Let’s remind ourselves of the good old days when we were footloose and fancy free and take a look at some of the best ever movies about school life. Each film has won several awards and numerous nominations for their epic, often highly realistic, storytelling of adolescent life over the last few decades in modern Asia.
Mohabbatein
Set in the prestigious Gurukul School, this is ultimately a story of love as two stubborn, hardworking men find themselves in a battle between hope and despair. Narayan Shankar is the head of the educational institute, a strict disciplinarian who believes love only leads to pain and weakness; Raj Aryan is a man who would go to any lengths for those he holds close to his heart. This movie follows three couples and the influence these men and their opinions have over the student’s lives as they learn to love in a grown up world. Scoring 7/10, it’s definitely one to watch.
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
Ok, so only some of this film takes place in college but it’s integral to the plot and you can’t make a list about school movies without it. Kuch Kuch Hota Hai is now a retro snapshot, it embodies the essence of life at the turn of the millennium, with its brightly coloured electronic influences. The feel of this film reminds us of the first time we stepped into a classroom filled with Lenovo high school laptops except we probably didn’t break into dance around them!
On her 8th birthday, Anjali receives a letter from her deceased mother. It tells the tale of her parent’s college days and another Anjali, a Tom-boy who was her father’s best friend during their educational years. The letter has a task for the young girl, to assist her father Rahul in reuniting with his long lost school mate. 7.6/10
Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar
The town of Nainital is the setting for one of the best loved high school movies ever to come out of Bollywood, scoring a very credible 8.2% out of 10. Here we find three major colleges: Rajput and Xavier’s for the rich kids, and Model for everyone else. A traditional yearly spectacle in the town is a cycling competition between all three schools, which brings out the arrogant nature of many of Nainital’s residents. And so here starts the story of studious Ratan, with his slacker brother Sanju and their firm father Ramlal.
Ramlal’s dream is to see Ratan finally win the inter-school bike race after watching him come second in previous years to arrogant Rajput student Shekhar. The tale wouldn’t be complete without romance and this drives the drama that unfolds as joker Sanju makes desperate attempts to impress rich girl Devika, while gentle Anjali watches sadly from the side lines. Teenage rivalry, the class divide, and love’s young dream combine to make a thrilling high school movie that’s been watched over and over for 30 years! 9/10.
