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Taare Zameen Par (Hindi: तारे ज़मीन पर, English: Like Stars on Earth) is a 2007 Bollywood drama film directed by Aamir Khan, written by Amole Gupte, and produced by Aamir Khan Productions. Gupte initially developed the idea with his wife Deepa Bhatia, who served as the film's editor. Visual effects were created by Tata Elxsi's Visual Computing Labs, and the title animation—the first use of claymation in a Bollywood film—was created by Dhimant Vyas. Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy composed the film's score, while Prasoon Joshi wrote the lyrics for many of the songs. Principal photography took place in Mumbai and in Panchgani's New Era High School, a number of whose students appeared in the film.

Taare Zameen Par explores the life and imagination of eight-year-old Ishaan (Darsheel Safary). While he excels in the arts, his poor academic performance leads his parents to send him to a boarding school. Ishaan's new art teacher (Aamir Khan) suspects that he is dyslexic, and helps him to overcome his disability. The film made its theatrical debut in India on 21 December 2007, and UTV Home Entertainment released a DVD for Indian audiences in 2008. Less than two years later, Walt Disney Home Entertainment released an international edition DVD titled Like Stars on Earth, marking the first purchase of distribution rights for an Indian film by a global company.

Taare Zameen Par has received a number of awards including Filmfare's Best Film award (2008) and the 2008 National Film Award for Best Film on Family Welfare. Though it was India's official entry for the 2009 Academy Awards Best Foreign Film, Taare Zameen Par did not make the short list of nominated films. Debate then ensued over why Indian films have never won an Oscar, with media outlets making comparisons between Taare Zameen Par and the British drama Slumdog Millionaire, which won a number of Oscars that same year.

Plot

Ishaan Nandkishore Awasthi (Darsheel Safary) is an eight-year-old boy who dislikes school. He finds every subject difficult, and continuously fails his tests and exams. Instead of helping him excel, his teachers and classmates subject him to constant acts of public humiliation. At the same time, Ishaan's internal world is rich with wonders that he is unable to convey to others: magical lands filled with colour and animated animals. His forte is art, a talent that is seriously overlooked by his teachers and parents.

The situation is no better at home. Ishaan's father, Nandkishore Awasthi (Vipin Sharma), is a successful but busy executive who expects his children to excel and will not tolerate any signs of failure. His mother, Maya Awasthi (Tisca Chopra), is a housewife who is perpetually frustrated by her inability to teach her unruly son. Ishaan's elder brother Yohaan (Sachet Engineer) is an exemplary scholar and athlete, a fact that Ishaan is constantly reminded of. After Ishaan's academic report sinks to a level too low for his parents—specifically his father—to bear, he is sent to a boarding school to be "disciplined".

Rather than excel at the boarding school, Ishaan sinks into a perpetual state of fear and depression, despite being befriended by Rajan (Tanay Chheda), one of the top students. The situation changes for Ishaan only when a new art teacher Ram Shankar Nikumbh (Aamir Khan) joins the school's faculty. Nikumbh, whose teaching style is markedly different from his strict predecessor, becomes popular with the students. He soon observes that Ishaan is unhappy and contributes little to class activities. Disturbed, Nikumbh begins to review Ishaan's past work and discovers that all of his "failures" are actually reflective of dyslexia. On his day off Nikumbh visits Ishaan's parents and asks them if he can review more of his work. He comes across one of Ishaan's paintings, and is stunned by its sophistication. Nikumbh tells Ishaan's parents that Ishaan is a bright child who processes information in a different way than the other children in class. Ishaan's father, on the other hand, finds this as an excuse to defend the poor performance of Ishaan. However, Nikumbh demands that Ishaan's father read a box with Japanese text and berates him when he cannot, allowing him to understand the suffering Ishaan endures on a daily basis from his teachers. Nikumbh describes dyslexia to them and explains that it is not a sign of low intelligence. He also tells them he can provide extra tutoring that will help Ishaan, highlighting Ishaan's artistic ability as demonstrated by his many paintings and other creative works.

After returning to the school Nikumbh brings up the topic of dyslexia in class, and offers a list of famous people who are considered dyslexic. As the students are leaving the classroom Nikumbh asks Ishaan to remain behind, and reveals to him that he too experienced the same difficulties with dyslexia. Nikumbh next visits the school's principal and obtains his permission to become Ishaan's tutor. He decides to improve Ishaan's reading and writing by using remedial techniques developed by dyslexia specialists; Ishaan soon develops an interest in language and mathematics, and his grades improve.

