Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Tobias Burrows It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

braddugg Truly, a little story with a big heart This is the bottom line of the movie and it sticks to it right from titles.The story is told right in the title animation itself but it's much better than that actually. But how it will unfold is something that has to be seen only. You will find a boy Stanley going into a class and telling stories to justify every act he does. And then the teachers make an entry that is a statement in itself each one's is as natural and as hilarious. It's a science teacher and English teacher and yes the Khadoos Hindi teacher who will be most ruling for major part. Filmed in school for 95% of the time, this movie brings back the school day memories alive.This is story of food and how important it is for anyone, and specifically to children. And in what irony, we are. One gets huge lunch boxes; one never gets anything to eat and fills his stomach by water. This isn't tear- dropping thing but yes a thought provoking one. Then, one man gives away his self dignity and respect to grab food and one denies the same to protect his self respect.The characters are so well written that we can relate to anyone of the children actually and yes it's a complete walk in retrospection to school days that makes this small film a worth watching engaging thing. The production values disappear at few places but that has to be given for the producers who do not have money enough to shoot it better, the editing could have has been better but barring this few unneeded hindrances, it's a story that's universal and prevailing and that has to be taken seriously about.Kudos to the writer- director Amole Gupte who brought such a beautiful story even without the big names like Aamir Khan (who was instrumental in bringing out Taare Zameen Par), the eccentricities like the intro of Aamir, the boy being turned from hopeless to a bright child and all. This is much simple, and much more natural too but the climax is hard to digest and for me the tears rolled down as if they were so very natural.Happy to have watched this, and given a chance please do watch it. It's 4/5

Satyamaditya Yadav Stanley Ka Dabba is joint effort of Bollywood and Theaterplay directed by Amole Gupte, who is also the creative director of a serious movie about children Tare Jameen Par.Stanly Ka Dabba is a movie about a fourth standard school going boy who never brings Dabba (Lunch box) for recess. There was a Hindi Teacher Babubhai Verma (also known as Khadoos by students) who also never brings Dabba for lunch time and always peeking in others lunch box. In recess all students eat their lunch and they also share their lunch with Stanley because Stanley is master in story telling, all boys love to listen his stories, because his stories are too creative and funny. Somehow Babubhai attracted to students lunch box and keep sharing with them, when he used to eat students's lunch Stanley always get hungry so the students always runs far away from Babubhai. One day Babubhai caught them and shout on Stanley and said without Dabba no school. Later tragedy makes movie very emotional and reveals the truth of being hungry in recess of Stanley, It is really a very important issue that due to child labor a lot of students can not complete their home-works, projects and some other activities, specially the students like Stanely who works in hotel or other places who even don't have mother and father.Stanely Ka Dabba looks very funny in the beginning but it reveals the real motive of the movie in the last 20 minutes. The director, editor and script writer had successfully managed the suspense and they reveals it at the very perfect time so the film really touches the everyone's heart. Even I get a lots of droplets of tears in my eyes. Worth to watch.Amol Gupte is director, creative director, producer and also a actor as Babubhai Verma in this movie. The role of Stanley Fernandez is played by the son of Amole Gupte, Partho Gupte. In the last movie shows that the movie was made on Saturdays and holidays only, having 2 recess in total five hours also tells about child laboring in India.

Vivekmaru45 This superb film is a wake-up call to all the governments of the world with stand by and do nothing to stop the exploitation of children.Child labor is a growing trend in developing countries. Shockingly most of the children are forced into it by their relatives. In India over 12 million children are exploited as child laborers and why the Government Of India has allowed it to rise to incredible this figure remains a mystery to me.Children have a right to education and nobody should stand in their way to shop them from acquiring it. Clearly individuals who employ children as laborers should be jailed for 4-5 years. Should they repeat this offense, they should be jailed for 8-10 years. However due to rampant corruption in India, these characterless b*st*rds bribe the Police and get of scot-free.Moving on to the film. Firstly, I personally vote this the best film of 2011 and vote for Partho Gupte as best junior actor and Amol Gupte as best supporting actor.Stanley Ka Dabba is a 2011 Hindi film written, directed and produced by Amole Gupte, starring Divya Dutta, Partho Gupte (son of Amol Gupte), Divya Jagdale, Raj Zutshi, and Amole Gupte. The film was released on May 13 , 2011.Plot: Stanley(Partho Gupte)is a fourth grader who is very popular amongst his friends. He is talented and is liked by his teachers. However, he never brings his lunch box or 'dabba'. 'Khadoos'(Amol Gupte), as he is popularly called, is a Hindi teacher who does not bring his own dabba but likes to eat other's lunch. Stanley's friends share their lunch with him by hiding from Khadoos. Khadoos eventually finds them in the terrace and warns Stanley to bring his own lunch or otherwise avoid coming to school. Stanley misses school for a few days and his absence is felt by his teachers and school mates. But one fine day, Stanley brings his dabba packed with mouth-watering items for Khadoos. Khadoos realises his mistake and quits the school. Meanwhile, Stanley's performance in an inter-school festival is appreciated by everybody. Towards the end, the reasons for Stanley's lack of a dabba is revealed. Amol Gupte is both a brilliant director and an exceptionally gifted actor. His genius reflects in his son. I have all the confidence that when Partho grows up, he will be a great actor. In fact all the supporting actors in the film, Divya Dutta, Raj Zutshi(My Favorite Actor!) and Divya Jagdale give a superb performance. About Amol Gupte: Amole Gupte (Marathi: अमोल गुप्ते)is an Indian screenwriter, actor, and director, particularly known for his work on the 2007 Bollywood film Taare Zameen Par (Like Stars on Earth) as creative director and screenwriter. The film was also initially conceived and developed by Gupte and his wife, Deepa Bhatia (concept, research, and editing).Verdict: my choice for best film of 2011, and a must have on DVD/VCD and one to watch with the entire family, neighbors and friends.P.S: On a closing note, please help in the fight against child labor, if you happen to see children employed as laborers, please report this to the proper authorities both Indian and NGO who are working hard to eradicate it.

Sonia A perfect family movie with a moral and lots of suspense as to what actually Stanley is hiding and where is the lunch box coming from? The movie keeps you hooked till the end because of the suspense and fabulous acting by the lead role kid and the teacher who hogs food from student's lunch box in the break. He starts developing hatred towards the kid because he thinks that kid is having his share of food and his friends are supporting him. The teachers Mrs.Iyer and Rosy have done a great job. I was longing to see this kind of movie since taare zameen par. I would rate 9/10 for this movie and the way it ended. Worth watching with the whole family especially the kids will love it.