Movies can motivate you to do better

Movies can motivate you to do better

When you are feeling depressed, sometimes watching a movie that signifies triumph over adversity can help put your studies back on track

‘Just a few weeks to go before the exams and unable to summon up enough energy for even picking up a reference book from the library.’ If this line from a social networking blog describes your state of mind, maybe its time to do something out of the box.
Movies are generally seen as distractions to study and usually the first items on the ‘hit list’ when exams are near. However, the right movie can actually shake you out of that mind-numbing stupor and move towards study books again. By inspiring one to do better, movies can actually (believe it or not) be leveraged as a motivational tool.
However, this does not mean that depressed students have carte blanche to watch any and every movie for the purposes of ‘getting inspired.’ The movie has to necessarily be one that will show a person taking on overwhelming odds and emerging on top through sheer dint of hard work.
When the mind has totally given up and is resigned to losing an academic year watching a movie that signifies triumph over adversity can help put your studies back on track. If nothing else, it will spur you on to prove a point to the world about your capabilities.
When in this state of mind, study only with those who are in a similar situation. Being with bragging scholars will only make you feel worse!

Top student motivating films
-    Gladiator
-    The Pursuit of Happyness
-    Good Will Hunting
-    Good Boy Bad Boy
-    Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar

Get inspired by reel life stories

Good Will Hunting
Written by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon and starring them in key roles, Good Will Hunting is about an unrecognised genius who is forced to see a therapist and study advanced mathematics in order to avoid jail time for assaulting a police officer. The character of his girlfriend, played by Minnie Driver, struggles with mathematics assignments. When he offers to quickly solve them for her in a few minutes so that they can spend more time together, she points out that it wouldn’t be right. The scenes set at Harvard where the professor posts a difficult problem taken from algebraic graph theory as a challenge for his graduate students to solve, and the eager students accosting him on a holiday to ask who solved it, are memorable.

Good Boy Bad Boy
A Bollywood remake of 'Class Act', Good Boy Bad Boy has Raju Malhotra (Emraan Hashmi) and Rajan Malhotra (Tusshar Kapoor) who are poles apart. Raju is poor in studies but good in sports, Rajan is a brilliant student but a zero in extracurricular activities. The new principal divides the students according to their merit. Raju falls for a girl in A-section and swaps his place with a hesitant Rajan who enters C-section. The principal decides to teach them a lesson by sending their names to a quiz and dance competition. How they accept the challenge and emerge triumphant forms the crux of this movie.

Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar
The backdrop of Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar is the sports competition between students of various colleges. The highlight is the marathon cycle race at the start and end of the movie. The character of Sanjay Lal Sharma (Sanju) essayed by Aamir Khan is shown to be a carefree youngster who is full of himself and takes all aspects of life, including studies and sports casually. When his elder brother, the college sports champion has an accident and is hospitalised, Sanju becomes more responsible and decides that he will participate in the race and give it his best. The intense preparation within a limited timeframe and sheer effort during the race is truly inspiring.

the Pursuit of Happyness
A biographical drama, the Pursuit of Happyness features Will Smith in the role of Chris, an on-and-off-homeless salesman. A chance meeting earns him the chance to become an intern stockbroker. As an intern, he develops a number of ways to make phone sales calls more efficiently. He also reaches out to potential high value customers, defying protocol. Concluding his
internship, Chris is offered the position. The epilogue reveals that Chris went on to form his own multi-million dollar brokerage firm.

Gladiator
Russell Crowe portrays the fictional character of loyal Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius. Reduced to slavery, he rises through the ranks of the gladiatorial arena. Forced to fight for his life, Maximus proves a fierce contestant. He reaches the prestigious Roman Colosseum. He later wins against the undefeated gladiator Tigris, as well as tigers released in the arena.