Towards the end of the school year Nikumbh organises an art fair for the staff and students. The competition is judged by noted artist Lalita Lajmi (who portrays herself in the film). Ishaan, with his strikingly creative style, is declared the winner, while Nikumbh (who paints Ishaan's portrait) is declared the runner-up. The principal also announces that Nikumbh has been hired as the school's permanent art teacher. When Ishaan's parents meet his teachers on the last day of school, they are speechless over the changes they see in him. Overcome with emotion, Ishaan's father thanks Nikumbh for what he has done. As Ishaan is getting in the car to leave with his parents, he turns around and runs toward Nikumbh. The film ends with a freeze frame shot of Ishaan being tossed in the air by Nikumbh.

Cast

• Darsheel Safary as Ishaan Awasthi: While eight-year-old Ishaan excels in the arts, his poor academic performance leads his parents to send him to the New Era boarding school. It is only after he joins the school that his teacher, Ram Shankar Nikumbh, suspects that Ishaan is dyslexic. In looking for an actor to play the central figure of Ishaan, writer Amole Gupte turned to Shiamak Davar's Summer Funk workshops. Gupte had a number of boys informally audition by explaining to him how they would react to scripted situations from the film. Of his decision to cast Darsheel Safary, Gupte recalls that "it was a tough call. But Darsheel has the mischief in his eyes to be Ishaan. Everyone just naturally gravitated towards him."
• Aamir Khan as Ram Shankar Nikumbh ("Nikumbh Sir"): An instructor at the Tulips School for young children with developmental disabilities, Nikumbh is hired by New Era as a temporary art teacher. He discovers that Ishaan is dyslexic and helps him to improve in his studies. Gupte, who based the character on his art teacher Ramdas Sampat Nikumbh, first asked actor Akshaye Khanna to play the role.
• Tisca Chopra as Maya Awasthi ("Maa"): Ishaan's mother who gave up her career to raise her children and who blames herself for Ishaan's difficulties in school. Chopra tended to speak softly during filming and was later required to re-record some scenes using automated dialogue replacement.
• Vipin Sharma as Nandkishore Awasthi ("Papa"): Ishaan's "strict, hard, dominating father" who does not accept failure in his children, but changes his outlook by the film's end. One reason for Sharma's casting was his "extremely strong and dominating" face that "exudes harshness." Described by Khan as "naturally polite" and sensitive, Sharma was instructed to lower his voice to sound "harsh" and "dominating."
• Sachet Engineer as Yohaan Awasthi ("Dada"): Ishaan's elder brother who excels academically and in sports. He loves Ishaan and is devastated by his brother's difficulties in school.
• Tanay Chheda as Rajan Damodran: Physically disabled and the top student of his class, Rajan becomes Ishaan's only friend at New Era and helps him to adjust to the harsh environment at the school.
• Bugs Bhargava and Shankar Sachdev as Sen Sir and Tiwari Sir: Two teachers at New Era who initially treat Ishaan harshly because of his poor academic performance. Their behavior changes after Ishaan's grades improve and he wins the art contest. The roles are caricatures of teachers in general.
• M. K. Raina as the principal of New Era High School: He consents to Ishaan's tutoring and later authorises the school-wide art fair.
• Lalita Lajmi as herself: Lajmi is a judge at the art fair. Taare Zameen Par was Lajmi's first experience as an actress.

Production

Development

The husband and wife team of Amole Gupte and Deepa Bhatia developed the story that would eventually become Taare Zameen Par as a way of understanding why some children cannot conform to a conventional educational system. Their initial work began as a short story that evolved into a screenplay over seven years. Deepa Bhatia later stated in an interview with The Hindu that her original inspiration was not dyslexia but rather the childhood of Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, who performed poorly in school. Her goal was thus to explore the story of "a child who did not fit into the school stream." She referenced a specific moment in Kurosawa's biography where he began to bloom after meeting an attentive art teacher, and noted that this scene "became the inspiration for how a teacher could transform the life of a student."

