Taare Zameen Par - Rediff's Movie Review

By Sukanya Verma for Rediff.com, Click Here for Original.

Two years ago, the animated version of Hanuman turned in a pleasant surprise with its winning charm and gripping goodness.

Cashing on its popularity, the makers (Percept Picture Company) then decided to create a spin-off around the beloved mythological hero. Only they refused to call Return of Hanuman a sequel. Whatever!

Considering the predecessor covered pretty much everything, Return of Hanuman blends the modern with the mythological to impart the golden lesson of good prevails over evil.

In trying to establish this, the film tries to be a lot of things at once -- enlightening, entertaining, cheeky, cool and comic. The outcome of which is incoherent and exhausting.

It all begins with the story of how Rahu and Ketu came into existence followed by why man himself is the biggest evil or the impact of pollution leading to global crisis. Barring the Rahu-Ketu portion, which is vividly and impressively picturised, the narrative not once touches upon what led to the decline of man and environment for it to cause such mass scale destruction. What could have been an excellent point of edification for the film's target audience -- children -- with regards to environmental issues, is, unfortunately, employed as a mere twist in the plot to get the climax done and over with.

Also, Narada and Hanuman communicate straight out of a Ram Gopal Varma movie. That is, when Narada is not snooping around Lord Indra's room while the latter spends quality time with divine apsara, Menaka. The obnoxious innuendoes involved here are hard to overlook.

Wait, there's more. You may spot a gorilla modelled around Shah Rukh Khan coming to little Hanuman's rescue or Hanuman dodge past a dozen bullets, a la Neo in Matrix. And there's a nasty bandit residing in mango orchards, inspired by Sholay's Gabbar Singh. Our man goes out of the way to demonstrate his versatility at the mimicking game, sometimes as the voice of Sanjeev Kumar, Raaj Kumar or Shatrughan Sinha, if you please. What is this? An animated homage to Om Shanti Om? Speaking of which, Narada breaks into a jig, strumming his sitar, fervently chanting OSO.

Please note that this piece has been reproduced from Rediff.com, Click Here for Original.

Somewhere in the muddled picture, writer and director Anurag Kashyap fits in the hero of this enterprise, Hanuman and his unending saga of adventures.

One fine day, Hanuman resolves to make a trip down under as a mortal so that he can play football with the local boys. While Lord Brahma is most apprehensive, he eventually relents. Barely three months old, the human Hanuman, rechristened Maruti, is boy enough to get admitted in school. There's certain irreverence in the manner of handling the lovable deity's on screen persona. One fails to find anything chuckle-worthy about the director's constant fascination with Hanuman's tail or school kids referring to him as 'bandar'.

Anyhow, here the constantly famished Maruti bumps into the customary hapless kid, Minkoo, soft target of the bullies of his neighbourhood. Predictably, Maruti saves the day. Meanwhile, danger lurks around in the form of scheming bandits and Shukracharya's immortal creations -- the half serpent, half-human, Rahu and Ketu threatening to cause the end of the world.

For sure, with a do gooder like Maruti/Hanuman around, all's well that ends well. Not really! The climax involving a celestial battle and mucky volcanic eruption crawls painfully crying for a crisp pair of scissors. Although the artwork is fairly decent, the animation shows no sign of improvement since Hanuman's previous outing.

While adults may question Kashyap's take on mythology or disapprove of Gods conversing in Hinglish, kids might find the action entertaining. Or if nothing else; learn the importance of drinking milk. Else, go watch the recently tax-freed Taare Zameen Par.

Rediff Rating:

Return of Hanuman - The First Review - Taran Adarsh

By Taran Adarsh for IndiaFm.com, Click Here for Original.

The film begins with a disclaimer, stating that RETURN OF HANUMAN is not a sequel to any film made before. But is it really possible to watch the new experience forgetting all about the first part?

As someone who thoroughly enjoyed HANUMAN, you expect an encore with RETURN OF HANUMAN, although the makers, for reasons best known to them, have decided to alienate the new film with the first animation film on Lord Hanuman. The makers may have their reasons, but for the viewer, the comparisons are inevitable.

Honestly speaking, one shouldn't compare the two films for a very valid reason. While HANUMAN was a pure mythological film, RETURN OF HANUMAN merges mythology with the present-day kalyug ki duniya. In this film, there's Gabbar Singh, plus voice-over clones of, hold your breath, Shah Rukh Khan, Sanjeev Kumar and Raaj Kumar. What's more, Baby Hanuman handles a volley of bullets like Keanu Reeves handled them in the MATRIX series.

