This movie will make you relive your childhood – the time of life that bursts forth in a riot of laughing colors, the time when you look at the world through dreamy eyes and amble in carefree abandon. And in tow with the squealing joy comes the dreary prospect of going to school, racing through the homework, and cramming to meet the grades! However close the childhood travails are to reality, it takes pluck and sensitivities of an actor like Aamir Khan to portray it on the big screen!

Taare Zameen Par, Aamir’s first cinematic endeavor definitely stands out as a winner for its inventive narration and unique appeal.

This movie revolves around the 9 year old Ishaan Awasthi [Darsheel Safary] who hates the rigors of the school life. He bunks classes and saunters across the roads instead, quietly observing the palette of colors that surround him. These vivid hues and an éclat of imagination find expression in his paintings. However, no one appreciates his creative fervor. Instead he is baulked at by his parents for not paying attention to studies. They are unaware of the fact that the child has dyslexia, which means reading common words is as difficult for him as reading a foreign language. He is therefore, packed off to a boarding school, where another torturous experience numbs him like a blow. He is reduced to a mere chunk of misery.

But luckily for him, help is afoot just around the corner in the form of art teacher Ram Niwas Nikhumb (Aamir Khan). Ram infuses in him an optimistic vim while working out novel methods to make reading and writing easier for him. In an all-is-well-that-ends-well ending, that may look clichéd; the kid wins the painting competition and earns the brownie points of his teachers, parents, friends et al.

On the acting front, Aamir is a treat to watch while Darsheel essays a natural performance. Some of the scenes in the film too, like the one that showed a few spastic children performing were no doubt real and therefore, portrayed real emotions and real drama.

Aamir Khan, the “thinking actor” forces us to think hard about the current façade of parenthood that focuses on academic progress and the effect that it can have on the young and impressionable minds. He sends out a message to the parents to gauge and appreciate the real potential of their children. Taare Zameen Par is a must-watch for all the parents and kids of course!