Film: Vascodigama
Cast: Kishore, Parvathy Nair, Ashwin Vijay Kumar, Suchendra Prasad
Director: Madhuchandra
Vascodigama is a satire and one of the trickier films of today. Director Madhuchandra has also taken on the responsibility of writing the script, screenplay and dialogues for the film. A not so often-told tale on education gets a good rendering here. It’s also an example of how comedy can be an effective medium in raising awareness about education.
The satire is woven around a lecturer, Vasu D Gamanahalli ,aka Vascodigama, played by Kishore and his students of Gnana Vikasa College. The movie basically comments on how today’s teaching methods practically do not hold students, and how the curriculum should be designed to help the teachers connect with students. It also ensures that a message is sent out to all parents and students -- Ene maadidru, ishta pattu maadi, kashta pattu maadbedi (Whatever you do, do it with out of interest, without difficulty).
Vascodigama presses for students to lead artistic, indulgent lives rather than being pressurised to study well and hold a degree, irrespective of whether the students are up to it. This causes controversy among other lecturers in the college. Despite all hurdles, the way Vasu encourages the student to explore their strength goes a long way towards building the future.
Vascodigama might elicit some mixed reactions. Whether or not they agree with Madhuchandra’s point of view, this film, which also explores the rewards and challenges that come with a lecturer’s position, is sure to get parents and students thinking.
The issue of students committing suicide due to academic pressures is also taken note of. The first half, which runs at a leisurely pace, is entertaining. But the heart of the plot lies in the second half of Vascodigama. The portrayal of the stark reality of today’s education system might motivate the viewers’ interest.
Kishore, who mostly appears serious in his films, is a terrific actor. A talented actor, one can tell that he is in the process of exploring the art of comic actions and delivery. However, the teacher-student relationship, with him as the lecturer , is interesting to watch. Parvathy Nair plays the role of a lecturer too and is Vasu’s love interest. The students are good and so are the supporting actors Ashwin Vijay Kumar and Suchendra Prasad, among others. The film is supported by Ajaneesh B Loknath’s background score and Poornachandra Thejaswi’s music, but comes with more songs than necessary. However, a couple of them have catchy beats.
The film that tries to explore Karm Chawla’s visualisation has good cinematography. It can be trimmed to become slicker, but watch it because it could help you chase your dreams.