Stanley Ka Dabba

Amole Gupte's directorial debut Stanley Ka Dabba pictures a kid who never brings his dabba (tiffin box) to school, gets attracted to his classmates' tiffins, gets scolded by his "khadoos" Hindi teacher and sometimes just manage to satiate his hunger with tap water. The kid is Stanley. From bruises on face to his incapability of bringing tiffin, he finesses with false reasons for all, cutely wrapped in his juvenile voice. Dressed with unwashed clothes, torn pocket and bag, one really expect a reason for it and a story beyond it. Though somewhere on a predictable note, the story telling promises it in a refreshing way. "Khadoos", the Hindi teacher, played by Amole Gupte himself, has a lust for food which becomes his weakness that deviates him from teaching Hindi in class to discussing the size of tiffin boxes of children.

Stanley's dabba gang has varied characters who marks their presence with genuineness and innocence, from the tiffin rich kid to the true friend. But Stanley is the star in his own way. With his gifted talent, he never fails to cherish his sweet Rosy Miss (Divya Dutta) and also the audience!

In such a simple-straight story telling which is yet beautiful, how does it matter much even if the back cast performances are felt amateurish? Not much, really. With Partho - the star kid, Amole Gupte, Divya Dutt making their presence very real, the film flows gracefully. Also, the art-direction right from the kitchen to the classroom makes the movie look more real. Background score sounds well and also the song picturisation adds flavor to it. Jhoola Jhool in the voice of Hamsika Iyer being my personal favorite.

With not much packed in it's first half, Stanley Ka Dabba offers you a light hearted, not-at-all spicy, healthy treat in its course of less than 2 hours. It brings smiles, tears and not only serves you a delicious entertainment but also a cause to realize! Watch for it!

Stanley Ka Dabba! Have it!

Ratings: 6.5/10

Stanley Ka Dabba - a plain storyline, with the regular Indian school setup and largely unfamiliar cast - is a well-scripted,well-characterized brilliantly directed movie that leaves you with an immediate freshness that rarely many movies can do.

Its the story of Stanley, a 4th standard student in a missionary school. Stanley and many of his friends are the quintessential restless,playful and curious kids. They play,share stories,learn together and yes share their "Dabbas" (lunch boxes)-the central plot of the movie,as you can make out from the title. The story is pretty straight-forward here on. You have the different characters in the teachers. A strict and no-nonsense science teacher, A beautiful and encouraging English teacher. However the teacher who takes the cake(quite literally:) ) is the ever-hungry and mean Hindi teacher(Amol Gupte).

the movie never loses its flavour, displaying with beauty the innocence and puerile nature of the kids and the rhythmic monotony of everyday school that we've all been part of.

Amol Gupte has definitely made one of the best kids-oriented movies in the Indian cinema sphere. Not only is the direction top-notch, he has even acted brilliantly as the insatiably hungry teacher,who shows no shame in eating out of his students' lunch boxes. Special praises to Partho who has done such amazing work as Stanley, and Divya Dutta who just by her sheer screen presence brings in positivity to the frame.

When i saw the title and even until the movie started playing in the theater, I thought this was a children's movie.But soon realized it was a wrong notion. This movie is as much for adults as is for the kids.If you want a break from the regular humdrum of Hindi cinema and want to see meaningful cinema without the preachiness (like Taare Zameen Par) then go watch Stanley Ka Dabba, cause u wont be disappointed. Kudos to Amol gupte for taking the viewers on a nostalgic trip back to school and special mention on how dexterously the message has been woven into the story.

I can clap for the whole day for those school children who did a remarkable job and hard work, not even missing the Saturday-Sundays and other holidays of school and instead participating in this theatrical drama. Hats off children. Secondly, great acting by Stanley Amole Gupte and Divya Dutta and other staff too. The best part of the movie is that there is no flaw in it except the duration of the movie. I think they could have added much more to it. But i suppose the director wanted to keep it short and simple.Movies like these makes me proud that yes we( Bollywood) also have something to present, something original.I wont be surprised if it will be given the National Award for best film. The TZP team have did it again. Great work. We need more of such kinds.This movie will fetch your heart in the beginning only and you will crave for more. Don't miss it

What worked:

• amazing screenplay; sweet and simple yet powerful
• awesome performances by the lead especially two

Gupte What did not work:

• although it's a hard reality, but we as a viewers wanted to end the movie with better optimistic conclusions. However, the ending in itself, is powerful and appreciated.

Final verdict: Recommended

'Stanley Ka Dabba' is a GEM of a film. Writer-Producer-Director-Actor-Cinematographer, Amole Gupte, makes a film, that is soft, simple & seamless. It doesn't have superstars, it doesn't have chart-buster songs, it doesn't have stunning locales to boast....but what it has...is a Big Heart!

'Stanley Ka Dabba' is a nearly flawless film about a child, who comes to school without a Dabba. And as he can't get a Dabba, a greedy school teacher, who hogs from every Dabba in the school, kicks him out of the school. It's then Stanley's journey to get to back to school, with a Dabba!

'Stanley Ka Dabba' is one of the most moving, well-written & well-executed films in the past 5 years. It has a story to tell, it has it's heart at the very right place. Amole Gupte is truly a supremely talented personality. 'TZP', was a fabulous film, but 'Stanley Ka Dabba' is a nearly flawless cinema. Apart from it's slow-pace in the beginning, I found everything, in terms of writing, direction, acting, cinematography as well as the editing, to be super.

The Soundtrack is decent. Performance-Wise: Gupte, steals the show with a fascinating performance. He plays the greedy teacher, with perfect understanding and rare ease. Partho, who plays Stanley, is very sincere. Divvya Dutta is good. Raj Zutshi & all the other actors who portray the roles of the teachers, are first-rate.

On the whole, 'Stanley Ka Dabba' is amongst the best films in the past 5 years, as it has story to tell, which is simple, seamless & very interesting too. Don't Miss This One!