Paathshaala

The story begins with a new English teacher Rahul Udyavar (Shahid Kapoor) joining Saraswati Vidya Mandir school, in the Mirpurkhas suburbs. He strikes instant rapport with students and teachers alike.When Rahul Udyavar unifies the teachers (Ayesha Takia and Sushant Singh) against the atrocities of the schools management, Principal Aditya Sahay (Nana Patekar) defends the managements decision. This comes as a shocker to the teachers as Sahay is known for his dedication as an educator for the last 32 years who has built the schools high reputation.The situation becomes graver as school management becomes overambitious with its growth and involves media planners in the extracurricular activities.

This demands the involvement of students in TV reality shows and other media PR activities used for building the schools image in public which starts reflecting on the students stress levels. The pressure on young minds increases incredibly, leading to unexpected and grim consequences.Caught in the web of commercialization, the students go on strike unable to take the pressure, and it becomes a hectic situation. When the media comes to the school, asking questions about strike, Principle Sahay explains the whole situation and resigns. All the students request him not to leave and he shows some signs indicating that he would return.

Paathshaala received mixed reviews from top critics in India. It received 3.5/10 at ReviewGang. It received 3 out of 5 from Indiatimes. The Times of India also gave the film 3 out of 5 saying, Go for some serious viewing.

AOL Indias Noyon Jyoti Parasara gave the film a mere 1.5 out of 5 and said, Paathshaala does not have a screenplay. And it has bad dialogues made only worse by loud acting by most of the cast. Indiafms Taran Adarsh gave 2 out of 5 saying, On the whole, Paathshaala is a well-intentioned film, but lacks clarity thanks to an uninspiring screenplay. Paathshaala was given 1.

5 out of 5 by Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN. According to him, the script includes sheer melodrama and over-exaggeration in its effort to shamelessly manipulate you into caring for its characters.