Aamir Khan's film 'Sitaare Zameen Par' releases in cinemas on June 20, 2025, also starring Genelia Deshmukh. The film promises to be a heartwarming ride for fans of the actor-filmmaker, breaking new ground just like its predecessor 'Taare Zameen Par' in 2007. In an exclusive chat with LatestLY, director RS Prasanna talks about why 'Sitaare Zameen Par' is an important film. It will have something to take home, just like any other quintessential Aamir Khan film, he says. The director also speaks about the joy of working with the talented neurodivergent actors in 'Sitaare Zameen Par'. He is also grateful to have worked with Aamir Khan Productions and have the support of Aamir Khan throughout the making of the film. Watch the full interview in the video.
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00:00Subscribe to our channel, press the bell icon and never miss an update from Latestly.
00:05So with Sitare, I think it's a quintessential Aamir film.
00:08I've been a fan of Mr. Aamir.
00:10Will we be able to do it?
00:11I think all of them are already actors.
00:13Just that they were not discovered.
00:15And Aamir sir will join me in saying that
00:17it is they who actually have given us the opportunity to work.
00:22We've always made pan-India films.
00:24Indian cinema is so diverse.
00:27Movies are made with love.
00:29Hi, welcome to Latestly.
00:31We are here with Mr. Prasanna, who is the director of Sitare Zameen Par,
00:35the latest film by Aamir Khan Productions.
00:37Welcome, sir, to Latestly.
00:40It's nice to have you here with us.
00:42This will be your second film directing in Bollywood, if I'm not wrong.
00:46Is that correct?
00:47Yeah, that's true.
00:48And with Aamir Khan Productions.
00:49Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:50So how has the experience been working with this?
00:53It's been a dream experience, Veta.
00:56I mean, I'm so happy to have had the honour and privilege to work with Mr. Aamir.
01:01Right.
01:02I've always seen him on screen as a fan.
01:05And I'm even more of a fan now of him as a human being, as a person.
01:09Okay.
01:10As a human being and as a producer.
01:12Yes.
01:13How has the experience?
01:14I would say, dream producers, as they say.
01:19I'll be praising Mr. Aamir in this interview a lot.
01:21But I want all of you to know that it's from the heart.
01:24Okay.
01:25When you usually meet a director just before the release,
01:29it's very rarely that a director speaks with love about the producer.
01:33Is that so?
01:34Is that more because of the purse strings angle or what is it?
01:38Well, usually what happens is that a director and a producer ought to be a team.
01:42And on the same side.
01:43Right.
01:44But that privilege comes very rarely.
01:46I've been blessed with it from my first film.
01:48Be it Kalyana Samal Sadam, the precursor of Shubh Mangal, Mr. Anand Rai.
01:53I was very, very lucky to find very good producers.
01:56And incidentally, all three of my producers, including my Tamil film, very strangely,
02:02there's a pattern.
02:03All of them are directors themselves.
02:05So, I love…
02:07You mean the producers are directors themselves.
02:10They are directors themselves.
02:11And Aamir is also an actor-director.
02:12He's a director, he's a filmmaker, you know, and Anand Rai sir is also a filmmaker.
02:17So, I feel a lot of comfort when working with a filmmaker as a producer
02:22because it becomes very easy to communicate a lot of things.
02:25They would know where a director is coming from perhaps.
02:28The creative side of it.
02:29The creative side of things.
02:30And I've often found that producing and direction are like, you know, producer-director
02:39ought to work as a team because one cannot exist without the other.
02:43And with Aamir sir, I think he's a dream producer because he really protects the director
02:49from a lot of things.
02:51Okay.
02:52And he doesn't let the director ever get burdened with, you know, budgetary things
02:56or whatever the director wants, he's there to support.
03:00And he also has enormous experience.
03:02So, one can also lean on him and, you know, kind of check if things are going fine
03:06or if I want some inputs.
