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<\/p>\nThe 2018 Bollywood film Hichki is an official adaptation of Brad Cohen’s 2005 autobiographical book, Front of the Class: How Tourette Syndrome Made Me the Teacher I Never Had. The film centers on an inspiring, self-motivated teacher named Naina Mathur who overcomes tremendous prejudice and her own physical obstacles to educate underprivileged students.<\/p>\n
The Real Story of Brad CohenBrad
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Cohen (born in 1973) is an American educator, motivational speaker, and author who lives with severe Tourette Syndrome (TS), a condition that causes uncontrollable tics and vocal outbursts.
\n Growing up in the 1980s, Cohen faced immense misunderstanding. Teachers and peers often accused him of being a troublemaker because of his involuntary noises and movements, and he was frequently punished or sent to the principal’s office.
\n Instead of letting his condition define him, Cohen decided to “become the teacher that he never had”. He adopted the philosophy that Tourette Syndrome was his biggest teaching tool, using his condition as a lesson in empathy for his students.
\n After graduating from college, Cohen faced severe discrimination in the job market and was rejected by 24 different schools during his job hunt. Finally, Mountain View Elementary School in Cobb County, Georgia, recognized his passion and hired him.
\n He proved to be a phenomenal educator, ultimately being named Georgia’s First Class Teacher of the Year.<\/p>\n
How Hichki is Based on His Story
\nHichki (meaning “hiccup”) takes the core themes of Cohen’s life and adapts them into the Indian educational context.
\nThe film swaps Brad Cohen’s male identity for a female protagonist, Naina Mathur (played by Rani Mukerji). Both share the same fundamental journey: dealing with involuntary tics, facing countless job rejections, and persistently fighting for their dream of teaching.
\n Cohen’s personal philosophy of embracing his involuntary “hiccups” is central to the film. Naina uses her Tourette’s as a way to connect with her students and demands that they view her condition simply as a quirk rather than a disability.
\n While Cohen’s real-life book focuses on him taking over a mainstream classroom of second graders, Hichki localizes the script to address the Indian socioeconomic and educational divide. Naina is assigned a class of 14 rebellious, underprivileged students from a nearby slum who were admitted to an elite school under a government quota. Both the teacher (a misfit due to her Tourette’s) and the students (misfits due to their social status) bond over their shared struggles to break societal prejudices.
\n The driving message of Hichki perfectly mirrors Cohen’s real-life motivational speaking: it isn’t about the cards you are dealt, but how you choose to turn those disadvantages into opportunities.<\/p>\n
Hichki (2018) is widely considered a major commercial success and an emotional, inspiring watch. Critics praised Rani Mukerji’s stellar performance as Naina, a teacher with Tourette syndrome..
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Report Sabih Salik<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"