Shala (2011)

Set in the 70's in rural India, four 9th grade kids were writing their destiny. Joshi (14) is madly in love with Shirodkar (14) a beautiful Indian looking girl. Both study in the same class. The age old question "What is love anyway?"

Director:

Sujay Dahake

Writers:

Milind Bokil (story), Avinash Deshpande (screenplay)

Stars:

Dilip Prabhavalkar, Santosh Juvekar, Jitendra Joshi

2 wins.

Cast

Credited cast:
Dilip Prabhavalkar	...	Appa
Santosh Juvekar	...	Majarekar sir
Jitendra Joshi	...	Narumama
Devika Daftardar	...	Bendre bai
Nandu Madhav	...	Joshi's Father
Anshuman Joshi	...	Mukund Joshi
Ketaki Mategaonkar	...	Shirodkar
Vaibhav Mangle	...	Ponkshe kaka
Ketan Pawar	...	Surya
Chinmay Kulkarni	...	K.T.
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Unnati Agarkar	...	Sukadi
Nidhi Chavhan	...	Kulkarni
Yogesh Dalvi	...	Jangam sir
Akshaya Deodhar	...	Akka
Sachin Dunakhe	...	Pingale

Storyline

In turbulent India of the Emergency in the 1970's , four friends on the threshold of their teenage years in a little Indian school, gather in they're beloved adda to deliberate the everyday's of school and life. Little do they know, that by the end of this academic year, their lives will take a tur as they never expected it to...

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Plot Keywords:

school | 1970s | based on novel

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Genres:

Romance

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Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

India

Language:

Marathi

Release Date:

20 January 2012 (India)

Also Known As:

School

Filming Locations:

Panhala, Mahrashtra, India

Company Credits

Production Co:

Concepts & Conversations, Navalakha Arts, Media & Entertainment

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (original release) Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Color (Fujicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Visual Effects producer Pankaj Sonawane, Assistant art director Satyajeet Deshpande, Lead 3d Modeller Vijay Chaudhari and Assistant costume designer Namita Gogate make cameo appearances.

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Goofs

Narumama quotes John Lennon's line "Life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans". Although the film is set in 1975-76, the song Beautiful Boy from which this line is quoted, was released only in 1980.

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Quotes

Narumama: Narumama quotes John Lennon's line "Life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans". Although the film is set in 1975-76, the song Beautiful boy from which this line is quoted was only released in 1980.

User Reviews

the film, is about the experience of falling in love for the very first time at a tender age .

The name can be misleading. Shala is not about kids going to school nor is it a children's film, even remotely. All that it has in common with Stanley ka Dabba begins and ends at the animated sequence that plays with the opening credits. Shala takes you to the next level: while you are still at school and your friends are important, you step onto the threshold of the adult world and start making sense of it.

Most actors in the film have delivered a restrained performance. Anshuman Joshi emotes wonderfully as the protagonist Mukund Joshi. Ketaki Mategonkar who plays Shirodkar does a contrived act initially but entices with her charm in no time. Joshi and the other boys, particularly Mhatre (Ketan Pawar) are required to dabble in a range of emotions as they come-of-age: love, fear, rage and rejection. They do it naturally and convincingly.

Do not give Shala a miss. It is a self-assured and grounded debut by a filmmaker which offers a lesson or two in simple storytelling straight from the heart, complete with soulful music. It is one of those gems that Marathi cinema throws up once in a while; totally localized in flavor yet universal in appeal.