In developing the character of a young boy based on Kurosawa, Bhatia and Gupte explored possible reasons why he failed in school. Their research led them to groups such as the Maharashtra Dyslexia Association and Parents for a Better Curriculum for the Child (PACE). Dyslexia eventually became the central topic and theme of the film. The pair worked with dyslexic children in order to develop the screenplay, basing characters and situations on what they learned. They carefully concealed the children's identities in the final version of the script.

Khan and Gupte first met in college. Khan has stated that he admired Gupte's abilities as an actor, writer, and painter. Three years before the film's release Gupte brought Khan to the project as a producer and actor; Gupte himself was to direct. The first week's dailies greatly disappointed Khan, however, and he "lost faith in Amol and his capability of translating on screen what he had so beautifully written on paper". Khan was on the verge of withdrawing his participation because of these "creative differences", but Gupte kept him onboard by stepping down as director. Had it been necessary to hire a third party then production would have been postponed for 6–8 months as the new director acquired a feel for the film. Keen to keep Safary as Ishaan—the actor might have aged too much for the part had production been delayed—Khan took over the role of director. Taare Zameen Par was Khan's first experience in the dual role of actor and director. He has admitted that the transition was challenging, stating that while he had always wanted to direct a film, it was unknown territory for him. Gupte still remained on set, "guiding and, at times, even correcting ".

Title

The film initially was to retain the short story's title of "High Jump" because of Ishaan's inability to achieve the high jump in gym class. This subplot—filmed but later cut—tied into the original ending for the movie. In this rendition, a "ghost image" separates from Ishaan after the art competition and runs to the sports field; the film would end on a freeze frame of Ishaan successfully making the leap. Khan opposed this ending, however, and convinced Gupte to rewrite it. With the working title no longer relevant to the film, Khan, Gupte, and Bhatia discussed a number of new possibilities for the title. They finally decided upon Taare Zameen Par—literally Stars on Earth or Stars on the Ground, and figuratively as Like Stars on Earth —because, according to Khan:

Taare Zameen Par is a film about children and it is a film which celebrates the abilities of children. Taare Zameen Par is a title which denotes that aspect. It is a title with a very positive feel to it. All the kids are special and wonderful. They are like stars on earth. This particular aspect gave birth to the title.

Filming

Principal photography for the film took place in India over a period of five months. Khan spent his first two days as director blocking the first scene to be filmed—Ishaan returning home from school and putting away his recently collected fish—and becoming comfortable with his new responsibilities. Believing that the audience should not be aware of the camera, he chose a simple shooting style for the film that involved relatively little camera movement.

At the same time, Khan also made use of illusory camera tricks. For example, the opening scene of Ishaan collecting fish outside of his school was shot both on location and at Film City. Shots focusing on Ishaan took place at the former, while those involving the gutter terrarium were filmed at a water tank at the latter. The tank's water often became murky because the mud would rise to the top, forcing production to constantly empty and refill it. Due to the hindrance, the scene took eight hours to film. The film's next sequence involved Ishaan playing with two dogs. To compensate for the "absolutely petrified" Safary, most joint shots used a body double, though other portions integrated close-up shots of the actor. Ishaan's nightmare—he becomes separated from his mother at a train station and she departs on a train while he is trapped within a crowd—was filmed in Mumbai on a permanent railway-station set. To work around the train set piece's immobility, production placed the camera on a moving trolley to cast the illusion of the train departing. For the portions told from the mother's point of view—these were shot from behind the actress—Chopra stood on a trolley next to a recreated portion of the train's door.

All the school sequences were filmed on location. The production team sought a Mumbai school with an "oppressive" feel to establish the "heaviness of being in a metropolitan school", and eventually chose St. Xavier's School. With the school situated along a main road, filming took place on weekends in an attempt to avoid the noisy atmosphere. However, an early scene in which Ishaan is kicked out of the classroom was filmed on the day of the Mumbai Marathon. The production staff placed acrylic sheets invisible to the human eye on the classroom windows to insulate the sounds of nearby crowds and helicopters. New Era High School served as the boarding school Ishaan is sent to. The change of setting was a "breath of fresh air" for the production crew, who moved from Ishaan's small house in Chembur to the "vast, beautiful environs" of Panchgani.

Production relied on stock footage for the brief scene of a bird feeding its babies. Khan carefully selected a clip to his liking, but learned three weeks before the film's release that the footage was not available on film solution. With three days to replace it or else risk delaying the release, Khan made due with what he could find. He says that he "cringes" every time he sees it.

