The Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009 was passed by our Government, which ensured free & compulsory education to all children within the age group of 6 to 14. And Under Section 12 (1) (c) of this Act, 25 per cent of seats from private, unaided schools are reserved for Economically Weaker Section children. But, we have been observing over the years that many schools and even the state governments have not taken this Act seriously. However, a major factor which affects enrollment in this category, is the social stigma. And the most important question is whether such children will be able to adjust themselves with the lifestyle of their classmates from well to do families? 
Prakash Jha’s latest film ‘Pareeksha’, revolves around an ordinary cycle rickshaw driver Bucchi (Adil Hussain) from Ranchi, Jharkhand, who dreams of providing quality education to his son Bulbul ( Shubham Jha) . Bucchi feels that only a good private school can take his son to the highest level. Bulbul is very good in his studies and is a topper in his Government school, where teachers rarely turn up for their classes. Time comes, when Bucchi finds a big sum left over by a passenger in his rickshaw and he decides to make use of it to get admission for his son in the same dream school. But, that’s not enough. The demands coming from school to deposit additional amount for different reasons are beyond the reach of Bucchi. Desperate to raise this amount, Bucchi works day and night . And when he finds that even that amount is not enough, he attempts thefts and does succeed. But, when he is caught red handed, he is sent to Police custody before court trial.
A newly appointed S.P. Kailash Anand ( Sanjay Suri) deals with him in his own way and tries to help his son by visiting his house by offering extra coaching to Bulbul who is appearing for Board exam and also to other children in his neighborhood. All doesn’t seem to be going well, as both Bulbul and the SP face lot of hurdles, before Bulbul emerges topper from his district. But, his father has to undergo few years jail sentence for his crime. The film is based on the real life story of an IPS officer Abhayanand who teaches and coaches kids in a village in Bihar affected by the Naxal to help them pass in the IIT-JEE exams.
Writer, Producer, director Prakash Jha who has made some very good realistic films like Damul, Mrityudand, Gangajal, Apharan, Rajneeti, Aarakshan, Chakravyuh on socio- political subjects, has presented this emotion filled realistic story very well on the screen. It is one more realistic and thought provoking film from him. But, more than that the performances of the main artistes are worth appreciating. Adil Hussain scores full marks for his wonderful performance. He finds good support from Priyanka Bose, (who plays his wife in this film) , Shubham Jha, Kiran Karmarkar and others. The film was premiered through Zee 5 recently and is Prakash Jha’s maiden collaboration with the digital OTT platform. Don’t miss it.
Rating ( ****)