Teachers' day: Rajendra Prasad's Onamalu - A tribute to teachers

Dr Rajendra Prasad's recently released movie Onamalu is a movie on school teacher from a village in Andhra. The Telugu film deals with adverse effects of Urbanisation on our life. It covers some of the real incidents and try to throw light on how these aspects affect our day-to-day life. It is all about the beauty of simple village life and simplicity.

Onamalu is a message-oriented movie, which has been shown on screen without any commercial elements. The movie reminds us of our roots and responsibility towards our villages. It is a clean and green film that takes us into the memory lane of teacher. This heart-touching film focuses on deteriorating standards of human values in the present society. It does not provide any solution, but shows the life the way it is.

Narayanarao Master (Rajendra Prasad) is a retired school teacher, who is unable to adjust with his children, who are working in US. Fed up with American culture, he decides to return to his village. The film starts with the flight reaching India. From there, he engages a cab to his village and recollects his sweet memories in that village with the cab driver. The entire part before the interval bang is passed on with the recollection alone.

In this process, he meets some of his old students on his way. However, he realises how the entire world changed including India with people following western culture and here too people have changed their mentalities including his students. How he makes efforts to enlighten people will form the crux of the film.

In India, a teacher (Guru) is treated as God and described as the representative of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, who create, sustain knowledge and destroy the weeds of ignorance. But in recent times, several movies have shown teacher in a very bad light. He is shown being insulted, harassed and beaten up by students. But Onamalu highlights a teacher's noble ideas that too sans commercial elements. This film is a fitting tribute to teachers.