Taare Zameen Par
Movie poster for Taare Zameen Par
Taare Zameen Par (Hindi:
तारे जमीन पर,
English translation: Stars on Earth) is a
2007
critically-acclaimed
Bollywood
film
directed and
produced by veteran
Indian
actor
Aamir
Khan about the struggles of a child suffering from
dyslexia.
The cast includes
Aamir
Khan in the main lead who plays the teacher of the dyslexic child played
by
Darsheel Safary. The film has music by the trio,
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy with lyrics by
Prasoon Joshi.
The film was released worldwide on
December 21, 2007.
It was declared Tax Free by the
Government of India.[1]
Plot
The film is loosely inspired by the book Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia
Polacco
Ishaan Awasthi, an eight-year old
dyslexic
child has difficulties in reading, and spelling. His world is filled with
wonders that no one else seems to appreciate; colours, fish, dogs and kites
are just not important in the world of adults, who are much more interested in
things like homework, marks and neatness. And Ishaan just cannot seem to get
anything right in class. For this, he gets punished time and again.
In contrast to this, Ishaan's elder brother, Yohaan is always at the top,
be it in sports or studies. Yohaan is supportive of his brother.
When Ishaan's academic report sinks to a level too low for his parents
(specifically his father) to bear, he is packed off to a boarding school to be
'disciplined'. Things start turning out no different at his new school though,
and Ishaan has to contend with the added trauma of separation from his family.
One day a new temporary art teacher Ram Shankar Nikumbh, played by
Aamir
Khan joins Ishan's boarding school. Nikumbh, with his characteristic
teaching style that is markedly different that his strict predecessor, soon
becomes popular among students. Nikumbh soon notices that Ishaan is unhappy,
and a non-contributor to activities in the class despite the atmosphere in the
class that actively seeks contribution from the students. He sets out to
discover why.
Nikumbh approaches his parents and tries to convince them about Ishaan's
condition. He tries to underscore that Ishaan is a perfectly normal child that
needs but a little helping hand from teachers and some patience to improve
upon his grades. To try to support this argument, Nikumbh cites to various
painting and creative works-of-art in the house that Ishaan has made, that
highlight his gifted nature and abilities. Ishaan's father remains skeptical
and continues to brood over how Ishan might fare in outside world where money
earning and not painting ability is considered important for faring well in
life. Undaunted, Nikumbh then pleads to the School principal for some
additional time and effort from School staff for boosting Ishaan's
development. The principal finally gives in with a condition that these
efforts will be limited to remaining semester and if these efforts fail, he
will not have any choice but to expel Ishaan from the school citing
underperformance.
With the Principal's assent thus secured, Nikumbh takes it upon himself to
develop and improve Ishaan's reading and writing abilities. With Nikumbh's
unique style of teaching, Ishaan soon develops interest in language and
mathematical skills to the point of mastering these skills. To jumpstart an
interest in painting and art in general, Nikumbh organizes a art fair for
staff and students alike. Ishaan, with his strikingly creative style is
declared the winner, while his teacher, Nikumbh (who paints Ishaan's portrait)
is declared the runner up.
At the end of the year, when Ishaan's parents meet the teachers, they are
speechless to see the change in Ishaan. Ishaan has an above average grades in
all of the subjects and has an commendable grade in painting. Ishaan's father
is in tears upon seeing this change, and realizes his mistake. Before leaving
for the holidays, Ishaan runs to hug his teacher who tosses him in the air.
Cast
Aamir Khan as Ram Shankar Nikumbh
Darsheel Safary as Ishaan Nandkishore Awasthi
Tisca Chopra as Maya Awasthi
Vipin Sharma as Nandkishore Awasthi
Sachet Engineer as Yohaan Awasthi
Tanay Chheda as Rajan Damodaran
Shooting Location
The film was mostly shot in
New Era High School in
Panchgani,
Maharashtra,
India. The school is run by the
Baha'is and
already implements many spiritual teachings and deal with the issues handled
in this film. Thus, the film starts with a statement that reads "Nothing
negative shown in this film should be taken as a reflection of their actual
teaching philosophies. In fact, in our experience we found both schools
extremely sensitive to children and their needs."
