Every time I saw a Speilberg or Ridley Scott movie or the older David Lean or William Wyler classics, I wondered why we didn’t have a comparable filmmaker to show us the great big story. We have had suitors like SL Bhansali stealing ideas and having delusions of grandeur and also Farah Khan seizing the grandeur of the ordinary. At least FK did not claim to be original. Am I happy or am I ecstatic to learn that a new star director has emerged in Bollywood? Spielberg knows the child in every man and always brings out the deepest emotions in the most moving ways. Aamir Khan has finally done it for me and very well.
The film bursts with a magical collage of colors and the best of animation seen in Hindi cinema. You’d love to see the titles. Of course, it’s not the first time I’d see the struggle of a dyslexic boy, a caring and supportive stranger, and the eventual triumph. But every filmmaker’s dream of taking the audience with every rise and fall of emotions is effectively realized here. You want to reach out to comfort the distressed child and you are lifted with the happiness of his achievement. For me, the movie once again brought growing pains to life. The sudden destruction of a protected environment and being thrown among strangers at a young age is a trauma for any child. Standing alone and looking sadly at the back of the vehicle that was taking your mother away, the shedding of bitter tears behind closed bathroom doors and the all-consuming sense of loneliness brought back memories of the deepest corners of my soul. awareness. I am not ashamed to admit that my tears flowed freely.
Darsheel Safary’s charming innocence is reflected in her eyes. The boy is a natural and has carried the film on his small shoulders. Whether it’s his childish antics or his bewilderment in the classroom or his lonely complaint, it makes you believe in him. It is what I would call an honest portrait. Having said that, a great deal of credit must go to Aamir Khan, the director, for not hogging most of the visuals for Aamir, the actor. That is what was required of a good director and he fulfilled it. In fact, he makes his first appearance just before intermission.
The narrative is gripping and relentless. For an emotional film there is not a single dull moment. His storytelling at its finest. The camera quickly moves from one compelling image to another. Common people and everyday images of the common are wonderfully juxtaposed with the curious journey of the child. Parents are the ones you find in almost every second home. The busy father who goes into denial mode when he is confronted with his son’s disability. The helpless mother who can only look with dismay at her beloved. Aamir, the actor, excels again, this time as an art teacher who was also dyslexic in his childhood. He recognizes Darsheel’s problem, and from that point on, the story is how he finally manages to help him through it. There are also other lovable characters. It seemed as if the professors had jumped straight from my boarding school days. Anyone who has been to a public school would easily identify the English teacher who is always more English than the English themselves. Even the fake British accent has been copied to perfection.
Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy are only getting better. “Tujhe sab to pata hai meri Ma” is an interpretation of the heart and poignantly depicts the tortured mind of a child. However, what takes your breath away is the haunting background score. Aamir Khan is said to be a perfectionist and he has proven it in spades. This should be a winner at the Oscars.