AS I walked out of the theatre I realised there was something weighing me down. Was it just the weight of the bag that I was carrying? Or was it the emotions that had engulfed me and refrained from leaving me even as the end credits rolled on.

 

Aamir perfectionist Khan, the director has well and truly arrived. He has made a cinematic masterpiece in the form of Taare Zameen Par. The year 2007 had been a disastrous for Bollywood but as they say, the best is reserved for the last. Taare Zameen Par has very sensitively portrayed an issue like dyslexia, without being didactic or preachy. I hate people thinking of it as a problem or a disease, as the movie sets out to prove it is a mere characteristic and not a shortcoming.

 

The nine year old brilliant Darsheel Safary (a complete natural) is beyond doubt the star of the film. It is his sheer innocence on screen that captures our heart. The dyslexic child has immense problems in differentiating between numbers and letters and struggles with the 3 R’s, but when it comes to drawing or painting he shows tremendous creativity. His family is unable to understand his problems, which lead to inevitable comparisons between him and his brother, who is a topper in his class. Under the belief that only strict disciplinary action is the way out, the child is sent to a boarding school. But this happens to hamper his growth even further, as his only passion (painting) takes a backseat until he meets his temporary art teacher Ram Nikumbh (Aamir Khan), who perhaps has the perfect cure for his problem.

 

This movie has scenes, which are bound to last with you for days. The Solomon Islands example illustrates to all parents and teachers what the right way of dealing with children is. In the scene, Aamir explains to Darsheel’s father as to what taking care of children is all about, is bound to move you to tears or the one in which Darsheel’s mother goes through his flicker book, is sure to make you cry. The climax of the film has Darsheel winning the art competition - an achievement reminiscent of Aamir Khan’s cycle race win in ‘Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander’ and by no means less in magnitude.

 

The movie uses animation not to create comic effects but to dive into the wild imagination of the child. You will not find unnecessary animation here that was prevalent in other films that released this year (Cash and Ta Ra Rum Pum). The sequence in which Darsheel uses Earth and Pluto to multiply 3 by 9 is sure to tickle your funny bone. The simplistic nature of the film is what appeals to you. The daily schedule of the mother is very realistically portrayed in the song Jame raho. The relationship between the teacher (Aamir) and Darsheel has been shown very elegantly also. Other splendid performances include the mother and father of Darsheel, who have acted brilliantly. Without them the movie would not have been possible.

 

The credit for the success of the film goes to its script. The writer and visionary, Amol Gupte has created a wonderful story. But Aamir Khan has emerged as a highly sensible director, not making his entry into the film till the interval because the script didn’t demand it. Soulful music by Shankar Ehsaan Loy is an asset to the film and the wonderful lyrics offered by Prasoon Joshi blend perfectly with the story.

 

It is sad that Aamir Khan doesn’t attend film award ceremonies because here was a film, which he would surely receive an award for. If our committee that sends movies to the Oscars is sane enough, I’m sure this movie will be our official entry for the Oscars. Amongst all the stars that descend on our planet in this movie, the one that outshines all others is the real hero of the film Darsheel. A wonderful actor, who has portrayed the role of a dyslexic child to perfection, his eyes and his face emote more than most of our young actors in Bollywood do. Don’t be surprised, if Darsheel would pip Shahrukh Khan as the best actor of the year. He deserves to. But then again, children never get nominated for such categories in our film industry. He’ll just take home the Best Child Actor award.

 

You rarely see a movie that has a social message attached to it, but yet turns out to be a commercial success. It is by far the best film of the year. It tackles dyslexia, our education system and parenting, all of them in a very sensitive way. It doesn’t stop there, even when the end credits roll on there is a message against child labour conveyed through the video. This is a movie about Aamir - the director and Darsheel - the actor. When you go for the movie, get ready to shed some tears, not because it is a sad film but because it is highly overwhelming.