Taare Zameen Par

Taare Zameen Par
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAamir Khan
Written byAmole Gupte
Produced byAamir Khan
StarringDarsheel Safary
Aamir Khan
Tisca Chopra
Vipin Sharma
Tanay Chheda
CinematographySatyajit Pande (Setu)
Edited byDeepa Bhatia
Music byScore:
Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy
Songs:
Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy
Shailendra Barve
Production
companies
Aamir Khan Productions
PVR Pictures
Distributed byPVR Pictures
Release date
  • 21 December 2007 (2007-12-21)
Running time
164 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget₹12 crore
Box office₹98.48 crore

Taare Zameen Par (lit.'Stars on Earth'), also known as Like Stars on Earth in English, is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language drama film produced and directed by Aamir Khan. It stars Aamir Khan, with Darsheel Safary, Tanay Chheda, Vipin Sharma and Tisca Chopra. It explores the life and imagination of Ishaan (Safary), an artistically gifted 8-year-old boy whose poor academic performance leads his parents to send him to a boarding school, where a new art teacher Nikumbh (Khan) suspects that he is dyslexic and helps him to overcome his reading disorder. The film focuses on raising awareness about autism and psychiatric disability in children.

Creative director and writer Amole Gupte developed the idea with his wife Deepa Bhatia, who was the film's editor. Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy composed the score, and Prasoon Joshi wrote the lyrics for many of the songs. Principal photography took place in Mumbai, and in Panchgani's New Era High School, where some of the school's students participated in the filming.

Taare Zameen Par made its theatrical debut in India on 21 December 2007. It was commercially successful, earning ₹98.48 crore gross worldwide. It received widespread critical acclaim, with praise for its story, screenplay, direction, dialogues, soundtrack, and performances. It also helped raise awareness about dyslexia.

A recipient of several accolades, Taare Zameen Par was India's official entry at the 81st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Film, but was not nominated. At the 55th National Film Awards, it won 3 awards: Best Film on Family Welfare, Best Lyrics (Prasoon Joshi for "Maa") and Best Male Playback Singer (Shankar Mahadevan for "Maa"). At the 53rd Filmfare Awards, it received 11 nominations, including Best Actor (Safary), Best Supporting Actor (Aamir Khan) and Best Supporting Actress (Chopra), and won a leading 5 awards, including Best Film, Best Director (Aamir Khan) and Best Lyricist (Joshi for "Maa").