In short, the finest Hindi movie I have seen in a long time.Someone finally made a movie on a middle class kid's growing up years in India- the pressures,the ever increasing burden of unrealistic expectations demanded by parents,teachers,peers almost everyone around you.It's all the more ironic because in our country there are millions of children whose dreams get quashed everyday because of lack of resources and biting poverty while at the other end of the spectrum,the well off middle and upper classes of the society are just too busy pushing their children through the assembly line of 'educated' engineers,doctors and the like.In the process the child's inclination,natural talents are thrown out of the door and the children themselves herded towards a never ending rat race which lasts and consumes a life time.
To me this was the broader theme of the movie.The fact that young Ishaan was Dyslexic was just a means to make it easier for the wider audience to connect with the story. He could well have been a normal boy falling behind in academic life because of the rigors and constraints applied by an unforgiving system.Well, even "falling behind" can be relative because when you have the guy next door scoring 99%, expectations can take up new meanings.
Coming back to the movie, there were atleast two absolutely stand out sequences. The first one when Aamir visits Ishaan's parents to disclose the fact that Ishaan has dyslexia and he needs care and affection instead of being pushed and put down all the time, and the second one when Ishaan's father comes visiting at boarding school to tell Aamir that he indeed 'cares' for his son.
I wish I could reproduce the whole "Khayaal Karna" stanza here, its magnificently penned and delivered.Darsheel Safari as Ishaan is the soul of the movie and his performance towers above the rest.Incredible talent!
It could be argued-"What to do about it?"-isn't the system responsible for this mess and quite simply its beyond one to bend the system..isn't it? I would agree but only to an extent,sure you have to conform to the rules but at the same time you can do well not to create roadblocks for your child and push him or her more than is needed so that their childhood is not lost in the practically worthless myriad of "90%" and "A+" grades.Like countless others of my generation I have been there and seen it all.Dyslexia or not we have all been Ishaan at some point in our lives.That our education system is in dire needs of reform is stating the obvious,but before that can happen our thoughts need to reform. Being a Painter,writer,musician or chef is every bit as respectable as being a doctor or an engineer and certainly more satisfying and lasting if you have the talent for it.
To me this was the broader theme of the movie.The fact that young Ishaan was Dyslexic was just a means to make it easier for the wider audience to connect with the story. He could well have been a normal boy falling behind in academic life because of the rigors and constraints applied by an unforgiving system.Well, even "falling behind" can be relative because when you have the guy next door scoring 99%, expectations can take up new meanings.
Coming back to the movie, there were atleast two absolutely stand out sequences. The first one when Aamir visits Ishaan's parents to disclose the fact that Ishaan has dyslexia and he needs care and affection instead of being pushed and put down all the time, and the second one when Ishaan's father comes visiting at boarding school to tell Aamir that he indeed 'cares' for his son.
I wish I could reproduce the whole "Khayaal Karna" stanza here, its magnificently penned and delivered.Darsheel Safari as Ishaan is the soul of the movie and his performance towers above the rest.Incredible talent!
It could be argued-"What to do about it?"-isn't the system responsible for this mess and quite simply its beyond one to bend the system..isn't it? I would agree but only to an extent,sure you have to conform to the rules but at the same time you can do well not to create roadblocks for your child and push him or her more than is needed so that their childhood is not lost in the practically worthless myriad of "90%" and "A+" grades.Like countless others of my generation I have been there and seen it all.Dyslexia or not we have all been Ishaan at some point in our lives.That our education system is in dire needs of reform is stating the obvious,but before that can happen our thoughts need to reform. Being a Painter,writer,musician or chef is every bit as respectable as being a doctor or an engineer and certainly more satisfying and lasting if you have the talent for it.
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