Catherine V.

Conchada
Btte-Fsm-IC
Prof.Bunyi

REACTION PAPER

I.Title: Every Child Is A Special

*Scipt Writer: Amole Gupte
*Setting: School
*Characters:
-Darsheel Safary as Ishaan Nandkishore Awasthi: In looking for an actor
to play the central figure of Ishaan, writer Amole Gupte turned to
Shiamak Davar's Summer Funk workshops. Gupte had several boys
informally audition by explaining to him how they would react to
scripted situations from the film. Of his decision to cast Darsheel
Safary, Gupte recalls that "it was a tough call. But Darsheel has the
mischief in his eyes to be Ishaan. Everyone just naturally gravitated
towards him."
-Aamir Khan as Ram Shankar Nikumbh ("Nikumbh Sir"): Gupte, who
based the character on his art teacher Ramdas Sampat Nikumbh,
initially asked Akshaye Khanna to play the role.
-Sachet Engineer as Yohaan Nandkishore Awasthi ("Dada"): Ishaan's
elder brother.
-Tanay Chheda as Rajan Damodran: Ishaan's classmate at New Era
High School.
-Tisca Chopra as Maya Awasthi ("Maa"): Ishaan's mother, who gave up
her career to raise her children. Chopra tended to speak softly during
filming and was subsequently required to re-record some scenes using
automated dialogue replacement.
-Vipin Sharma as Nandkishore Awasthi ("Papa"): Ishaan's "strict, hard,
dominating father". Part of the reason for Sharma's casting was his
"extremely strong and dominating" face that "exudes harshness."
Described by Khan as "naturally polite" and sensitive, Sharma was
instructed to lower his voice to sound "harsh" and "dominating".
-Girija Oak as Jabeen, Nikumbh's co-worker
-Bugs Bhargava and Shankar Sachdev as Sen Sir and Tiwari Sir: Two
teachers atEra High School, whose attitude towards Ishaan softens as
his grades improve and he wins the art contest. The roles are
caricatures of teachers in general.
-M. K. Raina as the principal of New Era High School.

-Lalita Lajmi as herself in a cameo role. It was her first appearance as

an actor.

II. Summary:
The movie, Every Child Is Special, was about a certain child named
Ishaan Awasthi. Ishaan was a talented child; he can think outside the
box and paint with such passion and creativity. But he was not
understood by his teachers; he was only thought of as a mischievous
and a very naughty boy. He was often called an idiot, duffer, lazy and
crazy, even his parents didn't understand him. They only thought that
the boy was misbehaving because he did not want to go to school. It is
perhaps the structure and restrictions of the normal expectations of
the school system that rub him the wrong way, because one day, after
having been punished by being sent by the teacher to stand in the
hallway, he goes AWOL and wanders the streets, savoring the exciting
sights of tourist-film India. He appears to be somewhat hyperactive. If
his parents attempted to have him tested, it may be that he never sat
still long enough to get a diagnosis. After finding out that Ishaan will be
kicked out of school after the school year, his parents decided to send
him to a boarding school where Ishaan suffered more from his strict
teachers. These incidents crushed Ishaans confidence in him and he
became depressed, very depressed. He did not speak to anyone, not
even to his mother or his brother. No one would even try to help him
because they did not try to understand him.
Luckily he met Ram Shankar Nikumbh, the temporary art teacher, saw
himself in Ishaan, he stayed persistent to help Ishaan in his studies and
his life. Through his unconventional teaching methods and graceful
presence, Ishaans attention was caught up. Ram did everything to
understand Ishaans problem in reading and writing, he consulted
Ishaans parents and told them that Ishaan has dyslexia, wherein he
finds it hard to recognize letters and numbers. I love when he told
Ishaans father that in the Solomon Islands, villagers dont chop down a
tree when they want to clear land, but curse and hurl abuses at it, and
the tree withers and dies soon after. Ram helped Ishaan in every way,
first he gave Ishaan a confidence boost so that he will not be afraid to
express himself, and then, he also gave Ishaan lessons in writing,
reading and in math. Ram taught Ishaan using different methods; he
made learning fun by applying games to his lessons. Gradually, Ishaan
begun to improve in his studies, he has now little trouble in reading, he
can write properly and can solve math problems. Teaching should not
only be done in one way; we should use different ways to teach our
students because each and every one of us has a unique and special
talent. It is also good to understand the needs of our students; let them
be free free to imagine, free to learn in their own special way. Listen
to your students opinions and learn from it.

Somehow the movie touched in an exceptional way and it broke my

heart seeing that the dear people that child thought would understand
him were the very ones who judged him and failed to understand his
problem. But I cannot really judge the parents though, all they wanted
was the best for their child that is why they tried so hard to push him
and discipline him at the same time. It tugs the heartstrings and at the
same time gives hope that having dyslexia is not a desperate and in
hopeless situation. To help the students, family support, teachers
patience and love is needed, so with the interesting and enjoyable
teaching and learning strategies should be employed. The theory of
multiple intelligence in education plays an important role here and that
can be a vessel in informing the teachers and most importantly the
parents for them to assist their children. With time, patience and care,
he ultimately helps Ishaan find himself and the harsh father realized
his childs worth and needs.

*Social Relavance Moral Lesson:

Every child is special. Every child has his own personality. Every child
tries to endeavor and focus best in his life. Primarily, every child has
his own dreams. But the main factor to ponder is, for us to understand
his dreams. And the truth is, we lack stability, patience and
understanding as far as the child is concern.

III. Reaction: