Aamir Khan on casting Darsheel Safary in Taare Zameen Par: ‘I saw his eyes and knew he was Ishaan’

Aamir Khan recently reflected on the reason for casting Darsheel Safary in his 2009 film Taare Zameen Par. He said that during the auditions, he looked into Darsheel’s eyes and expressions and knew that he was Ishaan, the child character in the film.

In the video, Darsheel is seen playing Ishaan in a raw manner. He is enacting a scene from the film when Ishaan is lost in the classroom and the teacher asks him a question. He gives some authentic emotions on his face, and his eyes begin to swell up with tears. Later, Aamir is seen reflecting on the decision to cast him.

He says, “I remember the day when I saw Darsheel’s test for the role. As soon as I saw the first shot of Darsheel, and even before he said a dialogue, just by looking at his face and expressions, I was like, ‘This is the boy, he is Ishaan.'” In the caption to the video, it was written, “love at first shot".

The film’s spiritual sequel, Sitaare Zameen Par is in the pipeline, starring Aamir and Genelia D’Souza in the lead. Its shoot was wrapped recently. The film is helmed by RS Prasanna, who has previously helmed the Ayushmann Khurrana-starrer Shubh Mangal Saavdhan (2017).