IT'S OKAY TO BE DIFFERENT

Actor, who plays a basketball coach to a group of neurodivergent children in 'Sitaare Zameen Par', speaks up for inclusivity... once again

- By Manjusha Radhakrishnan Entertainment Editor

As a mother of twins, one of whom was recently diagnosed with dysgraphia, I’ve found myself rethinking what inclusion truly means. It’s not just about special educators or patient class-rooms. It’s about visibility. Normalisation. Representation.

And when Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan returns to our screens in Sitaare Zameen Par — as a basketball coach to a group of neurodivergent children — it feels deeply personal.

“Inclusion is what I really believe in,” Khan tells me during our wide-ranging conversation, as we briefly bond over sharing the same birthday (March 14 — for the curious).

“I look forward to the day when India becomes 100 per cent inclusive.”

His voice carries conviction — and a bit of hope. As someone whose 2007 classic, Taare Zameen Par, first gave mainstream Bollywood a sensitive, stirring portrayal of a child with dyslexia, Khan is no stranger to the power of meaningful cinema. But this time, the roles are reversed.

“In Taare, it was the teacher helping a child with a learning disability,” he says." In Sitaare Zameen Par, it is 10 people who are neuro-atypical — and they are helping the coach.”

While Sitaare Zameen Par is not a direct sequel to Taare, it builds on the same spirit of empathy.

“These are not the same characters anymore from Taare, but the theme is similar. It’s actually taking the discussion further,” he says.

The discussion, in this case, is about inclusion — a subject Khan feels the Indian education system has barely scratched the surface of.