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school's art teacher, has left the school and is being replaced by someone
else. Ram Shankar Nikumbh, a cheerful and optimistic instructor at the Tulips
School for young children with developmental disabilities , joins the boarding
school's faculty the same day, replacing the authoritarian Mr. Holkar, the
school's former art teacher. Ram's teaching style is markedly different from
that of Holkar's, and he quickly notes Ishaan's unhappiness that day after he
fails to draw anything during the class. He reviews Ishaan's work and
concludes that his academic shortcomings are indicative of dyslexia . Ram then
visits the Awasthi's house in Mumbai , where he is surprised to discover
Ishaan's hidden interest in art. Flustered, he demonstrates to Maya and Yohan
how Ishaan has extreme difficulty in understanding letters and words due to
dyslexia, and his poverty in sports skills stems from his poor motor ability
(which also applies to his difficulty in tying shoelaces). Nandkishore labels
it as an intellectual disability (as well as excuse) and dismisses it as
laziness much to Ram's frustration. Back at school, Ram brings up the topic of
dyslexia in a class by offering a list of famous dyslexic people . He comforts
Ishaan, telling him how he struggled as a child as well. Ram obtains the
principal's permission to become Ishaan's tutor. With gradual care, he works
to improve Ishaan's reading and writing by using remedial techniques developed
by dyslexia specialists. Eventually, both Ishaan's demeanor and his grades
improve. One day Nandkishore visits the school and tells Ram that he and Maya
have read up on dyslexia and understand the condition. Ram mentions that what
Ishaan needs more than understanding is that someone loves him. Outside
Nandkishore sees Ishaan reading from a board. With teary eyes, he is unable to
face his son and walks away. At the end of the school year, Ram organises an
arts and crafts contest for the staff and students, judged by artist Lalita
Lajmi . Ishaan's work makes him the winner and Ram, who paints Ishaan's
portrait, is declared the runner-up. The principal announces that Ram has been
hired as the school's permanent art teacher. When Ishaan's parents meet his
teachers on the last day of school, they are left speechless by the
transformation in him. Overcome with emotion, Nandkishore thanks Ram. Before
leaving, Ishaan runs toward Ram, who lifts him high up in a hug. Cast [ edit ]
Darsheel Safary 's initial screen test lacked dialogue. Aamir Khan said that
when he saw Safary's expressive face, he instantly knew: "That's the child. He
is Ishaan." [4] Tisca Chopra , lead actress, addressing a press conference at
the 39th International Film Festival (IFFI-2008) in Panaji , Goa Darsheel
Safary as Ishaan Nandkishore Awasthi (Inu): Maya & Nandkishore's son [5] Veer
Mohan as Little Ishaan Aamir Khan as Ram Shankar Nikumbh: An art teacher at
New Era High School and Inu's tutor, tuition teacher [6] Tisca Chopra as Maya
Awasthi: Ishaan and Yohaan's mother [7] Vipin Sharma as Nandkishore Awasthi,
Ishaan and Yohaan's father [8] Tanay Chheda as Rajan Damodran, Inu's best
friend and classmate at boarding school Sachet Engineer as Yohaan Nandkishore
Awasthi: Inu's brother Aniket Engineer as Junior Yohaan Ramit Gupta as Ranjeet
Girija Oak as Jabeen Khan: Nikumbh's co-worker Bugs Bhargava and Shankar
Sachdev as Sen Sir and Tiwari Sir, Two teachers at New Era High School [9] M.
K. Raina as Principal - Boarding school: The head of New Era High School
Pratima Kulkarni as Principal - St. Anthony's School Meghna Malik as Victoria
Teacher: Class and math teacher of Ishaan's former school, St. Anthony's
School Sonali Sachdev as Irene Teacher: An English teacher at Ishaan's former
school, St. Anthony's School Lalita Lajmi as herself (cameo appearance) [10]
Production [ edit ] Development [ edit ] The husband and wife team of Amole
Gupte and Deepa Bhatia developed the story that eventually became Taare Zameen
Par as a way of understanding why some children could not conform to a
conventional educational system. Their work began as a short story that
evolved into a screenplay over seven years. Bhatia said in an interview with
The Hindu that her original inspiration was the childhood of Japanese
filmmaker Akira Kurosawa , who did poorly in school. She cited a specific
place in Kurosawa's biography where he began to excel after meeting an
attentive art teacher, and said that it "became the inspiration for how a
teacher could transform the life of a student". [5] While developing the
character of a young boy based on Kurosawa, Bhatia and Gupte explored some
possible reasons why he failed in school. Their research led them to the
Maharashtra Dyslexia Association and Parents for a Better Curriculum for the
Child (PACE). Dyslexia eventually became the central topic and theme of the
film. The pair worked with dyslexic children to research and develop the
screenplay, basing characters and situations on their observations. Bhatia and
Gupte carefully concealed the children's identities in the final version of
the script. [5] "While Amole has written what I think is a brilliant and
moving script, his contribution towards the film is not limited to that of a
writer. The entire pre-production was done by him including the most important
task of creating the music ... he has been present on set throughout the
shooting as the Creative Director, and has been a big support and strong
guiding force in my debut as a director. I thank him for that, and more so for
having the faith in me by entrusting to me something that is so close to him."
— Aamir Khan [11] Khan and Gupte first met in college. Khan has said that he
admired Gupte's abilities as an actor, writer, and painter. Three years before
the film's release, Gupte brought Khan to the project as a producer and actor.
Gupte himself was to direct, [11] but the first week's dailies were a great
disappointment to Khan, who "lost faith in Amole and his capability of
translating on screen what he had so beautifully written on paper". [12] Khan
was on the verge of withdrawing his participation in the film because of these
"creative differences", [12] [13] but Gupte kept him on board by stepping down
as director. Contrary to Khan's claim, Gupte lashed out saying that after the
wrap-up party, Khan announced that he was the director of the film, despite
Gupte acting as director. [14] Had it been necessary to hire a third party,
production would have been postponed for 6–8 months as the new director
prepared for the film. Keen to keep Safary as Ishaan—the actor might have aged
too much for the part had production been delayed—Khan took over the role of
director. [12] Taare Zameen Par was Khan's first experience in the 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. [15] Gupte remained on set, "guiding [Khan] and, at times,
even correcting [him]". [12] Title and translation [ edit ] Initially, the
film was to retain the short story's title of "High Jump", which referenced
Ishaan's inability to achieve the high jump in gym class. This subplot, which
was filmed but later cut, would have tied into the original ending for the
movie. In this planned ending, 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's "ghost image" successfully making the leap. Aamir Khan
disliked this proposed ending and convinced Gupte to rewrite it. With the