I had just warned a friend that the film is not as great as it has been made out to be, and today after seeing it he called me from Mumbai saying how disappointing it is. We both feel the film is very plastic in its intention and extremely pretentious. There was a perceptible manipulation from the very beginning to make the audience go through the emotional ride,which was made to climax in such a way that most people would not be able to help control their tears. But exactly how honest and true was this film in its endeavor? My friend said he just could not connect with the film, and exactly like the observations of 'Just a red herring', even I realized some time after the initial effects wore off that the entire story-line is a 'one-liner' - "challenges faced by a dyslexic child in a society like India, where understanding about such challenges are limited to say the least'. Trust me, although I found a film like Om Shanti Om absolutely disgusting, meaningless and stupidity epitomized, looking back I think the makers of OSO were more honest and genuine in their approach.They made it absolutely clear that they were making a completely melodramatic,over-the-top,loud and exaggerated 70's spoof.TZP, on the other hand, is also loud,melodramatic and over-the-top in the garb of being sensitive,delicate and intellectual. Its like finding that the lady you always thought to be Audrey Hepburn is none other than a disguised Mallika Sherawat! I'd like all movie lovers to refer to certain comments and reviews made on this site itself about the film 'Munich' by Spielberg. There is this one sequence - famously referred to as the 'little girl in peril' shot. Spielberg showed how some assassins while attempting to eliminate one of their targets get shocked on realizing that they may kill his innocent little daughter instead etc. This single sequence drew widespread negative criticism from movie-watchers, who said that Spielberg was manipulative, unnecessarily dramatic and cheap in using the audience's sentiments to elicit emotional connection by such a pedestrian method. Aamir is no doubt one of the best we have, but if we are truly looking at using the wonderful medium of movie-making to tell stories, and not just a method of proclaiming our intellectual capabilities - we should probably start being a bit more matured at using it.
Review of Like Stars on Earth
