Movies come and go. Some are blockbuster hits, others super duper flops. Some make profits, other just about break even and many more lose money. later on they fade from public memory.They just come and go. Then there are other kinds of movies that seem to stay on, days/weeks/years after you have departed from the movie hall. Taare Zameen Par, should have a definite mention in that category. India finally has an Ace of an actor and a Gem of a director. Ladies and Gentlemen, make way for the Perfectionist, AAMIR KHAN!!

Taare Zameen Par. I had heard about this movie back in June and when i learned this was being directed by Aamir Khan himself, then without a hint of a doubt, this was my most awaited movie of the year. I didnt care a damn bout any other movie as much as i did for this one. Aamir Khan starting to blog and giving us regular updates only increased my desperation to watch the movie. My happiness knew absolutely no bounds when i got the tickets for the First Day First Show of Taare Zameen Par!!

I reached the theatre on time (unnatural of me) and was literally counting the seconds, anxiety increasing by the moment. Finally the Certification board Certificate was splashed onto the screen and the film name read Taare Zameen Par. The nerves calmed down. This was it. The moment i was waiting for since the last entire month!!

The movie opens with animated credits, completely taking us back to our school days, the days when clay modelling was a part of our curricula. Very very colorful opening indeed, concluding with "Produced and DIRECTED by - AAMIR KHAN", a line his fans had been waiting to see from ages!

A Gist of the Plot:
Ishaan Awasthi is a regular 8 year old boy, carefree, full of zest for life, who's world revolves around his school, his aquarium, his paintings. Studying is something Ishaan isnt very fond of, ending up with many red lines in his books. Words, he says, dance in front of his eyes. Ishaan is notorious for his antics, something that isnt appreciated by his strict father, and something that crushes his loving mother.

Ishaan's parents are our regular stereotype Indian parents for whom academic excellence is the be all of the life of a child. Every parent has his eyes set on some target for his child, and they expect the child to win the rat race at any price. Ishaan's parents are no different, motivated moreso by the fact that Ishaan's elder bro is an all rounder.

Ishaan's world turns 180 degrees, when his father decides to send him to a boarding school, after being sick and tired of the complaints he has heard regarding Ishaan. Needless to say, this crushes the child. His zest for life fizzles out. He is no more the Ishaan we knew!

Enter the Pied Piper, Ram Shankar Nikumbh, who with his unconventional teaching technique really wins our hearts. Also he teaches a good lesson to Ishaans parents, infact to all parents, to whome academic intelligence is everything. Nikumbh sir eventually turns Ishaan's world by another 180 degrees, to give us back the child we grow to love during the entire movie!

Ishaan Awasthi, a very special 8 year old boy.

Performances
Darsheel Safary was born to play Ishaan! Period! No one else could have potrayed him the way Darsheel did. Right from the first frame of the movie, you feel as if Ishaan is a part of your life. I laughed on Ishaan's jokes and antics, and could not hold back my tears when Ishaan cried. It seemed as if Darsheel wasnt acting at all. Infact so good was he, that i felt in some scenes, he even bettered Aamir Khan. He didnt have any hard hitting dailogues as such, it was just his expressions that communicated with us. He is THE BEST child actor i have EVER seen or WILL EVER see!! The childhood angst, the uninhibited laughter, the stubborn behaviour, the heart warming tears, as potrayed by Darsheel is just perfect.

Aamir Khan as Ram Shankar Nikumbh, well i dont have words for him, as everything i say here has already been said bout him. He is truly one of the Gems of Cinema and i dont just mean Indian Cinema!! He has a very subtle yet a very powerpacked role. His struggle to get across to Ishaan's parents, his perseverance to get Ishaan back to what he was is just spot on. .

And make no mistake, inspite of the movie being an Aamir starrer, its main protagonist is Ishaan, not Nikumbh sir. This is evident in the opening credits itself, when Aamir Khan's name appears after Darsheel Safary's name! I dont think any other A list actor would have allowed that in a million years, but then this is Aamir Khan!!

Tisca Chopra, who plays Ishaan's mother, is sandwiched between her love for her child and her husbands opinion. The emotional angst she feels has been well potrayed.

My Experience
Needless to say, i loved the film, and will try my best to spread the word across and encourage more people to watch this film (this blog is one medium), because i genuinely feel that this is one movie that should be watched! I'm not saying this cos im an Aamir Fan, no. Like i said previously, this movie is about the boy, Darsheel.

There are very few films that have moved me, and the maximum they could do was, make my eyes moist. Taare Zaamen Par, is probably the only film, where i actually had no control over my emotions and tears were flowing down my face as if i were in a room full of freshly chopped onions. Yeaah, i cried during the film. Not once, not twice but over five times! I feel no shame in saying it.

It wasnt just me, my cousin bro beside me too had misty eyes, the uncle ahead of me was constantly wiping his spectacles, the lady in front of him, was constantly dabbing the her cheeks with her handkerchief. What did this suggest? I wasnt the only one!! Moreover this is the only film i have seen in a movie hall, that had the audiences glued to their seats, till the ending credits had completely rolled over!!

I felt the movie was as simple as it could get!! It had absolutely no fancy starcast so to speak of if one leaves apart Aamir. Its main protagonist was a child. But at the same time, it isnt a Children's film in the traditional sense of the word! Its only USP was, its Script,a conclusion one makes, after one has seen the movie!!

The script by Amol Gupte, a GENIUS i must say, is very taut. Not one moment in the film seems out of place. Its simple yet gives us all a message, a very significant message at that.

One really gets so involved in Ishaan's world that one has no other concern in the movie and that includes Aamirs late entry in the film. Some really simple moments have been shown really beautifully, be it Ishaan digging his nose while daydreaming, the smile on Ishaans face after he has captured tadpoles from the gutter pond or the street urchin slurping onto a Baraf ka Gola. the Photography is brilliant!

The music by Shankar Ehsaan Loy is good too, with the catchy "Jame Raho" and "Why cant you?", to the emotionally drenching "Taare Zameen Par" and "Maa", music seems one with the script. The guitar in "Kholo Kholo", the whole sort of build up before the "tu dhoop hai, tu hai nadi" part is just too good!

Besides this, the movie has some really intense scenes that really tug at your heart. Some scenes that really made the tears flow through my eyes, as if they were held against their wishes since ages were
>> the picturisation of the title track Taare Zameen Par.
>> Ishaan crying in the bathroom
>> Nikumbh confronting Ishaan's parents for the first time, and stifling his emotions and asking for a glass of water instead. (This i feel is one of the FINEST emotional scene i have ever witnessed!!)
>> Ishaan's dad watchin Ishaan read the notice board.
>> one scene in the song "Kholo Kholo" (sorry cant say what the scene is, as it would give away an important part)
>> Ishaan hugging Nikumbh sir.

I dont know how the critics will react to TZP and neither do i Care!! I dont know how good or bad it will do at the box office. The audience's reaction in the movie hall was better than the best award!! It certainly has made me more mature towards understanding kids, and it indeed consolidates the fact, that 'Every Child is Special'! One just has to look for that shine.

Ok this review has been long. ill just say 4 words before concluding my post. "Watch The Movie ASAP!!"

Take Care

Ciao