Aamir Khan, The Filmmaker, Has Arrived!

By MovieTalkies.com, 19 December 2007 4.5 / 5

Indian cinema was always colourful, vibrant and full of life, but it sadly lacked soul. Aamir Khan's Taare Zameen Par changes the face of Indian cinema as we know it, infusing life into it and giving it its soul. This star twinkles and catches your attention and amazement, tugging at your heart throughout its two-and-a-half-hour plus playing time, bringing the shades of a child's imagination in blazing colour onto the screen canvas, and making us realize that truly every child is special, all we have to do is help them attain their true potential. Yes, Aamir Khan's directorial debut is special, a heart-warming tale of a small child who has learning difficulties and is largely misunderstood by his parents. Darsheel Safary as Ishaan Awasthi is simply marvellous, making you believe that he is Ishaan and not just an actor enacting a role. When the parents see Ishaan's academic performance deteriorate, they send him to a boarding school for disciplinary measure. Finding himself away from his doting mother and lovable family, Ishaan gets grief-stricken and lonely. Failing to understand why he has been removed from the shade of his mother and family, his otherwise vivid imagination withers and life turns into a morose black-and-white pattern. But a saviour in the form of Arts teacher Ram Shankar Nikumbh enters his life, and the colours creep back in slowly, as Nikumbh works hard on reviving the child's spirit, peeling away the layers that have clouded the taara. Aamir Khan as Nikumbh is outstanding, playing a man who has been through life trying to help children find themselves and their true calling, and in the process finding his own true self. Inclusion, empathy and emotional bonding with caring is what this film beautifully propagates, telling an entertaining story that at the same time makes you sit up and take notice of what we must do for our next generation. The film also encourages every individual to repose faith in himself against all odds, advocating the concept of multiple intelligences. In an age of competitive fervour, this film takes the solid stand of individualistic innate skills to shine with support and encouragement, making it topical considering the academic pressure tragedies that one finds on front pages today. Taking his time to set up the story, the director extracts a most believable and genuine performance from Darsheel, and the deft helming ensures that the efforts don't show. Even the other children slip into their characters comfortably, becoming the characters to the finest of details. Worthy of mention are Sachet Engineer as Yohaan Awasthi, Ishaan's bright elder brother, and Tanay Cheda as Rajan Damodaran. While the veteran actor himself is bound to give a great performance which he does, what truly amazes one is the genuinely fine performances by Tisca Chopra as Ishaan's mother and Vipin Sharma as the father. Both don't look like actors at all but are truly the characters in every sense, and every mother in India will identify with Tisca's Maya Awasthi. Maa is Tisca's song as much as Darsheel's, and when she weeps while flipping through the flip-book of Ishaan, your heart truly goes out to her, bringing a lump to your throat. All other songs are genuinely from the heart, and Shankar Ehsaan Loy are at their very best, giving Prasoon Joshi's soul-stirring lyrics great music. The title song Taare Zameen Par is poetic, with no line being repeated in its sea of similes, and Bum Bum Bole is joyful with Aamir swinging with the kids to the catchy rhythm with Shiamak Davar's inventive choreography; Kholo Kholo is a true eye-opener, inspiring and uplifting in mood and content, making a fine album that will keep shining in music stores for a long long time. This one is from the heart, uplifting and inspiring cinema that is a must-see for every parent and to-be parent, with lots to offer for kids also, who will no longer hesitate to follow their true calling. Aamir Khan, the filmmaker, has arrived!

