MovieChat Forums > Taare Zameen Par (2007) Discussion > Good and made with noble intentions, but...

Good and made with noble intentions, but...

posted 14 years ago by iamsherlocked
9 replies | jump to latest

To begin with, i liked TZP, and was one of the best films of 2007.

But hyping it as a classic, deserves oscar etc is too hard to digest.. The film's first 15 minutes was bloody brilliant, and I almost doubted whether I was seeing a bollywood film..! And then the film falters..

Flaws of the film:
1) Aamir's entry with that joker costume and dance.. Was not at all necessary...
2) A little bit melodramatic
3) Unidimensional and over the top characterisation.. For eg: Either the teachers are sooo mean like the hindi teacher, or sooo nice with students (Aamir)
4) Aamir's entry as a messiah who provides salvation to the kid.. Not only that, notice the scene in the title song where aamir buys biscuits to a chaiwala kid with ragged dresses.. Gosh.. WHY????
5.) A movie that criticizes rat race culture showing Ishaan winning against 100's of participants..!
6.) Aamir with bloodshot and teary eyes in many scenes..
7.) His elder brother being brilliant in everything (tennis, exams.. gosh..!)

I know these flaws are not big, they can be ignored, but this post is just for who cries out loud for oscars and calling it a classic.. Couldn't refrain from posting this.. Every good movie is not a CLASSIC!

[–] konam 14 years ago

You've got some good points there.

BUT, if you search on the other movies of 2007 they'll probably have a bunch of mistakes too. And in the end, they probably wont be as moving as TZ

I, too, thought that it was a bit over the top at moments, and it should have been trimmed here and there (the joker dancing scenes comes to mind). But I'm satisfied with the movie nonetherless and it certainly should have been a big candidate for 2007's.

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[–] iamsherlocked 14 years ago

Thanks for replying mate, yeah these are flaws which really bothered me.. Obviously pretty good movie, but I wonder how this movie is 'Brilliant'..

And whats up with that other movies released in 2007? Which movies are you talkin abt?

[–] bsharporflat 14 years ago

Watching this movie from a Western, euro-centric point of view I agree with QTR that the movie is overly melodramatic, unsubtle and cartoonish. But, this movie was not made with me in mind as an audience member. It was meant to be watched and appreciated by Indians.

I think it is important as a "guest" to be aware and understanding of cultural differences and not assume all others have the same sense of "good taste" that your own culture espouses.

[–] rack_focus 13 years ago

Just to preface, I'm an American and I just started watching more serious Indian films. I lived in Saudi Arabia and all of the workers on my compound were from India, so I remember watching the really cheesy Bollywood films with them.

1) I saw that as a Tarantinoesque homage to Bollywood films. And Aamir Khan shaking his butt is never a bad thing.

3) With the exception of the female teacher in his old school, the other teachers weren't mean...they just didn't get it. Most of them changed by the end.

4. True. I don't remember that scene though. But I agree that Ram was too perfect.

7. That's usually pretty accurate. Though not always the oldest child, there is usually one sibling better at everything. I was the one who was great in school, while it was my older brother who was the "bad" one.

I thought it was a good movie, but could have benefited from some tweaking. Good music, though.

[–] iamsherlocked 13 years ago

With the exception of the female teacher in his old school, the other teachers weren't mean...they just didn't get it. Most of them changed by the end.

Well, in that case, even the female teacher wasn't mean at all. Their first drawing teacher was mean, the Hindi teacher was mean, etc. Most of them changing by the end makes no sense either, if that indeed is true.

That's usually pretty accurate. Though not always the oldest child, there is usually one sibling better at everything. I was the one who was great in school, while it was my older brother who was the "bad" one.

Even if I ignore your hasty generalization, the way shown in the movie was exaggerated. Excel in sports, studies, and what not - seriously?

I agree, music was damn good

[–] gmansi 13 years ago

"1) Aamir's entry with that joker costume and dance.. Was not at all necessary... "
yes and yes and yes!!!

"5.) A movie that criticizes rat race culture showing Ishaan winning against 100's of participants..!"

Another great mistake of the movie

[–] rosine-528-829866 11 years ago

"5.) A movie that criticizes rat race culture showing Ishaan winning against 100's of participants..!"

Another great mistake of the movie

I didn't find this very logical either but I blamed it on Bollywood culture.

You know these typical Bollywood endings, like villains repenting unrealistically spectacularly (like in Mohabbatein or here to a lesser extent Ishaan's father) or, like here, big public contests in the end that the hero(es), of course, win (like in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi or Lagaan).

I think that's just Bollywood tradition and it's just a way of expressing that Ishaan is now recognized by the entire school as a worthy person.

[–] gmansi 11 years ago

Hello rosine, thanks for the info.

For me this one was the first Bollywood movie I ever watched.

[–] andy-todd-1 11 years ago

To me, the BRILLIANT part of this movie was how it so clearly (and emotionally) evoked the message that some children simply are not made to excel in the modern education/rat-race culture, and so many of us fail to recognize or even look for the gifts 'different', or simply non-excelling children, may have.

Sure, there was some exaggeration and melodrama - as in almost all films. But was Ram the teacher any less perfectly-scripted than Sidney Poitier's teacher in To Sir With Love, Tom Hank's innocent inmate in Shawshank, Pacino's calculating Godfather? Some of the Indian-type theatrics didn't do much for me (I'm American), but many of the lyrics of the songs supported or added to the theme.

IMHO, the message (all kids are like stars on earth - let them shine) in TZP, and the way it was delivered, is so superior to whatever you're supposed to get out of films like Dark Knight, Memento, Kill Bill - even Shawshank, it may indeed deserve Classic status in the way Its a Wonderful Life, Elephant Man or Mary Poppins does (to name a few sometimes over the top films with universally life-affirming messages).

So I can see this as a brilliant film, and deserving of classic status, but its probably not for everyone, especially if one can't get past the Indian-ness (I'm still working on getting past Ram's intro).