03:07He's always there 24-7, middle of the night, early morning, anytime to just like…
03:12He's there 24-7 for all of us.
03:14That's amazing.
03:15So, how long was this film shot?
03:17So, how long was this film shot?
03:19How many schedules were there?
03:21It's been quite a fun shoot.
03:23It's been quite a quick shoot also considering the scale of the film.
03:26Right.
03:27I think we must have shot it over maybe 90, around 90 days.
03:32Okay.
03:33Over a period of time.
03:34Right.
03:35And, yeah, it's been a lot of fun on set.
03:40So, looking at the trailer and the songs, you do get a feel good kind of feeling after watching it.
03:49Yeah.
03:50So, if we talk about the plot, can you explain it in short?
03:53Like, what is the plot?
03:55Something which more than the trailer if you want to share.
03:58Without revealing much, it's about a coach who goes through this journey of having to coach basketball to a bunch of people whom he thinks,
04:08has a different opinion about them until he meets them.
04:14And this transformative journey of his and theirs is the film.
04:20Okay.
04:21So, there's equal focus on the kids or the people being coached and the coach.
04:26The special people.
04:27Yes, yes.
04:28So, the journey of this movie, like you saw in the trailer.
04:32Right.
04:33There's a lot of scenes with the sitare.
04:34Yeah.
04:35And they bring the energy and the authenticity of lived experience.
04:43And them being not professional actors, they bring a certain joy, they bring a certain courage, certain unpredictability to their expressions which is an absolute delight to receive as a director.
04:57Yes, we can feel that energy.
04:59You can feel that.
05:00Yeah, after watching the trailer.
05:01Yeah.
05:02And I was coming to that point that all the actors who are special children or let's say people on the spectrum.
05:07Sure.
05:08So, they are really actually people who are either autistic or on the spectrum.
05:12Yes.
05:13So, how did you pick them and were they to be like really trained in acting methodically or just be themselves?
05:21Sure.
05:22What was the approach?
05:23Well, I think we had a very wonderful process of casting and acting workshops and basketball workshops.
05:30For about, I would say 10 months to a year almost.
05:33Oh.
05:34And that's where, you know, speaking of Aamir sir as a producer and how he empowers his directors.
05:38Right.
05:39Absolutely.
05:40To put that much amount of time to back up a team for that long with no end in sight.
05:46So, for example, one of the first things I asked him was, sir, I know that we have to cast real people.
05:54It's not that we have to cast three or four or five.
05:57We have to cast so many of them.
06:00Sir, will we be able to do it?
06:02He was the one who gave me the confidence that, no, Prasana, it will happen.
06:05You know, India is such a large country.
06:06We have so much talents.
06:07He has personally, through Satyamev Jayate, worked with a lot of NGOs.
06:10Yeah.
06:11And Tare Zamin Parme, he has met a lot of special people.
06:14Yeah.
06:15He constantly, as a very socially conscious member of society, he knows.
06:20So, he gave me the confidence that you start the process, you come to Bombay and it'll work.
06:25And you know, every day, it was a joy to kind of, sometimes I look back and say, here is a man who completely trusts the process and the people he brings on board to, you know, let the magic happen.
06:37So, eventually, when we did cast all of them, I was really grateful to him.
06:41And in this process, my casting directors, Tess Joseph, Anmol Ahuja, we had a special consultant on our project called Dr. Neenavaidya, who taught us about Down syndrome, autism, how to create a safe space for them.
06:56And I was very particular while hiring even the, all the crew and all the HODs that if they give me, you know, a vibe of being a person who's not very sensitive or who's coming from a space of lack of empathy, then in any case, I would not want to work with them as a person.
07:15Yeah.
07:16But especially so in this project.
07:17So, we found wonderful people who were very sensitive and they just jumped to the idea of trying something new like this.
07:24Yeah.
07:25And once that energy comes on board, it's infectious, you know.
07:28Oh, we can see.
