Walt Disney brings 'Taare Zameen Par' to America

The emotional and yet entertaining story of an eight-year-old misfit with his head in the stars, who learns that being different can also mean being special, has been presented for American audiences with a brand new English-language track and English and Hindi subtitles as "Like Stars on Earth".

Seven infectious Bollywood dance numbers and vividly imagined animated interludes make this "a little twinkling star of a movie", as BBC Movie Reviews put it, a "sparkling example of why Indian cinema has rapidly become the most popular film import to the US".

The film was the directorial debut of Aamir Khan, one of India's most acclaimed actors and filmmakers ("Lagaan", 2002 Academy Award nominee, Best Foreign Language Film, India).

"Like Stars on Earth" also features young newcomer Darsheel Safary in an astonishingly nuanced performance that earned him a 2007 nomination for Best Actor in India's prestigious Filmfare Awards. "Like Stars on Earth" was one of India's top grossing theatrical films of 2007.

In this touching and inspiring film, eight-year-old Mumbai native Ishaan Awasthi (Darsheel Safary) lives in a world where letters dance exuberantly with the brilliant colours, lively animals and joyfully soaring kites of his fantastical imagination.

Struggling to read and write and unable to deliver the good grades and disciplined behaviour expected by his parents and teachers, Ishaan is shipped off to a boarding school to straighten out.

Almost 320 km from home and suffering from homesickness, Ishaan alone is unmoved when a new art teacher (Aamir Khan) energises the classroom by asking students to think, dream and imagine, instead of merely following the rules.

Determined to draw the introverted child out, the teacher sets about helping Ishaan find the wondrous power of creativity that lies within him.

"Like Stars on Earth" with a feature run time of 165 minutes has a suggested retail price of US$29.99 and Canadian $35.99.