Music
The soundtrack of the film was released on
November
5, 2007.Composed
by
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, the film's music was well received. Joginder Tuteja
from Indiafm.com gave the music 3 ½ out of 5 stars saying,
Aamir
Khan, Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy and Prasoon Joshi make a zero compromise album
which stays honest to the film's theme and bring in as much variety as one
possibly can in the music for a film belonging to a genre different from
regular romance, action or drama.
Critical
The film was praised by several prominent film critics.[4][5][6]
Hindustan Times remarked that the film was "a must-experience for
sensitive viewers."[7]
Indiafm
awarded the movie 4 out of 5 reels saying "Taare Zameen Par isn't one of those
films that merely entertains, but also enlightens." and "On the whole, Taare
Zameen Par is an outstanding work of cinema. To miss it would be sacrilege. It
has everything it takes to win awards and box-office rewards!"[8].
Rajeev Masand of
CNN-IBN
stated that "Taare Zameen Par may change your life" giving it a positive review
and a rating of 4 out of 5.[9]
The
Times of India "recommend a mandatory viewing [of the film] for all
schools and all parents".[10]
According to
Rediff.com's
Rajan Shah Taare Zameen Par is an "earnest film" and "highly watchable".[11]
Apart from critics, Taare Zameen Par has been declared the best movie of 2007
by various Bollywood movie directors such as
Madhur Bhandarkar,
David
Dhawan,
Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra,
Anurag Basu and
Sriram Raghavan[12]
Taare Zameen Par was nominated for 14
Star Screen Awards[13]and
it won 6 awards namely Best Director (Aamir
Khan),Best Story (Amole
Gupte),Best lyrics (Prasoon
Joshi), Best supporting actor (Aamir Khan),Best Dialogue (Amole
Gupte) and Best child actor (Darsheel
Safary) making it the most awarded movie of the ceremony.[14][15]
At the same time, Derek Elley of Variety magazine has criticized the film,
calling it "devoid of real drama and interesting characters" and that "it should
have "approved by the Dyslexia Assn." stamped on the posters."
[16]
Box-office
Taare Zameen Par opened with 425 prints across India.[17]
The initial Box Office response was low[18]
but the film quickly picked up due to strong positive review from both critics &
audience.[19][20]
The Film has grossed 160 million INR in the first week of release in India
[21]Director
Aamir Khan
has posted in his official website that he's been informed by the movie
distribution team of PVR that this movie is headed for the biggest grosser of
the year, however he also added it was too early to make such claims. According
to latest figures , the movie has now made about 400m INR and is well on its way
towards 600m INR.[22]
The worldwide business of Taare Zameen Par is good. Being distributed by
UTV Motion Pictures in the international market, the film has grossed more
than $ 1.45 million in the United States and Middle East at the end of second
week. In the GULF region, the collection of Taare Zameen Par is more than $
600,000 with only 25 prints after two weeks. According to UTV Motion Picture EVP
marketing, syndicate and distribution Siddharth Roy Kapur, Taare Zameen Par will
be one of the top four Hindi films from India in the US.[23]
Guru (2007 film)
| Guru |
|---|
 Movie poster for Guru |
Guru (Hindi:
गुरू; Urdu:
گرو, Telugu:గురు;
Tamil: குரு) is a
2007 Hindi
film directed by
Mani
Ratnam. It stars
Abhishek Bachchan,
Aishwarya Rai,
R.
Madhavan,
Vidya
Balan and
Mithun Chakraborty in pivotal roles. The movie also has
Mallika Sherawat in a guest appearance. The movie was also dubbed in
Tamil and
Telugu. The film was released on
January
12, 2007, and
premièred in
Toronto,
Canada.
Production
Directed by Mani Ratnam, who penned the story and screenplay while Vijay
Krishna Acharya wrote the Hindi dialogues. Shooting for the film took place in
Mumbai,
Turkey and
Badami,
Melkote,
Karnataka,
as well as in
Chennai,
Pollachi,Madurai,
Tamil
Nadu, Athirapilly in
Kerala. The
music is composed by
A. R.
Rahman, with lyrics by
Gulzar.
