Teacher-inspired movies worth a watch on Teachers Day 2020

Teacher-inspired movies make a great watch. Through teachers’ tough love and encouragement, a whole new world opens up for students, and they know they have value and can achieve anything and everything if they set their minds and hearts to it. This Teachers Day we have curated a list for you.

Here is a top ten teacher movies you can watch:

1.Freedom Writers

Starring: Hilary Swank and Patrick Dempsey | Year: 2007

Hilary Swank plays the role of Erin Gruwell who is a teacher. Gruwell is a high achiever who has never failed at anything in her life. She moves to Los Angeles to share her love of literature with a group of at-risk teenagers, who are not immediately receptive. One day, Gruwell is able to get through to the teenagers by discussing racism. Relating the Holocaust and its horrors to their everyday gang-ridden lives, she helps the students make connections. Gruwell gives them journals to write their stories, and they begin to share their lives with her, through print. However, the other teachers do not like Gruwell but this makes her all the so determined.

Note: this movie is based on a true story about Erin Gruwell who established a foundation called Freedom Writers.

2.Good Will Hunting

Starring: Matt Damon, Robin Williams and Ben Affleck | Year: 1999

Matt Damon plays the role of Will Hunting, a Math genius who works as a caretaker at a university. A professor, Gerald Lambeau, discovers his remarkable Math talent. Will, after an unfortunate incident with the law, is forced into therapy and math lessons. This is followed by a battle of wills, as Hunting wants to stick to his old familiar life and his teacher wants him to take the opportunities his talents afford him. In this movie, the student knows that his intelligent but doesn’t want the life that goes along with his genius.

Note: this movie was written by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.

3.Karate Kid

Starring: Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan | Year: 2010

There is no formal classroom interaction between the student, Jaden Smith who plays the role of Dre Parker, and teacher, Jackie Chan who is Mr Han, in this movie. Its about discipline and motivation. Mr Han teaches Parker discipline and obedience. This movie is also about healing as well. Both end up doing karate, developing and strengthening the teacher-student bond and building confidence.

4.Music of the Heart

Starring: Meryl Streep and Aidan Quinn | Year: 1999

Meryl Streep plays the role of Roberta Guaspari, an abandoned wife who has no choice but to take up teaching when her husband leaves her. Roberta faces an uphill battle putting her class together, dealing with fellow teachers who don’t take her seriously, and her own personal heartbreak. But this doesn’t hold her back. She keeps going and is motivated by watching her students persevere in their own lives.

Note: for this movie, Meryl Streep was nominated for Best Actress.

5.Dangerous Minds

Starring: Michelle Pfeiffer, George Dzundza, Courtney B. | Year: 1995

The storyline goes somewhat like this: an ex-marine is hired as a teacher in a high school in a poor area of the city. There are bright kids with little or no educational skills and have social problems. On her first day of school, she is hooted down by scornful students who call her white bread. But she returns the next day with a no-nonsense attitude and a fearless determination to better the lives of her students.

6.Mohabbatein

Starring: Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan | Year: 2000

Amitabh Bachchan essays the role of the dean of Gurukul, a boarding school for boys known for its discipline and never-bend-the-rule attitude. Shah Rukh Khan plays the role of a music teacher who spreads love which often brings him to near clashes with the dean.

7.Main Hoon Na

Starring: Shah Rukh Khan, Sushmita Sen | Year: 2004

This movie brings to life the student-teacher crushes and friendship. Shah Rukh Khan is an undercover agent, and Sushmita Sen is the teacher. SRK’s character finds himself in awe with the Chemistry teacher.

8.Iqbal

Starring: Naseeruddin Shah, Shreyas Talpade | Year: 2005

This movie is about a deaf and dumb boy who wants to be a cricketer and finds a mentor to train him. Initially, the mentor, who is played by Naseeruddin Shah, doesn’t take him seriously. The mentor and the student overcome obstacles in their way and strive toward their goal. This, in turn, strengthens their bond.

9.Black

Starring: Amitabh Bachchan, Rani Mukerji | Year: 2005

This movie won acclaim and left its mark on Indian Cinema. Rani Mukerji plays the role of Helen Keller, a blind and deaf girl, and Amitabh Bachchan is the teacher. The two acclaimed actors showed in Black that being a teacher is not a profession bound to four walls and a bell ring, it exceeds all boundaries when it comes to the growth of a student. It shows how far a teacher has to go to do justice to his profession, and it all ultimately pays off with eventual progress.

10.Taare Zameen Par

Starring: Aamir Khan, Amole Gupte | Year: 2007

This movie is about an 8-year-old dyslexic boy who excels in art, but his poor academic performance prompts his parents to send him to a boarding school. At the boarding school, his art teacher discovers his actual problem – dyslexia and helps him uncover his potential, which surprises his parents. The boy becomes a better student and shares a close bond with his teacher.