PRAKASH JHA’S NEXT, PAREEKSHA- THE FINAL TEST, TO PREMIERE IN UK AT LONDON INDIAN FILM FESTIVAL, WILL ALSO BE STREAMED AS ORIGINAL ON ZEE 5

Jyothi Venkatesh

After making its India premiere at 50th International Film Festival of India in the Panorama section, National Award-winning filmmaker Prakash Jha’s directorial next, Pareeksha-The Final Test, is all set to to make its UK premiere at the Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival (LIFF) on June 27. This year LIFF will be held online because of coronavirus restrictions.The films starring Adil Hussain, Priyanka Bose (Lion), Sanjay Suri and child actor Shubham Jha, will be streaming as an original on Zee 5.

Written, directed and produced by Prakash Jha, Pareeksha which is Inspired by real events, makes a sharp comment on the education system of our country. The good quality education which has become the monopoly of the rich, remains inaccessible to the masses further dividing our society.~ It’s a story of ‘Bucchi, the rickshaw puller whose biggest dream is to provide decent education to his son and this dream takes him on a dangerous path, which could shatter all that he holds dear.

Adil Hussain who plays Bucchi, the rickshaw puller in the film says,  “I am absolutely thrilled that Pareeksha is being screened at the London Indian Film Festival. Pareeksha is a very important film of our time, which tells a story of a Brilliant Boy being deprived of his right to education due to his poverty stricken family. The far-reaching consequences of such a situation are disastrous! The Covid19 has locked us all in. The OTT platforms are serving as the windows to the world of stories. But good stories matter a lot. It shapes our worldview.

Pareeksha is such a story, which will stir your heart. And make feel better, that you witnessed something you thought not possible! Watch it on Zee5.” Priyanka Bose who plays Radhika, the wife of the rickshaw puller, in the film says, “Pareeksha is a special film. I want to thank LIFF team for inviting our film. It brings a simple story and an important message across to the audiences. I'm super thrilled that this special film has found a platform like Zee. It's such a wide audience. This film reaches out in such a positive way.”

Sanjay Suri says, “Pareeksha is a film with its heart in the right place. A father who aspires to educate his child,  who has the seed of a genius and an officer who waters that seed for it to grow. With adequate opportunity many can bloom and that's the message I carry from the film.”  He adds, “It was wonderful working with Prakash Jha, Adil , Priyanka Bose, Shubham , Sachin Krishn ( DOP ) and all the other crew members. I love Prakash Jha’s very early morning shifts and early evening pack ups, it goes with my natural rhythm. It was a pleasure.”

Cary Rajinder Sawhney MBE, Executive & Programming Director, Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival (LIFF) says, “ We are delighted to host the UK Premiere of film Pareeksha, whose compelling social concern theme aligns well with the Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival's principles of championing the realistic experiences of everyday people's lives in South Asia. We are also delighted to be working again with both the acclaimed director Prakash Jha and the film's multi-talented lead actor Adil Hussain who will also be giving an 'In Conversation' on our site www.loveliffathome.com”

Prakash Jha says, “We are thrilled to make our UK premiere with LIFF which is one of the finest overseas film festival showcasing Indian films. I am looking forward to seeing how the UK audiences respond to my film Pareeksha. I am glad that the film has found a wonderful home in OTT platform Zee 5.”

Talking about the inspiration behind the film the writer-director-producer-actor, Jha says, “The film is inspired by the real events and people. Shri Abhayanand is an IPS officer and educationist who while serving as the Police Chief in Bihar’s Naxal infested areas, came across kids from those villages who were so bright with their native wisdom that they inspired him to begin coaching them to crack the IIT-JEE... the toughest exam/test which the young students must clear to be able to join one of the best educational institutes in the country. Their success had a great impact in the crime infested badlands of Bihar and made a difference.”

Shri Abhayanand, who is a Physics graduate continues to conduct free tutorials and has now taken his social experiment to a wider forum so that more underprivileged and talented children from minority communities can also benefit from it. He continues to academically support the hugely successful Rahmani 30 classes. He says, “I had in one of my conversations with Prakash Jha ji mentioned having met mathematically talented village urchins who couldn't even afford going to school in the Naxal belt of Aurangabad in Bihar.

I started a special project of coaching such children who could make their way to IIT/NIT.Prakash ji requested me one day to associate with him and help in the script writing and dialogue specially relating to the physics questions. I felt happy that Prakash ji was making a film on this sensitive socio economic theme.I have seen this film end to end. The film is not a biopic but has brought the sensitivity involved in the issue at hand in all dimensions possible. May this film find its rightful place in the social niche it portrays.”

Says Prakash Jha, “Our deep-rooted social constructs, like most other institutions, don’t welcome upward mobility.Gandhiji had rightly said, “Education is the basic tool for the development of consciousness and the reconstitution of society.” But it pains to see the dire conditions that modern schooling in our country lies in... Good, quality education has become the monopoly of private institutions and so expensive that poor people never come close to the opportunities which all get grabbed by the paying upper class of society!

Prakash continues, “The quality of education for the masses remains pathetic. ‘56% of Class VIII students can't do basic maths, 27% can't read’, according to the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2018, by NGO Pratham. To put it to perspective, one out of four children are leaving Class VIII without basic reading skills. Under such limitations how does a daily wage earner have such audacious dreams as to make-a-good-living? But then again, our gaze turns to newspaper headlines.Small-time farmer’s daughter is now an IAS officer (May ’09)  Fruit juice seller's daughter tops UP board exams (May ’14) Rickshaw puller's son secures 48th rank in UPSC exam in his first attempt (Aug ’17). And as a storyteller, I see a ray of hope when stories like these surface, when people like these battle all odds and emerge victorious after their own ‘trial by fire’, after their own ‘PAREEKSHA’ (The Final Test) Our film is one such story. Resonating from the real experience of an IPS officer, Abhayanand , who is the former DGP of Bihar, this story gives us a glimpse of hope for the poor who deserve the opportunity.

Prakash Jha  is  a  multiple  award  winning  independent  Film Maker  from  India. He has produced and directed 14 feature Films, over  25  Documentaries, 2 Featurettes and 3 Series for Television. Jha  has won 10 National Awards including two Golden Lotus  awards for  the  Best  Feature  Film  of  the  year - 1985    for  his  film   Damul  -  Bonded  until  Death and for the Best Documentary of the year 2002 for Sonal – a documentary on dancer Sonal Mansingh.   He has won the National Award for the Best  Screenplay for Apaharan (2006) and the National Award for the Best Feature Film on Other Social Issues for Gangaajal (2004). Several of his films including Damul -  Bonded Until Death,   Parampara  - Traditions,    Parinati- The Inevitable  and   Mrityudand - Death Sentence  have participated at various International  Film  Festivals  and  won  appreciation  and   awards.

Prakash Jha Productions is a brand incorporated by Prakash Jha, to take his unique brand - Cinema with Power - forward. Prakash is a multiple award winning filmmaker known nationally and internationally for his critically acclaimed and popular films including Raajneeti, Apaharan, GangaaJal, Mrityudand, Parinati and Damul. He is a winner of eight national awards. Prakash Jha Productions envisages a creative horizon where it would collaborate and work with filmmakers across the globe. The emphasis would be on fresh ideas, strong narrative; original plots across different genres, piloting fresh trails, which are commercially viable. It will present to audiences in India and around the world fascinating and enthralling stories crafted by filmmakers from India and abroad.