The trailer of Emraan Hashmi’s upcoming film, Cheat India, was released yesterday. Directed by Soumik Sen, the film highlights the criminal underbelly of the Indian education system. Emraan plays the role of Rakesh Sharma, a conniving businessman who rigs engineering and management entrance examinations by paying underprivileged students to give proxy tests for rich aspirants.
Asked what got him hooked to the subject, Emraan said, “Entrance exam scams are a huge problem in our society — it is destroying an already regressive education system. It’s a story that was waiting to be told for a long time. I feel extremely happy and proud that I am getting to present this reality to our audiences. I hope the film reaches out to millions of students and parents and they are made aware of the rot that is eating up our system.”
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Describing educational corruption as a ‘multi-pronged’ problem that needs urgent government intervention, Emraan noted, “It is quite messed up. There’s no silver bullet solution to this problem. It requires a total overhaul and a complete revolution. Parents, students, faculties, institutions, and the government need to work together to fix this.
The core problem of our education system lies in the industrial revolution complex — which emphasises on vocations that are no longer relevant in the digital-age. Obtaining education is meant to serve two purposes: learning to earn a living, and learning to live. In India, we push our students to only pursue the former, and they still fail at it because of the corruption involved.”Cheat India is co-produced by T-Series, Ellipsis Entertainment and Emraan Hashmi Films. The film, which features Shreya Dhanwanthary in her debut Bollywood role, is scheduled to release on January 25, 2019.