A film with a heartwarming message that wears its cause on its sleeve has rarely been seen in Hindi cinema. That’s what Aamir Khan’s debut as director heralds.
Taare Zameen Par
Cast: Aamir Khan, Darsheel Safary, Tisca Chopra, Vipin Sharma
Director: Aamir Khan
Rating: ***
A film with a heartwarming message that wears its cause on its sleeve has rarely been seen in Hindi cinema. That’s what Aamir Khan’s debut as director heralds. It’s by no means the best film Aamir could have made. But it goes to show that if you have your heart in the right place, you can make something worthwhile.
‘Taare Zameen Par’ is a brave attempt on Aamir’s part, more so because it focuses on the world of a dyslexic kid and keeps him central. Megastar Aamir, as Nikhumb, the sensitive art teacher is just another character in the plot.
The story is not without its faults though. Ishaan Awasthi (Darsheel Safary) is 8-years-old, in the third standard and his parents the Awastghis (played by Vipin Sharma and Tisca Chopra) don’t have a clue about him being dyslexic.
Aamir as director wants us to believe that the child is being misunderstood and not given the special care required but he fails to take cognizance of the fact that this could have been rampant 10 years ago. In today’s info-age it’s got to be a rarity. Then there’s the over-zealous Nikhumb (Aamir in a porky hair style), the art teacher, who runs a special school Tulips and also does a temp at the boarding, which Ishaan has been sent to.
Amol Gupte’s story jumps around a bit. Ishaan in his day school does a vanishing act and he does the same at the boarding too. It’s implausible that Ishaan could skip class mid-way, even so from a secure boarding facility.
The claymation sequence at the outset, though cleverly done, appears forced. The characters of Ishaan and Nikhumb are reasonably well-defined but the characters of the parents and the rest of the teachers lack credibility. Aamir’s Nikhumb is teary- eyed and ever so sensitive towards Ishaan (aren’t there any other students with problems in the class?).Granted that Nikhumb feels strongly for dyslexic kids, especially since he has been through the same grind. But as a teacher he obviously cannot play favourites. Or can he?
The final 15 minutes of the film where Nikhumb organises an art mela with teachers and students competing against each other also appears like something a magician pulled out. The less said about Nikhumb’s (read Aamir’s) flamboyant entry as a joker muttering some mumbo-jumbo and prancing about on his first day of school, the better.
Darsheel Safary is effectively low-key and it’s easy to empathise with his character. Though the same cannot be said about the others in the skewed plot, Aamir’s directorial debut does seem to be a promising precursor. It’s primarly the emotional content that will prove to be the film’s scoring points.
Johnsont307@gmail.com
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