“Blackboard vs Whiteboard” Review: Good intentions.

Films with good intentions and a good message, sometimes get lost if the narrative is not as compelling. The issue with “Blackboard Vs Whiteboard” is the screenplay. There doesn’t seem to be a clear focus. However, the intentions deserve to be respected. When selling junk food at a roadside eatery poses as hurdle in getting a suitable match for village boy Amit (Dharmendra Singh), he then turns to teaching, and this eventually leads to a substantial amount of change, both personally and otherwise. With a little help from his TV reporter/lawyer love interest Rashmi Hazarika (Alismita Goswami), Amit changes the fate of a government run school in one of the remote hamlets of a north Indian state. But, since his noble intent of uplifting the school children does not go down well with the local politician (Ashok Samarth), he finds himself caught in the middle of a scandal concocted by the rich and the powerful.

This film delves into serious territory, and it is no denying that the education system is largely neglected in our society. This film works as a social drama, but doesn’t really keep you hooked. The buildup is ok, but the film eventually loses steam, and gets a bit messy. From a technical standpoint, it is very clear that this is a low budget film. But that’s fine. For the most part it works technically. The performances are decent, with Raghuvir Yadav, Ashok Samarth, and Akhilendra Mishra standing strong. The lead actor Dharmendra Singh tries but doesn’t really live up to the mark. Meanwhile Alismita Goswami lacks screen presence.

Overall, the screenplay and the execution is not up to the mark. If you are interested in watching a social drama, then it’s worth watching once, but one shouldn’t have high expectations.

Rating: 3 stars.