It’s 1975. Emergency has been declared in India. For the nation, it’s a time for “discipline”, whose true meaning eludes its practitioners. For some, however, it’s a time for love, which needs no explanation.
Mukund (Anshuman Joshi) has fallen for Shirodkar (Ketaki Mategaonkar), the classmate known mostly by her surname. Mukund is not alone – the other 14-year-old boys in his group at the Kanhegaon village’s main school are losing their hearts too. Through the coming-of-age experiences of these pupils, particularly Mukund, director Sujay Dahake delivers a sweet-natured film about minor rebellions in a time of an attack on free expression.
The Marathi-language Shala (2012), which is available on Prime Video, is based on Milind Bokil’s novel of the same name. The 104-minute movie examines in a light-hearted manner the education that Mukund receives in the classroom as well as beyond its confines.
The episodic plot ambles from one incident to the next. Geography teacher Manjrekar (Santosh Juvekar) explains the meaning of the Emergency to the curious students – it’s a manufactured crisis meant to rein in citizens, rather than benefit them, Manjrekar says.
Mukund wonders about the best way to gaze upon Shirodkar without staring at her outright. His English-speaking uncle Naru (Jitendra Joshi) is a cool cat who preaches independent thinking, even though he does not always follow his own advice. English teacher Bendre (Devika Daftardar) is a tyrant in the manner of Indira Gandhi, free with her barbs and her stinging ruler.
An excellent cast, which includes Nandu Madhav, Amruta Khanvilkar, Ashwini Giri and the national treasure Dilip Prabhavalkar, enacts Dahake’s exploration of romance and low-key dissent. The rural setting brings out the story’s small-town flavour, while also hinting at how small Mukund’s world is.
The unruly energies unleashed by the Emergency eventually infect Mukund, teaching the teenager about the possibilities and limits of love and self-expression in 1970s India.
