Finally saw TZP yesterday, and liked it very much. So much was said about the movie that the air of expectancy was making me believe that the movie could turn out to be over-hyped and disappointing. Thank God it was neither, and more importantly, it made us sit back and enjoy a simple yet thought provoking story of a dyslexic kid.
I feel we’re lucky that Sanjay Leela Bhansali didn’t think of a similar plot, because the movie would have got the same treatment as Black did. And for all those people who liked Black, here is a point to ponder about. Do we really need to show the courage and effort of not-so-privileged children in the backdrop of a dark and sobbing canvas? TZP tells us why the look of the movie should remain simple enough so that people could empathize with the characters. Black was a stark contrast, where the audience could only sympathize with Rani’s character. I got to know the difference between sympathy and empathy quite late in my life, and I feel the contrasting feel of TZP and Black illuminate the gulf between simplicity and grandeur.
The story, the script and the music were all coupled with each other in a seamless manner. Lyrics made the songs meaningful, and Prasoon always does that. Especially when it comes to mother-son relationships which were portrayed in two of the best songs I have ever heard, Luka-Chhipi from RDB and Tujhe sab kuchh pata hai na maa in TZP.
The casting was superb with the parents and teachers looking genuinely disoriented about the problems which Ishaan faces. Aamir played a wonderful second fiddle, and by now he knows what not to do in such roles. For a few moments in the second half I felt like Aamir would steal the show, but thankfully he did not even try to do anything special and played along with the tune of the movie. I do not think at any point of the movie did Ishaan looked like acting, it was very natural.
A few months ago, while some friends and I were heading towards NY Penn station, Ravi and I began discussing about who is a better actor SRK or Aamir (it is always both of us who get in to arguments/discussions). My stand point was (and I still stand by it) that Aamir is a better actor because he plays the person as it is. We always remember his unique roles by the characters he played. Rangeela, Sarfarosh, Ghulam, Lagaan, DCH, RBD and now TZP, we will always remember Aamir for the roles he played, and the way he did it. And that is the mark of a good actor, who is always known by the character. Unfortunately SRK can’t be remembered for more than a couple, since most of the roles he plays (which was very funnily shown in OSO) are very similar. And since last 3-4 years, most of his movies (at-least from the KJ camp) are shot in NY, we usually see him opening up his arms wearing a sweatshirt/jacket on Brooklyn Bridge. What I also believe is that SRK is wittier that Aamir, and hence he tends to entertain all kinds of people, which makes most of his movies a super-hit, and hence he is a much much bigger super star than Aamir. I hope Ravi (who writes for Passion for Cinema) would agree with me some day 
