R.S. Prasanna on making ‘Sitaare Zameen Par'

(NOTE: This article was originally published in the India Today issue dated June 23, 2025)When the whole world was in lockdown, my world was opening up,' says filmmaker R.S. Prasanna. The year was 2020 and Prasanna, then living in Chennai, had managed to land a meeting, albeit virtual, with Aamir Khan. Best known for directing the comedy Shubh Mangal Saavdhan, a remake of his sleeper Tamil hit, it was a dream Prasanna says he didn't dare dream. Convincing the pernickety Khan about a script is no easy feat, but Prasanna and writer Divya Nidhi Sharma managed to grab his attention with a funny tale about a man who comes of age as he trains a basketball team of neurodivergent individuals. Five years later, that pitch has manifested as Sitaare Zameen Par, which Khan has also produced.advertisementSeated in the Aamir Khan Productions office in Santa Cruz, Mumbai, Prasanna expresses sentiments which Khan would concur with. He talks of his 'responsibility as a storyteller', which entails reaching out to the audience with stories that come from 'the heart'. He speaks of having no 'insecurity' despite being absent from the filmmaking scene for almost seven years. And he emphasises the need to have 'conviction'.But that very conviction wavered a bit as he came into the orbit of the mercurial Aamir Khan, one of the last superstars of Indian cinema. Says Prasanna, 'I was full of anxiety, I had imposter syndrome, I couldn't believe I was directing him. I was like, 'Of course, he is going to call you out.'' An eight-hour-long conversation, which started over South Indian breakfast, allayed those fears and brought an immediate sense of comfort. 'Aamir sir is quite open and one who only sees talent and passion for cinema and no other identity marker,' says Prasanna. 'I usually call him the Atlantis, [for] he is like the refugee camp of passionate filmmakers. He is very protective about the director and empowers them.'advertisement
Passion alone doesn't drive Prasanna. He'd prefer the word 'obsession'. 'I'm told you are too involved. You have to give it everything. There's no ego and hierarchy, you take inputs from everyone.' It's perhaps why he sees himself as a misfit and has made a comedy about working with other individuals whom society perceives as misfits.
CHANGING PERCEPTIONS Aamir Khan with his team of 'misfits' in Sitaare Zameen Par, which releases on June 20
Central to Sitaare Zameen Par was a cast of individuals diagnosed with autism and Down's Syndrome. Over 2,500 auditions were conducted, with casting directors Tess Joseph and Anmol Ahuja taking charge. Finally, 10 were finalised and put through workshops. 'They are my stars,' says Prasanna. 'They have josh, a positive spirit and a keeda to perform. You just have to give them the tools on how to face the camera and learn the lines.' Their presence, adds Prasanna, made the set a happier place. A paediatrician who champions for inclusion and works with neurodivergent people was present during the shoot to assist.Much like other films in Khan's rich filmography, this one comes packaged with a social message. 'Today, we live in a world where we don't connect with anybody, forget neurodivergent people,' says Prasanna. With the film, he hopes that audiences remember the child within themselves. 'You are born with purity and being non-judgemental. It's only later we learn to discriminate.'Sitaare Zameen Par arrives at a time when the yardstick of what works at the box office has undergone a seismic shift. Loud spectacles with hypermasculine heroes are favoured over slice-of-life soft outings. Khan's last film, Laal Singh Chaddha, a remake of the Hollywood hit Forrest Gump, crashed at the box office. Sitaare Zameen Par, which has been pegged as a 'spiritual sequel' to Khan's own directorial debut, Taare Zameen Par, is inspired by a Spanish film, Campeones (2018). Prasanna isn't too worried that the film may seem an anomaly in the current landscape. 'Everyone wants a palate-cleanser. A film works if it entertains and has a strong emotional connect with people,' he says. 'Everything changes with one thing. It's Aamir Khan who usually starts the trend.'Subscribe to India Today Magazineadvertisement

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