Before and After Taare Zameen Par!

Cv watched Taare Zameen Par, aka TZP. The first question that people asked was this: Did Cv cry? Cv scratched his head, thought, and said 'No'. And added that he came close to it, a couple of times, hoping to change the expression on the face of the questioner to something more friendly, but no! 'Cv has to be nuts or an out-and-out cynic or worse, a hypocrite!', the wordless stares seemed to convey. Why? Why is it that people cannot appreciate something nice without putting on a show about it? Like breaking out into gut-wrenching sobs meant that you really understood the movie or something while not doing so meant you were a cynic or a hypocrite! Cv is stumped!

Though Cv was/is not dyslexic, he is not an alien to the problems faced by young Ishaan Avasti. Cv did not have English taught to him at all during his early years of schooling and as only fate can conspire, found himself in a school where English was the sole medium of communication and to use any other language would be attracting words much like the ones Ishaan attracted. But then, like Paulo Coelho writes in 'The Alchemist', fate conspired to help young Cv. Cv took to English novels and story-books like a fish takes to water. Books became his friends, and nice friends they proved to be. They offered a lot of wisdom, but never forced anything on to one, like many a friend tends to do.

Coming back to the movie, probably Cv did not feel the overwhelming need to shed copious amounts of tears as there were so many things that seemed to be mirrored from his own life. It was deja vu, and so it was amusing. Besides, Cv identified with the victim and not the perpetuator and so, was not moved to tears by the guilt. To add to that, this was a movie, and a Bollywood movie at that. Cv can see many Aamir Khan fans bristling at this 'insult', but then again, Cv freely admits that TZP is very far removed from the crap that Bollywood dishes out with such frightening regularity. But that still did nothing to stop Cv from anticipating every single twist in the plot. How ? Was Cv a mind-reader ? Nope. The reason was actually a lot simpler. TZP has no plot. By plot, Cv means hidden twists and turns, supsense and the like. TZP follows a very simple but utterly effective formula, a formula that is not exactly brand new, but still not very explored. It believes in sending everybody on a royal guilt-trip, be it the bully that troubled the shy and sensitive boy at school or the parent who shouted/scolded/harassed/beat-up his child/children to make them 'true performers' or the teacher who was not patient enough with his/her students. Thank God, Aamir made the mother and the brother pro-Ishaan, otherwise it would have been reduced to one of those saas-bahu serials that air on Hindi television channels which have the noble daughter-in-law sadly misanderstood and mistreated by all and sundry (with the only exceptions being a friendly cook or servant who invariably gets sacked at some point to render the hapless damsel even more so!)

And then, in the second half, Aamir waves the magic wand that causes all of young Ishaan Avasti's troubles to go away, in the process making the people who were squirming in their seats out of guilt and shame to feel better! Yahoo! The boy found happiness after all.

Cv may be a cynic, but here is a question for all those of you who cried and felt better watching TZP. How many actually took back something from the movie? (No. I'm not talking about the audio CDs or pirated video CDs) When the movie ended, how many actually sat through the credits which showed documentary footage of 'Special Schools' and the 'Special Children'? 'But then, who wants to see a documentary ?' is by far the most common answer. What about the pressure on the kids? Will it come down? 'Don't be silly. My son/daughter is perfectly 'normal'. He/she just needs a little push here and there to go places! What about teachers? Are they going to go easy on the dreaded 'Ruler' or 'Map-pointer' now that they have seen TZP? 'Be practical! That was just a movie. Do you think we have the time and strength to fool around to ensure that the kids have fun while at the same time meeting the deadlines to complete the syllabus? In your dreams!' the teachers will say.

Each person, no longer feeling guilty thanks to the fact that the Ishaan story ended up all rosy and cosy, will go on with his/her life, totally unaffected, doing exactly the same thing, whatever they were doing earlier. Oh, their pockets would be lighter thanks to the steep prices of the theatre tickets (assuming they didn't watch it from a pirated DVD) but the tear-soaked hand-kerchiefs make up for even that small difference!
TZP came and TZP will go, but the obsessions and ideosyncrasies of parents and the callous approach of teachers and school managements will go on forever.

Oh, Cv almost forgot: The verdict on TZP ?
The casting is good, acting convincing and the music very original, fresh and innovative. And good. Just filter out all the nonsense about emotional effect the movie movie is going to cause and what you will have is a lovely movie which you can safely and enjoyable watch, with your entire family.