Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

Diagonaldi Very well executed

Gutsycurene Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

Ginger Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

braddugg Loving simple tale of unison of estranged parentsThe movie is full of witty, kid dish conversations between a 12 year old boy and others, the others range from his own dad to his toy. Splendid camera captured the entire emotions, funny things and also the love so refreshingly. Editing is precise except for a couple of sequences (both are related to politics), where it seemed that the director is enforcing his idea of 'cool' politician.Now, the acting is one thing that has to be surely appreciated by almost all who have acted except one, that's Abhishek Bachchan, I request him to learn acting or do it or just get off the screen and give screen space to better actors. The acting of Vidya Balan is top notch but the real stealer is Amitabh, agreed, that the makeup, voice, teeth, eyes were deliberate attempts to make him look like a progeria affected child, but the performance delivered is one that is surely world class. Full marks to Amitabh for bringing the actor from within and becoming a child at 68 years of his life and giving a wonderful treat of performance.The characterization was simple, but some incidents were surely stretched out. Father is a politician who denies becoming a father as he seeks his personal aspirations over becoming a father, its fine. Mom is gynecologist is also fine. Son is a progeria affected child. Now, these are characters existing in reality But, the point is how father meets the child and learns the truth and how, he is united with his lost love. Simple, but the meeting was a deliberate and amateurish attempt to begin such a story, nevertheless it had to start at some point and so it did, and once the protagonist was introduced, the entire thing was an engaging watch full of humor (it's not cynical or sarcastic but plain and dry) that's the stand out selling point. One dialogue in which the kid is asked 'What does your mom and do?" to which he replies "Bas bachhe paida karte hai" is worth the money.Despite the evident flaws in the movie, it is worth a watch just for it's simplicity and no nonsense method. Director Balki, I wish sticks to such stuff and keeps churning these kind of movies more and kudos for trying this in an earnest way. Highly recommended - 4/5.

roohiahuja After strong recommendations, reviews and mass approvals for this movie, I was slightly disappointed after watching it. No doubt Amitabh Bachhan's (AB) performance was brilliant - largely attributed to his make up and the lisp to talk like a 12 year old. What was disappointing was that the movie lacked emotion. The movie was staged around a 12 year old boy suffering from this rare disease - Progeria, but it failed to give it's central theme more depth and understanding of the character. The boy's life is shown to be perfectly normal, school life is superb with a lot of friends and no social stigma whatsoever. Traditionally you will see this flaw in some other Balki directed movies as well - "Cheeni Kum" wherein you have this extremely happy cancer suffering girl "Sexy". The whole personification of some of his characters lack reality and seem to be overtly precocious. By the end it seemed just like any other Bollywood flick with the only difference being a child born with Progeria.Maybe I was benchmarking the movie to "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and in comparison the movie definitely failed. Also, in comparison to the movie "Taare Zameen Pe" which was staged around the central theme of Dyslexia where the character was an 8 year old boy, Paa was not a comparison. While it was a novel idea and a great performance by AB, I felt the movie could have been so much better for the 2.5 hours time that it ran for. Poor dialogues and average music did not make things any better. The great thing was the movie did not waste its time on showing the early romance between Vidya Balan and Abhishek Bachaan, which ideally should have given more time to focus on the central character- 12 year old boy. It should have focused more on challenges faced by the boy, his emotions, his understanding of the disease and the world as seen from his vision.In all, the movie lacks to integrate and have a unified central theme. The only take away from the movie is the brilliant make up done for AB and his performance which truly has no parallel. For only that, I recommend you make time for it and watch.

AishFan Paa is an extraordinary film--technically brilliant with career-topping performances and a strong, emotional story that won't let you leave the theater without shedding a few tears. I have to start out by saying that Amitabh continues to outdo himself with each and every film. One could never tell that he was not a 12 year-old boy. I become a bigger fan of his with each new movie. Abhishek also gives his best performance since Guru. Like his wife, deep-rooted Indian roles such as Refugee, Sarkar, Guru, and Paa suit him the most. The mod, macho-man, college boy, and filmi hero looks (Dhoom, Dus, Kuch Na Kaho, etc.) don't suit him at all. I also feel that this is Vidya Balan's best since Parineeta.Just goes to show that the director is a genius. He has put together the film so perfectly. Each scene is captivating and flows beautifully from one scene to the next. The strong emotions pull your heartstrings, and you are able to relate with your own life experiences in one way or another. The classical background score is lovely. The only thing I would have changed is the opening credits. Why is Jaya sitting and reading all the names?! Lol. But yes, this movie is a must-see.

the_weirdo 1. Poor Poor Script. I couldn't find the theme, the concept behind the "story". I felt as if a story is made fit to showcase the greatness of the actors.2. Unnecessary sub-plots. The story drifts from the actual subject so much that I got confused what the director wanted to show. In a movie dealing with progeria and father-son relationship why spend 30 minutes or more showing the media-politician imbroglio. What makes 'Taare Zameen Par' a better movie of that genre is that not a single moment in the movie drifts away from the main subject.3. Missing the meaning of tagline's worth. There was no father-son relationship that was highlighted. Hence 'father-son son-father' thingy was just a marketing gimmick.4. Songs. Not the music or melody of them, but where they are placed. Especially the 'Hichiki' song was put at a point where I least expected it.5. The very reason why the movie was made. In an interview R Balki, the director of the movie, had boasted that when he was in the office of Amitabh Bachchan one day he saw the banter between Abhishek and his father as the role reversal. And hence he wanted to cast the real father-son duo as reel son-father. When he heard about the disease Progeria, he shouted 'Eureka'. In my opinion, it is a very poor way to conceive a movie. May be that is the reason for the poor script.You might argue this as one of the best performances of Amitabh. Of course, he acts well that's why he is so great and I am one of his biggest fans. But one thing we must not forget that it is not that great actors make great movies. It is the great movies that make the actors great.(Originally posted at weirdo-on-movies.blogspot.com/)