A wholesome and feel-good slam dunk for inclusion
Story: Gulshan Arora (Aamir Khan) is a brash basketball coach suspended for punching the head coach and facing a jail term for drunk driving. Instead, he is sentenced to community service — training a team of players with intellectual disabilities to compete in a national basketball tournament. As he coaches them, he embarks on a journey of personal growth and learning valuable life lessons.Review: An official remake of the 2018 Spanish hit Champions, Sitaare Zameen Par serves as an indirect sequel to 2007’s Taare Zameen Par. While the earlier film highlighted developmental disabilities through the lens of dyslexia and remedial education, this one shifts the focus to individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID), like Down Syndrome and invisible autism, on a basketball court.Despite a sensitive and layered subject, R S Prasanna’s directorial venture, written by Divy Nidhi Sharma, remains a wholesome, feel-good watch. It strikes a commendable balance between delivering a message and educating viewers about ID, all with a lighthearted touch. At its core is a message of inclusivity—conveying that people with ID are employable, independent, full of life, and deeply empathetic. The film sensitively portrays the characteristic traits of the players’ conditions without reducing them to labels—Bantu’s (Vedant Sharma) stimming through ear-scratching, Guddu’s (GopiKrishnan K Verma) aquaphobia, Sharmaji’s (Rishi Shahani) speech impairment, and the less-recognised invisible autism in high-functioning Hargovind (Naman Misra). These are presented as facets of their personalities, not just symptoms. The film mixes sentiment with spunk, avoiding overly preachy tones. ID is described through relatable lines like, ‘Humaari kismat haathon pe nahi, chromosome pe likh ke aati hai (Our destiny isn’t written on our palms — it’s written in our chromosomes).’ While the underdog sports narrative and troubled-coach arc feel familiar, the film’s heart and humour keep it engaging. That said, the story does wander. Subplots involving his mother, Preeto (Dolly Ahluwalia Tewari), and their butler Daulatji (Bijendra Kala) contribute little to the core story. A few other sequences feel stretched, and pacing suffers in parts. The climax gets overly sentimental in parts. Some scenes, like the team managing airfare and accommodation for the final match, come across as convenient and trite.Aamir Khan stands out as the brash, initially insensitive, and politically incorrect coach. He convincingly portrays a man who evolves while retaining a certain swagger. Genelia Deshmukh is sincere as his wife Suneeta, though her character lacks depth. The ensemble cast—Ashish Pendse, Aroush Datta, Aayush Bhansali, Rishi Shahani, GopiKrishnan K Verma, Rishabh Jain, Vedant Sharma, Simran Mangeshkar, Samvit Desai, and Naman Misra—deserves applause for bringing energy, authenticity, and warmth to the film. Dolly Ahluwalia Tewari, Bijendra Kala, and Gurpal Singh offer solid support.If Taare Zameen Par had the soul, Sitaare Zameen Par brings the spirit. It’s a heartwarming family watch that blends comedy, compassion, and charm, and is definitely worth a trip to the theatre.
