This review is dedicated to my MS buddies - Sanjoy, Aruna, Ratna, and Ipsita, who motivated and insisted me throughout last year to resume my writing and here are my two cents on one of the most emotional films of our times.*
Main Kabhi Batlata Nahin, Par Andhere Se Darta Hoon Maa
Yun To Main Dikhlata Nahin, Teri Parwah Karta Hoon Maa
Tuje Sab Hai Pata Hain Na Maa
Tuje Sab Hai Pata, Meri Maa
We live in world of ruthless competition. We all have been brought up to compete and better anyone surrounded by us. It became pretty normal that parents, neighbors, teachers, family members compare child with others and judge their ability based on others. It’s this world where child can’t live the way they want. Aamir Khan the debutante director, Amol Gupte the creative director, and Deepa Bhatia the concept creator's Taare Zameen Par (2007) takes this sensible subject and reminds us adults that why every child is a special one.
Story
Eight year old, Ishaan Awasthi (Darsheel Safari) is living in a metropolitan city with his parents and elder brother. He is interested in non-academic things like colors, puzzles, nature, animals, visuals, and curious about non-valuable things exists in society. He doesn’t have friends, can’t do math, can’t read or write, can’t catch the ball, and doing second year in third standard. His interests are not important in adult world and he is not interested in adult world.
When he gets into serious troubles in schools, his parents transferred him to the boarding school to be disciplined. Things are no different at his new school - same kind of teachers and same kind of academic courses. Apart from that, Ishaan couldn’t take his separation from his family and became totally alien to everyone in the new school.
One day a new teacher, Ram Shankar Nikumbh (Aamir Khan) arrives at the school to teach art class. Nikumbh starts injecting joy and optimism into the kids. After seeing Isshan for long enough, Nikumbh soon realizes that Ishaan is in a grave danger. He visits his family to discover the reasons behind Ishaan’s situation. Looking at his writing work, he soon discovers that Ishaan has dyslexia - learning disability in reading, writing, speaking, or listening.
Looking at Ishaan’s arts and drawings, Nikumbh realizes that Ishaan is a wonderful art talent. With time, patience and care, Nikumbh ultimately helps Ishaan to find himself and world around him to understand Ishaan better.
Analysis
Taare Zameen Par is one of the most delightful, touching, moving, motivating, heartfelt, and thought-provoking Hindi films I have seen in recent times. It’s a story of intelligent child with dyslexia disorder, how he fights his demon in normal people’s world, how he is been forced to compete normal kids, and how one person changes his life the way it should have been.
Watching TZP itself is a great experience remembering of our past. Its amazing that while watching film, one thread of my mind was following film itself and other thread of my mind wandering into deep nostalgic memory lane of my own school days, my bedroom, my closet, my sitting at the veranda of my house and doing nothing, my separation from my mother when she dropped me at hostel, and my aimless wandering in village streets. Its a invaluable gift given by the movie and I am sure anyone watching film would find it better deal than price of the movie ticket.
TZP is blessed with great story, sensitive script, sensible direction, and wonderful screenplay. Above all, it’s been gifted by humble approach and direction touch. The way Aamir spent more than an hour let viewers live in Ishaan's life, understanding his point of view of life being in background until middle of the movie is the great example of Aamir's importance of script over star power.
TZP works at many levels - it reminds you school days, it reminds you simple life of kids, it reminds you importance of loving kids, and it reminds you of unforgettable hostel life. TZP is full of memorable moments and some of my most favorite scenes are most emotional scenes of the film - whenever any characters flips Ishaan’s family animation diary, when Ishaan's parents drops him at boarding school, when Aamir visits Ishaan's house and subsequence conversation about Ishaan's problems, when Ishaan's dad visits Aamir and Aamir explains what responsibility means, and when Ishaan accepts winning prize and runs towards Aamir.
As far as the performances, Darsheel as Ishaan makes sure that if he makes you laugh in one scene then makes you cry in next scene. Unforgettable facial expressions, remarkable eye movements are the highlights of his mind-blowing performance. It’s amazing that even though Mr. Perfect, Aamir khan was at his best as an actor; he looked pale comparison to Darsheel. He was brilliant in the scenes when he was fighting for Darsheel's existence. Tisca Chopra as Ishaan's mother is another unforgettable character in the film - her emotional face, crying for Ishaan would make any viewers to feel feelings of a mother.
Shankar Ehsaan Loy's music and Prasoon Joshi's lyrics is the key ingredient of this film. Each and every song is refreshing, different, and situational - Maa, Jame Raho, Taare Zameen Par, Mera Jahan, Bheja Kum, and Bum Bum Bole. My vote for best song of these masterpiece soundtracks is Maa. I am sure each one of us has been separated from Mother at one point or other in our life - be it just like Ishaan when we went to hostel first time, be it overseas trip, or be it any other reasons. After going through heart-wrenching experience of Maa song in TZP, I bet even stonehearted person would have flashback of their separation from parents.
Conclusion
It would have been rare moments when I get emotional while watching films. I hardly remember when was the last time I had watery eyes while experiencing any films. I must confess, after watching TZP, small tears started flowing in my eyes from nowhere and without knowing, I knew I was attached to the Ishaan Awasthi, one of the most brilliant character etched out on silver screen. TZP is a true Indian movie and must see for all Hindi cinema lovers.
Note: Story is influenced from the Yahoo Movies section.
