Patna: A French filmmaker has landed here to make a documentary on Anand Kumar, the founder of the Super 30 free coaching centre that nurtures talent from underprivileged families and mentors them to crack the prestigious IIT-JEE – the joint entrance examination for the Indian Institutes of Technology.
Anand Kumar, the Founder of Super 30 Initiative
Award winning filmmaker Pascal Plisson, who specialises in documentaries about mankind living in extreme conditions, is here with his team to capture the saga of Super 30 and how students overcome all odds to crack one of the toughest competitions in the country under Anand’s guidance.
“It has been a fascinating and incredible experience shooting and talking to Kumar, his family members, who remain totally involved in Super 30,” Plisson, who makes films for National Geographic and BBC, told media persons here Thursday.
“The unwavering focus of the students is admirable, and their parents, whose hopes are with their children,” he added.
Plisson, whose documentary – “On the way to school” – won critical acclaim, has also worked in several African nations.
“On the way to school” is about the will and determination of four children to join their school in their respective countries – Morocco, Kenya, India and Argentina.
Praising Anand’s selfless work, Plisson said it is unbelievable to find someone like him who invests his hard-earned money to shape up the future of underprivileged children.
“In the materialistic world, this stands apart. The success of students truly makes it an inspiring story,” he added.
Anand, who started the Ramanujam School of Mathematics in 1992, founded Super 30 in 2002.
Commenting upon Pascal’s effort, Anand said: “Such things not only encourage me, but also the students and my well-wishers.”
“For me, it is a source of strength to do even better for students from the underprivileged sections, as I have firm belief that talent is everywhere. The need is to give right opportunity to talented ones by identifying them,” he added.
In the last 12 years, he has helped over 250 students clear the IIT entrance test. During the last three years, all the 30 students of the institute made it to the IITs, drawing worldwide attention.
Along with free coaching, the candidates are also provided with free food and lodging.
To be part of Super 30, the students have to clear a test, said Anand.
Such is the story of Super 30 that in 2007, former Miss Japan Norika Fujiwara and another Japanese Emiko Amagawa made films for Japan Broadcasting Corporation and Japan’s TV Man Union.
Several other national and international channels, magazines and newspapers published features on Super 30 and even made documentaries on it.
In 2008, Arabic channel Al Jazeera made a film on Super 30. In the same year, a film on Super 30 bagged the Audience Choice Award at the sixth Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles.
Discovery Channel beamed Super 30’s inspiring story four times on its channel from 2009 to 2011.
In 2009, Japan’s Kansai Telecasting Corporation made a film on Super 30, while French 24 also made a short film on it in 2010.
China’s CCTV also interviewed Anand in detail.