This is the second movie that I watched on the day of release. The only other one I remember watching - that is, when I managed to stay awake - on the first day was Koyla, way back in 1997. While that day burns in memory like smouldering ember even after a decade, this day is sure to shine in starry luminance in the future. Taare Zameen Par is, in one word, superb. But this is one movie that deserves more than this single-word encomium.
I am no expert in film-making and its technical details. So, I cannot even try to write a review on it. I'd rather try to present a 'view' of this film from an absolutely uninitiated, end-user perspective. From the first scene till the last - through a series of gripping, yet simple, trails - the movie keeps you captivated. Pause on this for a moment, and you would probably agree that a film that is not complete in all aspects - story, acting, screenplay, direction, dialogue, lyrics, music, cinematography and so on - would not extract complete attention from its audience.
Talking of the audience, it was pathetic to hear many people burst into laughter at completely poignant scenes. This is making me think as much as the message left by the film.
Powerful is the word that comes to the mind for the acting; lucid for the direction. Segments, like the aimless promenade of a boy who takes a day off to absorb all he can see in the streets of the city, while his classmates are made to extract definitive knowledge from their chapters - leave just about enough space that can accommodate exact, no-frills performances. How often would we want to let go of all the restraints that come packaged with our 'normal' minds and give vent to our feelings like the uncontrolled, animalistic laps around the basketball court? How often are we made to feel belittled and retract in a shell? I am sure once we can bring out the cause out of the context, the film would leave us with challenges that we all can identify with. Challenges which could be overwhelmed when confidence combines with character. Taare Zameen Par wraps these simple pieces in highly attractive performances and ties it with a taut direction.
You might resort to the scientific studies to show the actual ordeals one has to go through to overpower the grip of something like Dyslexia and say that film offered an easy way out for Ishaan. Do so at your own risk - and prove that you are still too bookish to accept the creative output of our capabilities. This is a film where the filmmaker presents us a story to assimilate, not a case study to showcase our analytical prowess. Hence the outcome of the painting competition where the pupil pips the teacher is more symbolic of his moving out of the latter's shadow than being the playground of logic and practicality. There was, perhaps, just one part - where Aamir Khan confesses to the boy that he had also suffered from the same problem - that could have been done away with. This would have given us more reason to think that an absolutely perfect person could be compassionate and make a difference as well.
Each person involved in the movie deserves a loud round of applause. In my opinion, the protagonist and his mother gave two of the best performances in the movie. I mean, let us not talk about Aamir Khan here. His performance, for the first time that behind the camera as well, conclusively proves the existence of the unbridled passion and undiluted commitment that characterizes both the professional and person in him. I strongly believe that he is the only one to have his feet placed firmly - among all other stars - on the ground.
