‘Super 30’ and the iconic teachers of Bollywood

Hrithik Roshan prefers diversity. Choosy and less prolific than his peers, the superstar is being now seen as mathematics wizard Anand Kumar in Vikas Bahl’s Super 30. In the film, the protagonist is a dedicated teacher who takes it upon himself to guide gifted underprivileged students in their journey towards a bright future.

Roshan is marvellous as the teacher, a character Bollywood has depicted in various ways in the past.

Teachers on the big screen might have been entirely fictional earlier; yet, several of them have entered their names in the viewer’s book of cinematic memories.

Remember the inimitable Dr JC Asthana essayed by Boman Irani in Rajkumar Hirani’s directorial debut, Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.? Every viewer who has watched the Munna Bhai films does. In the film, Irani is outstanding as the strict dean of a medical college, who has many run-ins with his student, Murli Prasad Sharma aka Munna Bhai (played by Sanjay Dutt).

Irani had also played the role of the director of an academic institution in the Aamir Khan starrer 3 Idiots, also directed by Hirani. The two characters in Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. and 3 Idiots are as different as chalk and cheese. Both are memorable because of Irani’s performances, which film-goers discuss with great pleasure years after the films hit the marquee.

That Amitabh Bachchan has played the teacher’s role is hardly surprising. His personality and baritone have been exploited remarkably by filmmakers, leading to memorable representations of the teacher on the big screen.

Bachchan has been seen as an eccentric alcoholic teacher who guides a deafblind girl in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Black. In Aditya Chopra’s Mohabbatein, he is the strict headmaster of an all-boys college. In Prakash Jha’s Aarakshan, he is a teacher who rebels against the unjust in his quest for seeing positive changes in the education system.

Who is the sexiest teacher in Hindi cinema? Many would say she is Chandni, the chemistry teacher played by Sushmita Sen in Farah Khan’s directorial debut, Main Hoon Na. Dressed in designer saris, Sen’s Chopra interacts with her students with mischief in her eyes - while making youngsters wonder why they don’t have glamorous teachers like her.

There was a time when Archana Puran Singh was perfect for playing loud and funny characters with over-the-top body language. She played one such teacher – Ms Braganza – in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, the first film Karan Johar helmed. She is flashy and flirts with the principal, Mr Malhotra, played by Anupam Kher, resulting in gut-busting moments in the film.

Naseeruddin Shah played the title role of a college teacher in Mahesh Bhatt’s Sir, a drama in which the protagonist’s child is killed by a gangster. Later in life, one of his pupils turns out to be the daughter of the killer, who falls in love with her classmate.

Shah Rukh Khan played a music teacher in Mohabbatein, whose manner of teaching is typically his own. He is willing to break the norms of the school, leading to confrontations with the head (Bachchan).

Aamir Khan’s character of Ram Shankar Nikumbh from Taare Zameen Par is an offbeat depiction of the teacher in the movies. Nikumbh is a sensitive art teacher, who guides a dyslexic child and uses remedial techniques to change the course of his life. Real life has people like the eccentric teacher from Black or the art teacher from Taare Zameen Par, who play a crucial role in making us who we are.

Inspired by their personal experiences, screenwriters have created teachers and introduced them to the viewers. That is why they often come across as variations of people we have met inside classrooms for several years in our lives.