As I am talking about the film "I am Kalam", it simply reminds me of the lines which former president of India Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam wrote in his memorable book "Wings of fire":
"I am a well in this great land
Looking at its millions of boys and girls
To draw from me
The inexhaustible divinity
And spread His grace everywhere
As does the water drawn from the well."
And I think the director Nila Madhab Panda was superbly taken this valiant poetry forward by transpiring this into a inspirational plot. Offcourse he created a fable, a fairytale along the line of Prince and Pauper but the thread that keep this tale magical was this poetry. Before I give any actual review I must tell that this is really a great film not only for its message but also because it chooses a leader (who has proved ability to inspire) from new bright colorful India, beyond B&W eras of Gandhi and Nehru (though apart from Dr. Kalam, we really have long 64 years of drought of the leaders who we can count on). Every generation needs a leader to inspire its young people to put aside their sorrows and guilt and ascend towards where the sky is. This time its our beloved Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.
"I am Kalam" is a story of a two child one who is from 'havenot' class and other from 'have' class. Former is alive with his all innocence and aspires to become what he can not in normal circumstances. He has examples of Dr. Kalam and Lal Bahadur Shashtri to follow. Other is a Prince-with all the palace to wander, but is lonely. His heart too is innocent. So when they meet they simply bond with each other. They simply complement each other. And at the end they both write their own destiny. So how it is inspiring? It is where the spin of fairytale was yarned that shows the determination and perseverance of one side to acceptance and true friendship of other side.
The film is brilliant and optimistic. No doubt about it. But is this fun to watch? The answer is yes. The writer and director both has put a great effort to never slip in regression of darkness which is cliché in Indian Cinema esp for plot like this. So between those pivotal characters they splattered color, harmony and light so precisely that this film comes as worth watchable.
And this movie sends a clear message to all the people that as Panda said in an earlier interview:
"The idea of the film is to give a message that every child should go to school which is relevant to the right to education and that effort is more powerful than fate. It also urges the privileged masses to join the effort to educate the children and help them to dream and turn their dreams into breathing reality,"
and as writer Sanjay Chauhan said: "Every child has the right to live his childhood, childhood way."
As for the acting everyone does his/her job according to their role.
So for this Indo-French collaboration I will give 9/10.
