Taare Zameen Par [2007]

It's difficult to review a film that's so brilliant. I can list a whole bunch of adjectives saying how it's a great work of cinema but better still I can request you to go watch it for yourself and witness the magic unfold in front of your own eyes.

With a very fine SCREENPLAY Taare Zameen Par grips you and from the beginning credits right till the ending your attention remains glued to the screen.

The best thing about the film is definitely the STORY itself, which has never before been seen on the Indian cinema screen. It's a film based on children but it's not exactly a "children's film" – it's a film for everyone, a film everyone should watch and learn from. It teaches you but it does not lecture you and bore you!

To be honest I don't know if a few years ago I would have been able to concentrate on and enjoy a film with no 'hero' taking centre stage because a few years ago we used to have to choose between entertainment or good cinema – usually sacrificing one for the other at least to a certain extent… but Taare Zameen Par proves that 'paisa-vasool entertainment' does not come at the sacrifice of good quality cinema. Here is a film which is not only fantastic cinema but also extremely entertaining.

Taare Zameen Par is not a film about 'herogiri' and there is no love story, neither is there any villain. We are not given a Gabbar nor do we have a Raj-Siman, this is not a film that follows formulas but one that will hopefully open even more doors for our filmmakers! After Chak De India, this is another 'different' film of 2007 that dares to be different without giving up the entertainment quality. *My fingers are definitely crossed for the success of this film, because it deserves it!*

I love children a lot so to me watching a film about children was like being in heaven! Haha… I really enjoyed the film, every single moment of it. Can't wait for the DVD.

As far as the MUSIC goes I wasn't exactly singing the tunes before I saw the film… but now I love the songs! 'Bum Bum Bole' is stuck in my mind; it's so cute and fun! Shaimak Davar did a brilliant job with the natural choreography. 'Maa' is one of the most tear-jerking songs I've watched in my life…the lyrics made me cry and so did the visuals. 'Jame Raho' was fantastic – I loved how the music changed to being more peaceful when we see Ishaan.

The DIRECTION was the main reason I was looking forward to the film. Acknowledged 'perfectionist' Aamir Khan was stepping into the captains shoes – how would his ship sail? There's only one answer to that – it sails smoothly and most perfectly, with no hiccups whatsoever! The 'Aamir Khan stamp' was visible throughout the film and I was surprised at how I could actually feel Aamir's presence in the first half even though (as an actor) he had not appeared at that point. The film consisted of so many beautiful moments that if I began to note them in this review I'd take hours writing this! Hats off to Aamir Khan, who we always knew was one of our best actors and has now proved to be one of our finest filmmakers too.

Getting to the PERFORMANCES I don't know where to start.

Darsheel Safary stole my heart. The boy is a born actor. He's so adorable and everything about him was just perfect – from his facial expressions to body movement and dialogue delivery. He was Ishaan Awasthi! This was I believe the finest performance from a child-artiste since Ayesha Kapoor in Black. The role of Ishaan is a dream role for any actor and this young child performs it with what appears to be such ease. Now, here's an actor to watch out for.

Aamir Khan was simply natural. His expressions are priceless and he looked seriously cute too.

The other young actors, playing the roles of Rajan and Yohan, also did a brilliant job. Tisca Chopra was very good and Vipin Sharma was fantastic! In fact each and every actor did justice to his or her role.

OVERALL… As Taran Adarsh [IndiaFM] rightly puts it, this "isn't one of those films that merely entertains, but also enlightens." To my surprise, I actually agree with Adarsh! Anyone who misses out on TZP is missing out on a lot so do yourselves a favour and go catch the next show playing at your local cinema – you will not be disappointed and I can promise you that much!!