Ishaan Nandkishore Awasthi [Darsheel Safary] is an eight-year old boy who hates school. Every subject is difficult for him, and he perpetually fails his tests and exams. He also lacks motor coordination skills, even finding it difficult to throw a ball in a straight line. Rather than helping him, his teachers and classmates subject him to constant acts of public humiliation. At the same time, however, Ishaans internal world is rich with wonders that no one else seems to appreciate: magical lands filled with color and animated animals. His forte is art, although no one realises this at first. It is no better at home. His father, Nandkishore Awasthi [Vipin Sharma], is a successful but busy executive who expects the best from his boys. His mother, Maya Awasthi [Tisca Chopra], is a housewife who is perpetually frustrated by her inability to help Ishaan excel. Ishaans elder brother Yohaan [Sachet Engineer] is a successful scholar and athlete, a fact which Ishaan is constantly reminded of. After discovering that Ishaan skipped school, in addition to having poor grades, his parents decide that he needs to attend boarding school in order to be "disciplined." Life at the boarding school does not help Ishaan to excel, despite being befriended by Rajan Damodran [Tanay Chheda], one of the best students. Instead, he sinks into a perpetual state of fear and depression as he now has to contend with the added trauma of separation from his family. This changes, however, when the new temporary art teacher Ram Shankar Nikumbh, or "Nikumbh Sir" [Aamir Khan], joins Ishaans boarding school. Nikumbh, with his charismatic teaching style that is markedly different than his strict predecessor, soon becomes popular among the students. He begins to notice that Ishaan is unhappy and does not contribute to activities in the class. Disturbed, Nikumbh begins to review Ishaans past work and determines that all of his "failures" are actually reflective of dyslexia. On his day off, Nikumbh visits Ishaans parents and asks to review more of his work. He is also stunned by the sophistication of Ishaans paintings. Nikumbh tells Ishaans parents that their son is a bright child who processes information differently than the other children in his class. He describes dyslexia to them and clarifies that this is a neurological condition which is not a sign of low intelligence. He also volunteers to provide extra tutoring, which will help Ishaan succeed. To support this argument, Nikumbh highlights Ishaans artistic ability as demonstrated by his many paintings and creative works-of-art. In order to make his point, Nikumbh demands that Ishaans father read a box with Japanese text. When Mr. Awasthi states that he cannot read the text, Nikhumbh reprimands him. In doing so, Nikhumbh demonstrates to them what Ishaan struggles with on a daily basis. When he returns to the school, Nikumbh brings up the topic of dyslexia in class and offers a list of famous people who are considered dyslexic: Albert Einstein, Leonardo Da Vinci, Walt Disney, Agatha Christie, Thomas Edison, Pablo Picasso, and actor Abhishek Bachchan. As the students are leaving the classroom, Nikumbh asks Ishaan to stay back. At that time Nikumbh reveals that he, too, has experienced the same difficulties with dyslexia. Nikumbh also conveys the same information to the principal of the school [M.K. Raina] and asks if he can act as a tutor for Ishaan. After gaining the Principals assent, Nikumbh proceeds to teach Ishaan using remedial techniques developed by specialists in the area of dyslexia. Ishaan soon develops his language and mathematical skills, and his grades improve. Towards the end of the year, Nikumbh organizes an art fair for staff and students alike. The competition is judged by Lalita Lajmi, who portrays herself in the movie. With his strikingly creative style, Ishaan is declared the winner, while Nikumbh is declared the runner up for his portrait of Ishaan. When Ishaans parents meet his teachers on the last day of school, they are speechless over the changes in him as he has improved in all of his subjects. Before leaving for the holidays, Ishaan runs to hug his teacher. The film ends with a freeze frame shot of Ishaan being tossed in the air by Nikumbh.