RETURN OF HANUMAN begins with the battle between the gods and rakshas. The focus shifts to a small kid, Minku, in a small village in present-day India, who's ridiculed by his friends. Lord Hanuman requests Narad Muni to convince Lord Brahma to send him to earth. Lord Brahma agrees, but Lord Hanuman is made to sign a contract, which has several do's and don'ts.

It's innovative to merge mythology with the contemporary and a number of sequences do make an impression, especially in the first hour. But the film drags in the post-interval portions and a long-drawn climax only dilutes the impact of several interesting sequences.

One of the prime reasons why HANUMAN worked was because Baby Hanuman was very cute, very lovable. The Baby Hanuman in RETURN OF HANUMAN is equally adorable. Sequences depicting his voracious appetite as also with his timid friend Minku are quite enjoyable.

Technically, the animation quality is okay. But it's still not at par with the animation movies made in the West. At best, RETURN OF HANUMAN is enjoyable in parts. If you're a kid or have a kid hidden in you, this one's for you!

Welcome - Indiatimes Movie Review

By Gaurav Malani for Indiatimes.com, Click Here for Original.



Cast: Anil Kapoor, Nana Patekar, Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Mallika Sherawat, Paresh Rawal and Feroz Khan
Director: Anees Bazmee
Rating:



We have been habituated to ‘slapstick’ comedies with a staple diet of humour served by the likes of David Dhawan and Priyadarshan in the past couple of decades. So audiences no more try to find logic or grumble over credibility in farcical films as far as it is entertaining. So the ‘leave-your-brains-home’ genre is all welcome.

But what is strictly uninvited is uninteresting interruptions in the form of the formulaic songs in the standard four-track format of a ‘dream song’, ‘a love song’, ‘an item number’ and ‘an engagement celebration song’. All uninspiring and disturbing the flow!
Anyways am I doing a music review? Certainly not, so let’s get on to the film. Anees Bazmee’s last film No Entry was a cult-comedy. With his next film Welcome he goes literally opposite, not just in its title but also in its treatment. Of course the basic humour is intact but while No Entry had a linear approach on the theme of adultery, the screenplay of Welcome follows a multi-dimensional approach with the focus of the film changing every half an hour. So the three hour drama has a six-track plot.

The first plot is the buildup where Rajiv (Akshay Kumar) falls in love with Sanjana (Katrina Kaif). There are clichés galore with love-at-first-sight funda, interfering songs and redundant romance. The romance is also rushed and before you blink your eyes the duo is in love. But one doesn’t complain for the audience just expects the love to get over and the laughter to begin.

Hope arrives in the second plot with the entry of Uday Shetty (Nana Patekar) and Majnu Bhai (Anil Kapoor). Uday is an aspiring actor while Majnu is a painter in his own right. Both futile in their arts are successful underworld dons and want to marry off Uday’s sister Sanjana to a respectable family. But no family agrees. Including Rajiv’s, whose uncle, Dr. Ghungroo (Paresh Rawal) doesn’t approve of the don’s repute.

Confusion, commotion and chaos follows in the third plot and Ishika (Mallika Sherawat) enters in the fourth who calls off the couple’s engagement claiming to be Rajiv’s fiancée. In the fifth plot Rajiv takes the onus of giving the dons a clean chit while transforming them into white-collared citizens. Uday gets a chance to show his acting abilities in a staged film while Majnu gets a Laila to romance.

Please note that this piece has been reproduced from Indiatimes.com, Click Here for Original.

The final sub-plot goes complete off-track where godfather RDX (Feroz Khan) enters and seeks revenge on his dead son who incidentally comes back from the death to create more mayhem. Bazmee continues to keep his climaxes hanging. Literally! While in No Entry the male trio was hanging from a cliff, here the entire starcast oscillates in a cottage dangling from a hilltop clearly inspired from Kamal Hassan’s tetra-role Tamil film Michael Madana Kamarajan .

Does that summary boggle you down? Then the film will exhaust you even more. Welcome is too fast paced and hardly gives you time to breathe, gasp, feel, absorb, react or relate. That’s the objective. Enjoy the moment, don’t mull over it. Bazmee’s multilayered screenplay is too haphazard and at times appears fabricated. But as he complicates the proceedings, he also entertains and subsequently simplifies the screenplay with his dialogues. Some catch-lines are hilarious esp. Anil Kapoor’s inanities that reminds of his Deewana Mastana antics (again scripted by Bazmee).