Cinematography for the film is handled by
Rajiv
Menon.[1]
Guru has been described by Ratnam and others involved in the
production as a film that is reflective of a man's desire for ambition and
success, and how times have changed from the period immediately after the
country's independence to the present. Some reports have speculated that the
film is a biopic
on the life of
India's biggest
petrochemicals tycoon,
Dhirubhai Ambani. Like Guru, Ambani also had roots in Gujarat as the son
of a schoolteacher, went abroad to work for the gas company Shell, and
returned to India to import polyester. There are also differences between the
two stories. Ratnam has described Guru as inspired by stories both past
and present. Guru was an amazing story of a man who succeded in creating an
empire.
Synopsis
In a small village of Idhar in
Gujarat, a
young man dreams of making it big some day. His father (Rajendra Gupta), the
headmaster of the village school, tells him that dreams never come true. But
Gurukant Desai (Abhishek
Bachchan) never stopped dreaming.
Set in 1951,
Guru tells the story of a ruthlessly ambitious villager who moves to
Turkey first and Mumbai later with his wife Sujata (Aishwarya
Rai) and brother-in-law Jignesh (Arya
Babbar) to fulfill his dreams. "Guru" tells the story of Gurukant Desai.
In Mumbai,
truth dawns upon Guru that the business world is a closed community ruled by a
handful of rich and influential people who don't believe in giving
opportunities to new players. Despite barriers, he starts a company called
Shakti Trading and climbs the ladder of success at a furious pace.
Manik Dasgupta aka Nanaji (Mithun
Chakraborty), who publishes a newspaper Swatantra, treats Guru as his son.
But when he learns that Guru's means to make it big are not right, he along
with a reporter of his newspaper, Shyam (Madhavan),
decide to expose Guru's unjust ways.
Historical Similarities
In the film
Abhishek Bachchan portrays Gurukant Desai, who resembles
Dhirubhai Ambani, the owner of Reliance India. Dhirubhai traveled to Yemen
in his early years to work; In the film, Gurubhai travels to Turkey to escape
his father's criticism.
Historically, the media war waged against Dhirubhai Ambani was fought by
Ramnath Goenka's newspaper
The Indian Express. In the film, the paper is named the Swatantra Samachar,
and is headed by Manik Das Gupta (Mithun
Chakraborty). The reporter portrayed by
Madhavan's Shyam Saxena resembles
S.
Gurumurthy.
Another image that resonates historically are the Contractors mentioned in
the film, who closely resemble the
Wadias. The
younger Contractor shares similarities with
Nusli
Wadia.
Cast
The cast of Guru.
Abhishek Bachchan as ... Gurukant Desai
Aishwarya Rai as ... Sujata Desai
R. Madhavan as ... Shyam Saxena
Vidya Balan as ... Meenakshi 'Meenu' Saxena
Mithun Chakraborty as ... Manik Dasgupta
Arya Babbar as ... Jignesh
Roshan Seth as ... Judge
Mallika Sherawat as ... Jumpa (Guest appearance)
Characters
Below is a vignette of each character in the film :
- Gurukant Desai - Guru Kant Desai, simply called as Guru, belonged
to a small village called Idhar situated in Gujarat. Coming from a humble
background which comprising a headmaster father, he was always taught to be
content with what one has got rather than aspiring for something that may
not be achievable by any means, whether it is materialistic or
non-materialistic. But Guru had different plans. He wanted it all. So
whether it was dreams, house or a village to live in, Guru always dreamt of
something bigger. And all this since he was confident that he had it in him
to achieve that, especially with a belief that he was the one who would be
writing his own destiny. And soon a simple villager was en route to be one
of the biggest visionary ever.
- Sujata - Sujata was at one point of time, hesitant to marry Guru
but it was a matter of time when she fell in love with him after being
together as a couple in a one-room chawl. Her relationship with him became
so strong over the years that regardless of what others had to say about
him, for her Guru was the one who stood for love. In the end, she was his
pillar of strength, providing him utmost support and courage to face life.
