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Once upon a time in Bollywood, sequels were rare to come by. Now they’re the entire calendar with no logic, continuity, or shame. Akshay Kumar and Riteish Deshmukh pull off clownery in a mansion? It’s a Housefull film. Ayushmann Khurrana cross-dresses? That’s Dream Girl. Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra want to embarrass themselves as cops? We get Dhoom. Now, Aamir Khan wants to interact with people with special needs. Sitaare Zameen Par is born as a “spiritual sequel” to the much-adored Taare Zameen Par. Before you laugh at the sheer commercialism driving these “films” with barely-there ideas, it’s worth noting that the originals at least tried to be honest. Even Housefull, which never had a script to begin with.
Directed by RS Prasanna, this edition again centers on people with intellectual disabilities. Aamir Khan plays Gulshan, a basketball coach with a phobia of elevators and a permanent temper. Before the film can explain how a short man ended up as a basketball coach, he’s already suspended. Joining the mix are his atypical mother (Dolly Ahluwalia) and briefly estranged wife Suneeta (Genelia Deshmukh).
Prasanna’s film is a remake of an international title, one that most Indian viewers are unlikely to have seen. Thankfully, writer Divy Nidhi Sharma steers clear of the Laal Singh Chaddha trap and resists over-contextualizing. Yet, for all its box-ticking diligence, the film misses where it matters most: the heart. We Indians love our melodramas; we cry when people smile through pain. Yes, Aamir Khan cries. No one asks him to, but he does. None of it was needed back in 2007, when we wept with Ishaan – at home, in school, in his dorm. Sitaare Zameen Par never gets there.
The film operates in extremes to generate empathy, but instead it lands in an overly simplistic trajectory. “Our normal is not your normal,” we’re told repeatedly. It’s a lovely sentiment, but storytelling here leans on exposition and emotional manipulation. To its credit, the coach’s interactions with the children are sweetly imagined. The basketball matches hold our attention. The group camaraderie works. Radiant as a ray of morning sun, Genelia Deshmukh lights up the screen while grounding the film’s take on modern marital tensions, particularly the one-sided yearning for parenthood. Even the mother’s subplot, initially aimless until Gulshan goes full Howard Wolowitz on her, ultimately fuels his transformation.
Aamir Khan rediscovers some of his old spark as the arrogant Delhi coach, delivering a mostly enjoyable performance. That is, until he slips into the Kamal Haasan Syndrome, all trembling lips and sniffles to signal vulnerability, which quickly wears thin. Fortunately, the supporting cast brings much-needed energy to the film’s sluggish stretches, even as their styling choices (suspenders, dungarees, harem pants, etc) scream excess. Whether it’s Ashish Pendse’s wide-eyed charm, Aayush Bhansali’s comic flair, Simran Mangeshkar’s killer attitude, or Aaroush Datta’s effortless scene-stealing, this is a terrific ensemble that doesn’t just show up as themselves. They truly act.
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Mostly shot indoors, the film is visually well-crafted. DOP G. Srinivas Reddy makes the most of intimate spaces. The vibrant costumes and production design seem tailored for a family audience. Musically, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy don’t quite deliver a Maa moment, although Ram Sampath’s background score, by contrast, adds nice texture to many key sequences. Another saving grace is the casting (by Tess Joseph and Anmol Ahuja), which avoids caricature by hiring professional actors as players.
Curiously, Sitaare Zameen Par ends 15 minutes before it thinks it ends. The final stretch is just Aamir Khan doing his thing. And that’s among the film’s biggest problems. Despite the technical finesse and well-meaning performances, it never comes together as a whole. “I am not their coach, they are mine,” Khan’s character says. It is a line meant to swell our hearts, but it feels disingenuous. A seasoned coach having an epiphany about sportsmanship from a set of newbies? It sounds lovely in a screenplay, but in practice, it’s just false.
In the end, if a film of this genre fails to wring even a single tear, something is clearly off. For all its gloss and goodwill, Sitaare Zameen Par falls flat like a basketball that refuses to bounce.
Rating: ★★ 1/2