Children

Real schoolchildren participated throughout the movie's filming. Khan credited them with the film's success, and was reportedly very popular with them. Furthermore, Khan placed a high priority on the day-to-day needs of his child actors, and went to great lengths to attend to them. The production staff made sure that the students were never idle, and always kept them occupied outside of filming. New Era Faculty Coordinator Douglas Lee thought the experience not only helped the children to learn patience and cooperation, but also gave them a better understanding of how they should behave towards children like Ishaan who have problems in school. Because filming at New Era High School occurred during the winter holiday, those portraying Ishaan's classmates gave up their vacation to participate. To fill out the campus background, students from nearby schools were also brought in. A total of 1,500 children were used for wide-shots of the film's art-fair climax, while medium shots only required 400 students.

New to acting, the children often made errors such as staring into the camera, and Khan resorted to unusual means to work around these rookie mistakes. For example, an early scene in the film featured a school assembly; Khan wanted the students to act naturally and to ignore the principal's speech, but recognised that this would be a difficult feat with cameras present. First Assistant Director Sunil Pandey spoke continuously in an attempt to "bore the hell out of ," and they eventually lost interest in the filming and behaved normally. A later scene involved Nikumbh enlightening his class about famous people who suffer from dyslexia, and the children's responses to his speech were the last portion to be filmed. Having already spent 3–4 days hearing the dialogue the children's reactions were "jaded". Khan opted to film them while he recited a tale, and manipulated his storytelling to achieve the varying spontaneous reactions. The subsequent scene had the children playing around a nearby pond. Horrified when he learned the water was 15 feet (4.6 m) deep, Khan recruited four lifeguards in case a child fell in.

Khan found it important that the audience connect the film to real children, and had Pandey travel throughout India filming documentary-style footage of children from all walks of life. These visuals were later integrated into the end credits.

Art and animation

While claymation has been used in Indian television commercials, the film's title sequence—a representation of Ishaan's imagination—marked its first instance in a Bollywood film. Khan gave claymation artist Dhimant Vyas free rein over the various elements. The storyboarding took one and a half months, while the shooting required 15 days. The "3 into 9" sequence, in which Ishaan delves into his imagination to solve a math problem, was originally conceived as a 3D animation. Halfway through its creation, however, Khan felt it was not turning out as he had envisioned it. Khan scrapped the project and hired Vaibhav Kumaresh, who hand-drew the scene as a 2D animation.

Artist Samir Mondal composed Ishaan and Nikumbh's art-fair watercolour paintings. He held a workshop with the schoolchildren, and incorporated elements from their artwork into Ishaan's. Mondal also instructed Khan on the mannerisms and movements of painter. Gupte created the rest of Ishaan's artwork, though Assistant Art Director Veer Nanavati drew Ishaan's flipbook. The art department's designs for Ishaan's school notebooks disappointed Khan, who had familiarised himself with dyslexic writing. Using his left hand, Khan instead wrote it himself.

Musical sequences

The musical sequence of "Jame Raho" establishes the four members of Ishaan's family; for example, the father is hardworking and responsible, and Yohaan is an "ideal son" who does all the right things. A robotic style of music overlaps most of the sequence—this is mirrored by the machine-like morning routines of the mother, father, and Yohaan—but changes for Ishaan's portion to imply that he is different from the rest. This concept is furthered by speed ramping and having the camera sway with the music to create a distinct style. The twilight scenes of "Maa" were a particular issue for the production crew. Because the specific lighting only lasted ten to fifteen minutes a day, the scenes took nearly ten evenings to film. Production at one time considered having a child singing, but ultimately deemed it too over the top and felt it would connect to more people if sung by an adult. Shankar initially performed the song as a sample—they planned to replace him with another singer—but production eventually decided that his rendition was best.

Ishaan's bunking scene—he leaves school one day after realising that his mother did not sign his failed math test—originally coincided with the song "Kholo Kholo," but Khan did not believe it worked well for the situation. In his opinion, the accompanying song should focus on what a child wants—to be free—and be told from the first-person perspective instead of "Kholo Kholo"'s second person. When Khan took over as director, he opted to use "Mera Jahan"—a song written by Gupte—and moved "Kholo Kholo" to the art-fair. Viewers of test screenings were divided over the bunking scene. Half thoroughly enjoyed it and connected with it but the rest complained that it was too long, did not make sense, and merely showed "touristy" visuals of Mumbai. Khan nevertheless kept it because he "connected deeply" with the scene and felt it established the world of Ishaan.

