One of my pastimes with little kids is to talk about invisible things burning bright in their minds. Putting up random questions like “hey! What if a butterfly would just fly by here ?” , “ Can you understand what that bird is telling you?” can lead to some of the most enchanting stories. They are indeed my favourite storytellers .

 Aamir khan does it again. And the surprise package is  the child artist Darsheel who stunned me absolutely. He plays the role of an 8 year old boy named Ishaan Awasthi , suffering from dyslexia. Aamir khan plays his mentor , a teacher who understands him and brings out the best in him , fans the wind beneath his wings. Tisca who plays the kid’s mom gives a heart wrenching performance as well. Never once during the length of the movie I felt anybody was acting , it was as real as it could get.

 This movie is going to make you reminisce your  childhood , this movie is going to put up a warm smile on your face when the little boy rejoices , it is going to hold your breath when the kid is on his journey of exploring the world , it is going to leave you with moist eyes more than once.

 Amazing cinematography. The movie has been shot from perfect profiles as required. What struck me was the bold use of close ups while shooting the exhilarating moments of joy or sorrow. Use of simple and very ordinary sets yet there are burst of colours from time to time , like the blue wall in the Ishaan’s room , the funky costume which Aamir wears in the song bum bum bole or be it picturesque hilly terrain with a stretch of alluring blue . Another thing was the silent expression of feelings. There’s a scene when Ishaan’s parents come to meet him after his first week in the boarding school. His indignation and hurt is beyond words. All he does is to run around the basketball court spending his pent up emotions.

 A lot of the movie’s power of expression comes from the powerful background score and melodious-meaningful songs. The Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy trio spins magic again , and Prasoon Joshi spellbounds by the simple yet profound lyrics.It is difficult to pick the best out of the songs but the song MAA smudged my kohl lined eyes, so that has to be the best . 

This is a story of a little boy who flies all over the world , his imagination being his wings but he lacks the wind beneath his wings. He is curious about everything and has an extremely keen mind. But that is not good enough for him to be valued. The school books bore him and he just can’t help chasing his dreams , living in his own world of colours. 

Yes, he unleashes his genius through colours. He’s repeating his 3^rd grade and has no signs of improvement  which prompts his parents to send him to a boarding school.

He befriends a disabled kid with a kind heart who happens to be the topper of the class there. But nothing changes , he is still ridiculed . He is still punished – physically – emotionally. He goes into a shell with time. 
But then almost Godsend , Ram Shankar Nikumbh [ Aamir Khan] comes as a temporary arts teacher who believes in free thinking . He figures out that Ishaan suffers from dyslexia and works with him to bring back his self confidence , the lost love and the colours which had faded from his world.

And Ishaan paints again. This time producing a master piece which is chosen  over his mentor’s painting , giving back him self confidence, the realization that he is no less than others.

 On the hindsight the movie could have be a little more tightly knit. The pace slackens a bit at times but then it wasn’t meant to be a racy film.

 Being  an animation freak , I loved the way the credits of this film  rolled . Although the idea is copied from the Hollywood movies. Yet the style is ingenuine and sets the mood for the film perfectly , bringing out the kid in you before the movie commences.

A must watch movie for all parents and all kids. Parents , so that they can understand the child’s side of the story . Kids, so that they can unleash their imagination without any fears , explore the world around them , live their childhood to the maximum and fly away to a world full of colours sometimes, leaving this big bad world and its woes behind.

 As of me , in my next lifetime I want to be blessed with an imagination like Ishaan Awasthi and would never want to grow up.

 All I need is to be free.