Thought-provoking Taare Zameen Par

Taare zameen par – the best movie I have seen till date. We don’t see many bollywood movies without masala songs, dance and fights. But this film managed to defy all these trends and still makes a huge collection in theatres. It was heartening to see people watching name rolls go on the screen after the movie got over with dazed eyes.
Most of the reviews give 4 out of 5 for this movie. I feel that 4 is too less a rating for this movie. This movie made more sense than 1000 Om Shanti Oms put together.
Please read this blog after watching the movie because it has spoilers.
The cute kid Ishaan (Darsheel Safary) simply steals the show with his emotional acting. His bindaas way of living and the way he dreams are awesome. He brings everyone to tears with his performance in “maa” song. Without telling any word over the phone he conveys the message and touches the souls of everyone.
Amol Gupta has to be given credit for the beautiful story. Never do we feel a let down in the intensity of the story. And Deepa Bhatia should be proud of her research indeed.
Graphics designer should be congratulated as well. Especially for the 3 * 9 animations deserved applause.
Kudos should be given to Aamir for his excellent directorial debut. His absence in the first half was not felt at all. He hasn’t overshadowed the little star Ishaan at any point in the movie. I was inspired by the way he chose to play as one of the boys and not the hero in RDB. He somehow manages to exceed everyone’s expectations movie after movie.
A director is said to make an impact only if the audience think about the movie long after the movie is over. Aamir scores heavily in this respect. This story makes us think like no other movie does. It’s not just a movie about some kid affected by dyslexia. This story is true for all kids. It clearly shows how we treat kids and ignore their dreams and fantasies.
The movie potrays the way parents put lot of expectations on their children. This is emphasised when Ishaan’s dad does not appreciate Ishaan’s brother though he got into tennis finals in his school. The dad says to Aamir that his elder son is topper in all subjects whereas his younger son is good for nothing. He refuses to acknowledge the drawing skills of his younger one and says it won’t help his future. This just shows how our society still thinks of children as studying machines rather than identify the hidden talents in each child and nurture them. Everyone wants his or her child to be a doctor or engineer. They stereotypically think in commercial terms. Aamir rightly asks the parents “Why do you want to make money out of all this?”
The dad wants to enrol Ishaan in a boarding school and the mom ponders, “Where did I go wrong? Did I not grow him up properly?” They fail to think from the child’s point of view. As rightly pointed out by Aamir they look at the symptoms rather than the problem itself. At one point Aamir delivers the most influential and thought provoking dialogue of the movie: “Thanks for thinking that you are thinking about your child”. All parents think that whatever they do is for the good of their child. But is that right?
The movie also throws light on how commercial the schools have become. The Principal is literally searching for a reason to get rid of Ishaan with an easy excuse “ How can a teacher spend time on each and every child in the class?” I also happened to see a hoarding of an International school where a child is drawing and the ad reads something like “We nurture drawing talent of each kid” – very much trying to cash in on the success of TZP for their own commercial reasons.
Aamir’s way of making the child break out of his shell and come up and face the world with confidence are awesome. That is just the way every parent/teacher ought to treat his child. In Ireland every dad who has a child is required to leave office at 3 and spend some time with the kid. They recognize the value of spending time with kids.
When I was a kid I was not allowed to scribble on the walls. But after seeing the movie I thought to myself when I become a parent I will allow my child to scribble whatever he/she wants to. I will allow him the way he/she wants to become because every child is special.