Shiamak Davar choreographed the dance sequence of "Bum Bum Bole," and was given free rein over its design. He initially wanted to bring in 40 students from his dance school, but Khan did not want trained dancers. Davar gave the children certain cues and a general idea of what to do, but left the style and final product up to them to avoid a choreographed appearance. While Khan was busy filming "Bum Bum Bole," Ram Madhvani took over as director for "Bheja Kum" due to time constraints. The latter sequence, containing a "fun-filled" song of rhythmic dialogue, allowed the audience to perceive how Ishaan sees the world and written languages. It was intended to represent "a young boy's worst nightmare, in terms of ... the worst thing that he can think of," and Madhvani based this visual concept on his son's fear of "creepy-crawlies" such as cockroaches, dragonflies, and lizards. Tata Elxsi's Visual Computing Labs made the creatures out of the English alphabet and numbers, though Khan insisted they include the Hindi alphabet since not all viewers would be familiar with English. The chalkboard writing's transformation into a snake was included to surprise the audience and "end the song on a high note."

In writing the song "Taare Zameen Par," lyricist Prasoon Joshi followed the theme of "however much you talk about children, it's not enough." Every line throughout the song describes children, and only one repeats: "Kho Naa Jaaye Yes / Taare Zameen Par" ("Let us not lose these / Little stars on earth"). The song is mostly set to the annual day performance by the developmentally-disabled children of Tulips School. Actual students from Tulips School and Saraswati Mandir participated, and were filmed over a period of five days. The sequence originally featured numerous dance performances, but was trimmed down when test audiences found it too long.

An additional song told from the mother's point of view was to accompany the scene in which Ishaan's mother views home videos of her son. After test audiences expressed their opposition to yet another song, however, Khan replaced it with background music.

Background music

While timing and other aspects are usually planned out ahead of time when scoring a film, Khan chose to take a more improvised approach. Instead of using a studio, Khan and the trio Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy—Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani, and Loy Mendonsa—recorded it at Khan's home in Panchgani in order to clear their heads and not be in the mindset of the city. As they viewed film, Khan pointed out when he wanted music to begin and what type. Noorani noted that this strategy allowed the score to have a "spontaneity to it."

Different styles of background music were used to convey certain things. For example, a guitar is played when Ishaan is tensed or upset, sometimes with discordant notes. The music of the opening scene—the recurring "Ishaan's Theme," which represents the character's peace of mind—overpowers the background noise to show that Ishaan is lost in his own world; the noise becomes louder after he snaps back to reality. However, the scene in which Nikumbh explains dyslexia to Ishaan's family took the opposite approach. Silent at first, the music creeps in as the father becomes enlightened to his son's dilemma. The nearly seven-minute scene scarcely used any background music in order to slow down the pace and make it more realistic.

Release

Box office

Taare Zameen Par was released on 21 December 2007 with 425 prints across India, though slight delays occurred due to revenue-sharing issues between the film's distributors and theatre owners. The movie brought in ₹15 crore (US$1.8 million) domestically within the first three days. Though ticket sales in Mumbai dropped to 58 percent during its third week, it rose back to 62 percent in its fourth week—this brought the total to ₹77 crore (US$9.0 million)—after the Maharashtra government granted the film exemption from the entertainment tax. Anticipating further tax exemption in other states, world distributor PVR Pictures circulated 200 more prints of the film. The film completed its domestic run with $19,779,215. To reach more audiences, the film was later dubbed in the regional languages of Tamil and Telugu. Both were released on 12 September 2008, the former version under the title Vaalu Nakshatram and the latter as Neela Medu Taralu.

The film was simultaneously released internationally, though countries such as Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Fiji opened it on 20 December 2007. It grossed $1,223,869 in the US by its seventh week, £351,303 in the UK by its ninth week, and eventually ₹131 crore (US$15 million) worldwide.

Protests in Gujarat

In response to Khan's support for the Narmada Bachao Andolan and his criticism of Chief Minister Narendra Modi, approximately 50 activists of the Sardar Patel Group conducted protests outside of PVR and INOX theatres in Vadodara, Gujarat. The group also issued statements to all the multiplexes of Gujarat, suggesting that the film not be screened unless Khan apologised for his comments. The INOX cinema eventually boycotted the film; INOX Operations Manager Pushpendra Singh Rathod stated that "INOX is with Gujarat, and not isolated from it."