See also

*List of artistic depictions of dyslexia

Soundtrack

[http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movies/musicreview/13306/index.html link] *Planet Bollywood [http://www.planetbollywood.com/displayReview.php?id=110707123745 link] * Rediff.com [http://www.rediff.com/movies/2007/nov/05taare.htm link] }} The CD for Taare Zameen Par was released on 4 November 2007. The music is mainly composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, with lyrics by Prasoon Joshi. However, "Mera Jahan" was scored by Shailendra Barve and written by Gupte, with the latter also composing "Ishaans Theme." Joshi received the National Film Award for Best Lyrics, and Shankar Mahadevan won the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer for "Maa." {{tracklist | collapsed = | headline = | extra_column = Singers | total_length = | all_writing = | all_lyrics = | all_music = | writing_credits = | lyrics_credits = | music_credits = | title1 = Taare Zameen Par | note1 = | writer1 = | lyrics1 = | music1 = | extra1 = Shankar Mahadevan, Dominique Cerejo, Vivienne Pocha | length1 = 4:28 | title2 = Kholo Kholo | note2 = | writer2 = | lyrics2 = | music2 = | extra2 = Raman Mahadevan | length2 = 3:01 | title3 = Bum Bum Bole | note3 = | writer3 = | lyrics3 = | music3 = | extra3 = Shaan, Aamir Khan | length3 = 3:32 | title4 = Jame Raho | note4 = | writer4 = | lyrics4 = | music4 = | extra4 =Vishal Dadlani | length4 = 1:79 | title5 = Maa | note5 = | writer5 = | lyrics5 = | music5 = | extra5 = Shankar Mahadevan | length5 = 3:14 | title6 = Bheja Kum | note6 = | writer6 = | lyrics6 = | music6 = | extra6 = Shankar Mahadevan, Bugs Bhargava, Shankar Sachdev, Roaj Gopal Iyer, Ravi Khanwiker, Loy Mendonsa, Amole Gupte, Kiran Rao, Aamir Khan, Ram Madhavni | length6 = 1:27 | title7 = Mera Jahan | note7 = | writer7 = | lyrics7 = | music7 = | extra7 = Adnan Sami, Auriel Cordo, Ananya Wadkar |Amole Gupte | length7 = 3:92 | title8 = Ishaans Theme | note8 = | writer8 = | lyrics8 = | music8 = | extra8 = Loy Mendonsa, Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani }}

Critical reception

= thumb at a promotional event for Taare Zameen Par. Taare Zameen Par received a number of positive reviews. Subhash K. Jha, film critic and author of The Essential Guide to Bollywood, suggested that Taare Zameen Par is "a work of art, a water painting where the colors drip into our hearts, which could easily have fallen into the motions of over-sentimentality. Aamir Khan holds back where he could easily resort to an extravagant display of drama and emotions." Nikhat Kazmi of The Times of India noted that "the story is simple and connects instantly with every adult and child in the auditorium, even as the climax is predictable and plays heavily on your emotions. But what uplifts the film is its very simplicity, sensitivity and its performances. On the one hand, there is the non-filmy script which doesnt make anyone the villain...even the adults are victims of ignorance [...] we recommend a mandatory viewing for all schools and all parents." Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN argued that the true power of the film lies in its "remarkable, rooted, rock-solid script which provides the landscape for such an emotionally engaging, heart-warming experience." Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave it four out of five stars and argued that the film "is an outstanding work of cinema. To miss it would be sacrilege. It has everything it takes to win awards and box-office rewards! Do yourselves a favor. Watch Taare Zameen Par with your child. It will change your world. It will also change the way you look at your kids!." Two critics from the BBC both gave the film a rave review. Manish Gajjar stated that the film "touches your heart and moves you deeply with its sterling performances. [It is] a film full of substance!" Furthermore, Jaspreet Pandohar posited that Taare Zameen Par is a "far cry from the formulaic masala flicks churned out by the Bollywood machine," and is "an inspirational story that is as emotive as it is entertaining; this is a little twinkling star of a movie." Pratim D. Gupta of The Telegraph described Taare Zameen Par as a "film that cuddles you, cajoles you and finally confronts you, it''s unlike anything you have seen before" while Kaveree Bamzai of India Today declared it "quite simply the best film of the year." The film was also highly recommended by Sudhish Kamath of The Hindu who called it the "movie of the year. It''s not just out of the box, ''Taare.'' is simply out of this world." Furthermore, Aprajita Anil of Screen gave the film four stars and stated: "Taare Zameen Par cannot be missed. Because it is different. Because it is delightful. Because it would make everyone think. Because it would help everyone grow. Because very rarely do performances get so gripping. And of course because the ''perfectionist'' actor has shaped into a ''perfectionist'' director." In addition, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap stated that, "Taare Zameen Par took me back to my hostel days. If you take away the dyslexia, it seems like my story. The film affected me so deeply that I was almost left speechless. After watching the film, I was asked how I liked Taare Zameen Par. I could not talk as I was deeply overwhelmed." However, the praise was not universal. Despite applauding the "great performances" and excellent directing, Gautaman Bhaskaran of The Hollywood Reporter suggested that the movie "suffers from a weak script." Likewise, Derek Kelly of Variety criticized it for what he described as its "touchy-feely-ness" attention to "a special needs kids plight." Kelly also disliked the film for being "so resolutely caring -- and devoid of real drama and interesting characters" that "it should have approved by the Dyslexia Assn. stamped on the posters."

