Taare Zameen Par

Taare Zameen Par, translated to Like Stars on Earth, is a 2007 Indian film, produced and directed by lead actor Aamir Khan, based upon the life and role of an eight-year old child that suffers from dyslexia. Being nothing more than a young, creative, day dreamer, the boy is often misunderstood and seen as nothing more than lazy or inconsiderate as he fails horrifically in his academic life.

How would it be for you as a student to be mocked or taunted by other classmates or seen as nothing more than the idiot sitting around in class? Ishaan Nandikishore Awasthi deals with just that at his young age in nearly every class. With the confusion of following simple instructions ("Turn to page 34, paragraph five, first sentence") or reading the text his teacher wills him to speak aloud, he is seen as a rebel or just a being who dislikes school to the max. The only thing he finds himself doing that gets him away from his horrific reality is his love and passion for art.

Home is meant to be a place for sanctuary and relaxation, but none of that befalls Ishaan. With a constant reminder of his disability, though it is undiagnosed, he sees his older brother who happens to be ranking with top marks in all of his classes and exceeding his fathers strict expectations.

Ishaan is nothing more than a typical eight-year old child. What with a world full of imagination and creativity, he finds himself in his world more than the world of others. The ocassional family drama chips into play when Ishaan's report card comes in, stating that he would be failing the third standard again if he didn't pull up his grades. With barely anything more to do, his father sends him off to a boarding school hoping that his son can mature and toughen up there by the strict hands of teachers without proper knowledge of his sons disability.

Overall

I've watched this movie about a million times and it's one of my favorites out of a string of Hindi movies that I have watched. Of course, the time span of the movie is about two, almost three hours altogether and unless you're a really patient person in dealing with foriegn movies like these, I'd say it's best to watch half before finding a good place to insert your own intermission.

From start to finish, it's all just wonder. How can an eight year old get to the third standard and not be fully diagnosed with his dyslexia problem? I mean, I thought the movie itself was great and surely, there were characters much like the bullies who taunted him or his own father that mercilessly abused him mentally and physically to the point where it nearly tore me in two. I, in general, am very emotional watching movies in the first place, but throw in a child to the mix as well as a strong dramatic plot and I'll be sobbing all over the place.

To me, the expression in this film was enough to catch certain ears and award it with awards. The subheading of the film when looking at the DVD cover is "Every child is special" and I think society, in this country as well as any other, is so pent up on maturing children quickly to send them off as robots into the real world and watching them become someone that they don't realize the harmful side effects to it. Forcing a child to grow up puts them in a stance in which they don't know who they are or what to do and often results in bouts of depression or fear or rejection and what not. This movie expresses that and so much more that I think anyone would really, thoroughly enjoy it.