International Dyslexia Association

The International Dyslexia Association screened Taare Zameen Par on 29 October 2008 in Seattle, Washington. Khan noted in his official blog that there were about 200 people in the audience and that he was "curious to see the response of a non Indian audience to what we had made." He felt some concern that Taare Zameen Par was shown in a conference room rather than a cinema hall and was projected as a DVD rather than as a film. He stated that the showing concluded to an "absolutely thunderous standing ovation" which "overwhelmed" him and that he "saw the tears streaming down the cheeks of the audience." Khan also noted that the reaction to the film "was exactly as it had been with audiences back home in India."

Reception

Critical response

Taare Zameen Par received a number of positive reviews. Subhash K. Jha, film critic and author of The Essential Guide to Bollywood, suggested that Taare Zameen Par is "a work of art, a water painting where the colors drip into our hearts, which could easily have fallen into the motions of over-sentimentality. Aamir Khan holds back where he could easily resort to an extravagant display of drama and emotions." Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN argued that the true power of the film lies in its "remarkable, rooted, rock-solid script which provides the landscape for such an emotionally engaging, heart-warming experience." Two critics from the BBC both gave the film a rave review. Manish Gajjar stated that the film "touches your heart and moves you deeply with its sterling performances. a film full of substance!" Furthermore, Jaspreet Pandohar posited that Taare Zameen Par is a "far cry from the formulaic masala flicks churned out by the Bollywood machine," and is "an inspirational story that is as emotive as it is entertaining; this is a little twinkling star of a movie." Furthermore, Aprajita Anil of Screen gave the film four stars and stated, "Taare Zameen Par cannot be missed. Because it is different. Because it is delightful. Because it would make everyone think. Because it would help everyone grow. Because very rarely do performances get so gripping. And of course because the ‘perfectionist’ actor has shaped into a ‘perfectionist’ director." In addition, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap stated that, "Taare Zameen Par took me back to my hostel days. If you take away the dyslexia, it seems like my story. The film affected me so deeply that I was almost left speechless. After watching the film, I was asked how I liked Taare Zameen Par. I could not talk as I was deeply overwhelmed."

However, there were some criticisms. Jha's only objection to the film was Nikumbh's "sanctimonious lecture" to Ishaan's "rather theatrically-played" father. Jha found this a jarring "deviation from the delectable delicacy" of the film's tone. Although she applauded the film overall and recommended "a mandatory viewing for all schools and all parents", Nikhat Kazmi of The Times of India believed the second half was "a bit repetitive," the script needed "taut editing," and Ishaan's trauma " a shade too prolonged and the treatment simplistic." Despite commending the "great performances" and excellent directing, Gautaman Bhaskaran of The Hollywood Reporter, too, suggested that the movie "suffers from a weak script." Likewise, Derek Kelly of Variety criticised it for what he described as its "touchy-feely-ness" attention to "a special needs kid's plight." Kelly also disliked the film for being "so resolutely caring – and devoid of real drama and interesting characters" that "it should have 'approved by the Dyslexia Assn.' stamped on the posters."

Scholarly response

In his article "Taare Zameen Par and dyslexic savants" featured in the Annals of Indian Academy of Neurology, Ambar Chakravarty noted the general accuracy of Ishaan's dyslexia. Though Chakravarty was puzzled by Ishaan's trouble in simple arithmetic—a trait of dyscalculia rather than dyslexia—he reasoned it was meant to "enhance the image of helplessness and disability". Labeling Ishaan an example of "dyslexic savant syndrome", he especially praised the growth of Ishaan's artistic talents after receiving help and support from Nikumbh, and deemed it the "most important (and joyous) neurocognitive phenomenon" of the film. This improvement highlights cosmetic neurology, a "major and therapeutically important issue" in cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychology.

