Taare Zameen Par (2007)

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

Directors:

Aamir Khan, Amole Gupte (uncredited)

Writers:

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

Stars:

Darsheel Safary, Aamir Khan, Tisca Chopra

Top Rated Movies #83 | 23 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Darsheel Safary	...	Ishaan Awasthi
Aamir Khan	...	Ram Shankar Nikumbh
Tisca Chopra	...	Maya Awasthi
Vipin Sharma	...	Nandkishore Awasthi
Sachet Engineer	...	Yohan Awasthi
Tanay Chheda	...	Rajan Damodaran
Lalitha Lajmi	...	Self - Art Mela's Chief Guest
Girija Oak	...	Jabeen - Amir's Co-worker (as Girija)
Ravi Khanvilkar	...	Mr. Holkar (as Ravi Khanwelkar)
Pratima Kulkarni	...	Principal - St. Anthony's School
Meghna Malik	...	Victoria Teacher
Sonali Sachdev	...	Irene Teacher
Sanjay Dadich	...	Maadhoo
Raaj Gopal Iyer	...	George Sir
Bugs Bhargava	...	Sen Sir

Storyline

Ishaan Awasthi is an eight-year-old child 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 ...

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Plot Keywords:

papadum | man's best friend | short haired woman | female masculine short hair | masculine female | 

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Taglines:

Every Child is Special

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Genres:

Drama | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic material, brief violence and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Darsheel Safary, the 11-year-old star of the film, is a part of Shiamak Davar's dance troupe. During one of the classes, he saw a poster that read, "Hunting for a naughty kid. If you're selected, you will get a chance to act with Aamir Khan." He thought that it would be great if he were able to get the part. During the same class, Amole Gupte spotted him and asked him to go for an audition. Eventually, he got selected.

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Goofs

When Yohaan opens the door to get the newspaper and milk on Sunday, he has his knapsack slung on his right shoulder. Immediately after this, he goes to Ishaan's door and says, "Inu, Papa aa gaye." His bag can be seen slinging from his left shoulder at this time. However, again when Ishaan is sitting with his father and Yohaan leaves, his bag is again seen slinging from his right shoulder.

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Quotes

Ram Shankar Nikumbh: On Solomon Islands when the natives want a part of the forest for cultivation they don't cut the trees. They simply gather around the tree and shout abuses to their heart's content. They curse it. In a matter of days the tree withers and shrivels. It dies on its own.

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits rolls after few minutes of the film and consists of animated sequences (in order to portray the main character's imaginary world).

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Connections

Referenced in Wake Up Sid (2009)

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Soundtracks

Maa
Written by Prasoon Joshi
Composed by Shankar Mahadevan (as Shankar), Ehsaan Noorani (as Ehsaan) and Loy Mendonsa (as Loy)
Performed by Shankar Mahadevan
Courtesy of Super Cassettes Industries Limited (T-Series)

User Reviews

Undoubtedly the best Hindi movie of 2007

If you haven't seen Taare Zameen Par, you are missing out. The best Hindi movie of 2007 without doubt. Extremely sensitively handled, and flawlessly executed performances, especially by Darsheel Safary. This movie really hits you.

In a way, everyone can relate to it, especially if you have grown up in India where most children are classified as dumb or unintelligent if they "can't" become engineers or doctors. I went in with huge expectations, and this movie exceeded them.

Some reviews have complained about situations in the movie being too simple or repetitive in parts, but I have absolutely no problems with that. This is no thriller. You know what's going to happen, but you are looking forward to it too.

The songs might not be great hits, but they gel really well with the movie. They are beautifully worded, and capture the emotions of the characters perfectly.

When the end credits started rolling, most people started walking towards the exit, but even when they had almost stopped rolling, most of them were still standing near the exit, watching the images in the end credits.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Release Date:

21 December 2007 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Like Stars on Earth

Filming Locations:

Panchgani, Maharashtra, India

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$352,568, 23 December 2007

Gross USA:

$1,223,869

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$21,897,373

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