There are more, many more like me....

....many, many, many more like me.

...Chadne ko khula Aasman...
...Aur badhne ko mera jahaan

...Bachpan ke din chaar
Na aayenge baar baar...

Jee lene do inko zindagi ( I changed it, yes.)

These are the lines I still remember and they just got registered when I was watching the movie, Taare Zameen Par. Yes, I succumbed, thanks to numerous SMSes, midnight conversations, phone calls and blog posts. So, here I am doing what most of the world did. Bunked office, watched the movie, and now am writing about it, while listening to the soundtrack. Now, this is history. For those who know me, know that I'm not much of a music buff. I do not come home and immediately look for music on my computer or something. Or, for that matter, watch almost every flick that comes into town. Now, isn't it obvious what am going to say? Oh, the subject was treated sensitively, the kid was cute, the music is pleasing on the ears, good effort by Aamir Khan, good debut.....ya, all that and a lot of those little things which made the movie special and true- to-life for me.

Be it the nose picking and 'flicking' it off his nails, Tisca's "Concentrate, beta, concentrate," "Isme kya faayda hai "(I can imagine what else they will say to an 'artistically' talented kid, when people said that to me, when I decided on doing an MA in English), the English teacher's accent, the horrible Maths paper (I stared at my Maths paper all the time, without dyslexia, and I certainly did not have the imagination to take off in space, either), the kid's grin when he says, 'Bindaas,' the father (OMG, so true :P, actually no.), the brother's love (Hmm...I could have done without my sis crying every time I did badly in Maths :)), the art work, the chuski painting (thanks Kraz), the chuski (I remember we had something like that during school outside the school compound) , the final painting that the kid wins the prize for, Aamir's painting in the end...the fact that when they showed him standing on the terrace in his boarding school, it almost seemed like he was a pillar on the railing, just a little different, his fear (instead of delight or surprise) when he won the prize, or, when he comes running to hug his dad who comes back, and the father-son camaraderie, or the anger when the other fat, junk-food eating kid accuses him of tearing his shirt, or that super flip book :), or the abandon with which he picks fleas off that dog's ears :). I liked it all. I can go on and on and on...

For someone who is always out for 'action items,' I totally loved the way Aamir 'teaches' him. The way he teaches Maths with the help of stairs, the slow progress with 8, the words
(reminded me of Helen Keller), the art contest (such a super cool idea, I say), the way he convinced the parents and the principal. No big 'I will change the world' promises, considering he is a Hindi movie A grade star. The fact that he makes it clear that all teachers need to spend time with the kid is true, and that it was shown like that, is laudable. I liked the music too. The 'Ma' song is sooooooo true :) It is so true, for a bold, confident, 'seen the world' person that I claim to be. That goes to my dad too, actually.

I totally loved the kid, and the fact that they showed his kiddish brilliance, and NOT in a super hero/brilliance way, or show that he suddenly shows interest in studies, or Art for that matter thanks to Aamir Khan, a hero's entry into the movie/his life, or did not show him 'retarded,' which is so different from dyslexia. Something that Hindi movies always make a mistake with. Ideally, they'd show 'such' a kid throwing tantrums, shaking his or her head (remember, Black? I loved that movie, though). This movie shows his childish anger. That expression when his mom tells him that his dad is not going to leave home but is actually going on a business trip is priceless. I so wanted a kid like him at that moment! Even his brother, I thought I did not want to be like him, and thanked God for making me less than perfect :), but hey, he turned out to be nice, much like my sisters who are proud of me today (hey, aren't you?)

However, I am not sure if kids in school are as rude and as heartless as the kids in Ishaan's day school. The kids in his boarding school seemed normal! It is true that children do make of fun of other kids, but not in a hurting way. We do not always call our friends, duffers! But well, it is a predictable movie, as one of my friends pointed out. I like predictable movies, they give some hope no?

Hey, I forgot! Thanks Amma and Appa, for not screaming at me or calling me an idiot when I scored 9 in Maths :) Or, when I cried and cried that I will fail in my Kannada test in Class 4, thanks for talking to me all night, Appa on the steps of Ideal Coffee Works. I dunno, if you know :), but that talk stands me in stead to date. I am so glad you guys did not hanker after my marks or, for that matter, think that I should be good at Art. I cannot draw a straight line with a scale even now! :P

Oh oh, I won a contest at RadioCity 91 FM. Ya, ya, whatte fun! And guess what the prize is! Yes, it is 2 tickets to PVR Cinema. Hmm...so now is it going to be TZP again? And now I know Indian media will totally wake up and have these 'We the People' kind of sessions with doctors who've dealt with Dyslexia, or kids who've had it (Believe me, Abhishek Bachchan and Aamir Khan are sure shot guests!), Or, they may even bring Hrithik Roshan, who I believe used to stammer as a kid and wasn't a confident boy at all. Now, now, isn't this super? So much money to make, so many ads, all the parents will watch it, all the kids will watch it, teachers too. So, ya, why not show them the movie? Haan?

Yes, I think all schools should arrange for an outing for the next Parents and Teachers Association Meet, and take them all for Taare Zameen Par.

P.S. On another note, Benazir Bhutto's death left me lost, wild and angry with the world I live in. If movies like this give me hope, incidents like the suicide bombing make me want to tear my hair and just scream. Back to ground reality, far far away from the fish, and the space journey, I guess :( Keep at it, there will be peace, for you and me, and we will be the ones to bring it back. Amen.