Every child is special.....

Here it is, late at night, before a working day... but I feel it is fitting that I put up this post before Santa's sleigh reaches the North pole after delivering joy to kids all over the world...

I saw Taare Zameen Par on friday, a yet another first day movie opportunity which surprisingly I have gotten only here in the US and never back home... I knew the movie would be good... Aamir Khan isn't my favourite actor, but his movies are something I enjoy... I liked a couple of tracks in the music album, and the general consensus with the music review was that it will hit you and grow into you once you see the picturisation and the essence of the track during the film. Come Friday and the nature of reviews I read from back home were a little different from a Hindi film's perspective.. one reviewer put it as a must watch for kids, parents and teachers, a lesson for life, said the other. Ofcourse performances were praised, but I somewhere felt the movie on the whole got caught on to these folks.

At 10 PM on Friday, as I sat sunk in my seat and covered my well-watered eyes with my palm before joining the audience in an ovation, I realised that this wasn't a movie experience I had ever had before. I love going to movies for masala entertainment and popcorn, but if there is a message in a movie and if it can be brought out this well, its worth what we call cinema. Again, I won't dwell too much into the actual dynamics of the movie itself, go watch it yourself, go watch it for the kids who've acted in it, go watch it for the happiness in the eyes of those parents of differently abled children when they watch their kids perform on stage. I find it extremely difficult to see suffering, so much so, that it deters me from going forward to help someone who is... I'd rather deflect it away from the person before he/she has to endure it in the first place.

Why this movie left such an indelible impact on me was because the way it showcased so many small things which we undergo on a regular basis, but are oblivious to its nitty gritty's because we are performing a chore and a responsibility. I came up through the education system in India where the emphasis was solely on studying, doing well and becoming something.. that something was invariably a doctor, engineer or CA.... I went through the process, excelled at most times, stumbled sometimes, but came out as one in a million on a conveyer belt from a production facility. I am not deriding the fact that I am an engineer, but somewhere I know a partly true but bitter truth, I did this because it was considered safe. Yes, intelligence helped me all along and I am happy to find myself where I am now, but as a person who dreams of going through the parenting process in India a few years from now, I wonder if I will be able to give my kids the freedom to do what they like. Or will they too, looking at peers and society around them, choose a path thats tried and tested?? I hope I can atleast give them the choice...

The way the message flows out of TZP, especially for parents, is quite compelling. The part when Aamir talks to the child's dad about his perception of taking care of kids and the example of the Solomon Islands, it hits you as hard as being there in first person, and not in third... thats why TZP is so special, I again reiterate, I felt like I was shown a glimpse into how life will question us as adults and parents outside of work.... brilliant movie.. almost Mani Ratnamesque in its impact... watch it!!