A bagful of stars
Some of the most memorable moments of Taare Zameen Par are the ones that just flash you by, they will never be shown on those award screens, they will die a silent death…
A sulking Ishaan in the blue bed of the dark night, making images in the dark, his rabbit eyes piercing through the darkness, while another morning comes and brings in new stories, both in the narrative and his screen life….
Ishaan standing outside the classroom and discovering a world of his own in the empty, dusty corridor, looking at his favorite part of the school, outside. The windows which bring him the sun in full measure. He talks to the dead painting on the wall, makes conversations will the still walls, while a bunch of nagging school kids do their on-screen duties to acceptable imperfection, he stands there, on the fence between fact and fiction.
A sleepy Ishaan runs to his dad and is disappointed to see the similar gifts/treatment dished out for his distinctively opposite elder brother and him.
It’s Diwali night, and the neighborhood big bully, well, bullies Ishaan and he instead throws a cracker into the bully’s face while fighting with his own anger and despair in his lonely eyes.
There are a million of such moments, in this young kid’s eyes; their stillness makes you drop that saddling disbelief. So you are taken to another level, even while songs after songs pester you, a moderately okay Aamir Khan with his Nikumbh tries to put thoughts in your preoccupied head, and the regular film thematics demand their 15 minutes.
Aamir, the director has such a grip over the medium here, that he overshadows Aamir, the actor. The thought somehow fails to transform into words completely.
Having said that, he is no way lacking of screen presence or form. It is just that the rope he is walking on is a tad too fragile, it is a marshy terrain.
While Nikumbh tries to fill you up with sympathy, a carefree Ishaan can do it with the slightest change of his still eyes. This, apart from few ‘silences’ in the film, occupied much of my headspace while I watched the film and when I think about it now, Aamir, probably isn’t acting, he is just being the normal humble guy with a heart of gold.
But when I think of his role, an art teacher who knows how to handle specially-abled kids, with some reasonable expertise at that, it does pose a few questions…
Why does he break down every now and then? Why is his world so narrow? Why can’t he get his thoughts together while he is trying to convince Ishaan’s parents (one of the weak scenes in the film; due to the conflict in Nikumbh’s thoughts), or even while he is trying to find a root to Ishaan’s problem, save curing it? It is some of these hidden layers that pull Taare a step back from the virtuous air it creates in the everyday hindi film watcher.
In a prominently predictable climax, the director takes away all that the film fills you with.
The film starts looking at the lonely world of Ishaan, and the world is so beautifully captured that the voyeur guilty is absent from your keyhole view. Life is as still as it gets, not without the occasional film devices though, flash forwards, animation et al. but its all in good spirit. It gives a little more weight to his dream escapades. Through the first hour of the film, you reach the judgment that to put your kid in a school is the worst thing you could do to any kid, forget a specially-abled kid. It is as Gulabi Floyd as you could imagine or desire. The world is a collage of caricatures, nothing stays still in the eye of the camera except a brooding child protagonist (who, by the way, is a delight in every single frame, relevant or not relevant, justified or not justified). You make the viewer feel here is a character waiting for redemption (it almost feels like a superman will be knocking any time now), so the textual narrative curve begins progressing and he goes deeper into the darkness where you started the keyhole visit at. It is at this time that the songs help, but to a limited extent.
Regarding the music, I happen to be one of the fans of the soundtrack, along with our great Goonda, and have heard the songs in all times; every single word is imprinted on my thoughts, and have been relishing their experimental ingenuity for some time now. In the film, I loved Mera Jahaan, Maa, and the title track. And that’s it. The rest of the time I couldn’t get the theme music out of my head. Rest was all gimmick. Bheja kum, kholo kholo, I expected better. Jamey raho was another song I liked, because of its episodic images. It adds character to Ishaan’s dreams, which in itself is a character in the film.
Maa is probably The song of the film. It’s all there is in Ishaan’s eyes, his eternal question, his breaking down,
Main Kabhi Batlata Nahin
Par Andhere Se Darta Hoon Main Maa
Yun To Main,Dikhlata Nahin
Par Teri Parwaah Karta Hoon Main Maa
Tujhe Sab Hain Pata, Hain Na Maa
Tujhe Sab Hain Pata,,Meri Maa
Ishaan’s brother gives him a box of colors, and he doesn’t acknowledge it. The color has been erased from his freedom; he has been imprisoned to his fate. The dark exteriors of the boarding and the omnipresent warden are just metaphors.
