Srikanth, directed by Tushar Hiranandani, is a biopic that chronicles the life of Srikanth Bolla, a visually-impaired entrepreneur who overcame immense challenges to achieve success.

The film delves into Srikanth’s journey from a small village in Andhra Pradesh to becoming the founder of Bollant Industries, a company that provides employment opportunities to people with disabilities.

The pacing is well-balanced, and the dialogues are thoughtfully written, reflecting the protagonist’s internal and external conflicts. The cinematography is visually appealing, particularly in its use of light and shadow. The music complements the narrative, with a score that enhances the emotional undertones of the story.

What I loved most about the film was the beautifully-portrayed student-teacher relationship between Rajkummar Rao and Jyothika.

The film deals with the themes of perseverance and inclusivity and the importance of believing in oneself, leaving a lasting impact on the audience.

The post Srikanth appeared first on The Teenager Today.

Aadujeevitham, a Malayalam film adapted from the novel Goat Days, portrays the harrowing journey of Najeeb Muhammed, a migrant worker stranded in the Saudi Arabian desert.

Directed by Blessy and led by Prithviraj Sukumaran’s captivating performance, the film resonates with raw emotion and showcases the resilience of the human spirit. Despite its slow pacing and occasional predictability, the cinematography captures the desolate splendour of the desert, enhancing the narrative’s depth.

A. R. Rahman’s music elevates the film to ethereal heights, infusing each scene with captivating beauty. The film delivers a powerful message of hope and redemption through Najeeb’s struggles and triumphs. It stands as a testament to the transformative power of perseverance, leaving a lasting impact on the audience.

The post Aadujeevitham – The Goat Life appeared first on The Teenager Today.

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” One realizes the truth of Oliver Wendell Holmes’ words only later in life. This I can say today, when I am 58+ and have been living life on my own terms for quite some time now. I am Sharmila Divatia, a survivor of encephalitis, a viral brain fever that I contracted in June 1970.

I was born in New Delhi in September 1964, and raised in a joint family, had a lovely childhood, a great school, a lot of friends. We moved to Baroda in April 1970 since my father had started work there. New school admissions for my brother and me were sought and gained and we joined school on 15 June 1970. The next day I came back from school and went to sleep, and went into convulsions and coma. I was rushed to hospital and was diagnosed as suffering from encephalitis. It was a full four weeks later that I regained consciousness. I am not aware of the trauma, though I can only guess at it, that my parents underwent during the period.

Though my life was saved, the virus took its toll. I lost motor control of muscles on the left side of my body; I could not talk, see, hold or walk. I remember trying to get off the hospital bed and falling. It was a terrible shock to know that one could not walk. But I was determined to not let nature take its course. It took years of extensive therapy before my speech was coherent and months before I could walk straight. I still have spasticity in my left hand and my speech is affected and these shall remain. I have cerebral palsy as a residual effect of the virus.

Subscribe to The Teenager Today print / digital editions to read the full article.

The post Perseverance Equals Success: A first person account by Sharmila Divatia appeared first on The Teenager Today.

She was born without arms but can eat and dress by herself, put on contact lenses, play the piano, swim, surf, drive a car and fly an airplane — all with her feet! She convinced herself that “handicaps are mindsets. I can live my life through my feet” and pushed herself beyond her limits. Today, she is a symbol of success and perseverance. She is Jessica Cox.

Jessica was born on 2 February 1983 in Arizona, USA. Her parents were shocked to see her born without arms. However, they wanted her to feel like a normal child and introduced her to regular activities along with their other children. She used prosthetic arms until she was 11 and then got rid of them. “It was the best decision of my life because I finally embraced my difference and decided not to conform to expectations,” recalls Jessica. With her parents’ encouragement and support, she taught herself to do everything with her feet.

Determined to be just like all the other kids, Jessica signed up for after-school programmes. She danced in front of a crowd when she was small. Although fearful and nervous at first, after the performance she crushed her fears.

Subscribe to The Teenager Today print / digital editions to read the full article.

The post Jessica Cox: The World’s First-ever Armless Pilot appeared first on The Teenager Today.

A few years ago V. Bhaskaran, coach of the Indian hockey team, lamented the fact that his team was losing because of bad luck and bad umpiring! “I am proud of my brave boys!” he said, “and they deserved to win but were robbed of victory by bad luck….”

He gave a number of reasons why luck had passed them by.

I looked at the coach’s statement and remembered an old friend of mine. This friend had decided to sit for the radio officer’s course many, many years ago. The exam was conducted by the Government of India, and after one exam I walked with him to his house where he lived with his mother: “What happened son?” asked the old mother as she greeted her son on his return.

“A stupid fellow behind me sneezed!” said my friend. “So I made a mistake!”

“Bad luck!” whispered his mother to me, shaking her head at the ceiling.

How easily we blame luck and circumstances for our failures!

Subscribe to The Teenager Today print / digital editions to read the full article.

The post Change your Bad Luck to Good Luck! appeared first on The Teenager Today.

When I first heard this sentence, all my attention was taken up by those two names and the word ‘first’, but there was something else in the sentence that I almost overlooked. The word ‘climb’.

We generally look upon the glory, the name and fame of great people and forget about the path they chose to get there. These two men would have definitely fallen thousands of times, would have been taken aback by those chilly winds of Everest, would have escaped the mouth of death and might have thought of turning back, but today they are recognized by the world only because they chose to climb… climb on.

That’s the story of every successful person. No great achievement could have taken place if the achievers hadn’t taken the first step.

We cannot control the result of our actions nor do we ever know before starting how our present actions will turn tomorrow, but what we always have in our hands is the decision to commit to those actions and keep getting up when we hit the ground. A song by Miley Cyrus goes: “Ain’t about how fast I get there / Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side… It’s the climb”.

Nobody is born with greatness nor is greatness thrust upon us, but the fire to achieve that greatness, to dodge every barrier, to climb every mountain, to fight every uphill battle, to take the first step, is within us.

The post Climb appeared first on The Teenager Today.

A young man asked a holy man to pray for him to have more perseverance. The holy man got on his knees and began,

“Lord, send this young man problems in the afternoon, send this young man adversity in the evening, send this young man…”

“Stop!” shouted the young fellow, “I didn’t ask you to pray for problems and adversity, I asked you to pray for more perseverance.”

“Ah,” responded the holy man, “It’s through adversity that you learn perseverance!”

I saw this happening to an Indian athlete at the Olympics some years ago with J. J. Shobha, the runner from Hyderabad. Shobha ran with an injury.

Spectators cheered as they saw her surging forward, grimacing with pain from her torn ligament, they cheered as she gritted her teeth and slowly, steadily inched past her competitors.

“I was shocked,” said one of the others on the track, “to see her striding past me.” But Shobha put her heart into that race and finished third!

Nobody is ever going to forget the gutsy, gritty girl. She taught the world that injury, problems and adversity could spur one on to success.

Yet, we pray for wonder drugs to help us win battles. We pray for easy solutions where we won’t have to put too much effort or muscle. “Take away the mountain in front of us God!” we shout.

“Climb over it my child,” He whispers.

“I can’t.”

“You can!”

“My feet hurt, my legs ache!”

“Climb,” says the Lord with a smile, “climb!”

Read the full article by subscribing to the print magazine or the digital edition.

The post Climb over your mountains appeared first on The Teenager Today.