Me and Ishaan

Another blog from me and this too around a movie. I think I can now start calling myself a movie-buff (by my own standards that is :) )
Aamir khan comes up with another venture that bears the maniratnam stamp - take an off-the-beaten-track story and weave a movie that is commercially viable and yet mostly sincere to the underlying theme.
I certainly could relate to Ishaan in Taare Zameen par (nothing special about that I guess; almost every adult who watches the movie would do so and the children...well they dont need to bother about things like 'relating to the character' etc...they are watching their own story told on the screen, aren't they?).
I think the movie wins in that aspect alone - the guarantee that almost every one of its watchers can see his/her own childhood in the protagonist. But then the movie for me crystallized what has been my world-view for years but never ever became a clear distinct opinion - The need to conform.
The movie so clearly brings out the all-consuming need of the 'system' - The need to conform. And you have to accept that the 'system' is quite effective at making its constituents conform; after all isn't ishaan's good marks and discipline depicted as a triumph of the teacher?? In reality, it is the system that is triumphant, once more.
There are some endearing ways in which 'taare zameen par' steps away from the weather-beaten path and for me, the most striking one was the elder brother's (should we call him the champion conformist) unflinching support for his sibling. He never really does the cinematic sibling thing - taunting and belittling the less successful brother. And of course, the mother's care, sorrow and belief in the son reflects the one quality that no other relationship on earth possess in full measure - Unconditional affection. Mothers don't care whether their kid is dyslexic or a genius, their love is unconditional and primal (in a good way that is). And 'taare zameen par's mother does justice to this motherly quality.
There are some caricatures among the characters but the movie's theme and its handling overshadow these shortcomings and that is the mark of a great movie.
Yet, taare zameen par's claims as the latest entrant to the 'list of classics' might be slightly in question due to its ending. After fighting that 'need to conform' all through, the maker of the movie suddenly submits to that same need - to show that ishaan's success is recognized only when he eventually learns to conform (read "good grades").
And if you have had the patience to read till here, you are entitled to know one fact - the writer of this piece is no 'rebel with a cause' or 'ideal non-conformist'. I am a total conformist who did not even find it in me to think of rebelling...so TZP both mocked and vindicated my stand!!! (I think I am confused about how to conclude this...so I better end it here)