Latest news with #Campeones
Hindustan Times
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Juhi Chawla touches Asha Bhosle's feet, shares warm hug at Sitaare Zameen Par premiere. Watch
Aamir Khan hosted a special screening of Sitaare Zameen Par, which turned into a star-studded affair on Thursday. The event drew some of the biggest names in the industry — from Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan to Vicky Kaushal and Juhi Chawla — all coming together to show their support for the film. (Also read: Aamir Khan's son Azad flinches at camera flashes, gets warm greeting from Shah Rukh Khan at Sitaare Zameen Par screening) One of the most touching highlights of the evening was a video of Juhi and legendary singer Asha Bhosle that has surfaced on social media. Juhi was seen respectfully touching Asha's feet, to which the iconic singer responded with a warm hug. Juhi was also seen embracing Asha's granddaughter, Zanai, while Aamir Khan looked on with a smile, visibly moved by the warmth of the gesture. Watch the video here. A post shared by Viral Bhayani (@viralbhayani) Directed by RS Prasanna, Sitaare Zameen Par is being regarded as a spiritual successor to Taare Zameen Par. The film tells the inspiring story of nine neurodivergent children as they navigate personal challenges and seek acceptance in a world that often misunderstands them. A review by Hindustan Times read, 'Aamir is good at comedy, and here too he's back to that genre. He's at ease with his co-stars here, and the comfort translates. The first half is bearable only because of Aamir, and then he takes things a notch higher in the second one. Genelia complements him wonderfully as the supportive wife, and the cause of friction between them is thankfully not stretched beyond a point.' Sitaare Zameen Par marks the debut of 10 new actors, including Aroush Datta, Gopi Krishna Varma, Samvit Desai, Vedant Sharma, Ayush Bhansali, Ashish Pendse, Rishi Shahani, Rishabh Jain, Naman Mishra, and Simran Mangeshkar. It is a remake of the Spanish film Campeones.
The Hindu
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
‘Sitaare Zameen Par' movie review: Aamir Khan's seasonal moral science class
There is a self-aware moment in Sitaare Zameen Par that nicely parodies the moral science cinema of Aamir Khan. A team of neurodivergent basketball players has won a precious free throw in a losing game. Their coach, Gulshan, can't stop pep-talking the player about to take the shot. Satbir (Aroush Datta) loses his head and yells out. 'Sir, pehle aap chup rahiye,' he thunders, telling Gulshan to shut up. Khan — one of the most didactic superstars India has ever produced — needs to surround himself with more Satbirs. In his directorial debut, Taare Zameen Par, a landmark film from 2007, Khan played Nikumbh, a sensitive art teacher who mentors a dyslexic child in a boarding school. The audience, too, felt mentored meaningfully by Khan, their hearts and minds broadened by a thoughtful, virtuous star. Khan spiked his hair and dressed up in a clown suit for the role. Yet, every so often, we spotted a halo behind his head. The halo is smartly hidden from view at the start of Sitaare. Yet, Khan's contract with the audience has remained unchanged. Billed as a spiritual sequel to Taare Zameen Par, and remade from the 2018 Spanish drama Campeones (Woody Harrelson starred in a 2023 English-language version), Sitaare echoes the first film's mission: raising awareness about neurodivergence. This it does in the most predictably teachable fashion. There's hardly a scene that doesn't yield a lesson, a realisation. An ideal Aamir Khan film can be both entertaining and edifying. But when the balance tilts, it's just annoying. Sitaare Zameen Par (Hindi) Director: RS Prasanna Cast: Aamir Khan, Genelia D'Souza, Dolly Ahluwalia, Aroush Datta, Gopi Krishnan Varma, Aayush Bhansali Runtime: 155 minutes Storyline: An imperious basketball coach trains a team of players with intellectual disabilities We meet Gulshan as a cocksure assistant coach in Delhi. He is imperious, insolent, insufferable. As the story begins, he's suspended from his job for the minor intemperance of socking his superior in the face. To make things worse, he's arrested and pulled up in court for drunk driving, getting off with three months of community service. He winds up at a centre for adults with developmental disabilities. The