Sitaare Zameen Par trailer: Praise galore, but scene-by-scene remake leaves some netizens unimpressed

Aamir Khan is no stranger to seeking inspiration from Hollywood for his films. From Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke (House Boat) to Ghulam (On the Waterfront), Akele Hum Akele Tum (Kramer vs Kramer), Mann (An Affair to Remember), Ghajini (Memento), Dhoom 3 (The Prestige) and Laal Singh Chaddha (Forest Gump), he’s been there done that. His next, Sitaare Zameen Par, as it turns out, is also a remake. The film finds its roots in the Spanish original film Campeones, which was remade in Hollywood with Woody Harrelson in the lead as Champions.

Bouquets and brickbats for Sitaare Zameen Par trailer

When the trailer of Sitaare Zameen Par came out, there was a lot of praise for the fact that the emotional sports drama features a cast of special needs people, and puts the spotlight firmly on an “oft ignored topic of intellectual disability”. What a section of audiences have taken umbrage to is that director RS Prasanna and producer Aamir have made no effort whatsoever to change up the Hindi adaptation, choosing instead to present a scene-by-scene remake. This “cut-copy-paste” is what has irked them.

A social media movement has begun calling for a boycott of the film, with some netizens sharing details about where the Hollywood version can be streamed and that too, with Hindi audio option. Interestingly, the Spanish original film was the official entry at the 91st Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language category, but failed to get nominated. The Hollywood version, which was Bobby Farrelly’s solo directorial debut, had opened to mixed reviews.

The plot of Champions revolves around a minor league basketball assistant coach, whose hot-headedness gets the better of him during a match, resulting in a physical altercation with the head coach. If that isn’t bad enough, he then gets drunk and drives his car into a stationary police vehicle and is arrested and court ordered to coach a team of learning-challenged people.