Bheed Mein Yun Na Chhodo Mujhe
Ghar Laut Ke Bhi Aa Naa Paoon Maa
Bhej Na Itna Door Mujkko Tu
Yaad Bhi Tujhko Aa Naa Paoon Maa
Kya Itna Bura Hoon Main Maa
Kya Itna Bura Meri Maa
Ishaan crying away his pain in the hostel toilet, and then washing his tears away. His quiet and unexpressed admission of love towards his mother…
Unse Main Yeh Kehta Nahin
Par Main Seham Jaata Hoon Maa
Chehre Pe Aana Deta Nahin
Dil Hi Dil Mein Ghabraata Hoon Maa
Tujhe Sab Hai Pata Hai Naa Maa
Tujhe Sab Hai Pata Meri Maa
In Mera Jahaan, these silences have been brilliantly captured again.
Let me in without a shout
Le me in I have a doubt
Let me in without a shout
Let me in I have a doubt
There are more many more
Many many many more like me
Akela nahin main
Khuli aankhon se neend mein chalta
Girta zyada kam sambhalta
When a clueless Ishaan goes out of the bounds of school and rules on his first ‘day out’, he registers every little occurrence with acute attention, the falling white paint on his face(Sapno ka buna sweater, so warm,Safed badalon ke paar), or the street kids playing in their own sweet rejection of the ‘other’ world.
Akela nahin main
Khuli aankhon se neend mein chalta
Girta zyada kam sambhalta
Phir bhi na koi shaq na subha
Nikalega phir se suraj jo dooba
Hairat ho sabko aisa
Ajooba hai mera jahan..
This is where he screams aloud, he is no different(Akela nahin main
Khuli aankhon se neend mein chalta,girta zyada kam sambhalta), his confession epitomizes the everyday sacrifice that millions make, for fear of failure, for living upto the challenges the cruel world throws in your face. He makes you feel his battles are small yet significant, like our battles to us are.
Open eye how I run
How I run to the other side
Open eye how I run
How I run to the other side
Then I glide like a bird
I just want to be..
Udne ko sau pankh diye hai
Chadhne ko khula aasmaan
Udne ko sau pankh diye hai
Chadhne ko Khula aasmaan
Udne ko hai karwat karwat
Aur badhne ko mera jahan..
He looks down from the bus window, and lives his ‘flying’ aspirations for few seconds.
The theme song is a tribute to the very feeling/emotion you start this at, a heart rooted in humility, in innocence.
Kabhi baatein jaise dadi naani
Kabhi chale jaise mum mum(mammam) pani
Kabhi ban jaye bhole sawaalo ki jhadee
Sannate mein hasee ke jaise
Soone hothon pe khushi ke jaise
When Nikumbh enters Ishaan’s room, he is in for a revelation, the camera slowly follows him to the ever-dark-hued room, you see the blue wall slowly and magically opening up, and the powerful shot captures more than Aamir or any actor could have delivered in expressions. The situation demands a certain respect for Ishaan’s private and very personal world, and it bloody well gets it.
Yeh to noor hai barse gar pe kismat ho padi
Jaise jhil mein lehar aye chanda
jaise bheed mein apne ka kandha
jaise manmauji nadiya
jhaag udaye kuch kahe
jaise baithe baithe meethi si jhapki
jaise pyar ki dheemi si thapki
jaise kaano mein sargam
hardam bajti hi rahe
jaise barkha udati hai bundiya…
kho na jaaayeeee yehhhh
Kho na jaayee yehh
kho na jaayee yehh
kho na jaayee yehhhh..
In the end titles, there are beautiful images of specially-abled kids playing against the title track in full version, and while the whole thing was going on, I was rethinking about the whole film, the story and realized(more while thinking about it later) that it does a wonderful job of handling a sensitive subject but not without few conflicts. Now its just upto the viewer how much heed does he give to those conflicts.
Non-conformity in school life is the very root of a bigger angst and social-rebellion in the mature phases of one’s life, it is just that we don’t view both of them with the same eye. While the little rebellious acts in childhood appear ‘cute’, the same hatred takes disastrous proportions if it manifests some 15-20 years down the line. Thematically, if you are telling a kid that competition is not everything in the world, and that what you are good at(which almost comes across as a compulsive rule of existence in Taare’s world)is the singlemost important thing in life, you would have wanted to tread the same path. But you go back to the same competitive exposition to make the kid happy. It might appear a conflict to you, it might not, thanks to the holistic and honest work been put into the film. But if you do think about the story as a continuing filmic theme, and think about a Dead Poet’s Society or a 400 Blows, or even Ray’s films and handling of children-based themes, it might leave you with a few questions, it just might…
Dreams begin with a smile
And the smile is innocent
Like heartless streets with a name
The quaint juvenile feet that tread these paths tread a million times before
Like a hope that instills an everlasting belief
The morning takes over
Flipping through pages of an age
An age that has its heart in a belief
An age that is all yet unexplored
Sunny side-ups, fresh painted buses,
School bags stuffed with noble intentions, and some hidden charms
Of these million moments and more
Of a daily chore
Of a daily chore
and ya, I didn’t cry this much in a film in a long, long time.
