“I Am Kalam” inspires future generations

There are several areas where late Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam left his indelible mark, including India's space and missile programmes and development of common people. A little-less known fact is that he had inspired a national award-winning feature film, too.  

Nila Madhab Panda made his debut into cinema with critically acclaimed “I Am Kalam” in 2010, a film which was inspired by Kalam's humble beginnings as a newspaper boy in his home town Rameshwaram, in southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu and his struggle against all odds.  

Panda said that while making a film on a child labourer who dreams of becoming big, he was looking for a person who could inspire the child, and zeroed in on Kalam who spared no opportunity in real life to motivate children to follow their dreams. 

“'I Am Kalam' is not about a personality or even a film,” says the director, adding “It is a metaphor for a new India where people dare to dream and go on to achieve it.”  

The protagonist of “I am Kalam” was Chhotu, a 10-year-old labourer from Rajasthan, who wanted to become someone big after he heard one of Kalam's speeches on TV. Chhotu was inspired so much by Kalam that he changed his name to Kalam. 

“I was looking for a superhero-like character, who could inspire this kid. So, my first question was -- who could be this superhero of India – a cricketer or Bollywood hero? But they entertain us more than they inspire us. Also, the basic quality of any hero is that he is selfless. So, could it be Gandhi or Nehru? Then again, we had not seen them or heard them live. At the present time, I saw no one better than APJ Abdul Kalam to take up that role of a person who could inspire not just a child, but generations to come,” Panda told The Times of India.  

Asked what APJ Abdul Kalam's reaction was after watching a film named after him, Panda recalled “I had told him that the film was not on his life but on the message he spreads. He was someone who believed in reaching out to people.” 

Apart from the film, Nila was himself inspired by the towering personality of the scientist-turned-political figure. “His life is an example that anybody can achieve anything. About 70 percent of India is like that. They live in their humble abodes and are dreaming to achieve something big. Kalam's words and deeds encouraged us all,” he says.