Latest news with #Gulshan
Mint
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Mint
‘Sitaare Zameen Par' review: More life lessons from Aamir Khan
What might Aamir Khan's last decade-and-a-half have been like had he not done 3 Idiots? I'd imagine his fans, and maybe the man himself, would look at the 2009 film as a positive turning point. It was, after all, a wild success, one that set Khan up for other, even more successful films in the same vein. He was already gravitating towards morally instructive projects; Taare Zameen Par (2007), his first as director, was about a gifted dyslexic child. But 3 Idiots showed how happy audiences were to be lectured at if you made yourself look silly and made them feel smart. Always tagged as a 'thinking actor', Khan now seemed determined to make audiences think, even if his films often did the thinking for them. Sitaare Zameen Par might be the purest example yet of an Aamir Khan Life Lessons Film. There's barely a scene in its 158 minutes that doesn't lend itself to a teachable moment. Like in Dangal (2016), Khan assumes the role of uninformed grump who will eventually see the light. Every wrongheaded thing said by basketball coach Gulshan about people with learning disabilities is brought up later and turned into sagely advice. If you like being explained things like you're a seven-year-old, this is the film for you. Freshly fired from his job for punching another coach, Gulshan is arrested for drunk driving. The judge hearing his case spares him a jail sentence in lieu of community service as the coach of a team of youngsters with various learning disabilities, from Down syndrome to invisible autism (the team-members are all played by differently abled actors). Gulshan is blithely insensitive to begin with, referring to his charges as 'mental' and 'abnormal'. This prompts the first of many, many lectures, with the school's owner, Kartar (the winsome Gurpal Singh), patiently explaining how everyone has their own level of normal. Sitaare Zameen Par is a remake of the 2018 Spanish film Champions, which has already been adapted in Saudi Arabia, Germany and USA (as a Woody Harrelson film). Director R.S. Prasanna and writer Divy Nidhi Sharma don't just retain the broad beats of the original, they reuse specific jokes, actions, scenes verbatim, from a wayward throw that knocks down a tube light to a mouse rescue that helps overcome a fear of bathing. Some of the borrowings are done without a thought as to whether they'd work here. In the Spanish film, one of the players has a girlfriend who might be a sex worker. The gag fails miserably in Sitaare, both because the character is younger and because it feels like cheap bait to have the word 'prostitute' repeated for laughs in an Indian film (it's like a version of the 'balaatkar' gag in 3 Idiots). Prasanna made the sparkling Shubh Mangal Saavdhan (and its Tamil original, Kalyana Samayal Saadham), but is entirely subsumed by Khan's desire to educate and edify. He may as well be a hired hand on an episode of Satyamev Jayate, the widely watched social reform documentary series that Khan hosted in the early 2010s. There's a base level of professionalism here, but I'd rather see a trainwreck than another brightly lit, boringly staged, generically scored Hindi film. When Gulshan's not being lectured by Kartar or his mother (Dolly Ahluwalia), his wife (Genelia Deshmukh) shows up to criticise and improve him (they're separated because he doesn't want to have children). He slowly becomes more empathetic, guiding the team through a special needs national basketball tournament. On the bus back from Chandigarh, they're heckled by unsympathetic passengers: again, a scene lifted almost word for word from the original, but without rhythm or wit. That Khan, who had a deserved reputation for pushing original material, has now made two films in a row without an original bone in their body, is both depressing and indicative of where Hindi cinema is today. He is, of course, responsible for his own choices, but I also blame 3 Idiots. Most people are ruined by failure. Aamir Khan was ruined by success.
Pink Villa
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Pink Villa
Sitaare Zameen Par Ending Explained: What happens in the climax of Aamir Khan and Genelia Deshmukh's sports dramedy?
