Why Cheat India
- Director
- Soumik Sen
- Studio
- T-Series Films
- Release Date
- 17 January 2019
- Running Time
- 121 min
- Language
- Hindi
- Country
- India
- Budget
- ₹20.00 Cr
- Box Office
- ₹10.60 Cr
Review
Emeric Lhuillier's "Why Cheat India" attempts to dissect the desperation that drives our education system, painting a portrait of moral compromise through the eyes of a young man caught between ambition and corruption. The film follows Sattu, a bright student who stumbles into a world of forged degrees and ghostwritten essays, only to discover that quick money comes with a devastating price. While the core premise resonates deeply—the suffocation of competitive exams, the pressure to succeed at any cost—the execution feels scattered and uneven. The narrative meanders between Sattu's rise and fall, his mentor Rakesh's schemes, and the eventual unraveling, but rarely finds the emotional anchor that would make these moments truly land. Emraan Hashmi's performance carries the film through its messier stretches, channeling the restlessness of a character spiraling under his own choices.
What works is the film's willingness to show consequences without flinching. The tragedy that unfolds isn't sudden or melodramatic; it creeps up slowly, mirroring how one small compromise can snowball into a life unraveled. The system critique has bite—showing how education has become a commodity, something to be bought rather than earned. However, the film struggles to balance its social commentary with character depth. Supporting characters remain sketches rather than fully formed people, and the tonal shifts from thriller to tragedy don't always feel organic. By the final act, you sense the fil
Storyline
Satyendra "Sattu" Dubey lives in a rented house in Kota, and is undergoing coaching for an engineering entrance exam. Afterwards, he returns to his house in Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh where he lives with his parents, elder sister Nupur Dubey, and his grandmother. Sattu does well in the examination, achieving a rank of 287th. To celebrate, Sattu and his friends visit a cinema, where they are told to leave their seats by a few politicians, who want the theatre to themselves. Rakesh Singh, also in the audience, refuses to vacate and gets into a fight, leading to him getting arrested alongside Sattu, who gets unintentionally involved. Rakesh makes bail and visits Sattu's house, asking Sattu to call him about a business proposition. The next day, Sattu calls him while at a restaurant and Rakesh asks him to ghostwrite application essays for college applicants, in exchange for ₹50,000 (approximately $640) per paper, to which Sattu agrees. This scheme earns him a lot of money. However, he begins to start spending it extravagantly; he starts taking drugs and engaging in casual sex.
Sattu continues this work as he enters college. He is expelled and arrested due to his drug use. Rakesh bails Sattu out, weans him off of drugs, and gives him a forged college degree alongside a charge to find work in Qatar, which he does. Years later, Rakesh meets Sattu's sister Nupur and they develop a cordial relationship. One day, Nupur tells Rakesh that she wants to do an MBA in order to get promoted at work. Rakesh, still in the essay business, tasks a student working for him with writing a thesis paper for Nupur. Rakesh calls Nupur, asking her to meet in her office's parking lot, which she does. Rakesh tells Nupur about his intention to forge her thesis paper, and a police inspector arrests him for forgery in what was revealed to be a sting operation. It is then revealed that Sattu committed suicide after being fired from his job after his degree was revealed to be fake, thus, Rakesh realises
