Taare Zameen Par.. And tears in the eyes

A simply superb movie. Clean, true to its heart and very very close to reality. Thats 'Taare Zameen par' in short for you. Be prepared to re-experience your school days, those memories
which you normally would have forgotten by now.
The movie was an honest attempt by its team to bring people close to reality and thats just not it! It is just the beginning.

The story is about a 9 year old dreamy, creative and dyslexic boy, Ishaan, who enjoys being himself. The problem is, as per the societal norms, he is not performing well in his studies. Poor boy even remarks that "The letters are dancing, I can't read them!" and the teacher thinks it as ridiculous. That results in everyday scoldings & bad remarks from his teachers, constant comparison with his intelligent, all rounder elder brother, disappointed parents, humiliation and shameful remarks from his friends. The parents are unable to accept that their kid has some problem. Like every other parent, they can't see their child as called as "Mentally Challenged", which is not even the case in the story. One incident leads to another and in an attempt to bring discipline in him, they put him in a boarding school, where life is no different for the poor boy. The new change is: lack of his mom, family love and affection. Deeply impacted by the change, the boy stops painting(his solace and passion), stops even talking.
Enter the new temporary art teacher who immediately recognizes the shortcomings and the rest is how the teacher with Ishaan himself, bring a revolution in Ishaan's life.

The story looks too simple, but its presentation made my heart cry out many times. The story is not only about autism, but also about how insensitive we are turning to every child's emotions, their joys in this madness of competitive world. If permitted, I would have sobbed endlessly for all those moments. There are so many special moments in the movie like, how 3*9 is 3 for the kid because 3 is one planet, while 9 another and * represents a war between them and how 3 wins. Or how insensitive the teachers can become to any child's emotions. The movie also reflects deeply on how today's fathers need not play the same old definition of fatherhood. Being soft, gentle and loving makes a huge difference in a kid's life.

The best part of the movie is when the teacher is educating the entire class on autism through a story. Throughout the narration, Ishaan, along with the entire audience thinks its his story, while it turns out to be story of great people from history. That was really well crafted scene. Just explains subtly that all of us are special!
The role of Aamir khan is very special and today, we need teachers like his character, who are sensitive, strong, have interest towards children and their needs, who are interested in bringing out the specialty in each kid.

The music in the movie is apt and the Song, "Maa" just wringed out all the emotions from my heart. Acting is superb by the new child artist, Darsheel Safary, Aamir Khan and Tisca Chopra.
Overall a superb movie and a must for all parents. Great job Aamir!
Indeed, every child is special.