Sitaare Zameen Par Review

Dangal in 2016 was the last successful film that Aamir Khan delivered in a lead role. His previous two films(i.e. Thugs of Hindostan & Laal Singh Chaddha) failed miserably at the box office. In an era where remake films are not working anymore, he came up with Laal Singh Chaddha in 2022 and tasted a disastrous result. At a point in his career where he needed a huge success to reclaim the lost glory, he again decided to do a remake of the 2018 Spanish film, Campeones Aka Champions and titled the film ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’. After a huge amount of promotions where Aamir Khan talked about various topics, the film was finally released in theatres today. Did Aamir Khan score the much-needed success at the box office? Did Aamir Khan prove everyone wrong by scoring a successful film at the ticket window with a remake film? Is Sitaare Zameen Par has the potential to become a success like Aamir Khan’s 2007 film, Taare Zameen Par? Let’s figure it out with a detailed analysis.

What is it about?

Gulshan Arora(Aamir Khan), an assistant coach of the Delhi basketball team, is a hot-headed and self-obsessed man. He gets fired from his job after manhandling his boss on the back of an argument about the team’s strategy during a match. He then gets caught by the cops for drunk driving & eventually the judge at the court orders him to perform community service by coaching a team of ten neurodivergent basketball players for three months. What challenges did Gulshan face while coaching the team of intellectually disabled people? What is his problem with his wife and why are they living separately? What did he learn during the three months of community service? Forms the rest of the story.

Performances:

Aamir Khan in the role of Gulshan Arora, a self-consumed and hot-tempered middle-aged man, performed well as always. His performance especially during the climax sequence is heart-touching. It is very inspiring to see him look so fit and young at the age of 60. Genelia D’Souza in the role of Suneeta, the wife of Gulshan, looked charming as ever and delivered a good performance.

The ten actors(i.e. Aroush Datta, Gopi Krishnan Varma, Vedant Sharmaa, Naman Misra, Rishi Shahani, Rishabh Jain, Ashish Pendse, Samvit Desai, Simran Mangeshkar & Aayush Bhansali) who played the roles of people dealing with Down syndrome, delivered very commendable performances. All ten of them did so well both in emotional and fun sequences.

Technicalities:

The musician trio, Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy’s songs were adequate. There were two songs in the film and both songs were used to drive the proceedings forward. Ram Sampath’s background score was decent. His score elevated a few emotional sequences well. Charu Shree Roy’s editing should have been better. The subplot of Gulshan’s mother’s character in the second half should have been edited. The intention behind the subplot is good but it felt forced and unnecessary.

Positives:

1.⁠ ⁠Core Point About Inclusion & Diversity
2.⁠ ⁠Performances of The 10 Neurodivergent Players
3.⁠ ⁠Aamir Khan’s Performance

Negatives:

1.⁠ ⁠Predictable Screenplay
2.⁠ ⁠Overtly Preachy
3.⁠ ⁠Subplot of Dolly Ahluwalia
4.⁠ ⁠Snail Pace During The First Hour
5.⁠ ⁠Not So Exciting Execution of Basketball Matches

Analysis:

It is not a big task for a star of Aamir Khan’s stature to follow the current trend of making adrenaline-pumping action drama films by teaming with established directors. But, there is a reason why Aamir Khan films stand out from the rest of the pack. More often than not, he selects scripts that are entertaining and yet thought-provoking. Sitaare Zameen Par is also one such attempt. The word ‘normal’ is not something which only the Neurotypical people can associate with but even the neurodivergent people will have their own normal. Aamir Khan and the team intend to convey the aforementioned point through the movie.

Yes, the intention to create awareness and educate people about diversity and inclusion certainly needs to be appreciated but the problem with Sitaare Zameen Par is its predictability. This review writer did not even watch the original Spanish version, Campeones, and yet was able to guess everything upfront. If you had watched, 3 Idiots, PK, Dangal, Taare Zameen Par & Secret Superstar, you will be able to guess the entire proceedings upfront just by watching the initial ten minutes of the film.

All ten actors who played the roles of neurodivergent basketball players performed very well. Their performances seamlessly take us into the world of intellectually disabled people and make us laugh with them and let us start empathising with them. The pre-interval sequence and a couple of emotional sequences in the second half worked out well. The humour worked at many places. Barring a couple of sequences, the situations used to generate fun were clean & genuine. Also, the sequences between Aamir Khan & Ashish Pendse(the actor who played the role of Sunil Gupta) were heart-touching.

The first half of the film proceeds at a very slow pace. It took more than an hour for the film to pick up the pace. The slow pace along with the predictable proceedings tests the patience to an extent during the initial hour. The subplot involving the mother character in the second half felt unnecessary. Also, the conversations about ‘Down syndrome’ between Aamir Khan & Gurpal Singh in the first half were boring. Yes, those conversations were informative but the way those sequences were executed gave a feeling a watching a social documentary.

Overall, Sitaare Zameen Par has its heart in the right place and has a few genuinely feel-good moments but the predictable narration and overtly preachy tone worked against the film. You may give it a try if you have not watched the original Spanish version and if you are fine watching a very predictable emotional drama film. Aamir Khan may have to wait until his next film release to score big at the box office because Sitaare Zameen Par is most likely not to become a commercial success at the ticket window.

Bottomline – Not So Shiny Stars

Rating – 2.5/5

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