Taare Zameen Par (Like stars on the earth)
The film we will feature today is an Indian drama film titled Taare Zameen Par (Like stars on the earth) directed by Aamir Khan and Amole Gupte, who also stars in the film along with Darsheel Safary (Ishaan Nandkishore Awasthi), Tisca Chopra (Maya Awasthi), and Aamir Khan (Ram). The film addresses the issue of dyslexia, a learning disorder, through the story of a boy and his journey to overcome academic challenges.
Ishaan is an 8 years old creative child and known prankster among his peers. He fails all subjects and it considered the dumbest student in his class. He is in the second year of grade 3 and if you look at his report card he has to repeat the same grade. In contrast to Ishaan his brother Yohaan is an exemplary student apart from studies he plays tennis and will compete in the upcoming interstate tennis championship.
Ishaan also often gets into fights in the games that bully him. One day a mother complained about Ishhan to his father Nandkishore. He asked the two for forgiveness for his son’s misbehavior. When they leave he pushes Ishaan to the floor to discipline the boy although Nandkishore loves his children he is too cruel to Ishaan. He believes that Ishaan’s low grades and inability to do simple things is due to his laziness.
The next day the English teacher asked Ishaan to read a line from the book. He tried everything but he could barely form a word. He struggles to understand the letters but the teacher mistakes him for a mischievous child and throws him out of her class.
Ishaan is not new to being punished in fact he is often out of the classroom because the teachers see him as a nuisance to other students. That same day Ishaan did not do his mathematics homework to avoid being scolded he ran away from school and spent the whole day walking around the town.
He enjoyed the whole day bought ice cream, spent time by the sea and checked everyone passing by. At the end of the day he returned to the school bus without anyone noticing his absence. At home we can see him doing a beautiful painting, Ishaan loves to paint and using his creative mind it results in very beautiful art.
Later his mother Maya tried to teach him and make him do his homework but she noticed that his handwriting was very ugly and he could hardly spell anything correctly. He attributed his incompetence to laziness and scolded the boy like everyone else.
The next day Ishaan had to show an excuse letter from his parents. He begged his brother to make a letter for him. Yohaan was promised that he would never run away from class again and made the excuse letter. The boy showed it to his teacher and did not even doubt its authenticity. He also pretended to have a cough to look sick.
On the same day, the children were surprised with a mathematics test Ishaan was handed the test but the letters seemed to dance for him. The first question is three time nine. What he had in mind was the third planet Earth and the ninth planet Pulot fighting each other.
He fantasized about Earth destroying Pluto and reasoned that the answer was three, He left the remaining questions blank and passed the test paper. When asked by his classmates he confidently replied that he was satisfied with the exam. The next day Nandkishore was back on his business.
Ishaan was very happy with his father’s return and hugged him tightly but while they were having breakfast. Nandkishore found the fake excuse letter from the previous day. During his investigation he learns about Ishaan’s absconding from school. The next day his parents went to the principal and condemned the child’s behavior in class.
They also learned the math test and its result, the principal assumed that Ishaan was a special child and had to be sent to a school for children with disabilities. The parents were worried about their child’s future so they decided to send boarding school.
Ishaan is completely against the idea he cries and pleads to keep him at home even though the parents also don’t want to be separated from him they think is best for Ishaan. That night Ishaan dreamed that his mother left him and woke up screaming. When trying to calm him he promised to study hard if he was allowed to stay at home.
This broke the mother’s heart but Nandkishore stood by his decision. The day came when Ishaan was taken to boarding school where he would in fact share a dorm with other children and he only be allowed to see his family once a month.
It’s a nightmare for the 8 years old who will be away from home for the first time after a school trip the family leaves with a heavy heart. The boy just watches their car drive away with tears in his eyes.
He remained stunned for several minutes even though he could no longer see the car. When darkness came he walked into the dorm while still crying he doesn’t talk to anyone and hardly eats dinner. At night he can’t sleep, he goes to the bathroom and cries silently there.
Meanwhile Maya reached home and took Ishaan’s things, She saw a flip book of Ishaan while being taken away from his family. It broke her heart to realize how difficult it was for the child to be away from his family. Ishaan insists on doing normal things like tying his shoes and tying his tie.
On his first day he was made to sit in front of the teacher Mr.Tiwari with the topper of the class Rajan. The teachers realized that Ishaan is not normal he does not listen in class and always punished by his teachers. He was constantly being sent out of class as punishment and kicked out of activities for breaking it.
Over time, he became so frustrated that he tore up his book and threw it in the trash. He stopped doing well in class and sank into depression and self-loathing. When his parents came to visit him he locked himself in the room and cried for the first time since they last met.
At their insistence he ran outside and ran a few laps on the basketball court to rebel. The family took him to a hotel for a night to give him a break from class. Yohaan gave him painting supplies as a gift but what he didn’t know was that he had shut down his creativity and stopped painting altogether.
The next day his family said goodbye and left. Ishaan alone again that day he was at the lowest stage of his life he was looking down at the terrace thinking what would happen if he jumped from the building. His only friend stopped him and told him about their new art teacher.
He didn’t think much of it because no teacher had helped him yet but the children are surprised when the new teacher Ram enters wearing a clown costume. He sang to the children, played flute, made them dance and let them enjoy the class.
Although the old Ishaan likes it the depressed child now does not participate in any activity as their first task the children are instructed to draw and paint. Whatever they want the children start drawing some things but do not even move of Ishaan his paper.
Ram assumes that the boy is just taking time to think but even after class Ishaan’s paper is still blank. Ram asks him what is his problem but he doesn’t get an answer from the boy. That night Maya called to talk to Ishaan but he just held the phone and didn’t even speak.