Awards

= Taare Zameen Par won the Filmfare Best Movie Award for 2008, as well as the National Film Award for Best Film on Family Welfare. It also received a number of other awards, including three National Film Awards and many for best director. The young actor Darsheel Safarys numerous accolades included the 2008 Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance.

Development

= The husband and wife team of Amole Gupte and Deepa Bhatia were inspired to develop the story that would eventually become Taare Zameen Par as a way of understanding why some children cannot conform to a conventional educational system. Their initial work began as short story titled "High Jump" that eventually developed into a screenplay over seven years. Deepa Bhatia later stated in an interview with The Hindu that her original inspiration was not dyslexia but rather the childhood of Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, who performed poorly in school. Her goal was thus to explore the story of "a child who did not fit into the school stream." She referenced a specific moment in Kurosawas biography where he began to bloom after meeting an attentive art teacher, and noted that this scene "became the inspiration for how a teacher could transform the life of a student." In developing the character of a young boy based on Kurosawa, Bhatia and Gupte explored possible reasons why he failed in school. Their research led them to groups such as the Maharashtra Dyslexia Association and PACE [Parents for a Better Curriculum for the Child]. Eventually they decided to make dyslexia the central topic and theme of the film. They worked with dyslexic children in order to develop the screenplay, basing characters and situations on what they learned. They carefully obscured the childrens identities in the final version of the script.

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- Aamir Khan

Khan and Gupte first met while they were in college, where Khan states that he admired Guptes abilities as an actor, writer, and painter. Three years prior to the films release, Gupte brought Khan to the project as a producer and actor; Gupte himself would direct. However, the first weeks dailies greatly disappointed Khan, who "lost faith in Amol and his capability of translating on screen what he had so beautifully written on paper." Khan desired to withdraw his participation due to these "creative differences," but Gupte kept him onboard by stepping down as director. Had a third party been hired, production would have been postponed six to eight months for the new director to get a feel for the film. Keen to keep Safary as Ishaan—the actor might have aged too much for the role had production been delayed—Khan assumed the directorial position. Taare Zameen Par was Khans first experience in a dual role of actor and director. He has admitted that the transition was challenging, stating that while he had always wanted to direct a film, it was unknown territory for him. Gupte still remained on set, "guiding [Khan] and, at times, even correcting [him]."

Box-office

= Taare Zameen Par was released on 21 December 2007 with 425 prints across India, though slight delays occurred due to revenue-sharing issues between the films distributors and theater owners. The movie brought in domestically within the first three days. Though ticket sales in Mumbai dropped to 58 percent during its third week, it rose back to 62 percent in its fourth week—this brought the total to —after the Maharashtra government granted the film exemption from the entertainment tax. Anticipating further tax exemption in other states, world distributor PVR Pictures circulated 200 more prints of the film. The film completed its domestic run with $19,779,215. To reach more audiences, the film was later dubbed in the regional languages of Tamil and Telugu. Both were released on 12 September 2008, the former version under the title Vaalu Nakshatram and the latter as Neela Medu Taralu. The film was simultaneously released internationally, though countries such as Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Fiji opened it on 20 December 2007. It grossed $1,223,869 in the US by its seventh week, £351,303 in the UK by its ninth week, and eventually worldwide.

