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Chottu in I Am Kalam I Am Kalam
Produced by Smile Foundation
Concept and Direction by Nila Madhab Panda

SYNOPSIS

One day a prince and a pauper meet. The pauper eyes the crisp tie the prince is wearing. The prince eyes the camel the pauper has tamed. And thus Prince Ranvijay of the royal Mansion and Chhotu a boy working in Bhati's small time road side food joint strike a chord defying the age old relationship of exploitation between the 'haves' and the 'have nots'. The story revolves around "Chhotu"! (That's what people call all labouring boys when no one cares about their identity). "What is your real name?" Chhotu doesn't have an answer. The question changes his life. He realizes he doesn't want to be Chhotu like the thousands and millions of Chhotu's working in food joints and other industries across the country. "I am Kalam." Chhotu finds himself saying. Why can't he be Kalam? Kalam is the name of India's former President! Well he too was ten years old once, and Chhotu saw on TV that he was a poor boy like 'Chhotu', selling newspapers when he was a kid. Chhotu is a dreamer. Ranvijay will do anything to make Chotu's dream come true.






ABOUT THE FILM

"I am Kalam" the story of a child, his struggles to pursue his dreams and to surpass the boundaries of reality, is a celebration of the human spirit pitted against overwhelming odds. It's a story that might have belonged to any developing country. Focusing on child labour, its exploitative structure and thoughtless individual - who aim at profiting at cheap labour. The Indian system where love and oppression coexist, still continues today. In India people rise from the ashes to reach various pinnacle of achievement, a case particularly exemplified by the former president of India, Dr. APAJ Abdul Kalam. The child protagonist of the film, Chotu, starts his life as a skivvy in a roadside food joint in a remote highway.