A take on the Indian educational system, the movie walks on the lines of Aamir Khan's ‘Taare Zameen Par' and ‘3 Idiots', but fails to create the niche that the two had already set. However, what is interesting to note is that the effort to both, question and answer the sanctity and ethics of the education system has been dealt with good intentions and a sensible direction. What falls short is the accuracy and sharpness of portraying the intentions on the celluloid. Add to this, a dipping storyline and ‘Paathshaala' swirls up as ‘just' an impressive film which you would end up commenting, ‘well tried'.

Rahul Prakash Udyavar (Shahid Kapur) joins as the new English teacher in Saraswati Vidya Mandir School , in the outskirts of Mumbai suburbs. Though he strikes a good rapport with students and teachers, Rahul soon realizes that there is an undercurrent of something erroneous in the school. All his doubts materialize when he finds out that school manager, Mr. Sharma (Saurabh Shukla), extorts money from the parents, on the context of extracurricular activities. Further, the students are punished inhumanly, if they are unable to fulfill the unjustified demands of the school.

Rahul brings together other teachers of the school (Ayesha Takia, Sushant Singh, Kurush Deboo) to fight against the school management's violence towards students. However surprisingly, the principal Aditya Sahay (Nana Patekar) defends their decision. The situation worsens with the school involving media planners in the extracurricular activities, forcing students to participate in TV reality shows and various other media PR activities. Eventually, the conditions lead to unexpected and harsh consequences with pressures binding on young minds.

A point-blank on reality, ‘Paathshaala' brings back to life the dark memories of the barbaric attitude that teachers employed to teach students a lesson. What starts as an eye opener, stretches too much leaving the audience with too ‘real' episodes to digest. The film boasts of a few defining moments which are surely a paisa-vasool, but the film, on the whole, is hammered by a loose script and a boring screenplay. There are scenes, which though are restricted, remain chilly and ridiculous, sinking the overall authenticity of the movie. The climax as well is not well scripted and performed.

Coming to the act, Shahid Kapur shines out partly with his act, thanks to the underwritten script. As expected, Nana Patekar plays his role to flawlessness. Other actors worth mentioning are Sushant Singh and Saurabh Shukla. Ayesha Takia comes in as a ray of hope to the overall look of the movie. The music of the movie is less than average.

Director Milind Ukey has come up with a worth watching story, but the problem is that it is the ‘compelled introspection' (so much essential for real dramas) which lies missing.

The film's music is one of its strengths and is quite pleasing on the ears. Hanif Sheikh has done a good job with the music and the lyrics. Where the film's action is concerned, there is no proper clash created in the movie, between the old school of thought and the new, which would have at least lent the film some dramatic interest.

Overall, ‘Paathshaala' is worth a watch, if you are interested in watching how a few noble teachers take a blunt stand against the brutish management of a ‘trying-to-be' modern school.