Review of Like Stars on Earth (2007) by Leo L — 01 Nov 2010

An extraordinary movie that follows the struggles of a young boy unknowingly dealing with dyslexia, young Ishaan Awasthi has spent an entire year repeating the same grade and is not doing so well academically. Unlike him, his older brother Yohaan excels in all his schoolwork and this makes him feel even worse because his parents continuously berate him for his inabilities and erratic behavior. He finds solace in his love for art, and escapes into the leeway his imagination creates. After an incident at school, he is sent to a boarding school for discipline. Away from home and family, Ishaan becomes even more weary when he doesn't do so well at his new school. His confidence and will is shattered, and begins to lose interest until a new art teacher arrives. Ram Shankar Nikumbh instantly notices a despondent Ishaan, and discovers that Ishaan has all the symptoms of a learning disability that he himself dealt with as a child. His compassion, patience, and desire to help has enabled him to work with Ishaan using alternative methods of teaching. This enables Ishaan to regain his love for art, as well as bridging the differences in acceptance.

Great cast- Darsheel Safary, Aamir Khan, Tanay Chheda, Vipin Sharma, Tisca Chopra, and Sachet Engineer. Definitely worthy!