Likewise, in their article "Wake up call from 'Stars on the Ground'" for the Indian Journal of Psychiatry, T. S. Sathyanarayana Rao and V. S. T. Krishna wrote that the film "deserves to be vastly appreciated as an earnest endeavor to portray with sensitivity and empathetically diagnose a malady in human life". They also felt it blended "modern professional knowledge" with a "humane approach" in working with a dyslexic child. However, the authors believed the film expands beyond disabilities and explores the "present age where everyone is in a restless hurry". The pair wrote, "This film raises serious questions on mental health perspectives. We seem to be heading to a state of mass scale mindlessness even as children are being pushed to 'perform'. Are we seriously getting engrossed in the race of 'achievement' and blissfully becoming numb to the crux of life i.e., experiencing meaningful living in a broader frame rather than merely existing?" The film depicts how "threats and coercion are not capable of unearthing rich human potentialities deeply embedded in children", and that teachers should instead map their strengths and weakness. With this in mind, the author felt that Khan "dexterously drives home the precise point that our first priority ought to be getting to know the child before making any efforts to fill them with knowledge and abilities". Overall, the pair found a "naive oversimplification" in the film. With India "only recently waking to recognizing the reality and tragedy of learning disability", however, they "easily under artistic license".

Public response

The film raised awareness of the issue of dyslexia, and prompted more open discussions among parents, schools, activists, and policymakers. Anjuli Bawa, a parent-activist and founder of Action Dyslexia Delhi, stated that the amount of parents who visit her office increased tenfold in the months following the film's release. Many began taking a more proactive approach by contacting her after noticing problems, rather than using her as a last resort. Gupte himself received "many painful letters and phone calls" from Indian parents. He noted, "Fathers weep on the phone and say they saw the film and realized that they have been wrong in the way they treated their children. This is catharsis."

These reactions have also brought about a change in policies. The film, only ten days after its debut, influenced the Central Board of Secondary Education to provide extra time to special children—including the visually impaired, physically challenged and dyslexic—during exams. In 2008, Mumbai's civic body also opened 12 classrooms for autistic students. In Chandigarh, the education administration started a course to educate teachers on how to deal with children with learning disabilities.

Accolades

Taare Zameen Par won the Filmfare Best Movie Award for 2008, as well as the National Film Award for Best Film on Family Welfare. It also received a number of other awards, including three National Film Awards and many for best director. The young actor Darsheel Safary's numerous accolades included the 2008 Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance.

2009 Academy Awards submission and Slumdog Millionaire

Taare Zameen Par initially received acclaim for being India's official entry for the 2009 Academy Awards Best Foreign Film. After the film failed to make the short list, a debate stirred in the Indian media as to why Indian films never win Oscars. In addition, some speculated over possible reasons for Taare Zameen Par's failed bid. For example, Rediff.com's Arthur J. Pais cited the film's lack of mainstream media attention, while Oscar jury member Krishna Shah criticised its length and abundance of songs.

Khan, himself, stated that he was "not surprised" that Taare Zameen Par was rejected from the Oscar shortlist, and argued, "I don’t make films for awards. I make films for the audience. The audience, for which I have made the film, really loved it and the audiences outside India have also loved it. What I am trying to say is that film has been well loved across the globe and that for me it is extremely heartening and something that I give very high value to."

The Indian news media also frequently compared Taare Zameen Par's lack of a nomination with the British Slumdog Millionaire's multiple Oscar nominations and wins, and noted that other Indian films in the past were overlooked. Film critic Rajeev Masand argued that it is difficult to compare the two films and noted that Slumdog Millionaire was being marketed in a way that Indian films such as Taare Zameen Par could not compete with. In this context, Slumdog Millionaire-star Mahesh Manjrekar stated, "I'm sad that Aamir’s Taare Zameen Par didn’t make it to the final round of the Oscars. I thought it to be way better than Slumdog ... without taking away anything from Boyle and the kids. But, Indian movies are underestimated there." Following the global success of Slumdog Millionaire, the Indian media focused on Tanay Chheda over other actors in Taare Zameen Par because he had a role in both films.

Home media

UTV Home Entertainment released the film on DVD in India on 25 July 2008. It was launched at Darsheel Safary's school, Green Lawns High School, in Mumbai. Aamir Khan, Tisca Chopra, Vipin Sharma, Sachet Engineer, and the rest of the cast and crew were present. In his speech, Khan stated, "Darsheel is a very happy child, full of life and vibrant. I am sure it's because of the way his parents and teachers have treated him. I must say Darsheel's principal Mrs. Bajaj has been extremely supportive and encouraging. The true test of any school is how happy the kids are and by the looks of it, the children here seem really happy."

