Jan 16, 2008 02:54 PM
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I watched this movie First day, First show and finally have
found the courage to review it. It takes time to assess a giant and then
evaluate it. There has been a deluge of reviews on TZP and I have read a few of
the hundreds posted here. The kind of response this movie has elicited has been
unprecedented – every one has poured their heart out while reviewing it and
that isn’t a surprise. This movie is all heart – direct dil se. Heart rending
scenes, heart warming dialogues, heart touching acting, heartfelt and inspiring
music, hearty lyrics…TZP is all heart. Aamir Khan tugs at your heart strings
and takes it away with him and Darsheel.
The story:
The story is about an eight-nine year old dyslexic child,
Ishaan Awasthi(Darsheel Safary) who is ostracized by his family, teachers and
friends. Dyslexia is a fairly common learning disorder but there are many
people who aren’t aware of it at all and most of the times a child suffering
from this disorder is grossly misunderstood. This little boy is shouted at, put
down by elders and made fun of by his peer for being different from regular
kids. His talents are not recognized nor encouraged by anyone. This singularly
gifted, bright child loses all zeal for life after being repeatedly shunned and
slowly starts to fade away. His temporary art teacher Ram Kumar Nikumbh(Aamir
Khan) in his new boarding school realizes something is wrong(because he is has
worked with special children) when he finds Ishaan is unresponsive in class and
goes on to find out the reason by talking to his parents and tracing his
behavioural pattern. Once diagnosed dyslexic NIkumbh goes on to help the child
with therapy and bring him back. He saves the ‘taara’ in the end from getting
lost forever.
*Darsheel Safary as
Ishaan Awasthy:*
This little fellow is a powerful and talented young actor.
Ishaan’s easy way of looking at life is so well portrayed by Darsheel. Getting
into a nasty brawl with kids trying to bully him… the wordless wonder in his
eyes as he explores the world in his own unique way after bunking school… the
hurt when his parents, teachers fail to understand him…and more…is portrayed so
well by this boy. He displays his emotions- pained confused, bewildered, hurt,
frustrated- with amazing ease and delivers so much more than some of our star
actors, who have a horde of power dialogues backing them.
However, he does need to thank the exceptionally well
written role which helped elicit his stellar performance.
Aamir Khan the Actor:
There is no need to write much on this. He is an actor par excellence
and we have known that for quite a while now.
*Aamir Khan the
Director:*
Everything I will write about AK’s debut as a director will
sound clichéd. The legendary perfectionism he is portrayed to profess was amply
evident in his work. He sure is one of those directors that the Hindi film
industry needs more of. The minutest details like the kid digging his nose and
the way the symptoms of dyslexia is brought out before the audience without
heavy dialogues, the way the mother wraps a duppatta around her on her
nightgown as she takes her son out to the waiting school bus, the agony the
child is going through… is brilliant.
Tisca Chopra as Maa:
Tisca Chopra is effortless as the mother – as loving,
forever forgiving as they come –torn between her unconditional love for her
child and the need reprimand him. This one time model has given a subtle,
understated and applaud-worthy performance.
*Sachet Engineer as
Bhaiya:*
The perfect brother – helping his sibling most of the time,
lending a sympathetic ear to his problems, scolding him for bunking classes but
still agreeing to write a fake note to his teacher about excusing him. It was
so sweet. Unconditional love a sibling feels for another.
*Script and
screenplay:*
This is where the brilliance of this movie lies - cinema at
its best. Perfectly researched and poignantly presented to the audience with
not a single loophole anywhere. A warm and sensitive story is told at its own
pace. Amol Gupte is exceptional.
*Music, songs and
lyrics:*
Shankar, Ehsaan, and Loy are brillaint. I am running out of
adjectives and I think I will review the music album separately. Prasoon
Joshi’s lyrics touch your soul and take you to the right place with his simple,
yet, lyrical poetry.
What I loved:
It is impossible to select a few scenes from the movie as
‘best scenes’ or favourite scenes because the entire movie is full of just that
and I loved every bit of it.
• Ishaan’s
introductory scene where he is shown fishing is incredible.
• The song
lage raho bursts upon us and a hurried father, harrowed mother, competitive
elder bro are introduced and then the songs’ pace changes to show Ishaan. Loved
it
• When in the
end Ishaan's painting wins the First prize, sobbing he runs to his teacher and
hugs him. There aren’t any dialogues to convey it but this one scene express
the overwhelming gratitude and love he feels for Ram Kumar Nikhumbh
• The scene
where his mother stares at the flip book and weeps when she realizes what her child was trying
to convey
• When
Darsheel looks longingly at the departing vehicle after his parents drop him
off to boarding school
• The scenes
with the song Maa
To sum it all up:
TZP is a slice of your own life that is served before you.
There are parts in it which anyone will instantly identify with – a naughty
student, a worried sibling, a bully or as the bullied, as the teacher’s
favourite or hated student, as a mother’s pet, as a mother, as a father, as a
teacher, as a human being reaching out to another, as a child with no cares in
the world.
Take a large pack of tissues with you when you go to watch
this one. I am the kind of person who cries easily while watching movies but
there are some ‘less-sensitive’ people I know who I found had lumps in their
throats and tears in their eyes.
The dialogue writer has to be applauded for being a
minimalist and thereby enhancing the sheer eloquence.
This movie makes you sit up and take notice of your life –
what are you doing as a human being? Are we sensitive enough to properly see
another human being or do we just look at them and not see much at all…