Surprisingly and thankfully so, this Firoz Nadiadwala film isn’t action heavy except for a car crash sequence in the first half that too is interspersed with some funny gags. Nana Patekar’s horse-riding scene is uproarious while the pre-climax in a cremation ground too has its amusing moments.

The pre-discussed department of music is both uninspiring and interrupting. The Malaika Arora item number is way out of the narrative while a shrilling Himesh Reshammiya number in the very start is unintentionally funny. Almost all the songs are easily avoidable.

It’s a welcome change to see Nana Patekar and Anil Kapoor in refreshing roles and envigourated characters. While Nana continues his trademark eccentricity, he adds spunk to the humourous side of his character as well. His efforts as a wannabe actor and attempts at dancing are simply side-splitting. Anil Kapoor’s spirited act reminds of his youthful roles in the likes of Jaanbaaz , Ram Lakhan and Mr. India . Not that he shows any sign of aging in the film.

Akshay Kumar’s character is on the receiving end, quite contrary to the roles he has been playing off-late. His simpleton character is somewhere in the vein of his champu character from Jaan-e-mann . Paresh Rawal, with his regular comic characters, has by now attained a standard style of invoking laughter. Katrina Kaif looks immaculately beautiful. Mallika Sherawat adds to the glamour quotient. Feroz Khan is neither completely menacing nor wholly humourous. But his character is designed to suit the tone of the film.

With no expectations of a No Entry, Welcome is pretty welcome.

Welcome - Nikhat Kazmi's Review for Time of India

By Nikhat Kazmi for Time of India, Click Here for Original.

Welcome (comedy)
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Nana Patekar, Anil Kapoor, Paresh Rawal
Direction: Anees Bazmee
Critic rating:



WANT to laugh your way out of the year? Go watch Akshay Kumar try to tame the mob (Nana Patekar, Anil Kapoor, Feroz Khan) as part of his amorous duties.

Just one word of caution: Even Akshay seems to be tiring of his laugh act by now and is displaying a sense of fatigue with the comedy show that had become his forte, ever since he put his action cuts on the back burner.

The script is familiar. Akshay falls in love with Katrina, the sassy sister of the mafia kingpins (Nana and Anil) who are happy only when they are pulling the trigger.

But he's a sharif guy and can't marry into a badmash family, because his mamaji (Paresh Rawal) says so. So he's got only one option for a happily-ever-after ending. He needs to bring the prodigal sons back to the fold and convince the bhais that bad is not good.

Truly, a tough task that does get tedious in between. But remember, there's Nana too to tide over the boredom. So that, whenever Akshay begins to sleepwalk through his role, Nana Patekar pipes up and vice versa. And when both of them trip, there's Anil Kapoor to bank on. The actor has perfected the tapori act by now.

Strangely, Feroz Khan is dull and flat and Paresh Rawal too seems typecast. Katrina has kuch nahin to do. Go for end-of-the-year gags and season-of-goodwill giggles.

Taare Zameen Par - Nikhat Kazmi's Review for Time of India

By Nikhat Kazmi for Time of India, Click Here for Original.

Taare Zameen Par (drama)
Cast: Aamir Khan, Darsheel Safary
Direction: Aamir Khan
Critic rating:



AND we thought only Iranian filmmakers understood that Children were of and from Heaven. But that's because Iranian cinema is replete with delightful, soul-stirring insights into all that's wrong in the adult world, through the unaltered vision of a child.

Kudos to Aamir Khan for proving us wrong by giving us a brilliant dekko into the mysterious, magical mind of a child who really doesn't know why befuddled adults are hell-bent on mutilating everything's that beautiful, innocent, free and fulsome...All because they feel there is no faayda (profit) in it.

Ostensibly, the film is about children with special needs and the story revolves around the efforts of a dyslexic child to fit in, adjust and perform in a 'normal' world where competition is the norm and regimentation the principle.

A world where it is natural and 'normal' to rap eight-year-old knuckles and discipline with verbal abuse and physical battering, if a child gets his spellings wrong, forgets to do his homework or fails to give a copy book answer. But the canvas of the film is so sensitive, so vast, so meaningful, it includes any and every child in its ambit. So much so, Taare Zameen Par becomes the story of any and every child who is being robbed off his childhood by insensitive parents and teachers who believe their job is to create race-winning rats for the rat race rather than Einsteins, Edisons, Agatha Christies and Leonardo Da Vincis.

Please note that this piece has been reproduced from Time of India, Click Here for Original.

Eight-year-old Ishaan (Darsheel) is a happy-go-lucky child with a fertile imagination that can see fish flying but fails to grasp the difference between B and D. When asked to solve his three times table, he confidently picks up his pencil and sees a war of planets on the firmament of his mind where planet 3 smashes into planet 6 and beats it into smithereens.