Tender Musings from a Child’s Heart

By MovieTalkies.com, 27 November 2007 4 / 5

The music launch of Taare Zameen Par, which has the distinction of being actor Aamir Khan's debut directorial venture, has been rather low-key. The film, which is about a dyslexic child, is not expected to be your normal, run-of-the-mill Hindi film. This one promises to be different. On first hearing the music album of this movie, one is struck by the same sense of novelty. The music of the film, composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, surely among the best in the music business today, has an inherent innocence and whimsical sweetness about it. It is bound to tug at your heart at places. With Prasoon Joshi penning the lyrics for the songs, one can expect a true feast for the ears. The album opens with the title number Taare Zameen Par sung by Shankar Mahadevan. The song has been sung superbly by Shankar, who imparts a softness and tenderness to the number, highlighting its poetical quality. He is ably supported by Bugs Bhargava, Dominique Cerejo and Vivinenne Pocha. This number has an enchanting quality to it and it is bound to have you completely hooked. What makes this a difficult song to sing for the singer is the fact that there is hardly any supporting. Thus, the entire emphasis is on the voice alone. Shankar comes up tops even here along with Vivinenne, Bugs and Dominique. This one is really straight from the heart. The 'Kholo Kholo'number, which is next in line, continues the melodious legacy. Sung by Raman Mahadevan, this is a fast-paced, guitar backed number. There is a high energy level to this song and Joshi's lyrics provide the perfect mood for this infectiously joyful song. The song has a soft rock feel to it and the singer does full justice to the number. The next song has actor-director Aamir Khan and singer Shaan get together for a number called Bum Bum Bole. It is a fun song, which gently persuades you to come out and spread your wings. It begins with Aamir spouting some gibberish in high speed before Shaan takes over. The song seems quite situational and one would really enjoy the song along with the film. On its own, it does not have a strong enough impact. Vishal Dadlani makes his entry in this album with the number Jame Raho. This too is a very situational number which talks about the different kind of children. There is an air of merriment about it as it goes ahead describing the different kinds of children. What really work for this song are its lyrics, and the manner in which the lyricist describes the obedient child or the dreamer. Joshi's use of the language, his whimsical manner of describing emotions and people, especially in this song, remind one of Gulzar. Ma, the sentimental number in the album is sung once again by Shankar Mahadevan, with vocals that tug at the heart. Joshi well captures the fears and anxieties of a little child sent away from home. The emotional core is just right. This song too creates a kind of magic, and it's based purely on the vocal prowess of the singer. Again, a number which owes its moving quality to the voice and not the accompaniments which are bare. Bheja Kam is sung by some ten singers-- Shankar Mahadevan, Bugs Bhargava, Shankar Sachdev, Raaj Gopal Iyer, Ravi Khanwilker, Loy Mendonsa, Amole Gupte, Kiran Rao, Aamir Khan and Ram Madhvani. It is less of a song and more of a spoof on the kind of scolding that children get on getting low marks. The song itself begins with a scolding – 'Why can't you?'The ten singers pitch in with a line or two and bring out the plight of a child. The song even has words which go like, 'idiot, duffer', and more on the same note as the hapless child is bombarded with questions and rebukes. Sounds a tad familiar at times, if one dares to tread down memory lane. Mera Jahaan, has been written by Amole Gupte and the music has been composed by Shailendra Barve. Singers Auriel Cordo and Ananya Wadkar set the ball rolling with their rendition of the English portion, followed by Adnan Sami. The song gives us a peek into the perfect world that a child craves for, borne out of his imagination and needs. The album culminates with Ishaan's theme, an instrumental piece. A piano composition, the piece seems to trace the emotional graph of a child, with a serene beginning, followed by some energetic movement and then it composes itself again and goes back to its smooth and serene beginnings. The best about this impressive album is the fact that it is untarnished. The composers, the lyricist, the director and producer have given us an album which is true to the film. Each of the songs has a definite place and reason to be there in the scheme of things. Everything is as it should be. Also the composers and lyricist have done a superb job of staying honest to the genre without going overboard. For instance, the sweetness in the songs is not alloyed with saccharine, but genuine. The sentimental bits too, do not go overboard. It could not have been very easy, because there no given formulas that the composers could have followed for this album. Rarely has so much meticulous attention been given to a subject who deals with children. Taare Zameen Par's musical soundtrack should definitely strike a chord with the child hidden inside all of us.

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