh’ keeping in mind the theme of women empowerment.
The story of ‘Srikanth’ is about a blind boy Srikanth, born in a very poor family in Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh, who becomes a big industrialist on the basis of his imagination and hard work. The thing that ‘Srikanth’ underlines most clearly as a film is our ‘power of flight of imagination’.
The journey from studying science in school to getting a scholarship at MIT in America and later becoming successful by gathering investment for business and starting his own startup has been shown in a very realistic manner. An interesting philosophy of Srikanth’s life is that being blind, he cannot run anywhere easily but can definitely fight his difficulties. Srikanth is a fighter who fights with all his might in every journey of his life.
Rajkumar Rao has left no stone unturned in playing the lead role of this film. He has understood the character of Srikanth very minutely and has brought it alive on screen with great simplicity. Apart from Rajkummar Rao, the film also stars actress Jyotika who plays the role of Devika, Srikanth’s teacher. His character is very important in the film. In the story of the film, Srikanth’s teacher Devika not only guides him in every struggle, but also always stands by him like a strong support. Earlier, Jyotika was seen in the role of Ajay Devgan’s wife in his film ‘Shaitan’.
Alaya F has also done a balanced job as Srikanth’s love interest. Also, Sharad Kelkar has played a great role in the role of Srikant’s friend and business partner. Sharad Kelkar is very much liked in the popular web series ‘Family Man’. Jameel Khan is very convincing in the role of former President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.
Director Tushar Hiranandani has done a good job in directing this film. Generally, there is a danger on a biopic that it may be a content made only for the promotion of a particular person. In the past too, films based on the lives of many people have been accused of white washing. ‘Srikanth’ is free from all these side effects. In this film, no care has been taken in depicting those negative shades of Srikanth which keep coming and going in the journey of this character.
Talking about the music of the film ‘Srikanth’, two songs ‘Hansna Shiksha De’ and ‘Hum Tere Pyar Mein Muskurane Lage’ leave no stone unturned in providing freshness, entertainment and a feeling of enthusiasm during the struggle, but the theme of this film is Music has served as a pebble in a bowl of delicious dal. Actually, in the name of theme music in ‘Srikanth’, the famous track ‘Papa Kehte Hain Bada Naam Karega’ from ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’ has been recreated, for which there was no need. It would have been better if a fresh musical piece had been composed for this.
Despite this, ‘Srikanth’ is also a very important film because it strongly attacks the conservative thinking of the society, in which a culture of looking at the disabled has developed. In a dialogue in the film, Srikanth says that the blind population in our country is only two percent, and the remaining ninety-eight percent people are also unable to see. The dialogue of the film is quite good. In another interesting scene, Srikanth says, “Don’t pity us blind people, we will sell you.”
A statement of former President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam is also prominently shown in the film, ‘Don’t rely on luck, rather work hard and write your own destiny.’ ‘Hard work is everything and luck is your bonus’.
Overall, as touching and inspiring as Srikant Bolla’s life is, it has been brought on screen with equal honesty and skill in his biopic ‘Srikanth’. An imaginative and hardworking blind entrepreneur of our country, known as the ‘Blind Capital’ of the world, improved the lives of millions of people with his divine vision and his meaningful journey was made a platform for many thought-provoking discussions by the film ‘Srikanth’. Appropriate place has been given.
The film is also on Netflix. Please take a look. (Pankaj Dubey is a renowned bilingual novelist and host of the popular YouTube chat show, “Small Towns Big Stories”.)