Aamir Khan Productions Pvt. Ltd.’s Sitaare Zameen Par (UA) is the story of a basketball coach who, as a punishment for drunk driving, is asked to coach specially abled children in the game.
Gulshan Arora (Aamir Khan) is a basketball coach who is very good at training learners. He gets caught for drunk driving. Considering that it is his first offence and taking into account that he is a coach of repute, the judge asks him to do community service instead of sending him to jail. Gulshan is assigned the onerous task of training a group of specially abled children in the game of basketball. Gulshan has had a traumatic childhood because of which he has trust issues. He is also averse to having kids, which is the reason why he doesn’t stay with wife Sunita (Genelia D’Souza Deshmukh). Understandably, Sunita is keen on starting a family. Gulshan is petrified of the task given to him by the court, but he makes a beginning. The initial resentment gives way to fondness for the specially abled children. Being a great coach, Gulshan trains them wonderfully. What happens thereafter?
The film is adapted from Spanish film Campeones (Champions). The story is heart-touching and very unusual because it deals with children with intellectual disabilities. The tracks of coach Gulshan Arora’s personal life and that of his mother (Dolly Ahluwalia Tewari) have been beautifully interwoven in the main drama. Divy Nidhi Sharma’s screenplay is fast-paced and beautifully written, which makes the entire drama entertaining and enjoyable. The antics and comments of the specially abled children are so endearing that before one knows it, one has fallen in love with all the ten players. The typical problems of some of the players are captured so poignantly that one’s heart goes out to them. The writer has laced the drama with a lot of humour, fun and frolic so that there are many moments of laughter and enjoyment in the course of the drama. An entire sequence of Gulshan Arora’s mother caught off-guard by Gulshan in the hotel and its aftermath will bring the house down with laughter. The climax sequence is very touching and will move the weak-hearted to tears. Divy Nidhi Sharma’s dialogues are absolute gems and deserve full marks. His use of words is so appropriate that one can’t help but admire his genius.
Aamir Khan lives the role of Gulshan Arora. He has done such an extraordinary job that his performance turns out to be memorable and worthy of awards. His facial expressions and body language are to die for. Note, for example, his bewilderment at the response of his team members when they lose the final match. His expressions in that scene are a lesson in what acting without dialogues is all about. His acting in the scene in which he interacts with his mother’s partner is absolutely phenomenal. Genelia D’Souza Deshmukh is excellent as Sunita. She plays the character with utmost understanding. Her character is a good mix of maturity and playfulness. Dolly Ahluwalia Tewari is splendid as Gulshan’s mother. Gurpal Singh delivers a realistic performance as Kartar Paaji. Brijendra Kala makes a lovely mark as Gulshan’s cook, Daulat ji. The ten specially abled children are a revelation. They have all acted so well that they deserve the highest praise: Ashish Pendse is terrific as Sunil; Aroush Datta is endearing as Satbir; Aayush Bhansali makes his mark as Lotus; Rishi Shahani evokes a lot of laughter as Sharma ji; Gopikrishnan K. Verma is superb as Guddu; Simran Mangeshkar impresses a great deal as Golu; Samvit Desai has his moments as Kareem; Naman Misra makes a fine impact as Hargovind; Rishabh Jain is impactful as Raju; Vedant Sharma is nice as Bantu. Deepraj Rana lends fine support as Paswan ji. Tarana Raja is first-rate as judge Anupama. Happy Ranajit provides heartwarming support as Gulshan’s lawyer-friend, Surinder. Ankita Sehgal leaves a great impression in a tiny role as Surinder’s wife. Sham Mashalkar is lovely as Rustom. Karim Hajee is natural to the core as Ashok Gupta. Jagbir Rathee (as Karim’s boss), Nikhat Khan Hegde (as Hargovind’s mother), Jasvinder Kaur (as Hargovind’s neighbour), Mahender Singh Bisht (as the Delhi policeman), Sylvan Desmond (as the opposition coach in the first match), Abhinav Gautam (as the Chhote Ustaad coach in the finals), Vicky Dutt (as the driver driving the bus with the champions), Nishank Verma (as the new coach who comes in place of Gulshan Arora), Nandini Issar (as Satbir’s mother), and the others lend remarkable support.
R.S. Prasanna’s direction is extraordinary. The film has a fine mix of entertainment and an undercurrent of emotions with a wonderful life lesson. He deserves to be lauded for extracting great work from out of the specially abled children. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s music is quite nice but a couple of hit songs would’ve helped. Amitabh Bhattacharya’s lyrics are in perfect synch with the film’s mood and characters. Song picturisations (by Vijay A. Ganguly and Ruel Dausan Varindani) are very appropriate. Ram Sampath’s background music is remarkable. Srinivas Reddy’s cinematography is terrific. Parvez Shaikh’s action and stunt scenes are nice. Sylvan Desmond’s basketball choreography is nice. Nikhil Kovale and Apurva Vijay Bhagat’s production designing is superb. Charu Shree Roy’s editing is super-sharp.
On the whole, Sitaare Zameen Par is a surefire super-hit. It may have started slow but its word of mouth will be so strong that its collections will pick up phenomenally. The film will have a long run at the box-office and may get standing ovation in the initial days at a number of places. Cinemas will see demand for genuine block bookings from large groups. Cinemas will also witness footfalls from audience who haven’t seen films on the big screen since years.
Released on 20-6-’25 at Inox (daily 11 shows) and other cinemas of Bombay thru PVR Inox Pictures. Publicity: excellent. Opening: fair. …….Also released all over. Opening was so-so at most of the places.
