Leadership Lessons from the movie "Chhapaak".........The Power of Positive Thinking .................

Chhapaak is the story of a young girl whose life takes a turn when she is subjected to a horrific acid attack. Deepika Padukone (Malti)is the soul of the film.She plays the role of Laxmi Agarwal, who was burned with acid in New Delhi 2005.

This Meghna Gulzar’s film initially shows us how the life turns into ashes for Laxmi (Malti in the film) in the blink of an eyelid with that acid attack. And then how she fights it back with her Powerful Positive Thinking .....& her unshakable human spirit.......

As a lifelong student of Leadership , I tried to relate it with management & leadership theories & found the following :

1. How to create your own happiness:

Here in this film , we see that Malti goes from pain to accepting herself ... & always stays in a super happy state. She also once utters the following lines with a well-concealed wit.

“Acid aap pe nahin, mujh pe phinka hai. Aur mujhe party karni hai ......" which means (Acid was thrown at me, not you. And I want to party)....And that's how she creates her happiness......all around her.....

The ability to create your own happiness is a powerful leadership quality.

In his book , The Power of Positive Thinking , the author (Norman Vincent Peale)asks us ,Who decides whether you shall be happy or unhappy ? ...You Do...!!

He further states that : The way to happiness is to keep your heart free from Hate ,your mind free from worry ,Live simply , expect little & Give much. Fill your life with Love.

And all the above leadership qualities are clearly reflected in Malti's character in this film....teaching us on how we can create our own happiness even when our face is disfigured with corrosive acids & we are facing the social stigma/exclusion ,harassment & torture of the society around us ..... we can still be happy .

2. Leaders know the laws of detachment :

In this movie there's one scene where Malti looks at the mirror and tries inserting a jhumka through her earlobe, and then suddenly realises the acid has taken even that away.

But later on she starts putting only one jhumka in her one earlobe only...& doesn't care about the other one.......That shows the undying spirit of an young & beautiful girl whose life has suddenly changed.....(the director uses 'har ghadi badal rahi hai roop zindagi' in the background to depict this situation) .......

This is another leadership lesson for me......In his book , The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success.... Deepak Chopra says that : In detachment lies the wisdom of uncertainty. Here in this film , Malti never gives up on her desires...never gives up on her intentions....but has no attachment to the result of it . And with this state of mind she steps into the fields of all possibilities . Life becomes an wonderful experience of Fun...adventure...magic ..& bliss for her .

3. Leaders believe in themselves ....(The Power of self confidence): Malti had big dreams to fulfil in her life...like becoming a famous singer ...on one day.......but when she turned down the romantic proposals of her family friend , Bashir Khan, she was attacked with acid ...with an intention to destroy all her self confidence.

In the film her lawyer says : "Attack unhi ladkiyon pe hua jo yaa toh padhna chahti thi yaa badhna chahti thi"

But then Malti says : "Unhone meri surat badli hai…mera mann nahi" which means they have only changed my face ...but not my dreams .....With this high self-confidence Malti consciously moves on from all the emotional scars that the heinous crime has left with her.

Self Confidence = Self -esteem + Self -assurance + the belief that one can make a difference.

This movie is full of such powerful Leadership traits . Malti is a woman of few words . Who fight for justice and reclaim her life. Malti shows us that she is a winner because at no point does she succumb to self-pity.And that's the essential quality of a true leader.