My Rating: 3.5/5 Star
Cast: Vidya Balan, Jishu Sengupta, Sanya Malhotra, Amit Sadh, Prakash Belawadi
Director: Anu Menon
5 Amazing takeaways from the Shakuntala Devi movie!
In July, Shakuntala Devi movie was released on the OTT platform, and it came on the air quickly. More than me, it was my daughter who was quite thrilled and excited to watch it. I think the trailer launch created a lot of hopes in her mind, because the story plot seemed to be amazing to both of us.
We first thought that the movie was just about a girl, and most importantly, a mathematician. But it was more inclined towards personal life. However, we continued watching Shakuntala devi because we wanted to take good lessons out of it.
Interestingly, my daughter and I watched the movie together, and she had great reviews from her end, which is worth sharing. Because I feel every mother and daughter should watch Shakuntala devi, here are five amazing takeaway I would like to share from the movie itself:
Struggles of an independent woman:
The first half of the movie made me doubt whether I should continue watching it or not. But for the sake of my daughter’s interest, I continued watching. I think it was my perspective, but then the other half blew my mind.
Shakuntala devi was a wonderful woman herself, who always praises why men always want women to need them? The film portrayed independence as the reason behind her getting left alone instead of having such a beautiful family.
She took tours across the world, while keeping her daughter in her husband’s comfort. And suddenly, society and her family itself started questioning her for being an unfit mother. So she finally took her daughter along and left her husband.
My takeaway from the independent nature of Shakuntala devi was, why and how an independent woman is often told that she can’t have everything with her while parenting.
Brilliance comes when you respect it:
I admired the moments of the Shakuntala devi movie, where she breaks the world record, and got dubbed as a human-computer.
She respected her brilliance and always kept on practicing it. Even after she achieved a lot of dreams, her passion for the work never changed. I loved the last scene of Shakuntala devi, where she beautifully ended the movie from the dotes of her love; that’s mathematics!
Mother-daughter moments making the movie worth a watch:
My daughter and I loved each moment of the mother and daughter. The film beautifully captured two different stories of mother and daughter, that is more likely seen in most of the homes.
Story of every woman, and not just a mathematician:
I thought that Shakuntala devi would be all about a mathematician who made it to the world record. But while watching, I got a lot of emotional turmoil about relationships after marriage or after having a baby. The problem is common now too, and the questions Shakuntala had are in the minds of each mother till now!
How important it is to have good interpersonal communication between relationships:
I will never be like her! Was the clear foundation of the movie. Shakuntala didn’t want to be like her mother, and Anupama didn’t want to be like Shakuntala. The only thing each relationship lacked was communication and understanding.
This movie clearly talks about how bonding matters more than achievements. Her daughter was craving for her mother’s time. And on the other hand, Shakuntala wanted to give so much comfort to her daughter.
However, when she left her maths to fulfill her daughter’s desire, she became more possessive about her and never wanted her to settle with anyone.
What I learned from this is, balance is the key. Both were mistaken. Her daughter should have respected her career, and Shakuntala would have balanced out everything to spend more time.
At last, My daughter’s review on the movie, which I might never forget:
The movie was a great watch for both of us. It had moments which warm our heart, more specifically the last one. In the end, as my daughter was excited to watch the movie, I diligently asked her to give her a review on it.
She cleverly replied, because Shakuntala devi wasn’t taking care of her daughter, she felt terrible. She always put math first, and then her daughter. And she even told me that sometimes she felt bad when I wasn’t able to give her my time.
It was my role in making her understand, and the only thing I told her that each mother tries to do their best under every circumstance. Also, I gave an example, that if in the future, she gets an opportunity to live her dream she wished in her past, then what would she do?
Before a mother, every woman is a human who has her own dreams and aspirations. I resonated with Shakuntala devi a lot, and would recommend everyone to watch it at least once!