Taare Zameen Par - Movie Review

Published: February 4, 2010

By EKTA R. GARG

Starring Aamir Khan, Darsheel Safary, Tisca Chopra, Vipin Sharma, Sachet Engineer, Tanay Chheda, M.K. Raina

Hindi film star Aamir Khan made his directorial debut with Taare Zameen Par (Like Stars on Earth). The film tells the story of eight-year-old Ishaan, played with astounding maturity by child actor Darsheel Safary in his film debut. Ishaan has no interest in school and struggles to complete the most basic assignments because of his wandering mind and vivid imagination: a teacher’s instructions turn into a drone, and letters and numbers jump off the page and begin to dance and turn into creepy crawly creatures.

The one thing Ishaan is good at is art, and he proudly displays and shares his masterpieces. But his artwork is overlooked by his parents and teachers, who only focus on his inability to behave.

Frustrated that Ishaan will never measure up to his older brother, who earns good grades and excels at sports, his parents hit a breaking point. They decide to send Ishaan to boarding school in the middle of the term. The decision might seem harsh to American audiences, but it’s not unusual in India—if a child has behavioral problems, many parents believe the strict discipline of boarding school will straighten him or her out.

Depressed by the abrupt changes in his life and nearly 200 miles away from home, Ishaan withdraws into himself and even gives up his art as he’s ridiculed by teachers and classmates alike for not being able to perform in the academic world.

But then a substitute art teacher at the boarding school, Ram Nikumbh (played by Aamir Khan), enters Ishaan’s life and helps him pinpoint the reason for his difficulties. Ishaan doesn’t have an attitude problem or a lack of motivation—he has a learning disability. Nikumbh gets Ishaan to reach deep inside himself and return to his art. The message is that all children should be treated with respect, and it’s conveyed in a way that’s inspiring, not preachy.

Taare Zameen Par is rated Must See.

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