Taare Zameen Par, also known as Like Stars on Earth in English, is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language drama film produced and directed by Aamir Khan. The film stars Khan himself, along with Darsheel Safary, Tanay Chheda, Sachet Engineer, Vipin Sharma and Tisca Chopra. The film explores the life and imagination of Ishaan (Safary), a 9-year-old boy who, despite excelling in art, has poor academic performance which leads his parents to send him to a boarding school, where a new art teacher Nikumbh (Khan) suspects that he is dyslexic and helps him to overcome his reading disorder. Creative director and writer Amole Gupte initially developed the idea with his wife Deepa Bhatia, who served as the film's editor. Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy composed the film's score, and Prasoon Joshi wrote the lyrics for many of the songs. Principal photography took place in Mumbai and in Panchgani's New Era High School, and some of the school's students make appearances. Taare Zameen Par made its theatrical debut in India on 21 December 2007, earning 1.35 billion worldwide, thus proving to be a commercial success. It received widespread critical acclaim, with praise for its novel story, screenplay, direction, dialogues, soundtrack and performances of the cast. The film also proved to be vital in raising awareness about dyslexia. A recipient of several accolades, Taare Zameen Par was India's official entry at the 81st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Film, but did not proceed further. At the 55th National Film Awards, it won 3 awards – Best Film on Family Welfare, Best Lyrics (Prasoon Joshi for "Maa") and Best Male Playback Singer (Shankar Mahadevan for "Maa"). At the 53rd Filmfare Awards, it received a leading 11 nominations, including Best Actor (Safary), Best Supporting Actor (Aamir Khan) and Best Supporting Actress (Chopra), and won a leading 5 awards, including Best Film, Best Director (Aamir Khan) and Best Lyricist (Joshi for "Maa"). UTV Home Entertainment released a DVD for Indian audiences in 2008. Disney's later release of the international edition DVD marked the first purchase of distribution rights for an Indian film by a global company. Plot Ishaan Awasthi is an 8-year-old boy who has trouble following school, though he is assumed by all to hate learning, and is belittled for it. His imagination, creativity, and talent for art and painting are often disregarded. His father, Nandkishore is a successful executive who expects his sons to excel, and his mother, Maya