The film ‘Super 30’, which is based on the life of Anand Kumar and captures the making of Super 30, a programme that nurtures students from underprivileged sections of society for the premiere Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), was released in cinema halls across 50 Japanese cities and evoked tremendous response from the viewers.
The show was a house full when Anand Kumar, invited for the premiere show, reached Shinjuku Piccadilly Cinema in Tokyo, reached there. After the show, the enthusiastic viewers had a long list of questions for Kumar ranging from how he came out with the pioneering initiative to his future plans. Many of them were carrying the book ‘Super 30’ and sought his autograph on it. After the show, Anand Kumar was given a standing ovation in the hall.
The film is based on Anand Kumar’s life, his struggle, the making of Super 30 and its phenomenal success story that transformed students' lives from the underprivileged sections of society by nurturing them for IITs in its two-decade-long inspiring journey.
The reputed Japanese channel, NHK, also made a documentary on Super 30 in Patna in 2009. Japanese beauty queen and actress Norika Fujiwara had visited Patna with a crew to shoot the documentary.
However, the ‘Super 30’ film became an instant hit due to its powerful story and the portrayal of the character of Anand Kumar, the teacher, by Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan. It was made tax-free in eight Indian states. Later, demands for its dubbing in other languages started and it reached Japan.
Anand Kumar later said that he was truly overwhelmed by emotion on seeing the response of the Japanese people to the film. “It will remain etched in my memory all my life. In Japan, I have always got a lot of affection. This shows how sensitive Japanese people are and how much they value education. That is the reason, Japan is so advanced. It reflects through their thinking and approach. I was pleasantly surprised to see the show house full in Tokyo,” he added.
