DVD Review: Taare Zameen Par (Like Stars on Earth)

In December 2007, Hindi film star Aamir Khan released his directorial debut, Taare Zameen Par (Like Stars on Earth). The film received high marks with both critics and audiences and was one of the highest-grossing Hindi films that year. Now Hindi and non-Hindi speakers alike can enjoy Like Stars on Earth in a new three-disc DVD/CD set, released on January 12th.

Khan is no stranger to his fans; coming from a film family, he began acting as a child and has been involved in filmmaking for most of his life. While Taare Zameen Par is the first film he has ever directed, its success reveals his deep immersion in and knowledge of the world of Bollywood film.

The film tells the story of eight-year-old Ishaan Awasthi, played with an astounding measure of sensitivity and maturity by new child actor Darsheel Safary. Ishaan has no interest in school and struggles to complete the most basic of assignments; a teacher’s instructions recede into a drone, and letters and numbers jump off the page and begin to dance, turning into creepy crawly creatures via Ishaan’s imagination.

Frustrated with their younger son, who can’t measure up to his older brother’s high scholastic marks and exceptional athletic abilities, Ishaan’s parents send him to boarding school almost 200 miles away in the middle of the term. Depressed by the abrupt changes in his life, Ishaan turns inward and becomes almost mute when a substitute art teacher at school (played by Aamir Khan) enters Ishaan’s life and helps him pinpoint the center of his difficulties. Ishaan doesn’t have an attitude problem or a lack of motivation; he’s dyslexic.

The film is a departure from other Hindi movies for several reasons. The subject of dyslexia has been addressed for the first time in a format that is at once palatable and informative without being overly preachy. There are a few scenes where Khan’s character has mild confrontations with Ishaan’s parents, but these scenes serve their purpose within the structure of the story.

Also, in the opening sequence of the movie, Khan took on the help of animators who created a 2-D claymation sequence, another first for the gargantuan Indian film industry. Claymation is a process by which clay is used to make models of the desired subjects. The clay models are shot on camera and then moved slightly and shot again. This painstaking process continues until the entire desired sequence is captured. This film’s opening sequence is designed to convey Ishaan’s imagination and the mental place to which he retreats when he finds the burdens of his world too heavy.

The DVD available now includes a featurette called “Panel Discussion on Children.” Hosted by Khan himself, this panel features a child neurologist, a teacher, a child psychiatrist, and the CEO of the Maharashtra Dyslexia Association of India’s state of Maharashtra. For 45 minutes Khan discusses the basics of dyslexia with them, including symptoms and the emotional effects dyslexia has on children. The panel differentiates between dyslexia and other disorders such as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and cerebral palsy and even clarifies which of these conditions can benefit from medical intervention and which require behavioral intervention and therapy.

For viewers in the United States, this panel discussion may seem elementary. The psychiatrist at one point even makes an indirect reference to some doctors’ tendency to overdiagnose or medicate children with ADD and ADHD in the U.S. But this panel is Khan’s way of educating those viewers who may not know much about dyslexia and other conditions. Throughout the entire discussion he constantly restates and summarizes the information presented by the professionals, conveying it in an easy-to-understand way. Khan wants to clear up any remaining misconceptions viewers might have about dyslexia and other disorders after watching the movie.

I highly recommend this DVD set to anyone who enjoyed the movie the first time around or for someone who wants a comfortable, solid platform as a jumping-off point into the Indian film industry. There is certainly no scope for disappointment here; in fact, it just makes us sit up and want to ask Khan when he’s planning to release his next film.

Ekta is a freelance writer and editor living in Texas with her husband, two daughters and father-in-law. She enjoys writing features and helping others streamline their articles. She can be reached via email at egarg0201@gmail.com or visit her blog at www.thewriteedge.wordpress.com.