07:29And they all loved the sitaris so much.
07:30The bonding with, behind the scenes bonding with Aamir and you guys was…
07:35That was every day.
07:36Yeah.
07:37We were obviously, you know, we were having the pressures of our timeline, we were having…
07:41The work was always there, but I think if we work together as a team and the movie gods are kind to us, then you end up having a lot of fun also during the break time and all that, yeah.
07:54So, were some of them already like actors in theatre or in school, maybe?
07:59How were they picked, like all over Aamir?
08:00Yeah.
08:01So, I'll tell you this that, you know, I think some of us are born with that kida to act.
08:06Yeah.
08:07So, I think all of them are already actors.
08:09Just that they were not discovered.
08:11You know, like, you know, you find this kid in class who's always joking around, prancing about, doing…
08:16Like, for example, Rishabh is a great mimicry artist.
08:19We…
08:20I saw some of his videos mimicking people.
08:22So, we got…
08:23So, anybody who would show some acting ability or dancing ability, who has the confidence and who wants to perform in front of people, we'd bring them on board.
08:31You know?
08:32Right.
08:33And then we'd kind of have acting workshops.
08:37Give them the same tools that any new actor would require.
08:42Right?
08:43So, that used to be done over like 3-4 months.
08:45We'd…
08:46My Pavan, my assistant would sit with them on the lines.
08:48Manut Sharma, my acting teacher would conduct workshops with them on how to face the camera.
08:54And then we shot small scenes with them.
08:57I would often shoot with them, edit and show it to them.
08:59Sure.
09:00How this is going to come.
09:01And they'd be, ah, this is why you're asking me to do it again.
09:03You know?
09:04And just absolute delight.
09:05And one of them, I think, Gopi has already done a very beautiful Malayalam film.
09:11Yeah.
09:12In fact, he is the most experienced of them all.
09:14Of them all.
09:15Okay.
09:16Yeah.
09:17Otherwise, they're just amazing talents.
09:19I think, often times, talent lies hidden.
09:22Yeah.
09:23And this is a great opportunity for them to shine.
09:26It's a great opportunity for us actually to shine because they, I really feel that without them this film does not exist.
09:35And Amir sir will join me in saying that it is they who actually have given us the opportunity to work on this film.
09:43Because we are the professional people and they are people who have lived life, right?
09:48So, I feel as a director that it is, it is, they who have done, you know, who has given us the opportunity to make this film.
09:57That's a very nice thought, I feel.
09:59So, is there any connection to, like, Tare Zami, like anything shown?
10:06I know it's not a sequel, but it's on the same lines.
10:09Like, Usmei Autism was there for Dashiell Safari's character.
10:13Dyslexia.
10:14Dyslexia was there.
10:15Yeah.
10:16And I think Amir's character was also dyslexic or something.
10:18No, Amir sir's character was neurotypical.
10:21What you call as neurotypical.
10:23Okay.
10:24And he, in fact, makes an entry after the interview.
10:26Yeah.
10:27Yeah.
10:28So, it was very refreshing that.
10:29Yeah.
10:30So, is there any connection shown to that film or some references or easter eggs or whatever you call them?
10:35Is there anything in sitarism?
10:38In, in, see, actually, even if it were there, I would not reveal them.
10:42Okay.
10:43Because I would want the audience to enjoy the film in the theatres.
10:44Right.
10:45So, what is the connection?
10:46I think, I think it's from the same space, from the same inclusive heart and inclusive thought behind Tare Zabanpur.
10:49Right.
10:50And it kind of, Tare Zabanpur opened the conversation in a huge way for India.
10:55Yeah.
10:56Totally.
10:57And a large part of the world too.
10:58A lot of the parents didn't know also.
10:59Yeah.
11:00Something like this.
11:01Yeah.
11:02All of us.
11:03And it opened up our minds and hearts.
11:04And it gave hope that films could entertain and also impact us in beautiful ways.
