Sitaare Zameen Par review: Heartwarming and imperfect, Aamir Khan the producer triumphs over the actor

Aamir Khan is back with his trademark, quintessential feel-good movie. Over the years, the actor has carved out a niche in Indian cinema for making entertaining films that convey important social messages. In the past few years, as the actor tried to experiment in typical commercial fare, the set image dwindled. In 2025, he seems to be back in his comfort zone, playing a reluctant hero in Sitaare Zameen Par, where he typically takes a backseat and lets others shine. Of course, the superstar's presence looms large on this one, but Sitaare Zameen Par works because of its messaging and the way it is delivered.

Helmed by RS Prasanna, who had directed the delightful and effective Shubh Mangal Savdhan earlier, Sitaare Zameen Par is the classic underdog story. On many occasions, the film feels cliche and predictable, but it is the bunch of new actors, all neurodivergent, that uplifts this regular story.

Plot of Sitaare Zameen Par

Aamir Khan plays hot-headed Gulshan, assistant basketball coach of the Delhi State Team. A DUI case lands him in court, which orders him to do three months of community service and pay 5K as a fine. Gulshan agrees to evade jail time, but the catch is that social service translates into coaching a team of specially abled players for National Championships. Rude and brash, Gulshan initially is reluctant to coach a team of 'mad' people, but over a course of time, realises that normalcy is a relative term and everyone's normal is different.

While he is training the team, he also has to navigate his troubled marriage to Suneeta (Genelia Deshmukh) and work out his issues with his mother (Dolly Ahluwalia Tewari). Does Gulshan manage to win over the team and his family forms the rest of the story.

While the film is from Khan's character's perspective and his coming-of-age story, it heavily focuses on delivering a message of inclusivity.

Films have been made in the past about specially abled individuals, but in most at some point in the story, the viewers are compelled to feel sympathetic and bad for these characters. Sitaare Zameen Par takes a conscious route to not use the sympathy card for these Sitaares (The name of their basketball team). They are shown as normal as us. Instead, writer Divy Nidhi Sharma demands that you change your perspective about them. One has a girlfriend, one is obsessed with flights and diseases, one smokes, and one works double shifts at work. Their problems are made to be as usual as ours, making them relatable and, in the process, making us think about the definition of normal. Everyone’s normal is different, it's relative- a message that runs through the film.

Humour always helps in delivering a strong message. Sitaare zameen par is no different. I found myself smiling through most parts of the film. There are several heartwarming moments sprinkled through the narrative. One involves the team collectively conspiring to make one of the members take a shower after years of hydrophobia. Another has Gulshan finding out a big secret about his mother.

The film does oversimplify the way society perceives specially abled people. Their problems are neatly enveloped with dollops of humour, but I am not complaining. At least the film aims to start a conversation, and that’s wonderful.

The Sitaares of Sitaare Zameen Par

Credit should be given to director RS Prasanna, producer Aamir Khan, and casting director Tess Joseph for picking up a bunch of fun, confident, and talented neurodivergent actors. They breathe life into the slightly preachy and predictable plot with humour and genuine emotions. While Bollywood actors like Priyanka Chopra, SRK, and Kalki Koechlin have played specially abled characters in the past, no one has brought authenticity to the characters as much as these new actors have. Full marks to the makers, for casting them instead of trying regular, known faces in these roles. Sitaare Zameen Par shines because of this bunch of actors.

Aamir Khan, the producer

This isn’t the best film of Aamir Khan the actor. He hams in parts, is over the top in others, and sleepwalks through the rest of it. But Aamir Khan, the producer, should be credited for bringing authenticity and required rawness to a story like Sitaare Zameen Par. The film may be inspired – and some say a frame-to-frame copy of Spanish film Champions- but it is well-intended and entertains you throughout.

Aamir and Genelia’s chemistry as a warring couple also falls flat on several occasions, even though it is a delight to watch the actress in a full-fledged role in a feature film after a long time. She brings her effervescent charm to her character Suneeta, who is a positive influence on grumpy Gulshan’s life.

Aamir’s scenes with his onscreen mother, played by Dolly Ahluwalia, however, shine. The two have great onscreen chemistry and look the part of a mother and a son. While Gulshan is a negative man who has only learnt to escape tricky situations in his life, his mother is immensely positive in life, having raised him single-handedly, yet not bitter about her past experiences.

Flaws

Sitaare Zameen Par is perhaps not the most perfect and correct representation of a community that is almost always overlooked the society. It uses humour to dilute the issues, it has Aamir playing a reluctant saviour to a bunch of underdogs, and it has a predictable plot. It is a spiritual sequel of Taare Zameen Par (2007), which had a more nuanced take on parent-child relationships and on Dyslexia. Sitaare Zameen Par tackles issues more on the surface level.

But I am willing to overlook the flaws because the story is heartwarming, and it makes you think about autism and Down syndrome differently, hours after you have left the cinema hall.

Sitaare Zameen Par, however, is the kind of Aamir Khan film that fans love to watch and cheer. It’s a simple, heartwarming film which shines not because of Khan but more because of its message and the new actors who debut along with the superstar.

Sitaare Zameen Par releases nationwide in theaters on June 20. Don’t miss it.