team he meets — a cheery bunch of nine, with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or Down Syndrome — is as convinced of his ineptitude as he is of their worthlessness. My favourite is the suave Sharmaji (a charming Rishi Sahani), who takes one look at Gulshan and declares, 'Naya coach gadha hai (the new coach is an ass).' In the court scene, Gulshan uses the word 'pagal' (mad) to describe people with intellectual disabilities, raising the hackles of the judge. However, since it's Aamir Khan playing him — and not Rajkummar Rao or Nawazuddin Siddiqui — we know a change is swiftly around the corner. Because Gulshan is the ostensible idiot in the story, a man of moderate height and an inflated ego, the secondary and tertiary characters have to fill him in, explaining chromosomes and the varying shades of 'normal.' 'Jo baki logo se alag hote hai, unke liye kisi na kisi ko ladna padta hai,' his mother, played by Dolly Ahluwalia, tells him. Gulshan's marriage has hit a snag, yet Sunita (Genelia D'Souza) is a constant pillar of support. The setting is ordinary Delhi. Why is everyone behaving so nicely? Unlike the affecting Ishaan Awasthi, whose isolation from his family formed the emotional crux of the first film, the neurodivergent characters in Sitaare Zameen Par don't get elaborate backstories or journeys. Instead, sweet, sentimental montages sum up the basic facts of their lives. Only one character, Hargovind (Naman Misra), is granted something resembling an arc. Neurodivergent existence is explained in terms of its utility to mainstream society. Director R.S. Prasanna and writer Divy Nidhi Sharma fight shy of messiness and complexity, serving a blur of happy faces. They must ask themselves: by painting these characters as ungrudging, inspirational figures, are they serving the theme of inclusion or simply perpetuating a positive stereotype? As actors get older, some of the self-seriousness wears off, and the audience is all the better for it. Despite the frequent digs at his height, Khan isn't as uproariously funny here as he was in Secret Superstar (2021). Time and again, everything loops back to him. The on-court action is mediated almost entirely from his point of view, and the actor's famous songs — 'DK Bose,' 'Papa Kehte Hain' — are yanked into service. Even as Gulshan runs away from responsibility, Khan can't run away from his: holding the public's arm and guiding them into the light. 'Let me explain,' he says. And the halo reappears. Sitaare Zameen Par is currently running in theatres
India.com
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- India.com
Sitaare Zameen Par Twitter Review: Netizens laugh and cry at the same time after watching Aamir Khan's emotional rollercoaster film
Sitaare Zameen Par hit the screens today, June 20. As the first day, first show of the Aamir Khan film wraps up, fans, netizens, and critics have been quick to share their reviews of one of the most anticipated movies of the year. The film is being hailed as a classic – one that will make you laugh and cry at the same time. So far, the reviews have been overwhelmingly positive. It is a remake of the Spanish film Campeones. One of the reviewers wrote, '#SitaareZameenPar is a typical #AamirKhan film, with all the ingredients to go down as one of his finest films ever! SUPER DIRECTION, SUPER SCREENPLAY, and a SUPER MESSAGE that should echo everywhere — 'SABKA APNA APNA NORMAL HAI JI'' Another user on the X wrote, 'SitaareZameenParReview This film is more than just about 'stars' 1 2 34 5 stars can't measure it. You can't judge the heart and effort of those special kids and #AamirKhan. It's emotional, powerful & truly special. #SitaareZameenPar is a must-watch! Must watch. That's it.' The third reviewer said, 'Making a sequel to one of India's most Lived films was already a massive challenge the benchmark was sky-high. But Aamir didn't just match it… He raised the bar so High with SZP'. One Word Review : A1 Rating: Aamir Khan is back with a STUNNER. It's a wholesome entertaining movie that defines the relationship between A player and a couch . 1st half could have been better , 2nd half is
NDTV
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- NDTV
Sitaare Zameen Par Review: Aamir Khan's Uplifting Film Has Its Heart In The Right Place
