By Pragya Jhunjhunwala
This movie is a biography of the world-famous mathematician, Shakuntala Devi. Someone who I have considered my role model since the day I knew numbers were my forte and that we share the same birthday!
Most knew her only as the “human computer” till today but now everyone gets a front-row seat to the events of her life and how it shaped her. It was her fearless and independent spirit as a young woman in the 1950s which adds on to her dazzling persona. She was no ordinary woman and she definitely proved it when she(Vidya Balan) says-
” Why should I be normal when I can be amazing”
; A saying which also incited the mathematician in me.
Shakuntala Devi started her remarkable journey when she was just 3; solving difficult problems in seconds and doing her own shows across schools. Her childhood days, in the movie, emphasizing the relationship that she had with her parents and it wasn’t a pleasant one. Her father used her mind to earn a living for the house and her mother never spoke out about anything, even when her handicapped sister passed away as they did not have enough money to take her to the hospital. Young Shakuntala promised her sister, Sharda, on her death bed that she would become a big name and rich and famous one day and the world has been a witness to the fact that she kept her promise. Throughout this demise, all her mother said was “When you have a daughter, you will understand”.
Despite her not-so-happy childhood, the first hour of the movie showcases an eager and endearing Shakuntala Devi in the 1950s going to London and living in a guest house run by an Indian woman named Tarabai. In London, she gives it her all and tries to pull off her mathematical shows. She gets discovered by a young gentleman, Javier, who gives her a makeover, refines her English, and brings out her vivacious nature. She is soon giving shows all over town and is the toast of parties.
She gained the title of the “human computer” when she proved the numbers of a computer wrong during one of her shows, which was broadcasted on television. She also holds the Genuis World Record for calculating the 23rd root of a 201 digit number 10 seconds faster than the computer!
Sounds crazy right? That’s because it is! It would take a normal person-hours to calculate that.
When she finds love in the form of Paritosh Banerjee(Jishhu Sengupta) she jumps right into it with marriage and giving birth to her daughter, Anupama Banerjee(Sanya Malhotra). It is when she is eventually torn between motherhood and being a maths whiz, doing shows world over, that she is compelled to make some difficult choices. This causes many complications in her relationship with her husband. She started doing shows once again but also realized that she wanted her daughter to be with her at all times and finally took her away from her father to travel everywhere just like her. She refuses to put Anu in a school as she had never received any formal education either and believes that schools ruin the creativity of children but is forced to put her in boarding school when Paritosh threatens to take full custody of Anu. She is not able to spend much time with Anu as she is busy doing her shows and pursuing other interests such as writing books. Due to her unusual family life, Anu grows up as a woman who hates math and becomes an interior designer. Although mother and daughter have a complicated relationship there are many scenes of them spending time together and proving that no matter what, they love each other.
As the film takes us through Shakuntala Devi’s life, it becomes obvious that while her equation with numbers was seamless, her personal equations often ended up being miscalculated.
Shakuntala was, however, not only invested in her shows and her talent. One unforgettable book that she wrote was-"The World of Homosexuals". She wrote the book in the 1970s when there weren't even any whispers about homosexuality. This was the first educational book on the subject in post-independent India. Unfortunately, it went almost unnoticed when it was first published. Although there have been mentions of it in various articles and books, there is no proper review of the book. Shakuntala Devi also mentions in the preface that she is not a homosexual but only enquiring into the lives of the minority community of her fellow humans who have lives half-hiding throughout their lives.
Despite the portrayal of her in the movie, the real Shakuntala Devi was so much more. Anyone who has watched her in action will always tell you how in awe they were. She was always truly herself and you could tell always tell that. She was not afraid to show off the genius she was and has also always mentioned that she wanted to pass on her knowledge and skills and tell the many children, who loathe the subject, that mathematics can be a fun subject and there was a magic in those numbers. I am glad that there are more people who will come to know more about her because of the movie. To me, she was the woman who "wowed" me in 2nd grade when my parents showed me videos of the insane calculations after hearing that my favourite subject was Mathematics.
Pro tip: Watch the video with a calculator in hand for a maximum number of "wows" and amazement.
So dear Shakuntala, thank you for teaching me to never hide the amazingness in yourself and being as great of a role model as the love I have for my calculator.
Out of ten, I give you and this movie all my brain cells which I used trying to figure out how in the world you managed to do those calculations.
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