Special screening of award-winning Bollywood film

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Written by Shay Alspach

Thursday, 20 November 2008 09:31

A Bollywood film screening, the wonders of childhood and a call to awareness of a learning disability are all wrapped into one special event during International Education Week at the University of Wyoming.

A special screening of the award-winning Indian film, “Taare Zameen Par” (Little Stars on Earth) will happen at 6:30 tonight in the Wyoming Union Family Room.

“The movie carries a universal message and serves as a wake up call for all teachers and parents,” Milaap President Pallavi Choudhuri said. “It makes you peek into a child’s mind, reminding you how their world is not yet tainted by the hustle bustle of the daily life and why it’s so important to nurture a child’s innate talents and not chain him down with too many expectations and matters of consequence.”

“Taare Zameen Par” stars Darsheel Safary and Aamir Khan and tells the tale of an eight year-old dyslexic child, his struggles, and the parents and teachers who fail to understand his disability. The boy endures having to follow the aspirations of his parents and what adults want. It is not until a newly hired art teacher who doesn’t follow the confines of the system comes along that things improve. The teacher notices the boy’s problems and decides to help unleash his creativity, Choudhuri said.

“It would be helpful for us at UW, being a scientific community, being part of an educational system, to be aware of such issues [as dyslexia],” Milaap member Pooja Saraff said.

Along with Milaap, the Indian students organization at UW, the screening is co-hosted by recognized student organizations including the Women’s Action Network, the International Student Association, Hillel, the Friends of Nepal at UW and the Muslim Student Association. The screening is also co-hosted by the Department of Psychology and the Office of Student Educational Opportunity and Disability Support Services.

“What excites me about this screening is that I get to see how a primarily American audience will react to a well-made Indian movie,” Roopal Jani, a member of Milaap said. “In addition, I get to see Aamir Khan, one of my favorite actors, on screen!”

“Taare Zameen Par” received a standing ovation after a screening in Seattle in October at the annual conference of the International Dyslexia Association, Choudhuri said.

The film has won numerous Indian Filmfare Awards and is India’s entry in the 2009 Academy Awards Best Foreign Film category.

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