Who doesn't like that show where the new teacher goes into the school and takes that classroom of despised losers from zeroes to heroes? Especially when the teacher labors under some sort of stigma, because all the greats in history have been unfairly stigmatized. We might be referring to Sidney Poitier in TO SIR WITH LOVE, who struggles with being Black, or Gabe Kaplan in WELCOME BACK, KOTTER, who struggles with John Travolta. Here, it's Rani Mukerji, who struggles with suffering from Tourette's syndrome with her class of slum children at a prestigious private school.

It's an impressive performance in the middle of this plot which has now become standard, leading us to imagine that all that it takes to overcome fifteen years of an impoverished life and ten years of major disadvantage in schooling is one imaginative, loving and gifted teacher. It's an appealing myth and even while my eyes mist up at the performances and story, my head says it's a fairy tale.

Alas, we all too often want the fairy tale. Before the movie begins, the producers spend two screens of titles assuring the audiences that no animals were injured -- the only animals in sight were two rats in a cage -- and I was told that they were not making fun of the handicapped. Twice. Were they referred to people whose world-view was so restricted as never to have seen anyone with a physical problem like, apparently, every inhabitant of the large Indian city, to whom Miss Mukerji explains her condition?

There are two main conflicts in Siddharth Malhotra's second feature film Hichki. First is about a high school class of students who are unable to pass their grade and the second is lead character Naina Mathur's Tourette's Syndrome. The former will make you look at the film with familiar grin and tear while the latter will make you re-believe in Rani Mukherji's talent. As a combination of these two, Hichki falters at the middle, but as a film that introduces Bollywood's audience to the neurological disorder, it excels. For the entire running time of 2 hours, Hichki reminded me of M Mohanan's 2011 Malayalam-language drama film Manikyakkallu where a class of mischievous, quarrelsome, and financially backward students are taught the importance of education by an ideal teacher. Hichki is a rehash of that same theme with the only difference of the medical condition. A villain in the school, his troupe of smarter students, and the school administration are what our protagonist has to tackle in order to make her new class of students pass the year. With cringeworthy and slightly uncomfortable sequences, Hichki goes on an uncontrolled trip to a Utopian world where contrived drama is at the top. The blame is both on the writers and director Malhotra for not maneuvering the story better. Mukherjee, as noted earlier, is phenomenal in her character, doing her due diligence when it comes to portraying a person with the syndrome. I also loved Neeraj Kabi's (last seen in Dibakar Banerjee's Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! (2015)) distinctive performance as the Student Council in-charge who spews poison with his eyes alone. The kids are great and do what they are told, helping the narrative etch out themes that are highly relevant in today's competitive classrooms. If Hichki had not sampled the condition then it would have been a failure. As it is now, there is only so much one can enjoy in it, thanks to Mukherjee. TN.

A Sweet tale with the perfect mixture of Entertainment, Content, Inspiration.

HICHKI REVIEW :

How rarely we see a Film winning the heart in first 5 minutes? Yes, Hichki is one of those rare film. A great written story directed by keeping Emotions, Heart and Mind at the Right Place.

As this one is a Woman centered film i should talk about lead actress's act and Rani Mukhrjee delivers one of the Best and most Challenging performance of her career, you will see her name in Nominations in upcoming Award Ceremonies. All the School students acts so naturally that we start assuming ourselves in their classroom. Rest of the Starcast has low space but good enough. Music is Strictly Average, nothing remains in memory but all songs are situational so doesn't bother film's tempo. Cinematography is also Average, you don't see anything new, unique or creative angles but for a low budget film it's okay okay type. Dialogues are Awesome, some of them Hits so perfectly into the heart, some are funny and few are realistic as well as socially important. Screenplay is Very Good, i didn't find any boring moments and i would like to admire Screenwriter for the pace of the film and especially that Strong Start otherwise some films takes too long to strike on the content but Hichki starts exploring it's Content from the First Minute. Direction is Good, there was nothing much work for director because Writing is So powerful but we have seen so many powerful scripts have been spoiled by directors many times so yes that little credit goes to Director for not spoiling a Great Script.

Overall, Hichki is Very Very Good Film, and very close to that 'Classic' status but missed it due to not so Visionary or Strong direction. I don't call it a Must Watch, but i must say if you're not watching this Film then you are really missing a Good Film. Yrf has a strong record when it comes to low budget films but don't know why they keep all Big budget films miles away from Content? Hichki is that another low budget good film for Yrf and will get the deserving success in Award Ceremonies and at Box office as well. No doubts, this film deserves good rating so, 7/10* by me.