Shakuntala Devi

Shakuntala Devi is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language biographical drama film tracing the life of mathematician Shakuntala Devi, who was also known as the "human computer". It is written and directed by Anu Menon and produced by Sony Pictures Networks India, Abundantia Entertainment and Genius Films. The film stars Vidya Balan in a title role as Shakuntala Devi, along with Sanya Malhotra, Amit Sadh and Jisshu Sengupta in supporting roles while child artist Spandan Chaturvedi in her film debut gives a cameo appearance as young Shakuntala. Principal photography took place from September 2019 to November 2019. Originally planned for cinema release in May 2020, it was delayed owing to COVID-19 pandemic in India. Later, the film was directly streamed on Amazon Prime Video online on 31 July 2020 coinciding with Eid-al-Adha. Vidya Balan was also nominated for the 2021 Filmfare Award for Best Actress. Plot In 2001, Anupama Banerjee arrives in London with her husband Ajay, and reveals that she is suing her mother, Shakuntala Devi. The film shifts to Shakuntala Devi's childhood in Bengaluru in the 1930s, where her family discovers her incredible talent for quickly solving complex mathematical problems in her head. Her father, Bishaw, decides to use Shakuntala's talent and have her do "math shows," where she would entertain people with her problem solving prowess. Shakuntala continues to do math shows and earn for the family as she grows up, but blames her father for not letting her live a normal childhood. She also blames her mother for not standing up to him, especially in the wake of her sister's death. In 1954, she leaves for London after a violent altercation with her boyfriend, Dhiraj, after she learns that he had been pretending to love her even though he had a marriage fixed and even the invites printed out.