Review of Like Stars on Earth (2007) by Emily P — 13 Nov 2018

This movie, although not fantastical, is one of the most magical Bollywood movies I have seen. I loved that Aamir Khan and Amole Gupte (screenwriter) used the typical storyline of Bollywood films to break down and start a conversation about education and dyslexia in India. It reminds me to how I view Groundhog Day and even Amar Akbar Anthony. The audience knowing that everything will be righted and in tune with the moral universe at the end makes them pay more attention to how the movie gets them there. Also, the timbre of Bollywood itself gives the audience a sense of comfortability to truly let down their guard and be more open to the deeper meaning the film wants to portray. In Groundhog Day the romantic comedy structure is used to relay the deeper meaning of the impossibility of repetition. In Amar Akbar Anthony, Bollywood tropes are used to show the importance of secularism. In Taare Zameen Par, it is the treatment of children with learning disabilities and the importance of nurturing creativity in children's education.

Although Taare Zameen Par falls under the category of a Bollywood movie, it uses many of the 'traditional' structural elements of Bollywood in a more modern way. The songs, which I loved, were not dance numbers, but made clear the unsayable emotions that the young Ishaan feels as Ishaan does not have access to the same language adults have. The range was also impressive from the jarring "Jame Raho" to the heartbreaking "Maa" and the charming and ridiculous "Bum Bum Bole." Rosie Thomas suggests that the moral universe lies within the mother in Melodrama and the Negotiation of Morality, and I agree and would argue that in this film it is Aamir Khan's Ram Shankar Nikumbh that acts as the mother figure. He takes in every child as his own, making him mother India, which I find endlessly fascinating.

This is not to say that the movie does not come without its faults. For the time it was made, I think that the emphasis and impact it has had on the attitude towards learning disabilities is astounding, but if you are watching this movie now I would recommend watching it with a keen eye and keep in mind modern developments on our understanding of dyslexia and dyscalculia (which seems to be what Ishaan more closely would be identifying with if diagnosed today). One of my least favorite aspects of the film was the absolute uselessness of the father. I really think more could have been done with that character to show depth and growth. This film is quite simple and that is where it both shines and falters. The plot is pared down, but that lets the emotions pour through unadulterated and quite enchantingly, especially as more time could be put into the beautiful cinematography, quirky animations, wonderful acting and the very strong messages this movie promotes. This has been one of my favorite Bollywood movies and I hope you find it just as magical and full of great heart as I did!