#10YearsOfTaareZameenPar: “We were going to give tissue papers free with each ticket” – Darsheel Safary

December 21, 2017 - 8:00 AM IST

Many might not admit but almost each and every viewer loves watching tearjerkers. There’s a certain relief and content in shedding tears while empathizing with the characters on the screen. And with Taare Zameen Par, viewers of all ages and of all strata of society couldn’t stop crying at a lot of scenes. On the tenth anniversary celebrations of Taare Zameen Par, we look back at some of the emotional moments and what does lead Darsheel Safary have to say about the whole experience.

#10YearsOfTaareZameenPar: “We were going to give tissue papers free with each ticket” – Darsheel Safary

The most emotional sequence in the film has to be the song ‘Maa’. Written wonderfully by Prasoon Joshi, this Shankar Mahadevan-sung track touched everyone’s hearts. Viewers felt terrible at the state of the lead character Ishaan Awasthi who is left by his family at a boarding school in an unknown town. One shot that stood out was Darsheel going in the bathroom crying and in the making video; one can see actor-director-producer Aamir Khan nicely explaining to the child actor how to bring out the emotions. About this experience, Darsheel Safary said, “I still remember that he told me that ‘Darsheel, this is the king shot of the film. If we get this right in one take or fewer takes, it will be fantastic because people will remember their old times when they grew up in the boarding school.’ So I did it!,” he says matter-of-factly!

If one expected the mood at the set to be sombre, then well, that was not the case. Darsheel Safary elaborated, “When we were shooting for ‘Maa’, we were laughing like anything as somebody had cracked a funny joke. I don’t know how but at that perfect moment, Aamir Khan got me into the character. He shot me at a time when I was really emotional.”

So do Darsheel Safary’s eyes get moist when he sees himself in ‘Maa’ now? On the contrary, the opposite happens. He said, “I start laughing whenever I see myself in ‘Maa’ because I used to remember how I used to start laughing whenever Aamir sir would say ‘Cut’. Perhaps when I grow up and see it again, I am sure that at that time, tears would be coming out of my eyes.”

Today, when one looks back at the film as a whole, it brings back a lot of memories for this young actor. He revealed, “For me, it’s nostalgic to remember those days. Like at night, I remember the night shifts I had and the glycerine that I had to use.” The team were aware that the film would make a lot of people cry and Darsheel remarked, maybe in a lighter vein, “We were going to give tissue papers free with each ticket!”

Darsheel Safary then did films like Bumm Bumm Bole, Zokkomon etc but it’s Taare Zameen Par for which he’s remembered the most and from the film, it’s ‘Maa’ that’s on top of viewers’ minds. Darsheel said, “Every mother that I have met has told me how much they love the song and that it’s so heart-warming.”

He doesn’t shy away from giving credit to Aamir Khan for manoeuvring into delivering a splendid performance. Darsheel stated, “Aamir Khan has been like my guru. He has been my advisor too during the shoot and I didn’t know our bond would become so strong.”

“It was no wonder that he swept all the major awards that year. One of the most memorable moments was Shah Rukh Khan lifting him on his shoulders during the ‘Filmfare Awards’. While looking back at this, Darsheel Safary said, “It was a nice moment and very exciting. I did not know what I was going through. I was above the ground and only later I realized. I was so happy!”