Notes

Title

= The film initially was to retain the short storys title due to Ishaans inability to achieve the high jump in gym class. This subplot—filmed but later cut—tied into the original ending for the movie. In this rendition, a "ghost image" separates from Ishaan after the art competition and runs to the sports field; the film would end on a freeze frame of Ishaan successfully making the leap. Khan opposed this ending, however, and convinced Gupte to rewrite it. With the working title no longer relevant to the film, Khan, Gupte, and Bhatia discussed a number of new possibilities for the title. They finally decided upon Taare Zameen Par—literally Stars on Earth or Stars on the Ground, and figuratively as Like Stars on Earth —because, according to Khan: Khan spent his first two days as director blocking the first scene to be filmed—Ishaan returning home from school and putting away his recently-collected fish—and becoming comfortable with his new responsibilities. He decided that his primary cinematic technique for the film would rely upon relatively little camera movement because he believed that the audience should not be aware of the camera. At the same time, Khan also made use of illusory camera tricks. For example, the opening scene of Ishaan collecting fish outside of his school was shot both on location and at Film City. Shots focusing on Ishaan took place at the former, while those involving the gutter terrarium were filmed at a water tank at the latter. The tanks water often became murky because the mud would rise to the top, forcing production to constantly empty and refill it. Due to the hindrance, the scene took eight hours to film. The films next sequence involved Ishaan playing with two dogs. To compensate for the "absolutely petrified" Safary, most joint shots used a body double, though other portions integrated close-up shots of the actor. Ishaans nightmare—he becomes separated from his mother at a train station and she departs on a train while he is trapped within a crowd—was filmed in Mumbai on a permanent railway-station set. To work around the train set pieces immobility, production placed the camera on a moving trolley to cast the illusion of the train departing. For the portions told from the mothers point of view—these were shot from behind the actress—Chopra stood on a trolley next to a recreated portion of the trains door. All the school sequences were filmed on location. The production team sought a Mumbai school with an "oppressive" feel to establish the "heaviness of being in a metropolitan school," and eventually chose St. Xaviers School. With the school situated along a main road, filming took place on weekends in an attempt to avoid the noisy atmosphere. However, an early scene in which Ishaan is kicked out of the classroom was filmed on the day of the Mumbai Marathon. The production staff placed acrylic sheets invisible to the human eye on the classroom windows to insulate the sounds of nearby crowds and helicopters. New Era High School served as the boarding school Ishaan is sent to. The change of setting was a "breath of fresh air" for the production crew, who moved from Ishaans small house in Chembur to the "vast, beautiful environs" of Panchgani. Production relied on stock footage for the brief scene of a bird feeding its babies. Khan carefully selected a clip to his liking, but learned three weeks before the films release that the footage was not available on film solution. With three days to replace it or else risk delaying the release, Khan made due with what he could find, and "cringes" every time he sees it.

Children

= Real schoolchildren participated throughout the movies filming. Khan credited them for the success of the film, and was reportedly very popular with them. Furthermore, Khan placed a high priority on the day-to-day needs of his child actors, and went to great lengths to attend to them. The production staff made sure that the students were never idle, and always kept them occupied outside of filming. New Era Faculty Coordinator Douglas Lee thought the experience not only helped the children to learn patience and cooperation, but also gave them a better understanding of how they should behave towards children like Ishaan who have problems in school. Because filming at New Era High School occurred during the winter holiday, those portraying Ishaans classmates gave up their vacation to participate. To fill out the campus background, students from nearby schools were also brought in. A total of 1,500 children were used for wide-shots of the films art-fair climax, while medium shots only required 400 students. New to acting, the children often made errors such as staring into the camera, and Khan resorted to unusual means to work around these rookie mistakes. For example, an early scene in the film featured a school assembly; Khan wanted the kids to act natural and ignore the principals speech, but recognized that this would be a difficult feat with cameras present. First Assistant Director Sunil Pandey spoke continuously in an attempt to "bore the hell out of [them]," and they eventually lost interest in the filming and behaved normally. A later scene involved Nikumbh enlightening his class about famous people who suffer from dyslexia, and the childrens responses to his speech were the last portion to be filmed. Having already spent three-to-four days hearing the dialogue, the children gave "jaded" reactions. Khan opted to film them while he recited a tale, and manipulated his storytelling to achieve the varying spontaneous reactions. The subsequent scene had the children playing around a nearby pond. Horrified when he learned the pond was fifteen-feet deep, Khan brought in four lifeguards on set in case a child fell in. Khan found it important that the audience connect the film to real children, and had Pandey travel throughout India filming documentary-style footage of children from all walks of life. These visuals were later integrated into the end credits.

Art and animation

= While claymation has been used in Indian television commercials, the films title sequence—a representation of Ishaans imagination—marked its first instance in a Bollywood film. Khan gave claymation artist Dhimant Vyas free rein over the various elements. The storyboarding took one and a half months, while the shooting required 15 days. The "3 into 9" sequence, in which Ishaan delves into his imagination to solve a math problem, was originally conceived as a 3D animation. Halfway through its creation, however, Khan felt it was not turning out as he had envisioned it. Khan scrapped the project and hired Vaibhav Kumaresh, who hand drew the scene as a 2D animation. Artist Samir Mondal composed Ishaan and Nikumbhs art-fair watercolor paintings. He held a workshop with the schoolchildren, and incorporated elements from their artwork into Ishaans. Mondal also instructed Khan on the mannerisms and movements of painter. Gupte created the rest of Ishaans artwork, though Assistant Art Director Veer Nanavati drew Ishaans flipbook. The art departments designs for Ishaans school notebooks disappointed Khan, who had familiarized himself with dyslexic writing. Using his left hand, Khan instead wrote it himself.

