Nil Battey Sannata

Plot

Apeksha "Apu" Shivlal Sahay (Ria Shukla) is an unmotivated student who has managed to reach her SSC year in school despite her lack of interest in studying further. She struggles in mathematics alongside her friends, Sweety (Neha Prajapati) and Pintu (Prashant Tiwari). Her single mother Chanda (Swara Bhaskar), a high school drop-out, works four different menial jobs, which include working as a maid for Dr. Diwan (Ratna Pathak).

Troubled by her daughter's indifferent attitude, Chanda narrates her dilemma to Dr. Diwan, who suggests that she hire a math tutor for Apu. Chanda is told that in order for her to receive a considerable discount for the tuition, Apu must pass her pre-board math exams. When her mother relays this information to Apu, she replies that she is destined to work as a maid, as Chanda cannot provide financially for any higher education. With the encouragement of Dr. Diwan, Chanda enrolls in Apu's school so that she can learn math and tutor Apu herself. Apu, however, perceives her mother's actions as embarrassing and continuously ridicules her. No one, except for the school's principal Mr. Srivastava (Pankaj Tripathi), is aware of Chanda's relationship to Apu; she manages to befriend Apu's classmates, including Sweety and Pintu, and impresses her teachers with her steady progress. Chanda enlists the help of her quiet and shy classmate Amar (Vishal Nath) to understand math and realizes that the subject becomes easier if it is understood well.

Apu is angered by her mother's success in math, as she herself continues to fail to understand it. Chanda challenges Apu to achieve grades higher than hers in math; if she is successful, Chanda promises to drop out of school. With Amar's help and constant studying, Apu manages to complete the challenge. Her mother is overjoyed, but is heartbroken when Apu informs her that she performed well in school with the sole purpose of ensuring her mother's absence at school. In her anger, Chanda breaks her promise and returns to school, performing even better than before, much to Apu's chagrin. After allotting more time to school, Chanda loses one of her four jobs and begins to work at a restaurant because Amar recommends the job.

One night, she is dropped off at home by one of her male colleagues; Apu witnesses this and assumes that Chanda receives financial help from the man in exchange for companionship. She steals the money that Chanda has been collecting to pay for her tuition and spends it all on food and new clothes. This devastates Chanda, who becomes depressed when Apu tells her that the money was not hard-earned. Chanda stops attending school and continues to work with the hope that Apu will join the Indian Administrative Service, after she is inspired by a kind District Commissioner (Sanjay Suri). In the meantime, Amar helps Apu realize her mistake by making her witness Chanda working at the restaurant. Apu rekindles her interest in school and begins to treat her mother with respect, having realized that she can perform well if she possesses the will. She brings her mother back to school and the duo finish their SSC year together.

With a scenic view of the Taj Mahal, Chanda motivates Apu to always follow her dreams, as they are dependent on efforts and not circumstances. A few years later, Apu attends her Union Public Service Commission interview, having passed her examinations successfully. After being asked what inspired her to apply for IAS, she answers that she is inspired by her mother, who now tutors struggling math students for free.

Cast

Production

Nil Battey Sannata was directed by debutant director Ashwini Iyer Tiwari. The idea for the film was conceived when she worked with Leo Burnett Worldwide, a Chicago based advertising company, for a Kaun Banega Crorepati promotional video. The screenplay for the film was written by Iyer, Neeraj Singh, Pranjal Choudhary and Nitesh Tiwari. In an April 2016 interview with The Indian Express, Iyer revealed that the writing staff including her and Tiwari had been working on the script for over a year.

After going through the script, JAR Pictures’ Ajay G Rai, decided to produce the film, and insisted on Iyer to direct it as well. After initial reluctance, Iyer learnt further aspects of cinematography as a part of her preparation to direct her debut feature film. Gavemic U Ary worked as the cinematographer for the film, and Kunal Sharma headed the sound department. The visual effects were given by Prasad Film Labs, a motion picture post production studio based in Hyderabad.

Mukesh Chhabra essayed the role of the casting director for the film. Swara Bhaskar was the first to be cast in the role of Chanda Sahay, a single mother of a 15 year old girl. Initially sceptic about taking up the role of a mother on screen too soon in her career, she changed her mind after reading the script. In part of her attempts to understand the role better, Bhaskar stayed with the domestic help from Agra, where the film is set. After the release of the film, Bhaskar, in an interview with Daily News and Analysis said that her friends in the Hindi film industry advised her not to take up the role as they felt it would be a "career suicide" for her. She further added that she ignored the suggestions, and that she went ahead with the project as "the story stayed in my mind". The next role to be cast was that of the 15-year-old daughter of the protagonist. After a thorough search, Ria Shukla was selected for the role after the auditions in Lucknow. Ratna Pathak and Pankaj Tripathi play important supporting roles in the film. There were 25 kids, native to Agra, who played the roles of the students at the school.

Principal photography for the film began in May 2016 in the city of Agra, and completed in November 2016. Other talked about the challenges that the crew faced while shooting at several locations in Agra saying that it was really difficult to manage an "over-enthusiastic crowd". The editing process of the film began immediately after the completion of the filming process. Nil Battey Sannata was distributed in India by Eros International.

