Taare Zameen Par!

As a critic I find it extremely difficult to write about movies which touch me, cause it is impossible to be detached. You tend to forget the follies and focus on how you loved the movie rather than providing a critique.In the same vein reviewing TZP is not easy, the topic is sensitive, the script quite powerful and the performances quite flawless. But after watching the movie I feel compelled to write about it. TZP is essentially about an 8 year old dreamer who is branded a looser by the big bad world obsessed with results. The story focuses on his plight and how hope in form of a teacher resurrects the kid. Essentially a very simple story, where Mr. Khan excels is the way he has treated the subject, the way everything looks so natural that we begin to laugh and cry with the characters.To lend such credibility to a story is indeed a herculean task. It helps that the songs are spot on and are almost poetic flowing seamlessly through the narrative. Performance wise Aamir Khan as Ram Shankar Nikhumb acts with full honesty and becomes the character with effortless ease. The scene where he looks moist eyed at the disabled is worth his weight in gold. The angst and the helplessness he shows through his eyes makes one feel claustrophobic and bound. Every time you feel SRK is improving Aamir Khan reinvents himself. With Shahrukh Khan you see Shahrukh Khan, with Aamir you see DJ, Ram Shankar Nikhumb or the numerous character he portrays.The show stealer is of course Darsheel Safary as Ishaan Nandkishore Awasthi. With Ishaan, he does a remarkable job in performing a very complex character so effortlessly, that one can't help but marvel. He speaks through his actions, he speaks through his eyes, he is always conveying something. Pain, anger, disgust. His ability to show twisted emotion of feeling the pain yet not wanting sympathy is something very rare to see in someone so raw. His presence is so overwhelming that other characters just serve as fillers. One can just hope that he doesn't randomly pick up movies. Darsheel has immortalized himself as Ishan Nandkishore Awasthi with this one performance.It will be a benchmark performance for years to come. Other characters are well etched and perform ably. The scripts has a few cliches like the painting competition and the final predictable victory but they don't put you off. You are addicted. You don't notice. You are blinded. Even after the movie ended I saw nobody moving, everyone was watching the end credits rolling silently. Almost everyone wiped a tear or two and silently walked out. They must have promised themselves to be a better person,better parents,to be more understanding, to be more human! Do yourself a favour watch Taare Zameen Par. Not tomorrow, but today, not later but NOW! Highly recommended!