Apna Asmaan or TZP...you decide?

Before Taare Zameen Par (TZP - for us abbreviation crazy people), there was Apna Asmaan. Made on the subject of Learning Disability and the inability of Indian parents to handle it, as we're driven by measuring success by numbers (marks in the exam or paycheck). The movie also had various sub-themes which were equally relevant and necessary to be highlighted. The only sad part is that I don't think it did as well as TZP. Surely it didn't make 85 crore in 8 weeks. I thought Apna Asmaan was much better than TZP.

Directed by Kaushik Roy and a strong ensemble cast boasting of the best names in small budget movie genre - Irfaan Khan, Shobhana (remember Mitr), Anupam Kher and Rajat Kapoor in lead roles. The movie Apna Asmaan, in my opinion, towers over TZP. All the actors were so natural that I never felt like I was sitting and watching a movie, it felt so real. If Darsheel stole your heart away by his portrayal of Ishaan Awasthi then Dhruv Piyush Panjnani will make you love him, hate him and empathize with him, in less than 2 hours through his Buddhi Raj Kumar/ Aryabhatt. The director and editor need a huge pat on their back for being so proficient at story telling.

The movie takes us through the life of Buddhi (played by Dhruv) - a young teenage boy with slow learning skills and a flair for sketching and drawing. His parents (Irfaan and Shobhana) being typical Indian parents want him to succeed in arithmetic so that he can make something of himself. More importantly, Shobhana (the mom) - who was gold medalist in Math in college, wants to live her father's wish for her to become a great mathematician through her son, who is least interested in Math. The relationship between the husband and wife has also become slightly strained because of their son's condition with both of them trying their best to get the son "cured" of his condition - something that is not possible - as explained by Rajat Kapoor (Buddhi's neuro doctor). Life seems to be a constant struggle for everyone till Irfaan and Shobhana chance upon Anupam Kher (a miracle doctor with a miracle drug) claiming to completely cure brain damages and turning the person into a superhuman in terms of intelligence. At first, the parents are hesitant about subjecting their son to the drug. But, one night, after a heated discussion between Irfaan Khan and Shobhana; Irfaan decides to administer the drug to Buddhi himself. At first, they panic as there are some adverse reaction of the drug on Buddhi. Then, suddenly, Buddhi wakes up and starts talking like a normal human being. The only side-effect of the drug is a type of amnesia where the person doesn't recognize faces and so Buddhi doesn't recognize his family. The parents don't seem to be too alarmed by it because now their son is a normal person with exceptional mathematical skills. Soon, his mathematical genius makes him a celebrity. All this while another part of his brain stops functioning and he treats his loved ones like he doesn't know them and that they are after his money. His parents also realize that Anupam Kher was involved in drug racketing and drug administered to Buddhi is very lethal for him; thus they decide to get back their son by administering him the antidote. And they get back their non mathematically inclined son back.

The catch-line of the movie is "How far will you go to make a genius?". Very very relevant in today's India of so called "Reality Shows" with kids performing and often times acting like adults - all the natak that the directors think boost TRPs. I'm reminded of a scene from the movie "Amadeus", where a father tells his son that he doesn't believe in taking him around like a show monkey, like Mozart's father does to Mozart.

Children, genius or not, need to be protected from being treated like show monkeys. It takes away their childhood from them, it did for Mozart. And if you think by talking about Mozart I'm talking history, then go and talk to any child actor and they will tell you what I mean. I remember long long ago I had read a fictional story written on the subject of child actors and the only thing I remember now, and probably will remember for rest of my life, is how the child would long to go and out play with her friends, but her mother wouldn't let her because she was an actress and she couldn't afford getting hurt while playing.

Apna Asmaan isn't about child actors, but it highlights the same issue - Making your kid into a show monkey and put him/her in front of an audience and expect them to be always at certain behaviour. Leave the kids alone, let them be kids. This was the thought lingering in my head at the end of the movie. And I repeat myself again, by saying the it was much much better than TZP.

The one thing that Apna Asmaan didn't pay attention to and TZP did was their packaging. But, I wouldn't hold it against them, as they probably didn't have a production powerhouse like Amir Khan's to back their movie. The promotions for the movie reflected its budget. I hope it did well in its genre - the small budget movie.

It had some of the finest and natural performances by some really superb actors.....I'm slowly becoming an Irfaan and Rajat Kapoor fan now. They are so good at their craft - acting in the movies. I wish them all the best and all those of you who haven't seen the movie, please rent the DVD or VHS and watch it right away. Its a must watch for everyone - especially parents.