Shakuntala Devi movie on Amazon Prime

Shakuntala Devi, a movie by Anu Menon, is going to stream on Amazon Prime on 31st July 2020. The movie stars Vidhya Balan, Sanya Malhotra, Amit Sadh, and Jisshu Sengupta. The filmmaker and writer Anu Menon have co-written this movie with Nayanika Mahtani. 

The movie ‘Shakuntala Devi’ was earlier named as ‘Human Computer’ because Shakuntala Devi was a Mathematical genius. She could solve difficult equations and multiply 13-digit numbers within seconds. She drew admirers wherever she went. The director Anu Menon decided to make this biopic not because Shakuntala Devi was a genius but because she was an unapologetic and imperfect mother. We always have this myth in our minds that genius people never made any mistake or they were perfect. But with this movie, Anu wants its audience to believe that nobody is perfect and everybody has their flaws. The movie teaches us to accept our flaws and own it with grace just as Shakuntala Devi did. 

Shakuntala Devi was not only a mathematician but an astrologer, writer of guides to arithmetic, a cookbook for men, a crime novel, and an author of one of the earliest studies of Homosexuality in India. She was also an aspiring politician and a mother too. 

To the world, Shakuntala Devi was a human-computer who could solve the toughest equations within a few seconds but there was a lot more than a machine who had a ticking heart too. To her daughter Anupama Banerjee, Her mother was a person with a great sense of humor, a vivacious personality who had a zest to live her life on her terms. 

The movie was written along with the consultation of Anupama Banerjee(the daughter of Shakuntala Devi) who now lives in London with her family. She shared deep insights and her private life with her mother which helped Anu Menon in making Biopic. In one of the interviews with Anu Menon, she told that this movie is not about women empowerment but is about a woman who owned her mistakes and lived unapologetically and that’s the reason behind making Shakuntala Devi. 

Director and writer Anu Menon said that the idea of the movie came into her mind after her daughter asked why boys like Maths and girls English. And that made her think that there should be a representation of women in Science on screen.

The quest of Menon grew when she met Anupama Banerjee and her husband Ajay in London in 2016. She said that they agreed that the film will not be made on what already is on Wikipedia. There will be no point if they are not going beneath the surface. Anupama and Ajay were ready and open to share their private space with me. She further added that I am thankful to them for trusting us that we would not represent Shakuntala’s life as sensational or misrepresent it. 

The movie Shakuntala will be seen showing Maths subject as a joyous one and not the dull one, said Anu Menon. So gear up to watch this amazing biopic of the legendary Shakuntala Devi on 31st July on Amazon Prime.