Talent, teamwork and tenacity are attributes that, as a rule, occupy centrestage in a sports drama. These qualities come to the aid of a team of hoopsters that fights to beat the odds stacked against it. Add to the proceedings a dash of feel-good, high-spirited humour and periodic tugs at the heartstrings and you have Sitaare Zameen Par, somewhat inconsistent in pace but always entertaining. The underdog story, scripted by Divy Nidhi Sharma and directed by R.S. Prasanna, pivots around ten neurodiverse basketball players placed under a reluctant coach, an angry not-so-young man in dire need of a course correction. The team does not get along with the coach. A judge assigns the job to the latter as punishment for ramming his car into a police vehicle in a drunk driving case. Although they find winning ways difficult to come by to begin with, each member of the outfit makes steady progress on and off the basketball court. There is nothing new in here in terms of story. Sitaare Zameen Par is an official remake of the 2018 Spanish film, Campeones (Champions), which, a few years later, saw a Hollywood iteration with Woody Harrelson in the lead. The lack of originality does not however take anything away from the incredible performances of the ten first-time actors. In its celebration of diversity and inclusion, Sitaare Zameen Par goes further than any Indian movie ever has. The process that helps the protagonists develop focus and cohesion is expectedly exacting - no less so than the drill that must have gone into getting the actors ready for the movie camera - and it is around those challenges that the Aamir Khan starrer revolves. Sitaare Zameen Par blends comedy, emotions and the infectious vitality of a physically tough sport to drive home the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity - physical, mental and societal. Aamir Khan, back on the big screen three years after the underwhelming Laal Singh Chadda, effortlessly slips into the character of a temperamental man who is often mocked for his short stature. In a fit of rage, he socks the head coach in the face. He is promptly suspended. The knocks that follow are even harder. His ego takes a beating. Sitaare Zameen Par is about redemption that dawns amid a haze of scepticism. Gulshan (Khan) is in a trough. His wife (Genelia D'Souza) and mother (Dolly Ahluwalia) struggle to keep him away from his questionable impulses. On the professional front, Gulshan has a reputation to rebuild. He isn't the one who does all the teaching. Unlike the school instructor in Taare Zameen Par (2007) who helps a boy with a learning disability discover himself, he learns from his wards, youngsters drawn from different backgrounds. Nine boys and a girl, the short-tempered Golu Khan (Simran Mangeshkar), hold up multiple mirrors in which Gulshan can see the avoidable distortions he is in danger of embracing. And, of course, his family pitches in with sage, timely nudges when he needs it, which is well-nigh always. The broad arc of the story holds no real surprises, but thanks to the way the little deeds of a man navigating his mental blocks pan out, the tale isn't devoid of depth. Sitaare Zameen Par is an uplifting and heartwarming genre film the employs familiar tropes to good effect. Pretty much like its spiritual predecessor did, the film creates awareness about intellectual disabilities and showcases neuro-atypical youngsters in a manner that strikes an instant chord. It seeks to clear the cobwebs that cloud society's notions of what is normal and what is not. What Sitaare Zameen Par asserts, without having to go overboard with manipulative methods (which, of course, are inevitable in a movie with an avowed purpose) is that there is nothing unusual about being differently wired like the individuals Gulshan is directed to take under his wings even as he himself tries to fly away from his own ingrained biases. Ten differently abled actors drive the film into uncharted territory and add genuine wattage to the drama. Aamir Khan, when needed, cedes ground to them without letting his own presence be diminished in any way. The innate potential of the theme - who does not like underdogs taking on obstacles in their path and marching ahead when nobody, least of all the man who is charged with working with them and showing them the way? - is undeniable. Sitaare Zameen Par makes the most of it. Aamir Khan is the anchor around which the plot swivels but he isn't a ball hog. The film rests equally