Stanley Ka Dabba is the story of Stanley, a student of 4th standard. He and his friends are joyous, lovable, and more importantly complete foodies. The “lunchbox” or “Dabba” is the pivot in this movie. The teachers in school are typically depicted as well, some serious and strict, while as some are encouraging and quite friendly. One of the teachers, Verma is played by the director of movie, Amole Gupte, himself. He is mean to students and his crush on food of every kind, particularly the lunchboxes of students, earn him the title Khadoos.
Stanley, an extroverted kid likes to narrate stories to his friends, and loves to play pranks. Unlike other students, Stanley however doesn’t bring his lunch box to school, but his friends are gracious enough to share lunch with him. Verma, however, doesn’t like this and expects Stanley to bring a lunch-box to school and threatens him if he fails to comply. A tug-of-war thus prevails between Stanley, his friends and the teacher, which at a certain point of time becomes hilarious and keep you tied to your seats, except for the end where it becomes slow, emotional and brings about a message.
The movie overall is a heartwarming tale and goes much deeper than other films in exploring the psychology of children. It does not contain exaggerated dramatic moments, but there are multiple layers in the film which unravel as the film progresses. Each shot is measured, controlled and devoid of any dramatic stretches.
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A remarkable scene in the movie is when the English teacher rewards Stanley with a chocolate and he lazily tries to put it in his shirt pocket, only to find that his pocket is torn. This sums up the story line and leads us to the climax, filled with a soft message. There are no sledge-hammers in the story but only beautiful interwoven rhythmic messages that leave you with a long-lasting impression.
The movie won a special award at the Giffoni Film Festival, one of the largest children`s film festival in Europe.
This movie is highly recommended to all school-going children. It will teach a lesson or two about life without boring you. The peculiarity of the story will keep you glued till you don’t get answers to these questions. Why doesn’t Stanley bring his lunch-box? Why does Stanley do what he does? Why is Stanley always drowsy? What makes him distinct from other children? This is a one-time-watch movie for the students, parents as well as for teachers.
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