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| Promotion poster, Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT |
As a career counselor, I have a bias for movies (and media
content in general) about the education system, work, and careers. So, I
naturally gravitate for searching such content. I recently watched a Malayalam
movie Vaazha, which has an intriguing tagline 'Biopic of a Billion
Boys'. Just imagine a movie, boldly proclaiming it represents the life-stories
of a billion boys.
The movie opens with an interesting premise when the camera zooms on three newborns and the narrator says, "There are three types of children in this world: 1st type are those who study well and make a life of their liking, 2nd type are those who study well and make a life of their parents liking, and 3rd type is those who don't know why are they studying and their parents also don't know why they are making them study." The narration continues by saying, that the movie Vaazha is a story of this 3rd type of student.
The story begins in the kindergarten days, with an Art teacher teaching the children drawing. The parents (fathers in particular) are disgruntled that the kindergarten is not teaching them Mathematics. A classic example of our cultural beliefs which creates the notorious caste system of subjects from childhood days, Science on top and Arts at the bottom. The movie depicts, that right from childhood, most of them are conditioned to pursue Engineering or Medicine and are discouraged from considering any other career options.
As they move higher grades in school, the children form a
group of friends and they spend their time in delinquency (wailing off their
time in mischief). With a weak academic foundation, they somehow pass out of
school with low grades. The societal herd mentality is shown through two
characters in the movie. One of the fathers tells his son, you have only two
options Engineering or Medicine. If you opt for a 3rd option, you should leave
my house.
Another father is persuading his son to join him in Bahrain
to work at a shop because he is a poor student and he shouldn't be wasting his
time and money on his studies. However, the boy despite being academically
poor, dreams of becoming an Engineer. His father gives in and tells his wife,
"Your son wants to be an Engineer, because of peer pressure, all his
friends are studying for Engineering entrance exams. In my mind, it’s a classic
example of our cultural beliefs where we look down on Vocational courses.
The movie depicts one of the grim realities of our society,
all these students in spite of failing in the entrance exams and in spite of
being poor academically, take up admissions in very mediocre Engineering
Colleges, on the basis of donation (management quota).
The theme of delinquency among the boys continues into the
Engineering college phase too. Several other nuances are weaved into the
story-telling, girls being more focused towards their studies (we need to ask
hard questions to ourselves, in spite of this women's participation in the
workforce is dismal), parents pushing their children to fulfil their
unfulfilled career aspirations, career beliefs (bias towards only Engineering,
Medicine) shaped by society, the unrealistic expectations from the child in spite
of their poor academic records and the lacuna in our education systems which
does not encourage the students towards self-discovery, self-awareness, instead
just make them go through the assembly line of schooling certificates and
degrees, without any skill development, goal-orientation, and moulding their
forward thinking and career planning.
The inevitable happens, after the end of the stipulated four
years of Bachelors of Engineering. These boys are carrying with them failed
subjects and they take a couple of more years to finish their papers. During
this phase of their lives, they are subjected to humiliation from relatives,
and comparison happens with their peers who had passed successfully in all
papers, by their final year, they struggle to find a job and are seen spending
their free time, in leisure. This crisis period makes the parents (especially
the fathers) realise the failures in their parenting. The boys also realise,
that had they invested time as students, to think for themselves, and had a
goal orientation, by now they might have built a life of their liking.
The parents finally turn around, extend their unconditional
support to the boys and also help them, in funding their endeavour for the
banana plantation. The movie makes a poignant point that the boys were always
good at heart, their friendship and bond were pure and strong. The adults had
always judged them and looked down on them, through the prism of bad marks and
grades. Had these boys in their growing-up years received this support,
understanding and guidance, they could have course-corrected themselves in
time.
The movie's climax, shows the boys turning serious and
sincere towards their work (farm). However, the uncertainty of their business
venture continues, due to heavy rainfall and flooding. There was a subtle
message in non-verbal communication. One of the boys is wearing a t-shirt,
printed with HOPE. It's on the audience's outlook, they can be hopeful that
these boys will one fine day make it big on their own terms. Or the audience
can infer that the struggle continues through the rest of their lives.
The movie's primary objective is to entertain, which Vaazha
does. But weaved into the entertainment are several questions to reflect upon
about our education systems, child development, parenting and sociocultural
aspects.
The movie's bold tagline 'Biopic of a Billion Boys', makes
it loud and clear, that these inadequacies are baked into our societies, and a
billion boys are living this biopic, from childhood to young adulthood. Isn't
it high time now, that we look inward, question ourselves and make changes for
the sake of our billion boys and girls?
Vaazha means Plantain tree in Malayalam, it is also a
take on a popular grim adage in Malayalam that says that instead of spending
money on a good-for-nothing kid, it would have been better to plant a plantain
tree instead!
There is always Hope for changing this grim adage, if we take the first step, as well-meaning adults in our respective roles as parents, guardians, teachers and career counsellors.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29470244/