Naturally, the answer of 3 x 6 is 3 for our little genius. But that's between you and me. Berated by the teachers, his parents send the kid away to a boarding school and deliver him to a living hell, where he faces ridicule and begins to lose all self-esteem in his effort to fit in. It takes an unconventional art teacher (Aamir Khan) to bring him out of his solitary confinement and unleash a whole new energy force that blinds the boring world with its colours and configurations.

The story is simple and connects instantly with every adult and child in the auditorium, even as the climax is predictable and plays heavily on your emotions. But what uplifts the film is its very simplicity, sensitivity and its performances. On the one hand, there is the non-filmy script which doesn't make anyone the villain...even the adults are victims of ignorance. On the other, there is the towering portrayal by young Darsheel who trapezes between lively and lost with great agility.

And holding it all deftly together - the tears and the smiles, the lows and the highs - is Aamir Khan who makes a measured directorial debut. Almost as measured and meticulous as his performances. Of course, the second half does get a bit repetitive, the script needs a bit of taut editing, the trauma of the lonely child seems a shade too prolonged and the treatment simplistic. But the film never does stop tugging at your heartstrings.

We recommend a mandatory viewing for all schools and all parents.

Welcome - IndiaFM's Review

By Taran Adarsh for IndiaFm.com, Click Here for Original.


Welcome to the crazy, mad, funny, outlandish, outrageous, zany world of WELCOME, directed by Anees Bazmee, who gave us the rib-tickling NO ENTRY. Bazmee is a veteran when it comes to leave-your-brains-at-home comic capers, having penned and helmed non-stop laughathons in the past.

The question is, does WELCOME make you break into guffaws? The question is, does WELCOME measure up to the mammoth expectations surrounding it? The question is, will WELCOME be as big a hit as NO ENTRY?

WELCOME follows the same path as David Dhawan and Priyadarshan movies. The mantra is simple: Lock your brains at home, throw your worries out of the window for the next 2 hours and get ready to embrace a world where logic and sense have no place… In short, WELCOME remains faithful to the genre from start to end. Bazmee borrows a bit from the likable Hugh Grant starrer MICKEY BLUE EYES [also bears an uncanny resemblance to SHAADI SE PEHLE] and adds loads of Indian masala to make the proceedings spicy and tangy. Lo and behold! WELCOME succeeds in tickling your funny bone at most places. The humour is basic and even absurd, but it works well in a film like this.

To cut a long story short, WELCOME is one of those entertainers that deliver what it promises: Funny sequences, super performances and loads and loads of laughter. Without doubt, WELCOME will be welcomed with open arms by the aam junta!

Uday Shetty [Nana Patekar], Majnu [Anil Kapoor] and their boss, Sikander [Feroz Khan], are basically three Hong Kong-based serio-comic mobsters, who are keen to get Uday’s sister Sanjana [Katrina Kaif] married into a respectable family.

Uday, who accidentally meets the handsome bachelor Rajiv [Akshay Kumar], gets convinced that the latter would be an appropriate match for Sanjana. Meanwhile, Sanjana, who is totally unaware of her brother’s plans, also meets Rajiv separately and they fall in love. She has the acceptance of Dr. Ghunghroo [Paresh Rawal], Rajiv’s uncle, who is unaware of the fact that she is Uday’s sister.

When Dr. Ghunghroo realizes his faux pas, he decides against the marriage. The entire plot takes a U-turn when a stunning bombshell [Mallika Sherawat] arrives on the scene and claims to be Rajiv’s wedded wife, which only adds to the hullabaloo and chaos.

You realize you won’t need your thinking caps at the very outset. Note the introductory sequences of Nana Patekar, Paresh Rawal and Anil Kapoor. They set the mood of the film. Also, the first hour has several humorous moments and you enjoy the one-liners that the characters keep delivering every now and then.

Please note that this piece has been reproduced from IndiaFm.com, Click Here for Original.

The director makes sure to open three more surprises in the post-interval hour -- Feroz Khan, Mallika Sherawat and Vijay Raaz, who is introduced in the first half, but gets scope only in the second half. The sequences between Nana and Mallika and also between Anil and Mallika are truly funny. Also, the marathon portion at the funeral is sure to bring the house down.

Of course, there’re loose ends. The pace dips in the second hour, a few jokes seem repetitive and therefore, don’t evoke the required mirth. Also, the music could’ve been better. Only two songs come easy on your lip [the ones that are promoted], but the chartbusting quality is missing.