Musical sequences

= "Jame Raho" establishes the four members of Ishaans family; for example, the father is hardworking and responsible, and Yohaan is an "ideal son" who does all the right things. A robotic style of music overlaps most of the sequence—this is mirrored by the machine-like morning routines of the mother, father, and Yohaan—but changes for Ishaans portion to imply that he is different from the rest. This concept is furthered by speed ramping and having the camera sway with the music to create a distinct style. The twilight scenes of "Maa" were a particular issue for the production crew. Because the specific lighting only lasted ten to fifteen minutes a day, the scenes took nearly ten evenings to film. Production at one time considered having a child singing, but ultimately deemed it too over the top and felt it would connect to more people if sung by an adult. Shankar initially performed the song as a sample—they planned to replace him with another singer—but they eventually decided that his rendition was best. Ishaans bunking scene originally coincided with the song "Kholo Kholo," but Khan did not believe it worked well for the situation. In his opinion, the accompanying song should focus on what a child wants—to be free—and be told from the first-person perspective instead of "Kholo Kholo"s second person. When Khan took over as director, he opted to use "Mera Jahan"—a song written by Gupte—and moved "Kholo Kholo" to the art-fair. Viewers of test screenings were divided over the bunking scene. Half thoroughly enjoyed it and connected with it, while the rest complained that it was too long, did not make sense, and merely showed "touristy" visuals of Mumbai. Despite this, Khan kept it because he "connected deeply" with the scene and felt it established the world of Ishaan. Shiamak Davar choreographed the dance sequence of "Bum Bum Bole," and was given free rein over its design. He initially wanted to bring in 40 students of his dance school, but Khan did not want trained dancers. Davar gave the children certain cues and a general idea of what to do, but left the style and final product up to them to avoid a choreographed appearance. While Khan was busy filming "Bum Bum Bole," Ram Madhvani took over as director for "Bheja Kum" due to time constraints. The latter sequence, containing a "fun-filled" song of rhythmic dialogue, allowed the audience to perceive how Ishaan sees the world and written languages. It was intended to represent "a young boys worst nightmare, in terms of...the worst thing that he can think of," and Madhvani based this visual concept on his sons fear of "creepy-crawlies" such as cockroaches, dragonflies, and lizards. Tata Elxsis Visual Computing Labs made the creatures out of the English alphabet and numbers, though Khan insisted they include the Hindi alphabet since not all viewers would be familiar with English. The chalkboard writings transformation into a snake was included to surprise the audience and "end the song on a high note." In writing the song "Taare Zameen Par," lyricist Prasoon Joshi followed the theme of "however much you talk about children, its not enough." Every line throughout the song describes children, and only one repeats: "Kho Naa Jaaye Yes / Taare Zameen Par" ["Let us not lose these / Little stars on earth"]. The song is mostly set to the annual day performance by the developmentally-disabled children of Tulips School. Actual students from Tulips School and Saraswati Mandir participated, and were filmed over a period of five days. The sequence originally featured numerous dance performances, but was trimmed down when test audiences found it too long. An additional song told from the mothers point of view was to accompany the scene in which Ishaans mother views home videos of her son. After test audiences expressed their opposition to yet another song, however, Khan replaced it with background music.

Background music

=

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- Shankar Mahadevan

While timing and other aspects are usually planned out ahead of time when scoring a film, Khan chose to take a more improvised approach. Instead of using a studio, Khan and the trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy—Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani, and Loy Mendonsa—recorded it at Khans home in Panchgani in order to clear their heads and not be in mindset of the city. As they viewed film, Khan pointed out when he wanted music to begin and what type. Ehsaan noted that this strategy allowed the score to have a "spontaneity to it." Different styles of background music were used to convey certain things. For example, a guitar is played when Ishaan is tensed or upset, sometimes with discordant notes. The music of the opening scene—the recurring "Ishaans Theme," which represents the characters peace of mind—overpowers the background noise to show that Ishaan is lost in his own world; the noise becomes louder after he snaps back to reality. However, the scene in which Nikumbh explains dyslexia to Ishaans family took the opposite approach. Silent at first, the music creeps in as the father becomes enlightened to his sons dilemma. The nearly seven-minute scene scarcely used any background music in order to slow down the pace and make it more realistic.