Tags: Medium
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Even tears rolled down my eyes during the climax..including many people in the auditorium…even though everyone knew who would win…because everyone identified so much with the kid….
Its one heck of a movie and the respect I had for Aamir grew many more times…..
Fantastic movie!!! I even called up my parents and asked them to see them movie….
Take a bow…Aamir
Ya man… watched it twice…Like every time u watch Andaz Apna Apna, u have new joke to laugh at.. TZP has new moment to touch ur heart and a tear to roll down!!
More Moments:
1. Ishaan playing with shower
2. Ishaan picking his nose and unleashing the ‘gold’ in the air (and i thought im the only one to do tht)
3. Ishaan cryin on terrace jus to find a cut kite
4. Aamir getting uneasy when Ishaan hugs him in the end.. and the way he looks at the crowd
…. Every Child is Special… Taare Zamin Par Super Special n Aamir Khan Ultra Special… thats all i can say… he is just GR8… just want to be like him…. anyways.. gr8….
Hey Tushar, a very balanced write-up I must say. I liked Honhar’s article too. I think this film will go down in Indian Cinema history as a very important one (barring the cynics and wanna-be iconoclasts. While I didn’t have any problems with the competition bit (actually I don’t have problems with any bit at all) , I guess it was probably an effective and dramatic device (within the bounds of commercial cinema) to help Ishaan realise that he too has a talent which the rest of the world would like and love him for. Maybe this was how his self confidence could be emphatically re-instilled. And more than getting the world to accept him for who he is and what he is capable of, actually making Ishaan accept himself first. This showed when the poor hurt kid let out all his anguish and pain in that immensely moving hug he gives to Nikhumbh at the end of the art mela. Somehow, while watching those scenes, I didn’t pay any heed to the competition aspect. I actually looked at it as more of a harmless mela than an actual competition. I watched it first day first show but the movie is still with me. And I haven’t literally choked and felt so heart wrenchingly emotional before over any “Indian” movie, besides The Namesake. That is the only movie I have ever watched multiple times in a theatre and I’m going to do so with Taare… too. And I also have never clapped before for a film and its makers in a theatre. When the credits faded to black, it took me some effort to drag my feet out into the world I didn’t want to go back to. Which is an achievement in itself for the filmmakers. A lot of firsts for me with this movie. My first post here too (though been lurking around a few blogs for sometime). Again, a good write-up Tushar.
“A sleepy Ishaan runs to his dad and is disappointed to see the similar gifts/treatment dished out for his distinctively opposite elder brother and him.” ….I agree, a remarkable scene.
“Why does he break down every now and then? Why is his world so narrow? Why can
^^^I would second Vikrant on that.
I really liked the film and the best part of the film is the picturisation of songs (as mentioned in your post in detail). I have never before seen such beautiful use of songs to help the story. They not only compliment the story, they actually enhance the effect on the audience.
“In a prominently predictable climax, the director takes away all that the film fills you with.”
I wish I could agree! But the joy of that scene was not in guessing who wins the Competition – everyone knows that. The joy lies in seeing Ishaan triumph. And when he finally breaks down on holding the trophy and runs to hug his guru, your heart does skip several beats!! For me, that scene brought the film a full circle and made me see the winner in Ishaan which even he himself needed to see. It was brilliant!
Thanks for the comments, Johnny, parth, niranjan, Sachin, vikrant, smoker & arati.
Thanks for reminding about the terrace-kite scene.
Nice short analysis, Sachin. Go ahead and write a review!
Agree with your analysis, Vikrant about Ishaan
Well a week or two back, I read Javed Akhtar reviewing TZP songs, and he said the lyrics are mind boggling etc. But that too failed to convince me enough to listen to the songs. But when I watched the movie, gosh, I haven’t come around a more meaningful songs, lyrics and the way they propelled the story to the next level. Simply superb.Thanks for bringing that up. .^:)^^:)^
I liked the 3×9 = 3 part, I am a big fan of Calvin and Hobbes comics, and his spaceman spiff adventures in classroom, and the scene reminded me of that. Yes the sadness in the terrace, and next thing is grabbing the kite, thats so amazingly well executed.