Walt Disney Company Home Entertainment, which acquired 33 percent of UTV Software Communications, bought the DVD rights for distribution in North America, the United Kingdom, and Australia for ₹ 7 crore (US$1.68 million). This marked "the first time an international studio has bought the video rights of an Indian film." Retitling it Like Stars on Earth, Disney released the film in Region 2 on 26 October 2009, in Region 1 on 12 January 2010, and in Region 4 on 29 March 2010. A three-disc set, the Disney version features the original Hindi audio soundtrack with English subtitles or another dubbed in English, as well as bonus material such as audio commentary, deleted scenes, and the musical soundtrack.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack for Taare Zameen Par was released on 4 November 2007. The music is mainly composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, with lyrics by Prasoon Joshi. However, "Mera Jahan" was scored by Shailendra Barve and written by Gupte, with the latter also composing "Ishaan's Theme." Joshi received the National Film Award for Best Lyrics, and Shankar Mahadevan won the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer for "Maa."

See also

• List of artistic depictions of dyslexia
• List of Indian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
• List of submissions to the 81st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film

Notes

• Khan, Aamir (2010-01-12). Like Stars on Earth DVD commentary (DVD). Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.
• Various (2010-01-12). Like Stars on Earth Bonus Disc: The Making... (DVD). Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.

1. Like Stars on Earth DVD commentary. Event occurs at approximately 2:06:00
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5. Like Stars on Earth DVD commentary. Event occurs at approximately 16:00
6. Like Stars on Earth DVD commentary. Event occurs at approximately 40:00
7. Like Stars on Earth DVD commentary. Event occurs at approximately 56:45
8. Like Stars on Earth DVD commentary. Event occurs at approximately 2:27:00
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19. Like Stars on Earth DVD commentary. Event occurs at approximately 10:15
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21. ^ Like Stars on Earth DVD commentary. Event occurs at approximately 2:45
22. Like Stars on Earth DVD commentary. Event occurs at approximately 8:30
23. Like Stars on Earth DVD commentary. Event occurs at approximately 48:00
24. Like Stars on Earth Bonus Disc: The Making.... Event occurs at approximately 10:00
25. Like Stars on Earth DVD commentary. Event occurs at approximately 23:00
26. Like Stars on Earth Bonus Disc: The Making.... Event occurs at approximately 11:00
27. Like Stars on Earth DVD commentary. Event occurs at approximately 1:00:15
28. Like Stars on Earth Bonus Disc: The Making.... Event occurs at approximately 16:00
29. Like Stars on Earth Bonus Disc: The Making.... Event occurs at approximately 35:00
30. ^ Like Stars on Earth DVD commentary. Event occurs at approximately 1:11:30
31. Like Stars on Earth Bonus Disc: The Making.... Event occurs at approximately 18:00
32. Like Stars on Earth DVD commentary. Event occurs at approximately 2:14:00
33. Like Stars on Earth DVD commentary. Event occurs at approximately 21:00
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36. Like Stars on Earth DVD commentary. Event occurs at approximately 2:35:00
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42. Like Stars on Earth Bonus Disc: The Making.... Event occurs at approximately 41:00
43. Like Stars on Earth Bonus Disc: The Making.... Event occurs at approximately 43:00
44. Like Stars on Earth DVD commentary. Event occurs at approximately 1:38:00
45. Like Stars on Earth DVD commentary. Event occurs at approximately 1:26:15
46. Like Stars on Earth DVD commentary. Event occurs at approximately 17:30
47. Like Stars on Earth DVD commentary. Event occurs at approximately 51:00
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Further reading

• Mohideen, Nabeel. "Aamir Khan Makes Sparkling Debut as Film Director With Taare." Bloomberg News, 2007-12-26.
• Mukherjee, Krittivas. "Taare Zameen Par, film on dyslexic child, pulls at Indian heartstrings." Reuters. 2007-12-24.
• National Public Radio, "Singing The Praises Of Bollywood Films," 25 February 2009 (audio interview including section on Taare Zameen Par).

External links

• Official website
• Like Stars on Earth (Taare Zameen Par) at Walt Disney Home Entertainment
• Taare Zameen Par at IMDb
• Taare Zameen Par at Bollywood Hungama
• Template:Allmovie title

• 2007 films
• Indian films
• Hindi-language films
• Directorial debut films
• Dyslexia in fiction
• English-language South Asian films
• Filmfare Best Movie Award winners
• Films distributed by Disney