11:09So, Sithare Zabanpur also kind of takes that conversation to its next chapter and includes down syndrome and autism as two immediate identity markers.
11:16But this time around, it's a different story, it's a different set of characters, it's a different energy, it's humor, it's laughter, it's a sports film also.
11:23Okay.
11:24It's a whole lot of things.
11:25And, yeah.
11:26About relationships, would you like to say something about Aamir and Janelia as well?
11:28Yeah.
11:29Yeah.
11:30Yeah.
11:31Yeah.
11:32Yeah.
11:33Yeah.
11:34Yeah.
11:35Yeah.
11:36Yeah.
11:37Yeah.
11:38Yeah.
11:39Yeah.
11:40Yeah.
11:41Yeah.
11:42Yeah.
11:43Yeah.
11:44Yeah.
11:45Yeah.
11:46Yeah.
11:47Yeah.
11:48Yeah.
11:49Yeah.
11:50Yeah.
11:51Yeah.
11:52Yeah, as you can see in the song also has been released yesterday.
12:00Amir sir and Janelia play a very interesting man woman dynamic.
12:07I'm a sucker for romances and especially today's man and woman as we navigate through new problems.
12:17where, so same way in this film you will find a certain man-woman dynamic like in Shubmangal you had
12:24you had a sense of feeling a very, seeing a very relatable couple is the feedback I got
12:29so in this also you will find a very strong man-woman arc played by Aamir and Janelia
12:38I wanted to ask about the digital release on YouTube that this film is planning
12:44would you like to comment on that like you know at Waves 2025 where Aamir is there
12:50yeah I don't know about actually I don't know the what are the plans Aamir sir has for the film
12:55okay because like I mean we read that it will go directly to YouTube pay-per-view
13:00actually officially Aamir sir has not spoken about that
13:03because at Waves I remember he said that he's not very happy with
13:08normal the norm nowadays that a film comes to the theater and within a month or three months it
13:13releases in OTT so people don't want to people feel that why should we then watch it in the theater
13:19so he said that it's not a very good model that's what he said yeah so I was I was in the audience
13:23also when he when he said it so I think I think Aamir sir is very coming from a space that this movie
13:30is going to be available only in the theaters so you you it's a theatrical experience we want people
13:35to watch and enjoy it in the theater with the full family and not be distracted by any other you know
13:40think it's a family film it's a complete family uh uh entertainer that we have we hope it would turn out
13:46that way I think we need more of those yeah yeah you know to bring the audiences back to the
13:51so this is one of those films which I feel like I can take my dad to my mom to yeah and the children
13:56also or the kids also so it's a complete uh family entertainer and which I think in the theater
14:01when you experience with there is a certain magic in the theater when you watch a film together with
14:05people like in Taare Zamin Par I remember crying buckets with complete strangers right so I think
14:11when you laugh together when you cry together it's a very healing thing for society to happen and we
14:16hope that happens with uh with movies right with uh one always hopes that in the theater there's magic
14:23of the audience right so with Sitarre I think it's a quintessential Aamir film which kind of entertains
14:29which hopes to entertain and also hopes to kind of leave you with a tug at your heartstrings and also leaves you
14:35possibly uh thinking about mindsets and all that so for me as a fan of Mr. Aamir I think it's a
14:42quintessential Aamir uh yeah I mean I'm a big Aamir fan everybody here among the same here journals
14:48you know what what one thing about Aamir sir is that I I think his uh his uh uh the love for him cuts
14:56across it cuts across religion cuts across profession cuts across a center b center age group he's one of
15:03those people uh who's loved by all across uh whatever uh identity markers they have uh is there any
15:10difference you feel in experiencing in in direction or in general the industry in bollywood or in tamil
15:16cinema or south south uh actually my experience uh has been pretty positive everywhere because I feel
15:25I've been very lucky to work with great producers in the sense my tamil producer and my previous hindi
15:30producer also so I think uh when you work with a uh set of people who are passionate about cinema
15:37and were aligned creatively with the same wavelength then it's a joy everywhere to work with