Disclaimer: SPOILERS AHEAD Sitaare Zameen Par, directed by RS Prasanna and starring Aamir Khan, Genelia Deshmukh and a bunch of other wonderful actors is now playing in theatres. The movie revolves around basketball coach Gulshan, who is ordered to train a group of specially-abled children for the National Basketball Championship after he is found to be guilty in a drunk and drive case. Now that the premise of the film is clear, Pinkvilla is here to explain the movie's ending Climax Of Sitaare Zameen Par Explained The climax is set during the National Basketball Championship finals. Gulshan, who wasn't keen on coaching kids who need special attention, has trained his team of autistic children for four months. They've worked hard and reached the finals. Everyone believes they'll win the trophy. The match is super tight. Both teams play equally well, keeping the audience on edge. With just 20 seconds left, Gulshan's team needs one basket to win. Kareem (Samvit Desai), a key player, has been practicing a stylish trick shot for months. Instead of going for a simple shot to secure the win, Kareem tries his fancy move. Sadly, he misses. The clock runs out, and Gulshan's team loses. They finish second. You'd expect the team to be heartbroken, but something beautiful happens. While Gulshan feels disappointed, the kids are celebrating with the winning team. A confused Gulshan asks one of the players about why they're happy despite losing. The child answers that they have 'won' the second place. This moment hits hard. The kids don't see the loss as failure. They're proud of their achievement. In a heartwarming scene, Gulshan's team even guides the winners to the podium and congratulates them. The lesson of sportsmanship is taught to Gulshan by his own team. Sitaare Zameen Par Is Now Playing In Theatres Sitaare Zameen Par Post-Climax Scenes The film then moves to a surprising and sweet moment. Preeto (Dolly Ahluwalia) and Daulat (Brijendra Kala) get married. This is a twist that no one saw coming. During the wedding, we learn Sunita (Genelia Deshmukh) is pregnant with Gulshan's child. Gulshan, who never wanted kids, has changed over the four months. Training these children showed him what was missing in his life. He realizes that life is about love, connection, and growth. As the story wraps up, it's time for Gulshan to leave. After four months of bonding with the kids, he can't bear to say goodbye. He plans to sneak away without showing up on the last day. The kids wonder too if their coach will come to bid farewell. In an emotional twist, Gulshan does show up. The farewell is emotional. The bond between Gulshan and his team is clear. Hugs, tears, and smiles fill the scene as they bid eachother goodbye. What Sitaare Zameen Par Means Spiritually Sitaare Zameen Par ends with a powerful message. No one is specially-abled. Everyone is just finding their own normal. The film shows that winning isn't always about trophies. It's about growth, acceptance, and celebrating every step forward. The kids' joy in coming second teaches us to find happiness in every moment. Gulshan's transformation from a reluctant coach to a man who embraces fatherhood shows how life's challenges can change us for the better. If you haven't watched Sitaare Zameen Par yer, you can watch it in theatres now.
The Hindu
8 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
NDTV
10 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.
