There are only handful of movies for whose review you go in search for great adjectives. Well, that’s exactly what I did before coming up with this appraisal. Aamir Khan has offered his fans with spectacular performances in Dil Chahtha Hain, Lagaan, Rang De Basanti and Fanaa. My ardor for this ace actor of Bollywood has reached a higher level with his directional debut Taare Zameen Par. He could have turned a nice dollar by choosing a commercial story line . Instead of doing a ho-hum run of the mill story, he has come up with a child-based buoyant subject which requires scouting and discretion. Hats off to him for that!!!
Taare Zameen Par revolves around an eight year old boy, Ishaan Awasthi( Darsheel Safary) who has difficulties in reading and writing. His teachers and parents believe that the boy is deliberately not paying heed to studies and is mischievous. Ishaan always envisages himself in a world of wonders, all those surreal things which others around him don’t look at. Studying in third standard for the second time, the boy is often punished in the class for his uncompleted homeworks and low grades. But Ishaan is defiant, he doesn’t lament. He is happy in his own world where nothing is impossible. A particular scene that strikes me, where he imagines numbers 3 and 9 to be planets in the solar system. He loves his family and most of the time engages himself in painting. Recurrent complaints from school forces his father to send Ishaan to a boarding school. Things become worse as he isn’t able to bear the pangs of detachment from his family. The intractable pain makes him feel heartsick and he is on the verge of losing interest on almost everything.
It’s at that point of time like a silver lining Ram Shankar Nikumbh, a temporary art teacher played by Aamir Khan joins the school. He is also working in a school for special children. Nikumbh with his new ways of teaching soon becomes the favorite of all students. The ambiance is never somber when he is around. He observes that amidst all the fun, there was a boy who always sported a lost look. He wanted to find out what was troubling Ishaan so much. By referring his class notes Nikumbh learns that the boy is suffering from dyslexia, learning and writing disability. He soon leaves to Mumbai to meet Ishaans parents. It’s then he comes to know the boy is an adept in painting and craft work. Next few scenes you find Nikumbh advocating to Ishaans parents and to the Principal of the boarding school about Ishaans condition and that the boy will shape up soon if he is given proper guidance. Foremost he wanted to make Ishaan feel that he is not feckless and also to bring back that vim and vigor in him. During one of the classroom session Nikumbh talks to the students about famous personalities who were subjected to dyslexia in their childhood. The examples he gives of celebrities like Einstein, Edison, Leonardo da Vinci, Arundathi Roy makes the entire class stunned. He states that these stalwarts were able to succeed in life because they were able to view the world in their own angle. Nikumbh personally tells Ishaan that in his childhood he too suffered from dyslexia, this gives enough food for thought for the boy. Next few months Nikumbh engages himself in teaching Ishaan and slowly he starts progressing in every subject. To restore Ishaans painting ability, Nikumbh organizes an art competition for all students and teachers in the school. The essence of the movie lies in the last few scenes. To the surprise of everyone in the school, Ishaan emerges as the winner of the competition and Nikumbh who paints Ishaans portrait is declared the second best. Ishaan with tears of joy runs and embraces Nikumbh for all that he has done for him. At the end of the academic year Ishaans parents are extremely happy to hear from the teachers that Ishaan has shown tremendous improvement in all subjects. They thank Nikumbh and the movie ends with Ishaan running and hugging his mentor.
Vipin Sharma, Tisca Chopra, Sachet Engineer, Tanay Chheda have played the roles of Ishaans father, mother, brother and friend respectively. They have brought about the emotions of the characters really well. But the movie fully belongs to Darsheel Safary who has got into the skin of the character Ishaan. Be his indolence and pranks in the first half of the movie or the anguish and ire that he has vented in the second half, both are equally remarkable. The sublime beauty of the movie lies in the way it has been told, I am sure Aamir Khan is going to win accolades for it.
One will also be gratified with the music of the movie, simple yet endearing composed by Shankar- Ehsaan-Loy. The intro song of Aamir, ‘Bum Bum Bhole’ is a zippy number. Prasoon Joshi has come up with some touching lyrics in ‘Maa’ and the ‘title song’. Cinematography by Sethu is remarkable.
The movie is a must watch for children and parents. The movie apprises that one can’t turn a blind eye towards anomalous children . All children have some concealed talent that has to be fostered. As parents one has to encourage and not enervate. We talk about school for special children but here is a thought provoking movie which says ‘ Every child is special’, a strong message to the society.