Although the movie went on predictable lines, it still was so good, it holds your attention till the last scenes. It still makes you go for second viewing, although its so predictable.
Kudos to Darsheel Safari(i hope i spelt it right)Aamir Khan, Amole Gupte, Prasoon Joshi, Shankar Ehsaan Loy. Simply great work.
Hey, thanks Tushar! I guess it was more my heart felt observation than an analysis. And yes, the scene where Nikhumbh confronts Ishaan’s parents in their house is absolutely top notch.
Also, I was discussing your review with my wife a while ago and we both liked the fact that you mentioned 400 Blows and Ray’s films. They were some of the thoughts that crossed our minds too after watching the film. And I haven’t read of them being mentioned in any other reviews yet.
Have you entered this for Ronin btw?
No Sachin, this is not for Ronin.
400 Blows, Ray & Dead Poet’s Society were obvious recalls. You should read Rangan’s review on this one, he talks about it in great detail and draws cinematic parallels along with analysing it thematically, in his usual streak.
Pratim da on the film:
“Taare Zameen Par takes its time. The deliberate languorous pace can seem a tad boring initially, with Aamir focussing on the most minute details of the daily life of eight-year-old Ishaan Awasthi (Darsheel). He rolls in bed from one end to the other, makes a timely jump in a pool of water on the street, breaks out into an impromptu jig outside the classroom
Tushar Sir,
Let me start by saluting you for such a wonderful post.
I consider myself as a novice as far as cinema rather writing about cinema is concerned, still there was something about this movie which probed me to write, this is my first post at any site. So kindly ignore my mistakes.
Yesterday I saw TZP, and it gave me one more reason to love hindi movies, as it not just entertains but educates as well. I went to see the movie with a prejudiced mind that the movie would be OK, my friends recommended the movie and said its brilliant, I thought, the acting would be good, the cinematography would be good, the directors point of explaining this his own way would be kind of different, little did I know before the screening began that the next 2.5 hrs would be so mesmerizing. It was as if like I am not watching a movie, but I am watching real Ishaan Awasthi, and his experiences with life, his own way. Darsheel safary is undoubtedly a boy with gifted talent, but I would say it
Nice write-up, Sir.
Films have no medium, so does the reaction to a film.
I agree with your observations, like Pratim da says,
“it
i don’t know why but nobody ever mentions the scene which i liked most the one in which after telling about famous dyslexics in class aamir takes all kids outside and ishaan is shown creating the boat.
i like the scene in which the boat is shown slowly going towards aamir khan in water
Hey koolguru, i too feel the same about reliving every moment of ishan’s life by watching the movie over and over again.
And as pratim da’s review rightly said, the movie’s biggest success is taking us back to our own childhood and that in turn helps us completely relate to the characters and their stories.
Also, akshay, i loved that scene too. The boat paddling towards Nikumbh, as if Ishaan’s reaching out to him through it but then shies away because of all the attention.
Tjere are so many scenes which leave us completely moist eyed. I think that is where the success of a director lies. A good filmmaker is a master manipulator of human emotions. Its quite easy to bring out a movie with the cliched slapstick comedy but to make an audience cry not because its a sad story but due to sheer overwhwlming joy is commendable!!! Kudos to the team of TZP!!
Thanx Tushar Sir, n Sachin,
I really liked the film, and got overwhelmed with emotions and just posted whatever my feelings were, I know I m not even remotely close to any of the posts here but still thanx a lot for appreciating my first effort.^:)^
Dear Aamir,
I fall short of the right words to say .but MIND BLOWING is the closest as to how beautifully u handled the whole subject….am a parent of a Special Child,,,,i ran away from boarding school after i was put in after losing my Dad… and have related to so much of your movie in life that I cried from almost the beginning to the end….thank you for showing the world how special special children are and how they too have as much right to live and breathe……Ishan was SUPERB but so were you…….sometimes i almost felt u were relating your own life…thats how you came across……..WAY TO GO!!! Fantastic..CONGRATULATIONS and THANK YOU SO MUCH.. and u kno my twins were also going to be a part of your audition but things were just not right for us then and i cudnt manage to send the photos like u wantd in the right sizes then as they were sick too……..
MEDHA & ZOOMBISH II – 27th Dec – 10:30 am -Prithvi – Be There If u Can !