Taare Zameen Par - impressions

(spoiler warning; this post gives out the plot to a certain extent)


Speechless; thats what I was after watching the movie ( and yes, that includes the little documentary during the credits at the end). Words fail me, but still here is a honest attempt to put down the emotions, the feelings, the tears, the laughter, the turmoil, the upheaval into words.

The movie aptly starts with simple words, and then explodes into a supernova of bewildering, mind-boggling words, expressions, figures..... Seems like a symbolic representation of what society is now. We are gradually moving away from all the simple things of life; making everything more and more complicated, and finally losing our way ion those complications. "Simple is beautiful" - does anyone ever believe in this age-old adage any more?

I run the risk of osunding cliched, but TZP really is a movie which can change your entire outlook of life; whenever you see a problem now, you will probably focus on the "WHY" and not on the "symptoms". Not a new philosophy, its been there for ages; but sometimes you need that little spark, that little burst of inspiration to remind you of your "basics" - something like Taare Zameen Par. Most importantly, the movie makes you THINK. You see through the eyes of a father, who wants his dear kids to be successful in life, and is forced to keep his emotions firmly in check ; you think of a mother, for whom her sons are the world, who is going through an emotional turmoil as she desperately tries to understand her child, to make him happy yet successful in life. You see through the eyes of a kid, a kid who knows he is not meeting the expecatations of society ,and most importantly, of the people who are closest to his heart, but doesnt know WHY. And you see society as it is, stripped of its veneers; you see it as something which burdens people with the hope of expectations from the day they are born. You are never encouraged to take the "path less travelled"; you are compelled to follow a path which has been already defined for you; and if you fail, if you dont meet the infinite weight of those expectations, you are branded a loser and a failure. Is this what we really want; is this the real direction in which our society should be moving; do we have to right to sacrifice our kids, your kids, to the altar of OUR dreams and aspirations in stead of letting them blaze their own path forward? Maybe not; just maybe.....

And the movie deals with all this expertly, with the right sensitivity and just the right amount of detail. True, the extreme treatment meted out to Ishan by his father and his teachers seems a little over-dramatized; Aamir Khan's entry into the classroom of such a "proper" school seems a trifle impractical; the way Ishan was taught by Aamir at the end could probably have been dealt with at a more relaxed pace. But all these trivialities pale in comparison to how the movie is dealy with overall. Even if you can somehow stop your tears when Ishan is being battered and bruised, his self-confidence - his whole being - trampled upon by the weight of his teachers' and parents' expectations, you simply can't restrain yourself when his talent is finally recognized; the scene just at the end of the painting competition, or the very last scene will probably remain etched in your minds forever.

The painting competition was the highlight of the film for me. The focus in the eyes of Ishant and and Nikumbh as they pour their heart and soul into their paintings makes you actually FEEL how much they love what they are doing. And you see the child in Ishant as well, his eagerness to see the painting of this teacher, his friend, his philosopher, his guide. When he finally does see it, and teacher and student look at each other, the expression on their face, the depth of emotions in their eyes is something which will overwhelm you , will touch the core of your being - to me, that was the defining moment of the film. And the song ("Kholo Kholo")in the background makes the whole scene all the more overpowering. It affects every fibre of your being, chokes you with emotion - to an extent when the emotion actually hurts!!!!


Words really fail me when I try to express my emotions here; and I doubt words can ever bring out the essence of the movie. You need to see it to believe it, to feel it....