- Manik Dasgupta (Nanaji) - Nananji ran a newspaper called
Swathantra and years back was pretty impressed with the kind of fire that he
could feel within Guru. He knew that Guru was a young lad who had it in him
to be successful and though his walk towards his destination seemed too
fast, he attributed it to his young blood. He was warned about some of
Guru's so-called evil ways but for Nananji, Guru was spotless until he
realized the truth. And now he wanted to fight to bring it to fore for all
to see. Even if it threatens to destroy Guru or even himself.
- Shyam Saxena - The same realization that had struck Nanaji struck
Shyam too who didn't really have much love lost for Guru due to the way he
worked and wanted him to be punished for his unethical and materialistic
ways and along with Nanaji, he began publishing exposé's on Guru, revealing
the truth behind the success of his business. According to Shyam, Guru had
flirted with the law and the lawmakers, doing anything and everything to
enhance his business, even if it did cross the law.
- Meenu - Meenu is a young woman who limped, due to suffering from
multiple sclerosis, and is wheelchair-bound. From her childhood, she had
been extremely attached to Guru. Although Nanaji and Shyam were always being
critical of him, questioning his ways, for Meenu, he was the man to be
respected and admired since he was the only one who never asked her about
her handicap and loved her unconditonally.
Music
| Guru |
|---|
 |
Studio album by A. R. Rahman |
The soundtrack was released in
November 18, 2006.
Guru, a musical by nature, has music composed by
A. R.
Rahman with lyrics provided by
Gulzar. Like
many of Rahman's soundtracks, Guru comes with a variety of songs. The
music and lyrics met popularity upon release. The songs vary in their musical
style, from the
Turkish inspired Mayya Mayya to the
folk-ish
Ek Lo Ek Muft and the love ballad, Tere Bina.
When out on a concert in
Hong Kong,
Rahman bought with him an
accordion,
which can be heard through out the whole soundtrack. The song Tere Bina
is dedicated to the memory of Pakistani qawwali maestro
Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan since it was his 10th death
anniversary.[2]
Rahman had also tuned Ay Hairathe to the lyrics of Hazrat Amir Khushroo
Ay Sarbathe Aashiqui which Gulzar had modified. Rahman had also
personally trained
Lebanese
singer
Maryem Tollar to sing Mayya, a song which was born when Rahman went
for the Hajj in
Makkah,
hearing a man near a river who kept on saying "mayya mayya mayya"
(water in Arab).
Intrigued by how
Indian the word sounded, he told Gulzar to incorporate the word into the
tune he had created while touring in
Toronto,
Canada.[2]
The soundtrack has proved a success, staying at the number one spot
thirteen weeks after its release, despite receiving stiff competition from
other albums released.[3]
The song Shauk Hai has been used in the movie, but was not released
on the audio CD.
The soundtrack release of Guru also incorporated bonus tracks from
Rahman's other albums
Rang De Basanti,
Lagaan,
Kisna,
Zubeidaa
and Meenaxi.
Track listing
- "Barso Re" (Shreya
Ghoshal & Uday Mazumdar) - 5:29 - "Tere Bina" (A.
R. Rahman, Murtuza Khan, Quadir Khan &
Chinmayee)
- 5:09 - "Ek Lo Ek Muft" (Bappi
Lahiri &
Chitra Sivaraman) - 4:58 - "Mayya" (Maryem
Tollar,
Chinmayee
& Keerthi,
Devika Mathur - Dialect Coach) - 6:02 - "Ay Hairathe" (Hariharan
&
Alka Yagnik) - 6:09 - "Baazi Laga" (Udit
Narayan,
Madhushree, Shweta & Bhargavi Pillai) - 4:59 - "Jaage Hain" (K.
S. Chithra,
A.
