TZP

I watched Taare Zameen Par the first Sunday it was released. And the only regret I had after watching it was that I won’t be able to blog about it (3 weeks to the exams). But 2 months post its release, I still remember the entire movie as vividly as if I have seen it yesterday. I am sure there has been enough written on the film itself, so I’ll write mainly about its music.

But first in short about why I loved the film. Most films of such a genre make you sympathise with the protagonist. They make you feel sad for him, shed a tear or two but then forget it sooner than later. Some good films go further; they make you empathise. TZP achieved that..and brilliantly. As a friend said, by interval time, even we feel like shouting hoarse for some messiah to arrive for Ishaan. But TZP achieves what perhaps no other film has ever done; it makes you want to be like the protagonist; to behold the world, its simplicity and its beauty, as he sees it.

And now of course..its amaaaaazing music. I often thought that Shankar Ehsan Loy had become too repetitive since their brilliant Dil Chahta Hai. But it never felt better to be proven wrong. Each and every score is so beautiful and so unique.

The title track is a slow haunting melody. Over 7 minutes long, but you still just can’t get over it. And shot so wonderfully at that. Its one of those types which is better appreciated when heard alone in silence.

‘Meri maa’ is pathos personified. Undoubtedly the place where majority of the buckets of tears were shed, Shankar Mahadevan’s rendition really moves even the stone hearted. The song’s USP of course is its simple lyrics. It voices what probably all of us have felt some time or the other. And yes..the pause. ‘Tujhe sab kuchh pataaa…. Meri maa’ – the pause in between is just perfect, not too long, not too little. Jusssst perfect.

‘A little sweet’ is a lovely melody. And again, its filming is awesome. It makes us remember the simple pleasures of life which we seem to have somewhere down the line lost the capacity to enjoy. And Ishaan’s expressions during the song are really brilliant.

‘Bam bam bole’ is a fun track. The quality of the music can be gauged by the fact that this is amongst the more ‘ordinary’ tracks of the movie. But I somehow like the ‘bam cheek bam bam cheek bam’ part. And it does make you reminiscence your school teachers, doesn’t it?!

‘Jame raho’ and ‘Bheja kam’ have a definite Floyd feel to them. Bheja kam of course seems to be well inspired by Brick in the wall, with its style, harsh notes, loud background voises of the teachers et al. Really cool. And Jame raho has a subtle but definite resemblance to ‘Time’ and ‘On the run’, not perhaps as much in content but definitely in the feel. Another fantastic song. Specially the part where the music suddenly changes and you see Ishaan sleeping soundly with the sunrays falling on him. Don’t you want to be like him when you see that?! Its another song which makes us start wondering what the **** are we doing with our lives.

And then of course ‘Kholo kholo darwaze.’ In one word, it is exhilarating. It’s a symphony of josh, excitement, hope, confidence, positive attitude..the perfect way to end the movie (and this blog). Especially the shot when Amir Khan is shown to have drawn Ishaan’s portrait. Isn’t that the most thrilling shot of the film?! In fact, in this shot, don’t you actually feel envious of Ishaan?!!! I know that I would want nothing more than someone painting something like that for me. From sympathy to empathy to downright jealousy, all within 3 hours!! That’s the magic of TZP!!