This superb film is a wake-up call to all the governments of the world with stand by and do nothing to stop the exploitation of children.
Child labor is a growing trend in developing countries. Shockingly most of the children are forced into it by their relatives.
In India over 12 million children are exploited as child laborers and why the Government Of India has allowed it to rise to incredible this figure remains a mystery to me.
Children have a right to education and nobody should stand in their way to shop them from acquiring it.
Clearly individuals who employ children as laborers should be jailed for 4-5 years. Should they repeat this offense, they should be jailed for 8-10 years. However due to rampant corruption in India, these characterless b*st*rds bribe the Police and get of scot-free.
Moving on to the film. Firstly, I personally vote this the best film of 2011 and vote for Partho Gupte as best junior actor and Amol Gupte as best supporting actor.
Stanley Ka Dabba is a 2011 Hindi film written, directed and produced by Amole Gupte, starring Divya Dutta, Partho Gupte (son of Amol Gupte), Divya Jagdale, Raj Zutshi, and Amole Gupte. The film was released on May 13 , 2011.
Plot: Stanley(Partho Gupte)is a fourth grader who is very popular amongst his friends. He is talented and is liked by his teachers. However, he never brings his lunch box or 'dabba'. 'Khadoos'(Amol Gupte), as he is popularly called, is a Hindi teacher who does not bring his own dabba but likes to eat other's lunch. Stanley's friends share their lunch with him by hiding from Khadoos. Khadoos eventually finds them in the terrace and warns Stanley to bring his own lunch or otherwise avoid coming to school.
Stanley misses school for a few days and his absence is felt by his teachers and school mates. But one fine day, Stanley brings his dabba packed with mouth-watering items for Khadoos. Khadoos realises his mistake and quits the school. Meanwhile, Stanley's performance in an inter-school festival is appreciated by everybody. Towards the end, the reasons for Stanley's lack of a dabba is revealed.
Amol Gupte is both a brilliant director and an exceptionally gifted actor. His genius reflects in his son. I have all the confidence that when Partho grows up, he will be a great actor. In fact all the supporting actors in the film, Divya Dutta, Raj Zutshi(My Favorite Actor!) and Divya Jagdale give a superb performance.
About Amol Gupte: Amole Gupte (Marathi: अमोल गुप्ते)is an Indian screenwriter, actor, and director, particularly known for his work on the 2007 Bollywood film Taare Zameen Par (Like Stars on Earth) as creative director and screenwriter. The film was also initially conceived and developed by Gupte and his wife, Deepa Bhatia (concept, research, and editing).
Verdict: my choice for best film of 2011, and a must have on DVD/VCD and one to watch with the entire family, neighbors and friends.
P.S: On a closing note, please help in the fight against child labor, if you happen to see children employed as laborers, please report this to the proper authorities both Indian and NGO who are working hard to eradicate it.