Bazmee’s direction does justice to the material. The director and his team of writers [Rajiv Kaul, Praful Parekh] don’t deviate from the core issue and pack the script with inane stuff, but the impact is so funny that you break into a hysterical laughter at places. The Kaul and Parekh jodi, known for writing a number of David Dhawan and Indra Kumar films in the past, are back in true form after a long time.

As mentioned earlier, the music is a mixed bag. ‘Uncha Lamba Kadh’ and ‘Tera Sarafa’ [Anand Raaj Anand] are the best tracks of the enterprise and the choreography of these numbers take them further, but the remaining songs are below average. Dialogues are laced with wit and enjoyable, especially those delivered by Nana, Paresh and Anil. Sanjay F. Gupta’s cinematography is striking. The locales of Dubai and South Africa give the film a grandiose look. The effects [especially in the climax -- the house collapse sequence] are tacky.

Although WELCOME boasts of a formidable star cast and every actor handles his/her part with effortless ease, the one who registers the maximum impact is Nana Patekar. Nana is in terrific form, the real scene-stealer. It’s a treat to watch this accomplished actor essay a role that’s in stark contrast to the ones he’s known for [intense, hard-hitting characters]. His comic timing is fantastic!

Akshay is equally competent. He looks every inch the seedha-saadha guy, who is torn between his lady love on one hand and the two factions [Paresh versus Nana, Anil & Co.] on the other. This film should find a prominent place in his repertoire.

Anil Kapoor comes up with yet another dhamaka. The actor compliments Nana beautifully and handles his role with precision. Paresh Rawal is superb yet again. He continues to make people laugh, even though he has consistently starred in umpteen funny movies.

Although the meatier scenes are reserved for the men, there’s no denying that Katrina gives her role the freshness that it demands. Also, she looks bewitching. Mallika Sherawat is electrifying. Although she makes an appearance in the second half, the confidence with which she carries her part is what works in her favour.

Feroz Khan is in form. Vijay Raaz is first-rate yet again. Supriya Karnik, Snehal Dhabi, Adi Irani, Mushtaq Khan and Sherveer Vakil are adequate. Suniel Shetty is there for a scene only; he’s okay.

On the whole, WELCOME is a fun ride all the way. The tremendous hype for the film has resulted in a tremendous start at the ticket window and the 5-day weekend as also the lack of biggies in the subsequent weeks will help WELCOME reach the ‘Smash Hit’ status in days to come.

Taare Zameen Par - Rediff's Movie Review

By Raja Sen for Rediff.com, Click Here for Original.

Mighty nice, Mr Khan, mighty nice.

Taare Zameen Par is an impressive debut indeed for filmmaker Aamir Khan, and showcases a brilliant performance by the young Darsheel Safary -- one of those child actors you can't possibly resist. More than just dyslexia, the film is a look at childhood dreamers who feel shunted out by the rest of the world, the cruel world that doesn't understand them. At some level, I guess we all relate. And this ends up a nice watch -- sincere, even if somewhat simplistic.

Aamir is particularly gifted with imagery. The film opens with Darsheel's character, the impish Ishaan Awasthi fishing from a naala, and heading home to literally feed dogs his homework. The child doesn't talk much but is strikingly imaginative -- a Calvin without his Hobbes -- and given to art. Misunderstood at almost every step, he stands up to a local bully defiantly, as scrappy as the strays that chewed upon his test papers. His parents have their hands full, choosing instead to concentrate on their elder son, an achiever of Complan-Boy levels.

Darsheel is superb in the role as we see him bewildered, then hurt, then frustrated with constant rejection. Khan, who handles the school sections of the film with relatable nostalgia, reels us in with poignant, simple visuals and makes us feel the child's pained confusion. A song bursts onto the scene, cut smartly like an edgy music video, showing Ishaan's father (played by Vipin Sharma) get ready for a business trip, while his harrowed mother (Tisca Chopra) gets eggs and bread ready for first father then each son, in turn. All while Ishaan is blissfully oblivious to the need of the hour, or the hour itself. By this point, we're hooked.

It is hard to know, as a director, when there can be too much of a good thing. Khan indulges himself with his nice little visual flourishes significantly in the first half, to the point of repetition. There is the clever device of the child -- being shunted off to boarding school against his desperate pleas -- making a flipbook which shows a family with one kid moving away, as the pages turn. It's a strong, simple touch, yet Khan chooses to show it to us again and again, showing the audience the flipbook every time any character sees it.

