Internationally acclaimed film ‘Yeh Khula Aasmaan’ questions the current academic scenario

Internationally acclaimed film ‘Yeh Khula Aasmaan’ questions the current academic scenario

Mumbai, 13th March 2012: Winner of the Best Foreign Feature Film at the All Sports Los Angeles Film Festival and Kids First! Film and Video Festival in USA, upcoming Bollywood film Yeh Khula Aasmaan is based on the issue of extreme academic stress prevailing in the current young generation. Directed by Gitanjali Sinha and produced by Hemendra Aran, the film stars veteran actors Raghubir Yadav and Yashpal Sharma in principal characters.
Yeh Khula Aasmaan revolves around Avinash, who is just one of the many young students of today’s generation expected to survive in the competitive bubble in which they exist. Such a competitive academic scenario has not only led to impractical expectations from students, but also extreme stress and pressure to live up to the same. Predictably, with every passing year, the number of unfortunate demises has increased surrounding the exams period.
Hoping to address this issue through her endeavor Yeh Khula Aasmaan, director Gitanjali Sinha says, “The extreme pressure on today’s youth to excel in academics is absolutely unfair. Academic performance has become the only benchmark against which they are judged. Failure to live up to these expectations can leave them de-motivated and shatter their confidence. Such intense pressure at this young age can affect the rest of their life. As a responsible parent myself, I make sure that I support my child during this complicated phase instead of building up the pressure. This was one of the primary reasons I decided to make Yeh Khula Aasmaan.”
Having witnessed incidents of this sensitive nature closely in her professional career, popular Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist, Dr. Jyoti Sangle has been an avid supporter of the stress-free children cause. She does not hesitate in underlining the role of prolonged stress and high pressure in wreaking havoc on children. She lauds Gitanjali Sinha’s cinematic attempt in the form of ‘Yeh Khula Aasmaan’ to focus on the need of a supportive family for the success of a child. Dr. Sangle avers, “Each child has a unique blueprint, which needs to be tapped by parents and teachers. The pressure on children to perform conforming to the standards set by others creates tremendous pressure on their tender minds. It reduces their frustration tolerance and drives them to impose unreasonable expectations on themselves. Finally, many children crumble under pressure leading to the high incidence and prevalence of anxiety. The film shows how parental support and positive emotions can help the child to overcome the vulnerability to disappointments and restore its lost confidence to successfully combat challenges in life.”
Veteran actor Raghubir Yadav, playing the role of ‘Dadu’, says, “I am extremely proud to be associated with Yeh Khula Aasmaan considering it enlightens such an important issue existing among today’s youth. Academics alone don’t define the future of a child. I believe that the recipe for success is to keep trying your best, success will just follow.” Yashpal Sharma, playing the role of the NRI fathers adds in, “One of the reasons for which I agreed to be a part of Yeh Khula Aasmaan was to address this issue of academic stress. I have seen the pressure my children go through to keep up with their peers. Competition is great, as long as it’s in moderation. This is the same advice I gave my children before the cut-throat competitive spirit caught on them. Like me, all parents need to take up responsibility.” Lastly, an IITian and MBA from London Business School, producer Hemendra Aran says, “While the academic excellence does help in life, long term success is less about academic excellence and more about building one’s own personality, internal strength and emotional intelligence. Yeh Khula Aasmaan subtly emphasizes upon the importance of these aspects.”
About Yeh Khula Aasmaan
Like many of the current generation’s young students, Avinash is going through an extremely challenging phase of life due to his academic failures. Along with the tremendous academic stress, he feels an immense vacuum which unfortunately his busy parents are unable to fill. In desperation he visits his grandfather (Dadu) after several years. Realizing the fragile mental state and troubles of his grandson, Dadu subtly imparts in him the lessons of life through the medium of a kite leading him to a life full of hope, joy and success. Yeh Khula Aasmaan is the first ever Bollywood film to have won the Best Foreign Feature Film at the All Sports Los Angeles Film Festival. Additionally, the film has not only won an award at the Kids First! Film and Video Festival in USA but has also been appreciated and selected at the International Film Festival – South Africa, International Youth Film Festival, International Film Festival – Ireland and Heart of England International Film Festival. The film also received a standing ovation at the Haryana International Film Festival.