With the story of ‘Chalk and Duster’, you walk back to your childhood days when your teacher’s dedication towards you was like a mother’s selfless love for her child. The movie also shows how this selfless devotion runs out of the window when the vicious coil of corruption surrounds these hardworking figures! The convincing performances by Shabana Azmi and Juhi Chawla as school teachers, who see their profession as a means to nurture and enlighten impressionable minds, ensures that the film’s rough edges and hammered-in message don’t get flattened over by our pessimism! You might feel that sometimes it does seem like an application to seek favours for teachers, but, mostly it talks about the value of good education. These teachers are hardworking and ready to take challenges head on, and that makes them endearing! Overall, ‘Chalk N Duster’ is a film that is worth your time and a good watch this weekend!

Chalk N Duster is an underdog story which reminds us of our childhood where teachers didn’t want much in return of their services. Nevertheless, everybody is equal in front of inflation, even teachers. The need for more money is going to be there. So, what’s the way out? Chalk N Duster refrains from any direct confrontation at this juncture. I must praise director Jayant Gilatar here who has made this journey an emotional one. Don’t be surprised if you keep crying through the second half. The theme of greed over ethics works well for the film and most of its characters are in sync with the narrative. What makes Chalk N Duster rise above the average is its futuristic approach. Sometimes it does seem like an application to seek favours for teachers but mostly it talks about the value of good education. These teachers are hardworking and ready to take challenges head on, and that makes them adorable. Chalk N Duster is a film worth your time. It’s fast, dramatic and meaningful. Simply put, a good watch.

Sometimes movies with the right intent misfire badly. Chalk N Duster is classic proof of how to shoddily treat topics which merit attention: the mistreatment of teachers in the private education system and the commercialisation of the education system. The result is that instead of seriously dwelling on the occupational hazards of the profession and the dire straits the system finds itself in, audiences are left with moments to chuckle and wince at. Gilatar's directorial approach is amateurish to say the least with the general knowledge quiz contest a real low in the film. Chalk N Duster is overtly preachy and mawkish. It likes to get its point across - urgent call for reform - by shouting from the rooftops. Poorly shot and sloppily edited, Chalk N Duster is a film with relevant issues which are sadly presented like a dated saas-bahu show on TV.

For intention, Chalk N Duster might get full marks, but the execution is so hopelessly ham-fisted that the film can only be described as an absolute botch-up. Jayant Gilatar's approach to filmmaking and storytelling is clearly governed by the 'anything goes' principle. Not surprisingly, it yields pathetically slender pickings. Chalk N Duster takes over two patience-trying hours to make that point with the aid of stilted dialogue and utterly vacuous scenes. Chalk N Duster is a sentence that meanders through miles of meaninglessness before it decides to draw the line. Eventually, the audience is left with a bunch of question marks. Granted that in this country teachers rarely get their due. But did they deserve this? Chalk N Duster is the unkindest cut. If you have any respect for your teachers - past present or future - give this film a miss.

Chalk N Duster’s  prime aim is to highlight the plight of overworked, underpaid schoolteachers and the need for substantial perks or privileges. A respectable enough idea that would make for a compelling viewing under better hands but director Jayant Gilatar’s sloppy ‘tribute’ never ever develops into anything noteworthy. There are stray moments when Chalk N Duster demonstrates the kind of film it could have been. Like the powerful outburst scene where Shabana Azmi blows up Divya Dutta’s inflated ego into smithereens or Juhi’s passionate appeal seeking Arjuns to come to Dronacharya’s rescue on television and most consistently Divya Dutta’s delightful hostility. Despite those hideous wigs and tacky clothes, Dutta exudes a chilling callousness and shrewd confidence that almost makes you blind to partner-in-crime Arya Babbar’s exasperating presence. Others like Jackie Shroff and Richa Chadda are wasted in wishy-washy roles that don’t add up. Still, if any of this helps the cause of teachers, good for Team Chalk N Duster. Where movie making is concerned, Gilatar needs to start on a clean slate.

Nothing rescues this Juhi Chawla, Shabana Azmi film. It is a subject that deserves a great deal of attention, but not in the way this Juhi Chawla, Shabana Azmi film does it. Which is a pity, because these are all good actresses, and it is so difficult to have women in a film doing something meaningful, other than singing and dancing and playing second fiddle. Rajkumar Hirani’s ‘Munnabhai MBBS’ still remains the go-to film on how the educational system is going down the drain, and what we can do to save it. But nothing rescues this one, not Jackie Shroff nor Rishi Kapoor (in bit parts), nor the sprightly ladies, despite their game attempts.

'Chalk N Duster' has its heart in the right place. Made with an intention of showcasing the worms in the current education system, where money often gets merit over capability; this film can be lauded to some degree. However, it flounders in the first half due to its tacky narrative approach.  The execution for the most part is clumsy. Yet somewhere in the second half, Gilatar redeems himself and the film. He touches on the importance of teachers in our lives and shows the apathy of the powers-that-are towards providing equal education opportunities. It also gives us a proud India moment as we watch two teachers pass a GQ contest with flying colours. Life, after all, whether in a cinema hall or on the outside is about minor triumphs (staged or otherwise), isn't it? Shabana and Juhi are irritatingly saccharine initially; but get firmly in the saddle soon. They're from the dependable lot of actresses after all.