Taare Zameen Par (Like Stars on Earth, 2007) is a motion picture produced in India. Directed and starring Aamir Khan, the film deals with the problems faced by children with specific learning disabilities, especially dyslexia, in their educational and social lives. The movie deals with themes such as child development, the education system and teacher-student relations in the context of learning disabilities.

^{Aamir Khan and Darsheel Safary – A Scene from the Film (IMDb)}

Topic Summary

The main character of the film, Ishaan Awasthi, is an eight-year-old boy with a learning disability (dyslexia). Due to his poor academic performance, Ishaan is perceived as inattentive by those around him. When his family sends him to a boarding school, his situation worsens. However, a newly appointed art teacher, Ram Shankar Nikumbh, recognizes Ishaan’s learning difficulty and begins to support him through individualized teaching methods. This process highlights the importance of personalized instructional strategies.

Educational and Psychological Approaches

The film addresses the psychological conditions and educational needs of children with dyslexia with empathy. When specific learning disabilities like dyslexia are diagnosed early and supported with appropriate methods, children’s potential can be revealed. In this context, the film presents the teacher’s role as a transformative element.

Critique of the Education System

The film criticizes the structure of the traditional education system, which overlooks individual differences. It emphasizes that a system which regards academic achievement as the sole criterion tends to exclude areas such as art and emotional intelligence. This, in turn, leads to loss of self-confidence and social withdrawal among children.

^{Every Child is Special (IMDb)}

Main Cast

The main cast of the film includes:

• Darsheel Safary as Ishaan Awasthi
• Aamir Khan as Ram Shankar Nikumbh
• Tisca Chopra as Maya Awasthi (Ishaan’s mother)
• Vipin Sharma as Nandkishore Awasthi (Ishaan’s father)

This cast is structured to reflect the child’s interactions within both his family and educational environment in a multidimensional manner.

Taare Zameen Par makes visible the structural and social barriers faced by children with specific learning disabilities, especially dyslexia. The film emphasizes the negative effects of standardized education, which does not take individual differences into account, on the cognitive and emotional development of students. In this context, the importance of individualized teaching approaches is highlighted and it is argued that individuals with special needs can develop their potential with pedagogical support. In addition, through the figure of the teacher, attention is drawn to the decisive role of empathy-based approach and differentiated teaching strategies in educational processes on child development, and the film offers a critical perspective on the traditional education system.