India.com
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- India.com
Sitare Zameen Par movie review: Aamir Khan and his ‘sitare' shine in this perfectly balanced comic-emotional ride
Sitaare Zameen Par review: Aamir Khan's one of the most anticipated films of this year, Sitaare Zameen Par , has finally hit the big screens, which introduces 10 actors with disabilities, who have down-syndrome. The film is based on a failed basketball coach whose rude behaviour lands him in trouble, for which he was sent to teach Basketball to these specially abled folks who are normal for themselves (like the tagline says 'sabka apna apna normal' ) but not for the coach. Later, the story delves into emotional depth along with the essence of humour and a life lesson that perfectly summarises the quote, 'Every catastrophe is also an opportunity.' The Plot Gulshan Arora (played by Aamir Khan ) is a junior basketball coach who is notorious for his arrogant behaviour, especially around those who are close to him. The starting shot of the film establishes Gulshan and his problem as he has to face trolling due to his short height, which lands him in big trouble. After getting expelled from the Basketball Academy, he is also charged in drinking and driving case. Later, Gulshan is assigned to a sports academy to train students who are specially-abled, to fulfill his community service instead of going to jail. Upon agreeing to coach them and reach the Basketball Championship Finals, Sunil (Ashish Pendse), Satbir (Aroush Datta), Lotus (Aayush Bhansali), Sharma Ji (Rishi Shahani), Guddu (GopiKrishnan K Verma), Raju (Rishabh Jain), Bantu (Vedant Sharma), Golu (Simran Mangeshkar), Kareem (Samvit Desai) and Hargovind (Naman Misra) ultimately impart to him the essence of individuality within a lesson of teaching him what is normal, along with a lesson that completely changes him as a human being. The Performances This film is not an Aamir Khan film; it's more like a film that is dependent on the new-age talent that has been given a perfect space and limelight to showcase themselves and their potential to the cinema lovers, as every character tries to portray its generic emotions in the purest form. What makes the film set apart from other stories, is that the characters are not presented sympathetically. But, it delves into the portrayal of normal human beings who just have to function the same in their special ways. Aamir Khan's character has its side and nature, a guy who hails from Delhi and has a short temper just because people mock him for his height, and this is why he is rude to others, but the change that comes later truly shows why Khan is known as Mr. Perfectionist of the cinema. While watching him on the big screen, he does not make you feel his star power, but a man who has kept himself as a child in front of other grown-ups. The supporting actors including Dolly Ahluwalia , Brijendra Kala and Gurpal Singh completely shine in their forms, where Dolly and Brijendra's comical timings will make you laugh with joy, Gurpal's kindness and teachings will make you stay with the kids and with their beautiful lives that do not convert into struggle but a sense of living. Genelia Deshmukh (Sunita) lights up the screen with her presence as she manages to pull off without being too dramatic, which makes it into a compelling narrative. Despite becoming a mother to each one of them, Genelia plays the role of a companion and a strong pillar for Gulshan in his messed-up life while fighting her own battles. Music And Background Scores It has always remained constant in an Aamir Khan cinema that quality and choices of music will never be compromised. It stays the same with Sitaare Zameen Par because the background scores done by Ram Sampath are so beautifully transitioned that will keep you hooked with the film. All four songs, including Good For Nothing, Sar Aankhon, Sitaare Zameen Par and Shubh Mangalam , portray different stories that do not look like forced or pushed scenes to make it commercially relevant, especially when it has been done by stalwarts of the music industry such as Shankar Ehsaan Loy and Amitabh Bhattacharya. Cinematography and Editing The cinematography and editing were handled by G Srinivas Reddy and Charu Shree Roy, who have been associated with projects like Lipstick Under My Burkha, Chhichhore, and Haraamkhor. Know how to blend the perfect mix of colour and black screens so as not to make it look like a forced jump between sequences. The colour grading and shots have been so beautifully synced that it will make you fall in love with each sequence, especially the interval block and climax sequence, which makes it a clap-worthy moment and hands down one of the finest in Bollywood. What Works For Sitaare Zameen Par As some of you may know this film is an Indian adapted version of the 2018 Spanish film Campeones and while watching it you may feel like you are looking at it as a copy-paste, but that's not the case because the way it has been beautifully helmed and written by RS Prasanna and Divy Nidhi Sharma. Sitaare Zameen Par and team clearly hits out the ball out of the park for its engaging and hard-hitting screenplay with a special message and lines that stays with you 'Basketball Sikhaane Aaya Tha, Insaaniyat Seekh Ke Jaa Raha'. Final Verdict Overall, Sitaare Zameen Par is a true example of how one should deal with sensitive topics such as Down syndrome. While some try to make a mockery of such subjects, this film does not just keep its focus on the characters but also gives a life lesson. This film is a typical Aamir Khan-style film that perfectly balances humour and emotions and does not feel like a forced sequel at all ; instead raises the bar high for its remarkable legacy. Rating- 4 /5