While Ishaan stands in a corridor, punished, some seniors walk by. Each of them -- every single one -- points and laughs at our protagonist, which is depressingly overdone and unreal -- even social outcasts aren't picked on by everyone; a lot of the kids just wouldn't give him a second look. The first few times the teachers rebuke Ishaan or are frustrated by him, it works. But we are forced to see everything again: pain in English class, Maths, Hindi... and so on. Flip, flipbook, flip. It doesn't help that outside of Darsheel and Tisca (and later, of course, Aamir), the rest of the performances seem either amateurish or over-the-top.

The director himself enters neatly at halftime, shushing us to announce intermission. Aamir plays temporary Art teacher Ramshankar Nikumbh, one who works part-time with a special-needs school, and wants Ishaan and his buddies to open up. Khan plays the role in just the right key, a sympathetic teacher who notices a problem but doesn't want to force himself through the child's shell. It is he who realises Ishaan has dyslexia, and goes to meet the Awasthis.

Please note that this piece has been reproduced from Rediff.com, Click Here for Original.

Aamir now balances his own character speaking like a Public Service Announcement with Ishaan's father spouting lines seemingly written for... laughs? Sure, they are laughs at his ignorance and a look at his lack of conviction, but the sharp contrast between the two seems contrived. The child's mother rapidly goes from confused-but-undoubtedly-caring to one who thinks googling dyslexia is enough. In fact, the whole parental angle is left considerably half-baked, seeming to serve only for a few good comebacks the teacher gets to make.

Yet, let's discount that as nitpicking. This is the story of the child and his teacher, and Nikumbh stands at a blackboard and shows pictures of Albert Einstein and Abhishek Bachchan and tells us -- and the kids -- that dyslexia is more common than we think, and that it can be helped given the proper aid. Nikumbh speaks to the faculties, asks that Ishaan be given a little more time, and, after having educating the audience thoroughly on dyslexia, proceeds to charm Ishaan out of it.

Though I really wish Nikumbh didn't confess to himself having grown up with the disability; it makes it feel like only ones who have experienced it can empathise with the condition.

All great, except he does this over the length of one song. There are far too many musical digressions in this film anyway -- and while most are touching interludes to enhance the narrative, they end up stroking what's already been touched -- yet this is wrong in particular, to show and identify the problem and then dismiss it in a manner of minutes. It is all very well to depict that love and care will conquer all, but the process cannot be as simple as making plasticine elephants.

The songs are good, however, and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy do a bang-up job, as does lyricist Prasoon Joshi. Scriptwriter and conceptualiser Amole Gupte has clearly written a heartfelt script, and his imprint lies all over the film, even visually -- outside of the two final paintings painted by Samir Mondal, all of Ishaan's artwork is done either by Gupte or his wife Deepa, who also edited the film. This is clearly a labour of love for them.

Highly watchable and -- again, because of Darsheel and Aamir's knack for sentimental imagery -- warmly likeable, Taare flounders fatally at the end. Sure, it's okay to appease the masses with a tacked-on and cheesy ending, but for a film which stresses that we need to give our kids their space and not force themselves into constant comparisons, a film which asks them to take their time to find their talents, the climax becomes about a competition, about how winning magically makes everything better. And that's a scary thought, in context of what the film tries to say, overall.

Taare Zameen Par is, above all else, an earnest film.

Aamir brings us the debut of both a great child actor and a budding director with a fine eye, though he seems slightly Ashutosh'd in terms of pace. Economy is the one thing this film cries out for. Crisper, tighter, and less repetitive, and we'd have a very good movie on our hands. For now, we have a director with clear potential for solid work. And we need as many of those as we can get.

Rediff Rating:

Taare Zameen Par - Indiatimes Movie Review

By Praveen Lance Fernandes for Indiatimes.com, Click Here for Original.

Cast: Aamir Khan, Darsheel Safary, Tanay Cheda, Sachet Engineer, Tisca Chopra and Vipin Sharma.
Director: Aamir Khan
Music: Shankar Ehsaan Loy
Our rating:


Dyslexia – is it a disease or not? Some of the biggest names in history Albert Einstein, Agatha Christie, Thomas Alva Edison and according to the film even Abhishek Bachchan were slow learners. But that did not deter them from succeeding by far from most other people (barring Abhishek).