15:41right uh baki sab to like we say sabka apna apna normal hota hai like in the movie each uh uh
15:48industry culture has its own norms its own culture of working like there are a lot of uh beautiful things in
15:53uh in tamir cinema for example a lot of beautiful things in uh hindi cinema which which and I I get to
15:59kind of uh enjoy both so I pick up the positives everywhere so what is your opinion on the pan india
16:06trend nowadays you know movies being made with stars from uh you know major stars from the south and the
16:14north and whatever and released pan india I mean I think we've always made pan india films you know like
16:20but they term it like that they also have promotions maybe uh you know uh major film will have
16:26promotions in patna or places like yeah where they didn't have earlier but see anything which anything
16:32which unites a country or anything which kind of expands the the uh representation of within a movie
16:40is always welcome like in this movie for example uh in sitar is aminpar we have a neuro divergent
16:46actors in our in our movie it's it's pushing the envelope in terms of representation right so I've
16:51always felt that uh uh Indian cinema uh it's so diverse and yet so similar right we uh dangal is
17:00enjoyed by tamal yeah audiences as much as let's say pushpa is enjoyed by yeah uh by non-telugu
17:07enjoy in china china majorly yeah we love titanic we like so I think audiences are are very open to
17:13having different sorts of things it's it's amazing if all of us can come together and create like
17:18bahubali I think uh in that sense started this trend of a a movie which is which cuts across you know
17:25because it it uh it kind of uh uh connected with our mythic yeah you know our sensibilities yeah yeah
17:33but I think it's a it's a great thing that in sitar is aminpar you have actors who are actually uh you
17:38know who have experienced that thing in life and instead of hiring I mean nothing wrong with that
17:45but you know hiring people who will play them it's better to have somebody who's gone through that
17:49experience in life yeah you know give them a chance also to shine through I think that's uh well I think
17:55though yeah that also if you see the movie you'll understand why that needed to be done you also see
18:00why it couldn't have been done any other way okay and uh I think one always uh uh if a movie
18:08can uh go beyond being just a movie then it's it's even more beautiful right movies it stays with you
18:16yeah the process behind making a movie the intent behind making move if it expands end of the day
18:21every movie you know wants uh to to touch people wants to um there is no movie that starts off saying
18:28I'm going to bore people to death or I'm going to make a bad movie you know we all want to touch so I
18:33always feel movies are made with love and they they seek the love of the audiences but if it goes
18:38beyond that and it does things uh stories do that so it does things which kind of uh also positively
18:46impacts society then it's like a double double whammy it's like it's even more than joy than just
18:52making a film it's something bigger than that okay so that way in sitare we were all very lucky that we
18:58got this opportunity to to make this film with our sitare yeah that's the stars lastly something you
19:05want to reveal about the film something which is uh you know not seen in the trailer or songs just a hint
19:13or something well to our audience I don't want to reveal anything in the film but I'd love to say
19:19that uh again I've been a fan of Mr. Aamir just like you for a long long long time and uh I think
19:27Aamir sir's movies always meant that I could uh take my uh family out to to to experience something
19:37a little more than a film something that will always leave me with uh something to think about
19:44and when he's making a film like Delhi Bali for example he also takes the pain to convey that
19:49here's a film which is just a laugh ride you know but there are subtle things in the movie which
19:53are still very beautiful like Lapata ladies again it has touched so many people so I feel that as a
19:59quintessential uh as a fan of uh Aamir sir I am waiting for all other fans to experience the movie
20:06and uh tell me what they find in the movie as a as a as a as a fan of Aamir sir I think it will also
20:12connect okay that's great thanks for talking to us and uh we really look forward to watching
20:19sitar is a maple thank you thank you 20th june only in theaters