Hichki - Let's do the cha cha cha for Rani

Rani Mukerji prefers to be a part-time animator till the time she gets a job as a school teacher. That, however, is an uphill task given the fact that she suffers from Tourette syndrome – a neurological condition which results in her making some peculiar sounds like cha cha cha, often in the middle of completing a sentence. Her application has been rejected by several institutes and her father, too, is unsympathetic to her disorder.

A reputed school in which she had studied offers her a post mid-term because no teacher is able to handle the class that she has been assigned to look after. The Right to Education Act compels the school to enrol students from the lower strata of society for whom the institute is more a place for recreation than to study. Rani latches on to the opportunity with the belief that she can be the torchbearer of change. A rival professor, played by Neeraj Kabi, has no hopes whatsoever and challenges Rani to prove him wrong.

Unsurprisingly, it’s baptism by fire for Rani, who is made fun of by the students for her speech problem. They even bet on her chances of surviving in the school beyond a few days. She participates, too, and wins over the students, placed in the ‘F’ division as opposed to ‘A’, which is reserved for scholars and those worthy of being prefects. To counter the open animosity and hatred towards her class, Rani even takes blame for their mischief. “There are no bad students, only bad teachers,” she asserts. 

To prepare them for the test that life takes, Rani uses out-of-the-box methods of teaching. She holds classes outdoors and explains complex maths and science lessons by throwing hard-boiled eggs at the students or playing basketball with them. These, however, appear too simplistic and get over really fast. One is expected to assume that the students have grasped the concepts at one go, which is difficult to digest. The parent-teacher meeting is held in their impoverished homes where even getting a bucket of water is a luxury and in the end, all her students manage to clear the exams. 

Hichki is a well-made film led by a superlative performance by Rani. It’s more a statement about the perils of being judgemental to those not as privileged as us or people suffering from some kind of a physical/mental problem. It is a tale of triumph of the underdogs. The film, though, does suffer from certain problems. Many of the characters are not well-defined, as a result of which the entire focus remains on Rani. Her Tourette syndrome is not really an issue once the class accepts her as their teacher. It’s then a story of intentions and a commentary on the need for equal opportunities. Also, strangely, apart from Kabi, there isn’t much opposition to Rani and there’s barely any interaction between her and other members of the staff. 

Yet, the film scores for touching the right chord with its sensitive portrayal of a condition that many would be unaware of. The children are marvellous and you root for their success as you see them evolve as thinking individuals in the two-hour story. Rani carries the film entirely on her shoulders. She is exceptional and her realisitic portrayal of a teacher with Tourette makes up for the deficiencies in the film. She displays a wide range of emotions and adds depth to her character in her usual subtle way. By now that’s expected of her, but with Hichki, Rani proves yet again why she’s an actor par excellence. Let’s do the cha cha cha for her!

- Kunal Purandare