R. Rahman & Madras Chorale Group) - 6:33 - "Shauk Hai" (Sowmya
Raoh) - 4:32 - "Dhoom Dhamaka" (Chorus)
Response
Box office
Guru struck a hit at the box office. Guru opened well upon
release, gaining momentum as the days went by.[4]
In the
United States, Guru, opening on a limited release, registered very
good collections in its opening weekend, fetching 3
crores during
this period, with a very high screen average.[5]
By its seventh week, the film has netted 41.65
crores in
India,[6]
collecting 13
crores in the U.S. and the
U.K..[7]
As of 23rd February 2007 the Abhishek Bachchan-Aishwarya Rai-Mithun
Chakraborty starrer, released Jan 12, has grossed approximately Rs.800 million
across the country.[8]
Reviews
Guru has generally received good reviews.
The New York Times called the film an "epic paean to can-do spirit."[9]
The New York Post gave it three out of four stars, and the
Los Angeles Weekly called it the best Hindi film since
Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India.[10]
Richard Corliss of
TIME Magazine compared the film to
Frank
Capra's
It's a Wonderful Life and said that one of the main highlights of the
film was its climax. He further noted "For movies to celebrate an entrepreneur
is rare..."[11]
Taran Adarsh of IndiaFM.com claimed in his review that "Guru ranks as
one of
Mani Ratnam's finest efforts and one of the best to come out of Hindi
cinema,"[12]
but also claimed there were "under developed characterisations of Shyam Saxena
and Meenu", played by
R.
Madhavan and
Vidya
Balan respectively. Praising both the actors for their performances in the
film, he added "Madhavan's role could have been stronger and Vidya Balan also
suffers due to a weak characterisation", something Raja Sen of Rediff.com
agreed with.[13]
Sen also said that "the point in the end when Gurukant Desai vociferously
likens himself and his fight for more to
Mahatma Gandhi's freedom struggle was ridiculous." Khalid Mohammad
questioned what he viewed as the message at the end, asking "as long as public
welfare is on the agenda, it doesn’t matter if you use bribes and cross legal
limits?."[14]
Abhishek Bachchan received almost unanimous praise for his performance
whil
Aishwarya Rai also garnered good feedback.
Life in a... Metro
| Life In A... Metro |
|---|
 Movie poster for Metro |
Life In A... Metro is a
Hindi language film directed by
Anurag Basu. It stars
Shilpa Shetty,
Kay
Kay Menon,
Konkona Sen Sharma,
Sharman Joshi,
Shiney Ahuja,
Kangana Ranaut and
Irfan
Khan in pivotal roles. The music is composed by
Pritam with
lyrics by Sayeed Quadri. The film was released on
May 11,
2007
[1]. The film narrates the
individual lives of seven people living in
Mumbai
[2].
Parts of the film, played by
Sharman Joshi,
Kangna Ranaut &
Kay
Kay Menon, are inspired by the 1960 Hollywood film
The
Apartment
Rahul (Sharman
Joshi) is one such young man with dreams, working as a call center
executive in a
BPO in Mumbai. He silently loves Neha (Kangana
Ranaut), a smart young woman who has made it up the ranks in a very short
time. Hard work is not her only secret. She has done it only because her boss,
Ranjeet loves her and is willing to shower her with gifts and opportunities,
only if she is willing.
In his 30s, Ranjeet (Kay
Kay Menon) is married to Shikha (Shilpa
Shetty) with a 6 year old daughter. Shikha is very well educated and was a
better student than Ranjeet. She is also a talented dancer. They decided that
she should stay back at home and take care of the house and the kid. So
Ranjeet ventured out on his quest for money and success and forgot his family
somewhere on the way. Bitterness and boredom crept into their relationship.
Soon, he found solace and a fresh lease on life in Neha.
Neglected by an indifferent husband and bogged down by family chores,
Shikha is soon attracted to a maverick Akash. A loser and a rebel without a
cause, Akash (Shiney
Ahuja) is a struggling theatre artist whose wife divorces him because she
cannot stand his failures anymore. Akash and Shikha's love blossoms and she
almost crosses her limits that she has so fervently guarded all these years.
Amol (Dharmendra)
is a 70 year old man who has returned to India after 40 years to spend last
few years of his life with his first love, Shivani (Nafisa
Ali). This lady, who is Shikha's dance teacher, lives in an old age home
and gives moral strength to Shikha.