Is there space for incompetence in this fast moving world? Ishaan (Darsheel Safary), a nine year old realizes very soon that there isn’t. The young boy who finds it very difficult to cope up with his studies is unable to understand why his father and the world cannot think the way he does. Always at the back of his class, he is sent to a boarding school by his parents. Ishaan who was always close to his mother (Tisca Chopra) and elder brother (Sachet Engineer) now begins to live in a shell. His love for painting is now gone and this is first noticed by his new drawing teacher Ram Shankar Nikumbh (Aamir Khan). Ram is able to identify Ishaan’s problem – dyslexia. He goes and speaks to his parents but his father fails to understand. So now Ram takes it up himself to teach Ishaan.

The first half is definitely more gripping. While setting up the little boy’s character, we enter into a world which adults are unable to see. A vendor making a ‘gola’, cycles going over mud puddles, stray dogs – is there a sense of beauty and curiosity in these that an adult is unable to see or comprehend? That’s what we see through the eyes of Ishaan and through the lens of Aamir Khan.

Aamir’s entry just before the interval is quite filmy in a so far realistic film and lacks the punch that the viewer expects. In India, masala rules and there is a certain section of film-makers who try to lessen the spice but not completely. That is the case with Taare Zameen Par . But just as Ishaan’s father is unable to recognize his son’s issues, the Indian audience too needs to wake up and see the effort that the producers and the director are trying to say. The first half of the film tends to give you a feeling that you are watching an Iranian film.

Please note that this piece has been reproduced from Indiatimes.com, Click Here for Original.

Is the film completely gripping? No, not at all! Somewhere in the middle of the second half is where it begins to get predictable and the ending doesn’t come as a surprise. But nonetheless, it is a valiant effort from a top actor to go ahead and make a film which flows against the tide and where he is not the central character.

The teacher-student relationship was shown beautifully in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Black and though there are few scenes together between and two, it does strike an impact.

Aamir as the director doesn’t do an extraordinary job but sticks to the basics cinematically. But the major problem of the film is that it moves at a constant slow pace. It doesn’t get heavy but gives you a figment of restlessness.

The animation at various junctions in the movie is done with extreme competence and some of best seen in quite a while. What goes through the child’s mind can be quite fascinating and the imaginative sketches are amusing to watch.

The film belongs to none other than the little Darsheel Safary. Emoting just the right expressions at the most unpredictable places, Taare Zameen Par would have crashed completely if it wasn’t for him. Aamir Khan has very less space to showcase his talent but he enacts his part with complete conviction as he takes the film forward.

Don’t be under the impression that it is a children’s film. It’s been quite a while since we saw a sensitive film which the entire family can watch together. Not preachy but not completely entertaining at the same time sums up Taare Zameen Par . Watch it for the lack of melodrama, watch it for the performances, watch it for the sheer genuineness that the filmmakers try to show.

Taare Zameen Par - The First Review - Taran Adarsh

By Taran Adarsh for IndiaFm.com, Click Here for Original.

Come to think of it, after two back-to-back hits [RANG DE BASANTI, FANAA], Aamir Khan could've given a positive nod to any masala flick and chosen to work with anyone he desired. But he preferred to make a film on a dyslexic kid, make him the focal point of the story and don three caps -- producer, actor and director.

At the very outset, let's make one thing clear. TAARE ZAMEEN PAR isn't one of those films that merely entertains, but also enlightens. TAARE ZAMEEN PAR is one film that makes you peep into a child's mind and how some parents, in their pursuit to make them 'stronger' academically, forget that there's hitherto untapped talent that needs to be nourished and encouraged.

TAARE ZAMEEN PAR drives home a strong message, making you empathize with the kid, compelling you to draw parallels with your life, making one realize that some of the renowned geniuses were once scoffed at, but the world had to bow down to their intellect later.

Sure, TAARE ZAMEEN PAR boasts of a story that strikes a chord, but most importantly, it has been treated with such sensitivity and maturity that you're left shell-shocked in amazement by the sheer impact it leaves at the end of this 18 reeler.

TAARE ZAMEEN PAR heralds the birth of a topnotch storyteller -- Aamir Khan. To choose a story that's a far cry from the mundane stuff that's being churned out like factory products, requires courage and conviction and to execute it with panache is a rarity.

Those who somewhere nursed a grudge that the camera follows Aamir in all his films, will chew their words once they watch TAARE ZAMEEN PAR. Yes, Aamir has a key role to portray as an actor, but the camera captures the child's emotions like never before in a Hindi film. Also, let's also clear the myth about TAARE ZAMEEN PAR being a kiddie film. It's not! It's about children. Note the difference!

In a nutshell, TAARE ZAMEEN PAR serves as a wake up call for every parent or parent-to-be. Also, it heralds the arrival of a magnificent storyteller -- Aamir Khan. At the end of the day, it's not difficult to choose who's better -- Aamir, the actor or Aamir, the director. TAARE ZAMEEN PAR is a triumph all the way from the director's point of view.

