11 Life Lessons From Rani Mukerji's Hichki Which Prove That Perseverance Is The Key To Success

After a long time in Hindi Cinema, we have seen an honest attempt by a big banner like Yash Raj films to give us a story that feels refreshingly warm for reasons more than one.

Rani Mukerji’s Hichki is a film that revolves around the life of Naina Mathur, who suffers from a neurological condition called the Tourette Syndrome since childhood.?But wait. She might be ‘suffering’ from the disease but that in no way means that she is suffering in real life.

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She is a winner in every sense of the word and more so because she brilliantly passes every test of time and proves out to be a winner.

Naina’s constant hiccups and sounds are because of her speech defect that aggravates whenever she gets nervous but that in no way means that she is a failure in life.

Instead, she teaches all of us a thing or two on how to be a winner in every aspect of life.

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After a prolonged struggle of 5 years and 18 unsuccessful attempts, she gets a chance to teach at her own school which is also one of Mumbai’s prestigious schools and what she does with that opportunity is what this story is all about. Even though the film is slightly predictable but there are a lot of takeaways from this film that are noteworthy. (P.S: Spoiler Alert!)

1. Disorders can make your body functionality weak but it has nothing to do with your dreams.

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As Naina Mathur (Rani) says during one of her school interviews, “Tourette is in my speech, not in my intellect". The message is loud and clear, physical disability can hamper normal functioning of your body but they can’t affect your dreams or will to conquer them. Naina Mathur’s life story teaches us just that.

2. Rejections are not the end of life. They prepare us to strive better and work towards a bigger goal in life, with more conviction

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After around 19 schools that turned Naina Mathur down, she found the job she always wanted. Even when she was going through rejections, she never compromised on her dream of becoming a teacher.

3. Sometimes it is during difficult times in our lives that we realize what our strengths are

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Naina Mathur had to face a lot of turbulence during her teaching tenure but she didn’t give up. Instead, her unique teaching methods became her strengths. No matter how difficult the phases of your life get, always remember that you’re tougher than all these difficulties. Thank you, Naina.

4. There are no bad children, only bad teachers

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Naina Mathur’s class 9F was touted as "municipality garbage" by other teachers who refused to believe in the kids but thanks to Naina who taught everyone a lesson that was much needed. Kids are never bad and they can always be moulded into better people. This one is a lesson that parents in India need to learn to. Parents who blame their kids but never take ownership of their own parenting. Yes, that.

5. Kids are like wet clay, you can actually transform them into anything by showing them the right direction

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Trust Hindi films to subtly give you messages that are relevant. With Hichki, one important point that we all get here is, that kids are not stubborn and it’s all about teaching them right values at the right time. With kids, it’s never too late. And with kids, you need to unlearn certain things before making them learn things. At least one film that has got parenting and schooling absolutely right.

6. Every family is dysfunctional in one way or the other and it's completely okay.

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Naina shares a strained relationship with her father, who abandoned the family when she was a kid. She shares a bittersweet relationship with him throughout the film. Naina’s father thought that her disorder means that she always needs help and Naina wanted to change just that. Instead of taking the easier route, Naina chose to follow her own journey and she did prove it to her father that some journeys are meant to be taken alone. Thanks to films like Kapoor & Sons and Hichki that we see dysfunctional but real families on the big-screen.

7. Sometimes you need to step into your parent's shoes to realize that they deserve forgiveness too.

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Naina was stubborn about not giving her father a chance but by the end, she shares a warm hug with him and that proves that no matter how strained relationships get, our family is indeed the only constant in our lives.

8. It's never too late to start afresh in life

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Naina, a part-time animator wants a teaching job desperately. She could have easily landed a banking job because of her father but for her, her dream of becoming a teacher mattered more than anything else. Naina, who was in mid 30’s didn’t pay heed to societal pressure and taught us that when it comes to your ‘big dream’, age is just a number and it’s never too late to start afresh with your dreams.

9. Never underestimate people on their inadequacies?

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Naina’s section of students face extreme nastiness from others in the group but the whole team ends up passing in exam, proving that no matter from where you come, you can always end up achieving great things in life. They might be kids from the slum and their challenges were harder than others who were born with a silver spoon but they end up victorious and that gives us a message loud and clear: Never underestimate the power of hard work and will to achieve.

10. Sometimes underdogs are the biggest achievers in life

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Naina Mathur's F section in school proved that it's never too late to begin and all you need is sincerity and hard work to reach your real goal in life. The kids were criticized for their rowdy behavior but the way Naina's constant efforts made them stand out, in the end, is what is extremely inspiring. One can learn a lot from underdogs and that's what this film is about.?

11. Don't ever let nastiness of the world around you change the core of your own heart?

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Naina's life was not at all about a bed of roses and even with all the thorns on her way, she never let that negativity affect her in any which way. Naina's life is a testimony to the fact that even though life is a full package of struggles and rejections but that shouldn't affect your spirit to achieve big in life.?

Starring Rani Mukerji and?Neeraj Kabi in eminent roles, the film is lead by a brilliant ensemble cast that includes kids, Supriya Pilgaonkar, Sachin Pilgaonkar, Hussain Dalal and Shivkumar Subramanium. If you are yet to watch this heartwarming tale of Naina Mathur's small and big victories, maybe it's time for you to book your tickets!?