It's Time We Thank Aamir Khan For Challenging The Mindsets Of Typical Indian Parents

We learn from visual medium more than we learn from books and lectures. In India, people learn more from movies than any other thing in the world! 

Had it not been for Aamir Khan , more than half the country would have never known the meaning of Dyslexia. All specially abled and differently abled children who can make a huge difference to the world would have been conveniently hidden in hibernation by their parents in our society if he had not made Taare Zameen Par . Every second child who came out of that theatre claimed it was their story!

While 99 percent Indian parents get baffled and troubled by the fact that their child isn’t performing well in school and in life in general, none of them would have known how to deal with a dyslexic child if Taare Zameen Par had not opened their eyes. The way Aamir directed the movie and treated this sensitive issue is something that all Indian kids would want to thank him for all their lives. Even adults who had no clue why they were a little slow in grasping and performing things were enlightened by Aamir’s movie about a condition called dyslexia. Parents who were progressive and understanding enough to absorb his message, did change the way they dealt with their children.

With 3 Idiots, the constant pressure of being the first to win the race, scoring an ‘A’ in your report cards, getting into top institutions and treating life like a competition was another big mirror of our society. 3 Idiots paved way for celebrating mediocrity and accepting the fact that it’s good to be who you are, and that doesn’t make you average or less competent.

With Secret Superstar , Aamir has again hit the ball out of the park. A girl whose dreams are shattered by her own father and how she gets support from her already suppressed mother to become a singing sensation is another mirror image of our world. He is time and again stimulating a dialogue in our society with massy films which drive families to the theatres, to ponder over our approach towards our children and stop crushing their dreams of pursuing unconventional careers. While a lot of viewers have argued that this movie is slightly more melodramatic than it should have been, the truth remains that this is who we still are as a society and that we need more movies like these to awaken regressive people.

Aamir also deserves a special mention for his voice over as Pluto Mehra, the dog in Dil Dhadakne Do , where he speaks about how parents don’t talk about things that they need to with their children. He aptly says, “Humare desi maa baap kabhi ye nahin maanenge ki unke bachchon mein itni akal aagayi hai ki apni marzi se jee saken!”

Aamir Khan deserves a stupendous round of applause for his efforts in touching such topics for the past many years. He is indeed somewhere a ‘Secret Superstar’ for many kids and generations.