Taare Zameen Par (2007)

English translation: Stars on the Earth

Director: Aamir Khan

Story: Amole Gupte

Cast: Aamir Khan, Darsheel Safary 

Music: Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy

Time: 164 minutes

Bottom-line: A film that every parent and teacher must watch 

   Is your child poor at studies? Do teachers consider him an idiot or a duffer? Do you think your child has a talent for something other than studies? Is the fault with the child… or the teacher? 

No film can give advice or a message regarding the above questions in the beautiful and emotional way Taare Zameen Par does. Driven by Safary’s and Aamir’s performances, this film portrays a relationship between a teacher and a student.  

Aamir Khan as Nikumbh and
Safary as Ishaan

Ishaan Nandkishore Awasti (Safary) is an eight-year-old boy, who is very poor at academics. However, he is a really talented artist. He fails in all his exams, but his talent is unrecognized. His brother, Yohaan (Sachet Engineer) is a great scholar and tennis player, and this worsens Ishaan’s life, as he is always compared to his brother. Their father (Vipin Sharma) wants both his children to excel, and often gets angry with Ishaan for being poor at studies. Their mother, Maya (Tisca Chopra) is sad, but not angry, that her son is considered an idiot. As his academic performance gets worse, Ishaan’s father decides to send him to a boarding school, creating an emotional breakdown for Ishaan and his mother. However, as days go by, a new art teacher, Ram Shankar Nikumbh (Aamir) comes to the school, and he takes a particular interest in Ishaan. The rest of the film is whether or not Ram is able to guide Ishaan in the right path, and whether he is able to advice Ishaan’s parents about Ishaan’s true talent. 

Ishaan and his father (played by Vipin Sharma) 

This film portrays something that is common in almost every house in India. Whether a child is talented in sports, music, dance or whatever it may be, he/she has to go to school, and in school, maximum importance is given to academics, and not to the other so-called extra curricular activities. A child may be a great cricketer, but if he is poor in studies, all the teachers will only call him an idiot. And more often that not, the parents also join the teachers and discourage the child. Not many parents realize that there is more to life than just excelling in academic performances. 

Ishaan is one such child: a great artist, brilliant in imagination and use of colours etc, but lags in studies. He faces constant scolding from parents and teachers alike. Yet, one teacher was able to recognize his true talent. So, I ask my question again: is the fault with the student, or the teacher? Any child can come out great if there is a proper teacher to guide him. And this film shows what an ideal student-teacher relationship should be like. 

Ishaan and his mother (played by Tisca Chopra)

Safary has done extremely well to portray a dyslexic child. His expressions when he is scolded by his father and teachers, his expression when his mother leaves him in the boarding school, his expressions when his teacher slowly guides him are all brilliant. Aamir has done equally well to play a patient and calm teacher. His acting is so good that all teachers would have been inspired by this film to become better persons. 

The songs are fantastic: hats off to Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. I particularly liked the song ‘Maa’, which is played in the background after Ishaan is left in the boarding school. The lyrics have meaningful, the song is melodious, and the scenes that are shown during the song are very moving. The song ‘Bum Bum Bole’ is more fun-filled and joyous, and it provides a great entry for Aamir Khan. There are two more songs that are played in the background: ‘Kholo Kholo’ and ‘Taare Zameen Par’. The former comes towards the end of the film, and by the time it ends, the scene that is shown is so emotional that it made me cry. 

Ishaan and his brother Yohaan
(played by Sachet Engineer)

The way in which Ram Nikumbh slowly guides Ishaan to become a better child is shown beautifully. Nikumbh initially criticizes the school for not giving recognition to talent, and then when he realizes that the teachers won’t help Ishaan, he decides to do it himself, in a manner that Ishaan likes. The scene where he goes to Ishaan’s house to talk to his parents is one that parents should listen to closely, and take in all the advice that Nikumbh gives. 

Tanay Chheda as Rajan, Ishaan close friend
at the boarding school

To sum up, Aamir Khan’s Taare Zameen Par is a beautiful and emotional film about a student-teacher relationship, which also criticizes the mind and attitude of several parents. Kudos to Safary and Aamir for their exceptional performances. Hats off to the music trio for giving us some beautiful and melodious songs. A must watch film; one of Bollywood’s best. 

My Rating: 5/5