Charlyn Kim R.

Chao
12 HUMSS 2302

Taare Zameen Par “Every child is special”: A Movie Review

Guide Questions:
1. Who is Ishaan? What is his case? How is he different from other people? What are the
specific manifestations shown in the film?
Ishaan Awashti is an 8-year-old boy who has dyslexia, a neurological disorder that affects his
brain’s ability to receive, process, analyze, and store information. Other kids his age can easily
absorb the basic lessons in school. Ishaan’s dyslexia mainly affected his ability to read and
write, and especially had a hard time distinguishing letters. He misspelled similar structured
words and interchanges the order of the letters in a word. However, he has this unique artistic
perspective that only he can possess which sets him apart from other people. For example,
other kids would look at a math paper as it is but his brain made it look like he was assigned to
a space mission.

Him not keeping up with his classmates and difficulty in assessing situations was a catnip for
bullying and punishments. The people surrounding him treat him horribly instead of helping him
with the challenges he faces, making him depressed. When his parents are confronted about
his difficulties in navigating basic learning requirements like reading and writing, his father took it
in a wrong way and concluded that the suggestion of the principal was her saying that Ishaan is
mentally retarded, which is totally not the case at all. He then gets sent to a boarding school in
hopes of instilling Ishaan with “discipline”.

2. Who is Ram Shankar Nikumbh? How does he influence Ishaan?

Sir Nikumbh is Ishaan’s temporary art teacher. Unlike the other educators in the boarding school
who has a traditional appoach to prepare their students under strong discipline, Ram looks at a
child holistically, both their outer and inner beauty. Ram makes them think out of books, outside
the four walls of the classroom, and paint their imaginations. He noticed Ishaan’s traits and
insisted that he needs urgent care or else he will sink. First, he went as far as going to Ishaan’s
house and educating his parents who aren't aware of his condition, and also made them realize
that their actions have an impact on their kid. In addition, he also took the initiative and
volunteered to help him with the alphabet through tactile and visual methods and other core
subjects. He also encouraged the headmaster to use alternative testing measures to cater to
Ishaan’s abilities. During a class, he made a lesson on differently abled individuals who have
achieved a name for themselves and stressed that not possessing the “default” human traits
shouldn’t be looked down upon as they can also alter the course of the world because they
could look at the world differently. Later on, he revealed to Ishaan that he, too, was different
from others as a kid. He struggled with reading and writing back then when his father implied
that he was a lost cause but he grew up to be someone who can be an inspiration for a lot of
young individuals, a teacher. His outlook in life has greatly helped other people, Ishaan
included. With his words, Ishaan had the desire to go on with life again, and in doing so,
reuniting with his greatest passion, art. He went home for the holidays, bringing with him a new
perception of living differently abled.

3. How is the statement "every child is special" depicted in the film? What does the film
imply to you as an individual?
Each individual is capable of having their own talents, desires, and dreams that can set
him/herself apart from others. There were students who excelled in the academe and sports but
some are young individuals who were gifted in creativity, like the students in Tulips and Ishaan
for example. In the eyes of close-minded people of the society, people like them won’t achieve
anything in life. But those students proved their words to be wrong when they were able to
perform a play and paint using skills that no other can possess.

I, myself, had struggled on keeping up with my peers in terms of academics. I can say that I am
good at it but I strive to be excellent in every subject area thrown at me so in the future, I will
become a person who’s worthy of being proud of. This film made me realize that I don’t need to
live my life meeting other people’s expectations. What sets me apart from my peers is my wide
range of knowledge when it comes to trivia, history, and general information. I already know
what my passion is and with it, I can achieve great heights in the future by teaching young
individuals.

4. What are your realizations after watching the film? How can you incorporate
intersubjectivity with what you've watched?

In the film, we see how Ishaan and Ram’s relationship changes. At first, they didn't understand
each other well. But as the story unfolds, they start to connect on a deeper level. This shows the
concept of intersubjectivity, where people learn to understand each other better. The movie
‘Taare Zameen Par’ illustrates the importance of care and understanding when dealing with
people who have difficulties. It teaches us to appreciate every individual as they are all unique
and deserve to shine regardless of their difficulties, not add on to the worries that they must
face.