Thursday 10 January 2008

Taare Zameen Par


I've always been a little suspicious of movies that get great reviews, and columns of praise in the newspapers. Most of the time, I find them a little, if not highly overrated. When 'Taare Zameen Par' released, I looked at the great reviews, and the columns of praise, and said skeptically to myself, "Is it really THIS good?" Well, there was only one way to find out, wasn't there? And so I went to watch the movie, prepared to find it overrated.
And I didn't find it overrated at all- I think the amount of praise heaped on the movie is completely deserved. I wasn't prepared for little Darsheel to pull at my heartstrings. I wasn't prepared to find tears running down my cheeks at Prasoon Joshi's lyrics of 'Maa'. And I wasn't prepared to find myself laughing and crying, feeling sad and sorry for Ishaan all at the same time. The movie is a complete rollercoaster of emotions. It deals with a sensitive subject, and has dealt with it in a truly sensitive way.
The movie has lovely cinematography. The focussing on faces- because it is faces that children mainly look at. Little things like a reflection in a puddle, a paint drop, a cotton-candy machine- all make up the world of a child. Aamir has outdone himself, while most other actors would have been trying to hog the limelight themselves, he has let the movie focus on Darsheel primarily, while playing a small but substantial role .
And what acting Darsheel has put in! It's marvelling at the amount of talent he shows- at the tender age of 9! The movie also seems to mock the Education System- its love for cramming information into children and ignoring individual capabilities or needs, and the complete lack of sympathy of most teachers.
'Taare Zameen Par' explores the world and perspectives of a child- fear of desertion by parents, being afraid of getting into trouble, bullying by older children, the stress of trying to live up to high standards of excellence, and last but definitely not the least- the fear of our own mother being too far away for comfort.
It's a brilliant movie. One that everyone should watch. Dealing subtly with the issue of special children and their unique needs, it makes you realise that the sub-title of the movie IS true- every child is special, you just need to tune in to their needs and potential to realize it.

7 comments:

Doubletake, Doublethink. said...

i felt much the same way - and what i LOVED was the use of colours - that scene where ishan puts a blob of yellow paint on paper, and adds red, and then mixes it up - delicious.

also all the artwork. and i felt so, so nostalgic for junior school that it wasn't funny. and haven't shankar-ehsaan-loy come back after horrors like jhoom barabar jhoom?

sigh. i'm glad you wrote a post on this. and i won't inflict another comment this long ever, i promise.

Magically Bored said...

@ Doubletake, Doublethink: I loved that scene too- it's simply brilliant. I also loved the scene where Aamir's painting is shown - lovely. Hehe, don't worry about long comments- I don't mind. :)

Ephemera said...

My Favourite scene was when he looked into the gutters where fish-er tadpoles were moving around...much like his thoughts in the rivers of his mind.
"Kholo Kholo" is an amazing song.

storyteller said...

yes its a brilliant movie,i actually gave up painting when i was young..it really made me want to get back to drawing again.its a visual treat among other things.

... said...

Nice review, Fishy!

The song 'Maa' brings tears to my eyes each time I listen to it. And the child-actor, Darsheel is so natural,na.
The film brought back so many memories of junior school :)

@Dream Baron
I second you. "Kholo Kholo" is amazing. :)
And yes, tadpoles toh khali frogs der hoye,nah? :P

Esmo said...

Yeah it is truly amazing movie..and the darsheel guy is now the best actor in bollywoood..only thing though is that i wished they changed the little disclaimer at the beggining from we dont want to criticize the indian education system to Hell yeah we do...our system sucks!!!!

Magically Bored said...

@ Dream Baron: Yes, that's a good scene. Much of the movie has hidden meaning in it, if people care to look closely.

@ Clouds: 'Maa' is one of the best songs I've heard in a long time. It actually moves you inside. I cried too.

@ Esmo: What an Esmo-like thing to say!