Diwali release ‘Chhalaang’ revives school memories

For most of us school life makes for the best years of our lives. These memories are something we always cherish and hold close to our hearts. Especially the PT classes, where we got the opportunity to blow off some steam and play some games under the sun, which was honestly a much-needed break.

Actors later and students first, which is why the cast of ‘Chhalaang’, this year’s Diwali release, got extremely nostalgic on the film’s sets. Here is what the cast and director had to share about what they were like back in the day, in their PT class and their rapport with their PT teachers.

Filmmaker Hansal Mehta recalls: “My PT teacher was a guy called Lenny Gonsalves. He was there before I joined the school and much after I left school. He was still there when my kids were ready to go to school. He died a few years back. I remember Lenny used to have a ruler, he would tell everybody to take their palms out and he would run to hit everybody on their palms because nobody would take PT seriously.

“‘I will give you one Phaat!’ that was his line. I recall, he would tell us to take three rounds of the school ground and for three years I used to give him a letter from a doctor saying I have appendicitis. Since I was from a family of doctors, I forged one letter and did not do sports for three years. Somewhere, this film reminds me that if I had taken that running seriously, I would have been a little more fit.”

Nushrratt Bharuccha, the lead actress, too shares similar emotions. She reveals not being a sports person during her school days and hated being out in the sun. In fact, the ‘Pyaar Ka Punchnama’ actress shares a somewhat embarrassing tale.

She notes: “In every single sports day activity, I would just sit in one corner and pretend I was not well because my teacher would ask us to do sports in the scorching heat which was something I was never fond of. I remember once a teacher asked me to run in a race and in return, she promised me to give treats at McDonald’s. So that is the only race I participated in.

“I feel ashamed of talking about it as it was a needle and thread race. I was supposed to run to the other end, where another person was standing with a needle and a piece of thread in hand. I had to thread the needle and run back to my point. The funniest part is that I could not even come first in that race, I came second.”

Lead actor Rajkummar Rao, on the other hand, was quite the opposite. He loved sports as a kid and never missed an opportunity to go out and play.

The actor quips: “I shared a great rapport with my PT teachers because I was good at sports and I always participated in different kinds of sports. My teachers really took care of me and they always pushed me to strive harder and to aim for higher things.”

*For more such entertaining trips down memory lane, join DiwaliFest 2020 this weekend