Watched Tare Zameen Par last night.
TZP certainly makes a tear roll down your cheek. No wonder Advaniji cried as he watched the film. I won't be surprised if Modiji or Bushji or Musharrafji or Budhadebji or any ji who qualifies in our political history as someone who is made of anything other than pure flesh and blood cry as he or she watches the film. TZP is the expectable best Bollywood melodrama can get.
I never like stories that come with a moral tag attached to it. Not that I have anything against morality. Just that they remind me of the moral education text books at school. I don't like TZP for the loud moral tag that comes along with the title - Every Child is Special.
But I like the film for the way in which Aamir makes Dyslexia a household name in India like Nokia, Sharukh Khaan and Ujala. The film worked because it touched a phobia (or....is it a mania?) that has been haunting nuclear families across India for the last two or three generations. It's the same thing that sells Horlicks, GK Books and Chicken Soup for the Soul.It's the same thing that makes Summer Camps, CET Coaching, and CBSE Schools great business ideas.
It all started when we were kids. TZP worked because it gave what every tow-kid-parent dream of - their kid who becomes a hero in school against all odds. No one is going to remember the efforts of Nikumbh Sir or the struggle of Ishaan Awasti. We are only going to remember Aamir's list of famous people with Dyslexia. We are only going to remember that the hero of the film finally achieved.
Nothing is wrong with Aamir's film. Everything is wrong with us - we are always the same old modern-Indians. More argumentative than practical. Aamir knows it. And he made that his selling point.
I seriously doubt if some American or Indian psychology association had funded TZP. Like, you know, CIA funds everything against Communist Governments. Or like Condom Companies fund everything against AIDS. [Just kidding, Aamir]
Chak De India is often screened during Corporate Training Sessions. In a similar fashion, I am told, most of the B Ed Colleges in my part of the world are screening TZP for their students. That's great achievement Aamir, honestly.
TZP certainly makes a tear roll down your cheek. No wonder Advaniji cried as he watched the film. I won't be surprised if Modiji or Bushji or Musharrafji or Budhadebji or any ji who qualifies in our political history as someone who is made of anything other than pure flesh and blood cry as he or she watches the film. TZP is the expectable best Bollywood melodrama can get.
I never like stories that come with a moral tag attached to it. Not that I have anything against morality. Just that they remind me of the moral education text books at school. I don't like TZP for the loud moral tag that comes along with the title - Every Child is Special.
But I like the film for the way in which Aamir makes Dyslexia a household name in India like Nokia, Sharukh Khaan and Ujala. The film worked because it touched a phobia (or....is it a mania?) that has been haunting nuclear families across India for the last two or three generations. It's the same thing that sells Horlicks, GK Books and Chicken Soup for the Soul.It's the same thing that makes Summer Camps, CET Coaching, and CBSE Schools great business ideas.
It all started when we were kids. TZP worked because it gave what every tow-kid-parent dream of - their kid who becomes a hero in school against all odds. No one is going to remember the efforts of Nikumbh Sir or the struggle of Ishaan Awasti. We are only going to remember Aamir's list of famous people with Dyslexia. We are only going to remember that the hero of the film finally achieved.
Nothing is wrong with Aamir's film. Everything is wrong with us - we are always the same old modern-Indians. More argumentative than practical. Aamir knows it. And he made that his selling point.
I seriously doubt if some American or Indian psychology association had funded TZP. Like, you know, CIA funds everything against Communist Governments. Or like Condom Companies fund everything against AIDS. [Just kidding, Aamir]
Chak De India is often screened during Corporate Training Sessions. In a similar fashion, I am told, most of the B Ed Colleges in my part of the world are screening TZP for their students. That's great achievement Aamir, honestly.
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