Ishaan Awasthi [Darsheel Safary] is an eight-year-old whose world is filled with wonders that no one else seems to appreciate; colors, fish, dogs and kites are just not important in the world of adults, who are much more interested in things like homework, marks and neatness. And Ishaan just cannot seem to get anything right in class.

When he gets into far more trouble than his parents can handle, he is packed off to a boarding school to 'be disciplined'. Things are no different at his new school and Ishaan has to contend with the added trauma of separation from his family.

One day a new art teacher bursts onto the scene, Ram Shankar Nikumbh [Aamir Khan], who infects the students with joy and optimism. He breaks all the rules of 'how things are done' by asking them to think, dream and imagine, and all the children respond with enthusiasm, all except Ishaan.

Nikumbh soon realizes that Ishaan is very unhappy and he sets out to discover why. With time, patience and care, he ultimately helps Ishaan find himself.

On face-value, TAARE ZAMEEN PAR looks like a kiddie film, but as the story unfolds, you realize that the story peeps into the mind and heart of a kid, his interests, his hobbies, his strengths and weaknesses. The director opens the cards at the very outset, when you realize that the kid is just not interested in books/studies. And his interaction with his stern father, doting mother and lovable brother is straight out of life.

A number of sequences in the first hour leave you spellbound --

• Ishaan's altercation with the neighboring kid over a cricket ball;


• Ishaan's parents' decision of putting him in a hostel and Ishaan's constant pleas falling on deaf ears;


• Ishaan going into a shell in the boarding school, looking disinterested in life. Also, the art teacher punishing him for his inattentive behavior.

Please note that this piece has been reproduced from IndiaFm.com, Click Here for Original.

There are several moments in the first hour that make you moist-eyed. The bonding between the mother and son is remarkable. These moments effectively capture the special bonding, making you realize that a mother's mere touch can act like a soothing balm on a troubled soul.

Aamir takes the courageous stand of placing the story on Ishaan's shoulders right through the first hour and not once do you feel that the kid doesn't have the power to keep your attention arrested.

The second hour is equally challenging and most importantly, motivating. The introduction of Aamir's character, Aamir spotting the indolent Ishaan, Aamir traveling to Mumbai to meet Ishaan's parents and then citing examples of extra-ordinary men who were ridiculed by their contemporaries/peers -- these moments linger in your memory even after the show has concluded.

But the best part is reserved for the finale -- the art competition in the penultimate twenty minutes. The emotions reach an all-time high as the kid regains his confidence. The finale would melt even the stone-hearted!

Directorially, Aamir Khan deserves distinction marks for extracting an exemplary performance from the kid and handling the plot with supreme sensitivity. In his debut film itself, Aamir proves that he's a gifted storyteller, someone who has the courage to swim against the tide and also convince the viewer that there's more to film-making than the mere masala entertainers. Bravo!

Setu's cinematography is mesmeric. The camera captures every minute detail, every emotion, every tear with precision. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's music is easy on the ears. 'Bum Bum Bole', 'Jame Raho' and the title track are first-rate compositions. Prasoon Joshi's lyrics in 'Maa' deserve special mention. Editing [Deepa Bhatia] does justice to the material. Only thing, the film, if trimmed [second hour], will only be more impactful. Animation and visual effects are fantastic.

TAARE ZAMEEN PAR belongs to Master Darsheel Safary. A performance that make the best of performances pale in comparison. A performance that deserves brownie points. A performance that'll always come first on your mind the moment someone mentions TAARE ZAMEEN PAR. A performance that's impeccable, flawless and astounding. A performance that moves you and makes you reflect on your growing years. A performance that merits a special award!

Aamir is excellent. Note his scenes with the father of the kid. First, when he visits their home. Next time, when he cites the example of Solomon Islands. Splendid! Tisca Chopra is outstanding. Here's an actress who needs to be lapped up in a big way by film-makers.

Tanay Cheda [as Ishaan's friend Rajan Damodaran] is excellent. Vipin Sharma [Ishaan's father] is slightly theatrical. Sachet Engineer [Ishaan's elder brother] is apt. The teachers have performed well.

On the whole, TAARE ZAMEEN PAR is an outstanding work of cinema. To miss it would be sacrilege. It has everything it takes to win awards and box-office rewards!

Do yourselves a favor. Watch TAARE ZAMEEN PAR with your child. It will change your world. It will also change the way you look at your kids!