Like Stars on Earth (2007)
"Taare Zameen Par" (original title)

An eight year old boy is thought to be lazy and a troublemaker, until the new art teacher has the patience and compassion to discover the real problem behind his struggles in school.

Director:

Aamir Khan

Writers:

Amole Gupte (dialogue & screenplay), Amole Gupte (story)

Stars:

Darsheel Safary, Aamir Khan, Tanay Chheda

Top 250 #234 | 13 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Darsheel Safary	...	Ishaan Awasthi
Aamir Khan	...	Ram Shankar Nikumbh
Tanay Chheda	...	Rajan Damodaran
Sachet Engineer	...	Yohan Awasthi
Tisca Chopra	...	Maya Awasthi
Vipin Sharma	...	Nandkishore Awasthi
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ayaan	...	Ishaan Awasthi - 10 months
Abhishek Bachchan	...	Himself
Megha Bengali	...	Mrs. Karnik
Bugs Bhargava	...	Sen Sir
Alorika Chatterjee	...	Science Teacher
Gurkirtan Chauhan	...	Housemaster
Sanjay Dadich	...	Maadhoo
Madhav Datt	...	Loo Bully
Aniket Engineer	...	Young Yohan Awasthi

Storyline

Ishaan Awasthi is an eight-year-old whose world is filled with wonders that no one else seems to appreciate; colours, fish, dogs and kites are just not important in the world of adults, who are much more interested in things like homework, marks and neatness. And Ishaan just cannot seem to get anything right in class. When he gets into far more trouble than his parents can handle, he is packed off to a boarding school to 'be disciplined'. Things are no different at his new school, and Ishaan has to contend with the added trauma of separation from his family. One day a new art teacher bursts onto the scene, Ram Shankar Nikumbh, who infects the students with joy and optimism. He breaks all the rules of 'how things are done' by asking them to think, dream and imagine, and all the children respond with enthusiasm, all except Ishaan. Nikumbh soon realizes that Ishaan is very unhappy, and he sets out to discover why. With time, patience and care, he ultimately helps Ishaan find himself.

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Plot Keywords:

school | teacher | boarding school | art teacher | dream | 

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Taglines:

Every Child is Special

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic material, brief violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi English

Release Date:

21 December 2007 (India)

Also Known As:

Like Stars on Earth

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£66,204 (UK) (21 December 2007)

Gross:

$1,204,660 (USA) (18 January 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Aamir Khan Productions, PVR Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

165 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Legendary auteur Guru Dutt's younger sister and 'Kalpana Lajmi''s mother, 75-year-old Lalitha Lajmi, made her acting debut with this film. Lalitha, who is a noted painter and teacher, appears in a cameo role in which she plays herself. She shot it in November 2006 at Panchgani. She is seen as a chief guest who hands out a prize to the protagonist Ishaan Awasthi (Darsheel Safary).

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Goofs

When Rajan and Ishaan are talking in the corridors, Rajan says he lives in the staff quarters as opposed to in the normal student dorm. Later on, Ram asks Rajan where Ishaan is, and Rajan says he saw him leave the student dorm early. If Rajan lived in the staff quarters, he wouldn't know this.

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Quotes

Ram Shankar Nikumbh: lf you fancy racing, breed racehorses, dammit, not children.

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Connections

References Empire of the Sun (1987)

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Soundtracks

"Mera Jahan"
Written by Prasoon Joshi
Composed by Shailendra Barve
Performed by Adnan Sami, Auriel Cordo, Ananya Wadkar, Gleehive (Kids Choir), Suraj and Shailendra Barve
Courtesy of Super Cassettes Industries Limited (T-Series)

User Reviews

Some intelligent film-making there

How many times has there been a movie you could really relate to? How many times has it happened that you've seen a character on the screen that reminds of something that you've been through in your life? As I saw Ishan (Darsheel Safary) today, I felt, somewhere deep within that that's me.

Notwithstanding the slight retard nature, dyslexia and bad academic performance, the character of Ishan really made me remember my childhood today. I remember I was something like him as a child.—creative and imaginative. And my imagination always went unappreciated. I used to curate gibberish – just like he did. I painted, I dreamed and I fantasized about different things. So I feel writer Amol Gupte and director Aamir Khan (what a wonderful debut!) have picked an incredibly moving story. Frankly, I am not easily moved by movies. Not even the greatest tearjerkers have managed to "move" me, but for a moment I was stunned. Is this really happening to me? Am I trying to cry? In fact, the scene where Ram (Aamir Khan) walks into Ishan's room and discovers a score of sketches and drawings, it made me feel like somebody had in fact, opened my closet and discovered my secret childhood fantasies (Believe me, I still have them.) This movie will surely engage all those who have had similar incidents in their lives. That's for sure. I am moved. I love this film. I don't know and I don't care how this film does in the box office but let me tell you don't watch this film if you're looking for regular boy meets girl story. Don't even skip this film thinking it's children's movie – no it isn't. In fact, Taare Zameen Par is a movie potentially targeted towards parents. But if you think you too have undergone similar childhood conflicts and lived a life where the people around you refuse to appreciate your fantasies, then definitely go for it. TZP mirrors many of those people's lives that looks just plain and simple but those who compromised their dreams for the sake of the earthly existence.

Okay, enough of fantasies. Technically, writer Amol Gupte delivers an A Grade script. Aamir Khan shows his talent not just as an actor but a very versatile and intelligent. Oscar Wilde, Leonardo da Vinci and Sally Gardner were hardly ever heard of in Hindi cinema before this. The writer just does not deliver a well written script but also his knowledge of research (which other filmmakers hardly ever do!) Musically, it's two-thumbs up for Shanker Ehsaan Loy. The title song is fascinating. Maa and Jame Raho combine talents in all respects- music, words and voice. The production design is superb. Not for a moment you feel anything is fake. They even managed to squeeze in some quick visual effects and animated scenes. They're there to add another dimension to great story telling. The casting is good and well justified. Little Darsheel steals the show. Tisca Chopra grabs attention.

Aamir Khan, however stuns the audience by appearing at almost near half of the film. That's the surprise but you don't miss Aamir in the first half because Darsheel will definitely grab your attention and Aamir gets to show some good directorial talent.

All in all, I'd say go and watch the film. I wouldn't recommend if you're addicted to Yashraj stuffs but if you really want to see some intelligent film-making, then Taare Zameen Par is a treat.