on the shoulders of his ten specially-abled co-actors. It is impossible to single out only a handful for special mentions. They are all equally good. Ayush Bhansali plays a boy who works in a dye factory and is obsessed with giving his hair a different hue every other day. Ashish Pendse is a security guard who Gulshan spots when the two square off in a parking lot. Simran Mangeshkar is cast as a perpetually angry girl and Gopi Krishnan Varma plays Guddu, a boy who avoids a bath like the plague. Vedant Sharma is Bantu, a reclusive guy given to constantly scratching his ears, Rishab Jain is a gardener who runs a nursery, Aroush Datta is auto mechanic Satbir and Samvit Desai plays hotel employee Kareem. Rishi Shahani's Sharmaji and Naman Mishra's Hargovind, too, are always on the ball. The director lets the magnificent ten go with the flow. As a consequence, the sort of artifice that is often an intrinsic part of acting is refreshingly missing in these admirably organic performances. This isn't, of course, the first time that special actors have fronted an Indian film. In 2019, Nikhil Pherwani made Ahaan, in which the titular character was played by Abuli Mamaji, an actor with Down Syndrome. A year earlier, Bengali filmmaker Soukarya Ghoshal cast an actor with special needs, Mahabrata Basu, in Rainbow Jelly. In a follow-up to that film, Pokkhiraj's Dim (The Unicorn's Egg), released recently, the actor, 17 when the film was shot, reprises the character. Suresh Triveni's Jalsa (2022) had an actor with cerebral palsy playing a young boy with cerebral palsy and Kaushik Ganguly's Chotoder Chobi (2014) centred on two actors born with dwarfism. But that is where Indian cinema's story of authentic representation of disability grinds to a halt. That is how it would have remained had the remarkable sitaare of this film not descended in our midst and demonstrated that there is much more to acting than what we are accustomed to. Sitaare Zameen Par is a rousing slam dunk because it has its heart in the right place.
Indian Express
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Sitaare Zameen Par movie review: Aamir Khan delivers fully committed performance in heart-winning comedy
Sitaare Zameen Par Movie Review & Rating: An insensitive, full-of-himself basketball coach, suspended from his job, finds himself doing community service: in three months he has to shape a group of young adults, largely with Down Syndrome, into a team that is capable of participating in tournaments. Based on the 2018 Spanish film Campeones, 'Sitaare Zameen Par' adopts the original's determinedly cheery vein to win its matches; in the process, it also wins our hearts. Gulshan (Aamir Khan) is the guy with an attitude problem, and he uses it to make everyone around him unhappy. His wife Sunita (Genelia d'Souza) wants a baby. He doesn't. His senior coach wants compliance. Gulshan behaves badly. A drunk driving incident leads him, reluctance and truculence firmly in place, to a vocational centre for people with special needs. Where he encounters a group of spirited youngsters who challenge his idea of 'yeh bechaare bachche': Satbir, Guddu, Bantu, Hargovind, Sharmaji, Lotus, Raju, Kareem, Sunil, Golu are all young people with specific personality quirks which go beyond their facial Downs distinctiveness, often unclear vocalisation and other limitations which are part of the autism spectrum. These are young people who have a sense of self, and fun, and slowly but surely, Gulshan finds himself being drawn into their circle, and what started as a punishment becomes pure affection. This film wouldn't have worked as well as it does if Aamir hadn't been fully committed to putting himself out there as a hero-who-is-a-jerk, letting us walk past the annoyingly noble Lal Singh Chadha character which never hit any of its marks. One of Aamir's strengths is to play a regular, flawed guy who learns the error of his ways –yes, 'Dil Chahta Hai' is also part of this pantheon– and Gulshan is a welcome addition. How the insufferable Gulshan finds a better side of himself, replacing the smirk with a smile, is a big part of 'Sitaare Zameen Par': you can call that out for what it is, but you can also see how a star can power a story like this, in the way it platforms and makes visible those who live with disability. It teeters very close to becoming an Aamir Khan vehicle– look, look, I am not