Shikha's sister and Neha's room-mate, Shruti (Konkona
Sen Sharma) works in at
Radio
Mirchi as a producer. She is a virgin at the age of 28 and is desperate to
get married. She is dreamy eyed about her RJ, Wishy K. Her boss hooks her up
with Wishy K. She also meets Monty (Irfan
Khan) through a matrimonial site, but she is unimpressed by the
straight-forward and socially inept Monty. When Monty stares at her, she is
incensed. Monty however, likes her and is ready to marry her. Her affair with
Wishy K blossoms.
Rahul devises a novel strategy to step up the ladder of success. Most of
the men in his office look for places to take their mistresses, girlfriends or
prostitutes. He provides the perfect place to release their libido. His
apartment. The cost? A recommendation for his out of turn promotion. Even
Ranjeet gets the key and takes Neha to the apartment.
Amidst one of their escapades Neha asks Ranjeet about their future. A
commitment? Ranjeet makes it clear that she should not even think of a
commitment. He insults her and leaves. She tries to commit suicide. Rahul
discovers her in his apartment and takes care of her. They share some loving
moments, come closer but still she's unsure about him.
Shruti discovers that Wishy K is gay. She leaves the job and joins a new
job where she meets Monty. Slowly, she sees the warm and caring person that
Monty is and falls in love with him. She proposes to Monty at his wedding.
Meanwhile the cat is let out of the bag when Shruti comes to know about
Ranjeet and Neha. Ranjeet panics and confessed to Shikha about his
relationship with Neha. An already guilt-stricken Shikha cannot hold it in any
longer and tells him about her affair with Akash. Ironically, Ranjeet is
shocked and angry, and decides to leave his wife. Shivani dies. Amol regrets
the decision to leave Shivani 40 years back, stressing the importance of love
to Shikha and Shruti. Meanwhile Akash decides to leave the country and invites
Shikha to join him. On the other hand, Rahul is disillusioned with the way the
metro has treated him and takes the bold step of resigning and decides to
leave town. Neha realizes that Rahul really loves her, and chases him to the
station. When Neha leaves Ranjeet, he immediately switches tracks and returns
to Shikha, who is just about to leave for the station to see Akash.
Neha chases Rahul. Monty chases Shruti. Shikha comes to the station but
evidently not to accompany Akash. She wishes him good luck, tells him that she
will miss him, and goes back home, back to Ranjeet. They all meet or cross
each other at the railway station. And go ahead on their own paths. With lives
they wanted. Or whatever the metro had destined for them.
While the credits roll, we are shown that Akash still roams the streets of
Mumbai, probably looking for a job. Shikha sees him and seems to have feelings
for him, but has chosen her daughter's happiness over her own. Amol is leading
the remainder of his life missing Shivani, but he realizes that he will always
have the sweet moments that he and Shivani had together. Rahul has finally
fulfilled his father's dream of owning a restaurant and is living happily with
Neha. Shruti and Monty are happily married and have a kid- Monty's eye still
wanders but Shruti has learnt to take it it in her stride.
Cast
Music
Life In A... Metro |
|---|
|
Studio album by Pritam Chakraborty |
The soundtrack was released in
March 27,
2007. Life In
A... Metro, a musical by nature, has music composed by
Pritam Chakraborty with lyrics provided by Sayeed Quadri. Composed by
Pritam, the music is considered to be special since for the first time
ever in a
Bollywood film,
a rock band led by Pritam would play at important junctures in the film and
take the story forward. The entire music score in Metro is heavily
rock-oriented. The four-member band along with Pritam, also included Suhail
Kaul, Soham Chakraborty and
Bangladeshi singer
James (Faruk Mahfuz Anam).
The soundtrack has proved a success, debuting at the number one spot a week
after its release, despite receiving stiff competition from other albums
released.
Controversy
In the song "In Dino" line, 'Hai tujhe bhi ijazat, karle tu bhi mohobbat'
is sung exactly like a the line from a song
Mera Naam Hai Mohabbat by Pakistani singer
Waqar Ali.
That song is in the album by the same name, released in 2001.
[3]. In addition, the song "O
Meri Jaan" begins with a guitar plucking that some fans consider a rip off of
Queenryche's "silent lucidity".
