Taare Zameen Par

Checked with my roomies, two had to prepare for certifications, one was out of town, and the other has a phobia for hindi movies (stupid). I had no choice but to go solo. I have never till this day watched a movie alone in cinema hall. Too soocha yeah bhi experience kar lete hai. Drove around 35 miles to get to the nearest theater playing hindi movies. On reaching the parking did it dawned upon me that I had left my wallet home (supid me). A few expletives flew around then I scoured the car for loose change. After looking under every possible crevice I was able to conjure 8.52$ (5 + 0.25*9 + 0.10*10 + 0.5*3 + 0.01*12). Took whatever I had to the ticket counter and asked the lady "How much does the ticket costs, including taxes". "8.25$ and no taxes on movies" she replied with a rye smile. YES!!!. The exhilaration was however short lived, the movie show was @ 9:50 and not @ 9:05. An hour alone in the lobby with 22 cents to spend. What a F@#$%d up day for watching a movie. Only the thought of watching Aamir Khan on the screen was somewhat of a solace. Then again there was the looming danger of it turning out to be another Fanna.

His foray into direction was a much awaited one. Direction is all about story telling to a willing audience, they already have invested 3 hours of their lives (and 8.25$) to listen to you. As a director it's your job to make sure that they don't regret their decision.

I would like write very little about the movie, for the fear that my lack of vocabulary would do injustice to the movies brilliance. From scene one your are riveted to the story. The 1st half belongs to the kid and the director. I am stunned by the kids acting. For him to portray the kind of emotions he has neither seen nor experienced with such élan is mind blowing. All along the 1st half there are subtle hints about Ishaan's problems. This is however missed by his parents and they send him to boarding school. Once he is pulled out of his protected shell, naughtiness gives way to seclusion. As he becomes more and more introvert, eventually thinking of suicide. Swoosh comes in out hero and saves the day... how.. watch the movie for it.

When you like a movie and think is a great one you end up try to find up flaws in it, however minor or obscure they might be. In TZP all the Teachers are portrayed in pure black. This might have been necessary to juxtapose Aamir's role. But then again 90% of the teachers I had, did belong to the greyer shade of black, if not absolute black. :)

The one area where the movie really triumphs is the acting at not stage becomes melodramatic. The dialogues are at not point heavy, all the melodrama is provided by the scenes themselves. The movie really is hard hitting and a few scenes strike a cord in you. Some of the scenes gave me goose bumps, while a few others left tear in my eye (oh yes, you will). There is one scene where the teacher tears up Ishaan's book in the classroom. How i wish "Another brick in the wall" was played in the background for this scene. but then that expecting too much.. :). All the songs are nice and integral to the movie. The background score is really very good and helps the scenes convey its intensity. Its 3:30 am now, and I am writing about a movie, its that good i couldn't wait till tomorrow to write about it.

The star of the movie is definitely Ishaan (Darsheel Safary).

Aamir Khan has proven once again that, not only is he a SuperStar, but also when it comes to movie making acumen he is out there with the best in the world. No one in Indian film industry even comes close.

As far as movies go, this month rocks. I had the pleasure of seeing 3 really good movies

Aaja Nachle, I am Legend and Taare Zameen Par. TZP is definitely an addition to my list of Credit Starers and probably the best work of art created by Aamir.

Think about this, its past midnight @ a theater in Massachusetts, the credits are rolling on the screen and a mini documentry plays along. There are still 15-20 people watching it. The last name rolls by.... the sound stops.... the screen goes blank.... only now that the remaining people trickle out.