‘It’s easy to point out problems in this world. It’s difficult to offer solutions.’

The maiden directorial venture by Aamir Khan does ‘that’ difficult part with aplomb.

‘Taare
Zameen Par’ revolves around the stifling pressures that a dyslexic
child faces in our society, in our times. Ishaan Avasti ( Darsheel
Safery) is like any fun loving kid who enjoys catching the odd fish
from the gutters, keeps gawking at the mother-bird feeding her
fledglings and pick up fights with the domineering bully of the pack
when things become too unbearable. Yet, something makes him special. He
sees the world through the colourful window of his mind. A fertile
imagination gifts him with a creative edge he manifests through the
interplay of colours in his paintings. Yet, something ails his progress
in academics. Curiously, he mixes up all his spellings, can’t say a ‘d’
from a ‘b’ and ‘9 * 3’ is somehow 3 owing to some cosmic collision only
his mind can conjure in its full imaginative inflation. Failure in
exams ensues and parents get anxious. The apparent ploy to shirk
studies seems to be the only plausible reason to them. Frustrated with
umpteen attempts at correcting his ‘flaws’ and his habitual relapses he
is sent to a boarding school. The sequence where his mother (Tisca
Chopra) turns back to leave him at the mercy of the unknown premises of
the boarding school is so beautifully picturised, with the

heart rending delivery of “ kya itna buraa hoon main maa....”
(by Shankar Mahadevan) playing in the background that I am sure there
are few, if any, people who did not have a tear-drop gracing their eyes
at that moment.

Expectedly,
boarding school only makes Ishaan a prisoner of the ‘conventional
treatment’ that is meted out to non-performers in our education system.
He blots out the cruel world and locks himself in a shell of desolation
and pain. The portrayal of helplessness in a child on ‘not being
understood’ by people around him is dispensed with a nuanced perfection
found only in past masters of cinema. Aamir (along with Amole Gupte)
donning the director’s hat for the first time has charmed with his
exquisite timing and sensitivity in dealing with the subject which
demanded a perceptive depiction along with artistic finesse.

Aamir enters the scene as an art-teacher in the dying moments of the first-half (albeit with a

clowning act with much fanfare which seemed much redundant) and hopes
of resurrection are ignited. Being a victim of dyslexia in his
childhood, Aamir identifies the problem in Ishaan. He fights with the
principal, and later convinces him that it is only a matter of time
before Ishaan can compete with others with a little help and
understanding. He devotes his time and energies to address the
difficulties that Ishaan is facing and soon the boy shows marked
improvement. An ‘Open to All Painting Competition’ becomes the
culmination of the mutual success of the teacher-student pairing as
Ishaan beats his teacher to bag the first-prize in the competition.

The
whirlpool of emotions ranging from despair to joy, from rejection to
relief attains a magical crescendo at the prize distribution ceremony.
A tearful hug replete with unsaid words of gratitude and affection are
so touching that one cannot help but give vent to one’s emotions,
hiding in the darkness of the tiers to shed a few tears of empathy.

Repentant
and reformed, Ishaan’s father takes him back to his home on a vacation
wherefrom a happy ending starts. Both for Ishaan and his family, and
Aamir, the teacher.

The smell of success and hope is palpable even when the credits roll.

Prasoon
Joshi, take a bow. The ad-man has penned lyrics laden with pathos and a
deep understanding of children’s psyche (he says he owes it o his
little girl) that has an evocative appeal written all over it.

Shankar is breathtaking with his poignant renditions of songs like, “ tu sab jaanti hai.....hai na maa...” (MP3 provided above), “Mera jahaan...” and the title track.

The
trio of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy has again proved what good quality jamming
can produce as the music of the film is a sure highlight poised to make
a mark of it’s own in the coming days.

Aamir
as a director has shown the class expected out of an outright
perfectionist like him. The sensitive interpretation of the story is so
seamlessly accomplished till the end that one cannot really put a
finger on a flaw that glares in its nonconformity with the script. The
occasional inclusion of a few ‘symbolic scenes’ (as when Aamir watches
a mother and child on a bus) and the comic (but of doubtful necessity)
entry of himself as the art-teacher were noticeably deletable.
Otherwise, “Taare Zameen Par” is a winner.

Aamir has delivered a success.

Darsheel has outdone Aamir

The
child artist has not only done justice to the troubled character he
portrays with élan but also etched a niche of special recall within the
deep recesses of our minds where childhood memories and their attendant
anxieties recline in blissful languor of forgetfulness, almost
untouched by the mechanically motivated lives we live. After watching
the film every person sitting in the stands who has ever faced a
similar problem in his childhood will come to associate Darsheel’s
gawky features and his wide expressive eyes with his memories and
rejoice at his victory at the end of the film, though not his own. That
is exactly where the film succeeds, in drawing the audience to think
sympathetically on a socially relevant issue.

“Taare
Zameen Par” lets everyone take something back to their homes from the
theatre. A sensitive heart receptive to other’s problems, responsive to
a child’s troubles, understanding of a passing disability and most
importantly, throbbing with a lasting sensation of triumph.

And to me, that’s cinema.