Protests in gujarat

= In response to Khans support for the Narmada Bachao Andolan and his criticism of Chief Minister Narendra Modi, approximately 50 activists of the Sardar Patel Group conducted protests outside of PVR and INOX theaters in Vadodara, Gujarat. The group also issued statements to all the multiplexes of Gujarat, suggesting that the film not be screened unless Khan apologized for his comments. The INOX cinema eventually boycotted the film, with INOX Operations Manager Pushpendra Singh Rathod stating, "INOX is with Gujarat, and not isolated from it."

International dyslexia association

= The International Dyslexia Association screened Taare Zameen Par on 29 October 2008 in the United States [Seattle, Washington]. Khan noted in his official blog that there were about 200 people in the audience and that he was "curious to see the response of a non Indian audience to what we had made." He felt some concern that Taare Zameen Par was shown in a conference room rather than a cinema hall and was projected as a DVD rather than as a film. He stated that the showing concluded to an "absolutely thunderous standing ovation" which "overwhelmed" him and that he "saw the tears streaming down the cheeks of the audience." Khan also noted that the reaction to the film "was exactly as it had been with audiences back home in India."

2009 academy awards submission and slumdog millionaire

= Taare Zameen Par initially received acclaim for being Indias official entry for the 2009 Academy Awards Best Foreign Film. After the film failed to make the short list, a debate stirred in the Indian media as to why Indian films never win Oscars. In addition, some speculated over possible reasons for Taare Zameen Pars failed bid. For example, Rediff.coms Arthur J. Pais cited the films lack of mainstream media attention, while Oscar jury member Krishna Shah criticized its length and abundance of songs.

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- American film critic Lisa Tsering in The Hollywood Reporter.

Khan, himself, stated that he was "not surprised" that Taare Zameen Par was rejected from the Oscar shortlist, and argued, "I don''t make films for awards. I make films for the audience. The audience, for which I have made the film, really loved it and the audiences outside India have also loved it. What I am trying to say is that film has been well loved across the globe and that for me it is extremely heartening and something that I give very high value to." The Indian news media also frequently compared Taare Zameen Pars lack of a nomination with the British Slumdog Millionaires multiple Oscar nominations and wins. Some questioned why Slumdog Millionaire received so many nominations while Taare Zameen Par and other Indian films in the past were overlooked. Film critic Rajeev Masand argued that it is difficult to compare the two films and noted that Slumdog Millionaire was being marketed in a way that Indian films such as Taare Zameen Par could not compete with. In this context, Slumdog Millionaire-star Mahesh Manjrekar stated: "Im sad that Aamir''s Taare Zameen Par didn''t make it to the final round of the Oscars. I thought it to be way better than Slumdog..., without taking away anything from Boyle and the kids. But, Indian movies are underestimated there." Following the global success of Slumdog Millionaire, the Indian media focused on Tanay Chheda over other actors in Taare Zameen Par because he had a role in both films.

Utv edition [taare zameen par]

= UTV Home Entertainment released the film on DVD in India on 25 July 2008. It was launched at Darsheel Safarys school, Green Lawns High School, in Mumbai. Aamir Khan, Tisca Chopra, Vipin Sharma, Sachet Engineer, and the rest of the cast and crew were present. In his speech, Khan stated, "Darsheel is a very happy child, full of life and vibrant. I am sure its because of the way his parents and teachers have treated him. I must say Darsheels principal Mrs. Bajaj has been extremely supportive and encouraging. The true test of any school is how happy the kids are and by the looks of it, the children here seem really happy."

Disney edition [like stars on earth]

= Walt Disney Company Home Entertainment, which acquired 33 percent of UTV Software Communications, bought the DVD rights for distribution in North America, the United Kingdom, and Australia for Rs. 7 crore [US$ 1.68 million]. This marked "the first time an international studio has bought the video rights of an Indian film." Retitling it Like Stars on Earth, Disney released the film in Region 2 on 26 October 2009, in Region 1 on 12 January 2010, and in Region 4 on 29 March 2010. A three-disc set, the Disney version features the original Hindi soundtrack with English subtitles or another dubbed in English, as well as bonus material such as audio commentary, deleted scenes, and the musical soundtrack.