6 Parenting lessons from the movie Sui Dhaga

Movies are one of the best sources of entertainment and bonding for a family. In this time and age, when few movies offer rich content, the movie Sui Dhaga comes across as a clear winner.

As a family, we have enjoyed watching Raazi and Dangal. My 7-year old daughter became a bit more patriotic after watching Raazi. She realized the importance of hard work and discipline after watching Dangal. Now, when she watched the film Sui Dhaga, there were some very beautiful life lessons that the movie threw her way without the actors sounding patronizing. Besides kids, I believe there are life lessons to be learned from this sweet and innocent story for all of us.

Here are my 2 cents why you must watch this movie with your kids –

1. Catchline – सब बढ़िया है (“Sab Badiya Hai” meaning “Everything’s Alright”)

The protagonist Mauji (Varun Dhawan) is shown to be a man of limited means. He travels daily to the city to earn a living. His parents are old and need his help. He has to contribute to the household chores – like filling water first thing after waking in the morning. Yet he always wears a smile and is a happy man. In all circumstances, whether comfortable or uncomfortable, he says – सब बढ़िया है.

Lesson – I realized that it is a blessing to be happy in life in all circumstances. Mauji’s character inspired me to celebrate every moment – whether it’s comfortable or not.

Let me share an incident with you –

Yesterday, I and my daughter were travelling from Pune to Mumbai in a private air-conditioned bus. Suddenly, the tyre was punctured. We had to stand in scorching heat while the driver fixed it. I was standing grudgingly when my daughter came and said “Mumma सब बढ़िया है.” It worked like a charm to lift my spirits. My daughter had learnt the beautiful lesson of being happy in adverse circumstances.

2. Create opportunities in the most challenging situations

When Mauji’s mother is hospitalized, Mauji and his wife Mamta (Anushka Sharma) stitch a hospital gown to make her comfortable. The gown is simple yet patient-friendly. It is replete with pockets and has appropriate loops for injections, needles etc. The other patients in the ward instantly like the gown and place the orders for the same. Mamta grabs the opportunity and fixes a price – which is not too expensive for the patients yet gives the young entrepreneurs sufficient profits.

Lesson – Life has this funny tendency to throw opportunities in the most unlikely of places. We have to learn to grab these opportunities.

I discussed this point with my daughter. She mentioned that on our holiday at Darjeeling last year, we had to wait in the hotel lobby for 1.5 hours before our reserved room was allotted to us. There were board games in the waiting area. My daughter was fascinated with the game JENGA. I had used that time to teach JENGA to her. And she was very happy. She told me that we had that opportunity to learn a new thing and we used it well.

3. Dream Big

Looking at the financial and social status of Mauji and Mamta, it is extremely bold of them to dare to dream big and participate in a fashion show.

Lesson – What I learnt from Mamta is that when I dream, I will NOT be limited by the resources I have in the present. I am going to dream boldly and start taking steps to make them real. In the past, I have done visualization exercises with my daughter to drive home this point.

The goal that I am going to strive for is to inspire her to dream BIG. As they say – Reach for the moon for even if you fall you will still be among the stars.

4. Passion – A key ingredient for Success in life

Life throws multiple problems in front of the innocent and inexperienced couple – Mauji and Mamta. The minute they get their first order, their cunning neighbor takes away the only sewing machine they had. They don’t have the time or resources to buy a new sewing machine. Yet, they are undeterred. They cycle 40 km in scorching heat to get a free sewing machine under the government scheme. On their way, Mauji trips and hurts his foot. It starts bleeding profusely. Yet they know this is their only chance to get a sewing machine. So they keep moving despite the heat, hunger and the injury. It was extremely heartening to see them struggle so much for just a sewing machine. But they needed it to execute the orders and they did everything in their capacity to get it.

Lesson – I overheard my daughter and her friends discussing – “See they are doing so much just for a sewing machine.” The other one responded – “Because they have committed to their customers.” What a brilliant lesson in commitment and passion. The young girls then went on to share their own stories of commitment. One said – “I went to my dance class. My feet were aching. Still, I completed the steps mam taught me.”

Later I discussed the need for passion and dedication in life with my daughter. Using the movie example we discussed passion and commitment of different members of our family at different points of time.

5. Collaboration is the way forward

Mauji is an expert with the sewing machine. His wife has business acumen and the ability to dream big. Mauji respects these qualities in her and they both work as a team to achieve their goals.

Lesson – I can see my feminist side rising here. It was heartwarming to see the illiterate Mauji respecting his wife’s point of view.

We live in times of collaboration. Each individual has specific qualities. They need to collaborate with others to give their best and to get the best. This quality is essential for us as well as our children to grow in life. I learned it from the module Critical Abilities required to raise your child on the WOW Parenting website.

I discussed Collaborations with my daughter with an example from the movie. We discussed how weavers, cloth merchants, tailors, embroider all contribute towards every single piece of clothing that we wear.

6. Respect Towards Parents

Mauji is often rebuked by his father, who considers him quite useless. Despite this, Mauji is devoted to his parents. He and Mamta show the utmost respect, love and care towards the old and aging parents.

Lesson – This is definitely a quality that all of us would like to inculcate in ourselves and our children.

In fact, all the above qualities shown in the film Sui Dhaga are worth inculcating in us and our kids.

Overall a beautiful movie inspiring us to dream big, respect elders, and stay happy in all circumstances. Go ahead, friends. Watch this beautiful movie with your children and ask them what they learned from the movie. Their perspective will surprise you!