irredeemable, even if I start out by calling these adults 'paagal' and 'mental', so of a piece with of how society at large views 'differentness' –but it manages to strike a balance by letting it be a film about the neurodivergent young people who may not lead the narrative but have an equal share in it. To make a film revolving around intellectual disability is fraught with risk. If you make people cry, people within the community can accuse the filmmakers of being miserabilist ; if you make them laugh, you can be charged with making light of a tough situation. Borrowing the tone from the original, 'Sitaare Zameen Par' chooses to stay on the side of laughter, and it's a wise decision, because what you can convey to the average person through laughs sometimes has more weight than wrung-out-tears. The last time I watched an effective film showcasing a character with Downs was Nikhil Pherwani's 'Ahaan' which should have been watched by more people; 'Sitaare' has the starry heft to go out far and wide, and I'm happy that it's more feel-good than feel-bad. Watch Sitaare Zameen Par Movie trailer here: Because, make no mistake, this is a film whose express intention is to normalise 'everyone's normal'. It doesn't shy away from being message-y –sab ka apna apna normal hota hai—but it is not, praise be, preachy. It is here to tell us that parents and caregivers who live with youngsters with Downs (autism is also mentioned in a couple of places, which is fine because one of the youngsters in the film has Aspergers Syndrome, but in one startlingly misleading instance, a character mentions 'invisible autism': what's that?) are allergic, and rightly so, to the word 'bechaara': the need of the hour has always been acceptance, not pity. Because acceptance means taking collective responsibility for those who are 'different', not off-hand pity which can be brought out and stuffed back inside when the occasion arises. The 2007 'Taare Zameen Par' brought dyslexia into the forefront, with Aamir playing a teacher who coaxes a near-suicidal student out of the hole he's dug himself into. 'Sitaare' is a near-reprisal, but also a neat flip, in the way the teacher becomes the taught. Which is not to say that 'Sitaare' doesn't have flaws. In some parts, the explanations become a bit stage-y, even though Gurpal Singh's character brings a lovely restrained emotional core to the man who runs the remedial centre; in other bits, the humour is heavy-handed. Occasionally, the film flattens. But none of these are deal-breakers. It sticks to its middle-of-the-road story-telling without trying for any sophistication which would have been wrong for this film, and keeps drama to a minimum, or let's say as much as it can in a Bollywood film. A sub-thread, featuring Dolly Ahluwalia as Gulshan's Lajpat-Nagar-ki-mummyji and her soft spot, played by Brijendra Kala, is entertaining enough to run away with the film; it circles back to our sporty gang just in time. It's good to see Genelia d'Souza back after a gap, even though her wobbly Hindi diction distracts you from thinking of her as a Dilli girl. Aamir is the star who has done the green-lighting and the heavy-lifting and staying the course. But the young adults who try and make the most of their challenges– on a learning curve that never stops, a situation which can be both exhausting and encouraging– are the true 'sitaare' of this film: the one who dyes his hair in rainbow colours, the one who hates having baths because of a childhood trauma, the one who can look at a plane in the air and tell you which route it is flying, the one who is forced to work long hours with low wages, the one who has had a bad experience with previous coaches, the one who wears a helmet and a smart mouth, and the lone girl in this gang, who personifies feisty. Director RS Prasanna and the writers have taken the trouble to show them as real people, with feelings and thoughts, who are what they are because of an accident of an extra chromosome, not objects of pity. It is their guts and their glory. Sitaare Zameen Par Movie cast: Aamir Khan, Genelia D'Souza, Gurpal Singh, Gopi Krishna Varma, Aroush Dutta, Vedant Sharma, Naman Mishra, Rishabh Jain, Rishi Sahani, Ashish Pendse, Samvit Desai, Ayush Bhansali, Simran Mangeshkar, Dolly Ahluwalia, Brijendra Kala Sitaare Zameen Par Movie director: R S Prasanna Sitaare Zameen Par Movie rating: 3.5 stars