Ishaan is informed that they have to postpone the next visit because of Yohaan’s tennis competition, for Ishaan this only confirms that his parents don’t care about him. He shed a single tear and left without saying anything. The next day Ram saw Ishaan kneeling outside the classroom because of his personality interest he asked Rajan about Ishaan.
Rajan reveals that Ishaan finds it difficult to understand the letters no matter how hard he tries to learn. Ram teaches disabled children so he can be replaced by special children. To find out Ishaan’s illness he reads the boy’s old notebook and finds a pattern of common mistakes even though he teaches special children he can’t get Ishaan out of his mind.
He had the same problem when he was young so he took pity on the boy. A few weeks later he found out Ishaan’s actual problem and traveled to his hometown to meet his parents. They accepted the teacher and let him see Ishaan’s room.
He was surprised that he was painting then. He was even more sad because the boy’s interest had disappeared due to the pressure given by his parents. Nandkishore belittled his son and informed him that he was lazy to study. Ram retaliates and shows them the pattern in ishaan’s mistake he often reverses the letter as if he has trouble distinguishing them.
However, the father attributes it to the boy’s laziness but Ram blunty tells him that he is mistaken Ram declares that Ishaan has a neurological condition called dyslexia which makes him unable to understand certain patterns such as letters and numbers word. The boy must have been struggling because no one understood that he could not read and assumed that he was lazy so that he and Ram could understand better he asked Nandkishore to read the foreign letters written on the box.
When Nandkishore was scolded for not understanding the letters he realized what his son was going through. However, he refuses to accept that the son can get a good job with his passion for painting but Ram is determined to prove him wrong.
When he returned to school he taught the children about famous historical figures who did not do well in school when they were young. He gave examples of scientists famous actors and philosophers who would make Ishaan feel better.
When Ram asks who invented the light bulb Ishaan speaks for the first time and replies that Thomas Edison, Ram saw a glimmer of hope for the boy to learn. When afternoon came Ishaan was by the lake using rubber to make a working boat.
Ram is so impressed that he takes the structure home and keeps it as a decoration. Ishaan’s creativity begins to flow again but he has a long way to go before he can learn to study like other kids his age. One day Ram went to the principal and informed about Ishaan’s problem.
The principal suggests sending him to a school for children with special needs but Ram is confident that Ishaan can stud with the regular children. When the principal says that this is not possible Ram declares that he will teach Ishaan every day after school.
Over the next few days Ram uses various innovative methods to help Ishaan recognize the letters of the alphabet. He taught him using Sandbox, clays, sensory methods and more. Ishaan also used audio books and stairs to learn to count.
Within two months Ishaan began to understand letters that other teachers could not teach for years. One day Nandkishore went to school to brag to Ram about how much research they had done about the son’s condition and he wanted the teacher to know that he was not a neglectful father but Ram blamed him because he was the reason the boy lost his self-confidence Nandkishore could not accept it.
On his way out he saw Ishhan trying to read from the notice board he was so sorry for accidentally hurting him he burst into tears and couldn’t face his son. A few days later Ram organized a painting competition for students and teachers.
Everyone gathered at the amphitheater and participated, Ishaan used the painting supplies gifted to him by Yohaan, the competition started and everyone was busy painting even the teachers were enjoying the event and everyone did their best. Ishaan created a beautiful painting of himself while sitting by the lake.
He goes to the front to pass on what he had done and sees Ram paint his picture. Moments later announcing that the winning painting will be placed on the front of the new edition of their yearbook. The principal stated that the decision was difficult because two paintings dominated. Ram’s and the other Ishaan’s.
In the end Ishaan was declared the winner while the second prize went to Ram. For the first time in his life Ishaan felt his talent recognized he couldn’t stop crying and ran to the teacher to hug him. In the last scene Maya and Nandkishore go to the school for the meeting of parents and teachers.
The principal praised Ishaan’s talent while showing the front of the yearbook. The parents were surprised because they were not used to this kind of attention. The teachers later showed the child’s report card to the parents and praised Ishaan’s rapid progress. The couple watches their son outside and Nandkishore happily thanks Ram for helping Ishaan and apologizes for his behavior.
In the end, Ishaan says goodbye to Ram and returns to his hometown for a vacation. This is where our movie ends. I hope you like it. Thank ypu very much.
Main Cast of Taare Zameen Par (Like stars on the earth)
| Darsheel Safary Ishaan Nandkishore Awasthi |
| Aamir Khan Ram |
| Tisca Chopra Maya Awasthi |
| Tanay Chheda Rajan Damodran |
| Vipin Sharma Nandkishore Awasthi |
| Sachet Engineer Nandkishore Awasthi |
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- When was Taare Zameen Par (Like stars on the earth) released?
- December 2007
- How long is Taare Zameen Par (Like stars on the earth)?
- 2 hours and 42 minutes
- Who stars in Taare Zameen Par (Like stars on the earth)?
- Darsheel Safary (Ishaan Nandkishore Awasthi)
- Aamir Khan (Ram)
- Tisca Chopra (Maya Awasthi)
- Who directed Taare Zameen Par (Like stars on the earth)?
- Aamir Khan
- Amole Gupte
- Who was the producer of Taare Zameen Par (Like stars on the earth)?
- Aamir Khan
- Who wrote Taare Zameen Par (Like stars on the earth)?
- Amole Gupte
- Who was the composer for Taare Zameen Par (Like stars on the earth)?
- Shankar Mahadevan
- Ehsaan Noorani
- Loy Mendonsa
- Who was the cinematographer for Taare Zameen Par (Like stars on the earth)?
- Satyajit Pande
- What genre is Taare Zameen Par (Like stars on the earth)?
- Drama
- Family
