Suckale Film Production

On the film festival in Cannes this year we were discussing the film “Taare Zameen Par”, directed, produced and acted by Aamir Khan, which was for my French, German, American and Indian colleagues one of the best movies we saw for a long time. “Like stars on earth” was the discovery of the year. It is an exquisite  piece of art with a beautiful mise-en-scène, more meaningful than some movies we saw in Cannes in the competition, the “Quinzaine” or “Un certain regard”. We couldn’t understand that this wonderful movie wasn’t shown in French and German cinemas.

Aamir Khan Production gives us the following synopsis: Ishaan Awasthi is an eight-year-old boy whose world is filled with wonders that no one else seems to appreciate; colors, fish, dogs and kites are just not important in the world of adults, who are much more interested in things like homework, marks and neatness. Ishaan just cannot seem to get anything right in class. So he gets in more trouble than his parents can handle, and is packed off to a boarding school to ‘be disciplined’. Things are no different at his new school, and Ishaan has to contend with the added trauma of separation from his family. One day a new Art Teacher bursts onto the scene, Ram Shankar Nikumbh, who infects the students with joy and optimism. He breaks all the rules of ‘how things are done’ by asking them to think, dream and imagine, and all the children respond with enthusiasm, all except Ishaan. Nikumbh soon realizes that Ishaan is not happy being at school, and sets out to discover why…

It is a film about the question, how far should we get adapted to nowadays society? Shall we push children and ourselves without any compromise into our system of society, or shall we educate them individually to be a free spirited mind? Shall we destroy fantasy for the sake of success and money? Nowadays in a time of unemployment, it got difficult to answer these questions, because you have no chances with few education. Everything that counts are exquisite diplomas and respected degrees. These questions are not treated in such an explicit way by the director. Aamir Khan found a poetic and more sensitive way to tell a touching story which occupies our minds and hearts. Please watch this wonderful movie, it is more fun and inspiring than reading this blog.

The film is available on DVD but also in larger book stores in Berlin, Paris…