Soundtrack and reception

The music for Nil Battey Sannata was composed by newcomers Rohan and Vinayak, with Manoj Yadav, Nitesh Tiwari and Shreyas Jain as lyricists for the soundtrack. Joginder Tuteja's mixed review for the Bollywood Hungama was largely appreciative of the songs "Murabba" and "Maths Mein Dabba Gul", also acknowledging the soundtrack's "rural flavor". He deemed the overall album to be "strictly situation". The Times of India critic Mohar Basu gave the soundtrack a 3 out 5 star rating saying that the, "album wins you over with its innocence". Praising the "pleasant" "Murabba" and the "catchy" "Maths Mein Dabba", he asserted that the film "has music that will touch your heart."

Marketing and release

The film had its world premiere in the last week of September 2015 at the Silk Road Film Festival, Fuzhou, China. It was released under the title of The New Classmate, as it was at several other international film festivals. The film then went on to be screened at the BFI London Film Festival (LFF) on 23 October 2015, and was lauded at the event. The release of the first look of the film coincided with the International Women's Day, March 8. In the first look poster of the film, a smiling Swara Bhaskar is seen taking a leap with Ria Shukla, wearing a red sari and a blue salwar kameez respectively. The poster was unveiled by actress Sonam Kapoor, a close friend of Bhaskar. The official trailer was released by Eros productions on 22 March 2016. The launch took place at a media session in a classroom set-up with Bhaskar, Shukla and Pankaj Tripathi. At the event, the film's producer Anand L. Rai said, "I associated with Nil Battey Sannata straight from my heart and I'm feeling very proud of the film." The trailer was well received both by critics and audiences. In an interview with The Indian Express, Iyer said that "the story of Nil Battey Sannata is relevant as well as inspiring". The film had its theatrical release in India on 22 April 2016.

Box office

The film released all over India on less than 300 screens and had an average opening at the box-office. It collected ₹25 lakh (US$37,000) on its opening, but the figure grew on the second day as a result of positive word of mouth reviews. The film collected ₹60 lakh (US$89,000) on Saturday, and the numbers kept on increasing and the film collected ₹1.05 crore (US$160,000) on Sunday bringing the opening weekend collections to ₹1.9 crore (US$280,000). The film beat both its Hindi film fellow releases Laal Rang and Santa Banta Pvt Ltd in the opening weekend box-office collections. The film collected ₹3 crore (US$450,000) in its opening week. The film was declared tax free in the states of Uttar Pradesh and New Delhi by their respective state governments. The film was declared a "hit" in its second weekend as the modest collection continued and the film picked up pace in the rural areas of the country. The film had an impressive six-week run at the box office and its lifetime collections held at around ₹7 crore (US$1.0 million).

Reception

Nil Battey Sannata opened to critical acclaim, and was positively received by the audiences as well. It received overwhelming praise, chiefly for the direction, and for Bhaskar, Shukla and Tripathi. Kunal Guha of the Mumbai Mirror wrote, "It's rare to come across films that force you to keep aside your yardsticks of what a good film is and dive into the experience". Namrata Thakur of Rediff.com gave the film the highest praise and deemed it "an absolute gem", saying "there is hardly a dull moment in the film". She went on to say that in 2015 Dum Laga Ke Haisha was the feelgood film which left a lasting impression on everyone, and this year it is Nil Battey Sannata.

The realistic approach towards the portrayal of the mother-daughter relationship was widely lauded by critics. While Gautaman Bhaskaran of Hindustan Times gave it 4 stars out of 5 and remarked that the film "is a powerful and honest work", Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express noted that, "the film relies on keeping things real". Mohar Basu in his review of The Times of India described the movie as "unpretentious", saying that, "the movie wins you over with its innocence and simplicity". Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV resonated the fact describing the film as, "a disarmingly simple and heart-warming film". Suparna Sharma of Deccan Chronicle called it a, "real film in a real setting about real people that delivers several empowering, powerful messages."

The performances of the lead cast were chiefly praised by critics. Rachit Gupta writing for Filmfare noted that, "the actors make this film so memorable". He gave Bhaskar the highest praise saying that she delivered the "performance of a lifetime", while also praising Shukla's "super", Pathak's "phenomenal" and Tripathi's "masterclass" performances. In his review, CNN-News18 film critic Rajeev Masand deemed Bhaskar to be "the heart of the film" noting that with "not one note out of place, she grabs your attention", and Surabhi Redkar in her review for Koimoi resonated the sentiment commenting that "here’s a film that proves why she [Bhaskar] deserved a solo since start". Udita Jhunjhunwala of Firstpost praised Bhaksar, stating that, "This is one of her most nuanced performances and a welcome change", and highlighting Tripathi called him the "scene-stealer as the zealous school principal".

In November 2015, Iyer agreed terms to direct a remake of the film in Tamil, for producers Dhanush and Anand L. Rai. The roles played by Bhaskar, Shukla, Pathak, and Tripathi were essayed by Amala Paul, Yuvasri, Revathi, and Samuthirakani respectively in the remake titled Amma Kanakku which released soon after on 24 June 2016.