I Am Kalam
A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject. (September 2015) |
I Am Kalam | |
---|---|
Production company | Smile Foundation |
Distributed by | Ultra Films |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 87 minutes |
Country | India |
Language | Hindi |
Budget | ₹30 million (equivalent to ₹62 million or US$740,000 in 2023) |
Box office | ₹60 million (equivalent to ₹120 million or US$1.5 million in 2023) |
I Am Kalam is a 2011 Indian
Cast
- Harsh Mayar as Chhotu/Kalam
- Hussan Saad as Prince Ranvijay Singh
- Gulshan Grover as Bhati, Dhaba owner
- Dharmveer Jakhar as Social Activist
- Beatrice Ordeix (French actress) as Lucy
- Pitobash Tripathy as Laptan
- Meena Mir as Chhotu's mother
- Suresh Acharya as Lakha's assistant
- Biswajeet Bal as Sukha Singh
- Rajat Bhalla as Police Havaldar
- Garima Bharadwaj as Rani Sa
- Sanjay Chauhan as Raja Rudra Pratap Singh
- S.D. Chouhan as Ranvijay's worker
Plot
This is the story of a boy Chotu, from a poor family who works as a child labourer at a highway-side cafe (aka dhaba). Irrespective of the problems in his life, he is a happy child with a simple dream to become someone like Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.
The plot has the protagonist Chotu being sent to a dhaba to work and earn for the family. Here, he befriends the royal heir, Rannvijay, of a neighbouring resort's owner, who's his age. Ranvijay's character showcase that money, royal blood, luxury is a privilege but do not contribute towards happiness and joy childhood demands.A beautiful character of modern thoughts has been portrayed through Ranavijay who doesn't believe in caste system and protest against restricted education for the underprivileged. Moreover, the friendship between Chotu and Ranvijay glorify the importance of having a true friend in life. Every day, Chotu dreams of wearing a tie and uniform to go to school, just like Rannvijay, as he has an unusual thirst for education and knowledge. He then chances upon the Republic Day Parade and Dr. Kalam's salutation march. Curious, he finds out about the President and instantly decides to become like him. From here, he begins to call himself Kalam.
As the story progresses, he meets a foreigner woman who tries to convince his mother to let him study as he is a bright kid, but since the family's circumstances aren't in favour, he is denied an education. As a consequence, Chotu aka Kalam decides to run away to Delhi to meet the President and give him a letter. In this, he writes about how he wants to become like the President of India and thanks Dr. Kalam for making him realise his dreams. Meanwhile, every one from his family comes running after Chotu to find him in the new city. They finally track him down and a relieved Rannvijay and zealous Chotu hug each other with joy.
In the end, Rannvijay's father offers Chotu's mother work at his resort and agrees to pay for Chotu's education and send him to the same school as Rannvijay's. That is when Chotu says he wants to pay for his education on his own and the movie ends with both Chotu aka Kalam and Rannvijay boarding the school bus in their school uniforms.
Conclusion:
The plot shows that equality in education is still a mere thought and that ideas are still being built around the education for underprivileged. The movie is, without a doubt, an eye-opener for the education sector in India.
Location
The film was shot in Bikaner, Rajasthan of India.
Release
I Am Kalam released in India screens on 5 August 2011. A special screening was held for
Reception
Critical response
Awards and nominations
- Int'l Film Festival of India (IFFI),Goa by Young Jury for Best Feature Film[16]
- National Film Award for Best Child Artist 2011 – Harsh Mayar. He won it along with two other children[17]
- Lucas Film Festival, Germany for Best Feature Film[18]
- Int'l Jury at Ale Kino Int'l Film Festival, Poland for Special Mention[16]
- Don Quixote Prize of the International Ciné-Club Federation (ICCF) at the Lucas Film Festival[18]
- Special Diploma for the Best Actor Work at Minsk International Film Festival "Listapad", 2011[16]
- Aravindan Award for Best Debutante Director[19]
- 57th Filmfare Awards for Best Story to Sanjay Chauhan[20]
- Best Child Actor award at Silent River Film Festival (SRFF), California, 2011[21]
- Special Mention to Harsh Mayar at the 17th International Children's Film Festival of India, 2011
Nominations
- Mumbai Int'l Film Festival (MAMI) for Indian Frame Showcase[16]
References
- ^ "I Am Kalam: Movie Review". The Times of India. 4 August 2011. Archived from the original on 23 May 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
- ^ "I Am Kalam". CNN-IBN. 23 April 2011. Archived from the original on 28 April 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
- ^ "Kalam continues to inspire, now on reel – Oriya director's take on former President's struggle for education wins global award". The Telegraph. 20 September 2010. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
- ^ "I Am Kalam selected for London Film Festival". DNA India. 15 September 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
- ^ Kaplan, Ilyse (13 April 2011). "Bollywood hits Hollywood". Variety. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
- ^ "Abdul Kalam gets nostalgic on watching I Am Kalam", The Times of India, 30 July 2011, archived from the original on 11 September 2011, retrieved 4 August 2011
- ^ "Ultra acquires 80 children films' titles from CSFI". The Economic Times.
- ^ "A better life". Rajeev Masand.
- ^ "Mayank Shekhar's review: I Am Kalam". Hindustan Times. 5 August 2011. Archived from the original on 8 July 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
- ^ "I am Kalam – Movie Review by Shubhra Gupta". The Indian Express.
- ^ "I Am Kalam – Movie Review by Namrata Joshi". Outlook.
- ^ "I Am Kalam – Film review". Time Out.
- ^ Kamath, Sudhish (6 August 2011). "I am Kalam – To Kalam, with love". The Hindu. Chennai, India.
- ^ "I Am Kalam". The Times of India. 4 August 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
- ^ "Review: Try not to miss the beautiful I Am Kalam". DNA India. 5 August 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
- ^ a b c d "awards"[permanent dead link]
- ^ Kapoor, Nikita (24 June 2011). "Chillar Party reject Harsh Mayar wins National Award for I Am Kalam!". FilmiTadka. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
- ^ a b "I Am Kalam wins two international awards". Bollywood Trade. 14 September 2010. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
- ^ "Aravindan Puraskaram for Nila Madhab Panda", OneIndia, 23 February 2011, archived from the original on 9 July 2012, retrieved 20 February 2012
- ^ "Filmfare Awards 2011 Winners". The Times of India. 31 January 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
- ^ Jha, Subhash K. (21 September 2011). "I Am Kalam wins 3 awards at The Silent River Film Festival". Businessofcinema(.)com. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
External links
- I Am Kalam at IMDb