Aamir Khan returned to the big screen on June 20 with Sitaare Zameen Par after a long hiatus riddled with controversies, online backlash, and the shadow of his last outing, Laal Singh Chaddha. And, amid the cacophony, Aamir let his new film do the talking.

Sitaare Zameen Par, billed as a spiritual sequel to the 2007 gem Taare Zameen Par, carries the burden of expectation and the promise of redemption. Does it deliver? Yes… and no.

Directed by R.S. Prasanna and adapted from the Spanish film Campeones, Sitaare Zameen Par is not so much a sequel as it is a thematic continuation.

While Taare Zameen Par celebrated a child’s battle with dyslexia through the eyes of a compassionate teacher, Sitaare pivots to an angry, ego-ridden assistant basketball coach forced to coach a team of specially-abled adults.

The result is a film that attempts to talk about neurodivergence with humour and dignity but trips on its own sentimentality and overly preachy structure.

Aamir Khan plays Gulshan Arora, a temperamental coach whose outburst at his senior during a tournament lands him in court. Add to that a drink-driving incident, and Gulshan finds himself sentenced to three months of community service: teaching basketball to a team of neurodivergent (let’s retire the term ‘intellectually disabled’) players.

The team Gulshan is assigned isn’t treated as fragile or pitiable. They smoke, flirt, resist hygiene, and insist on being seen beyond their syndromes. They’re people first, not metaphors for inspiration. Kudos to the makers for casting neurodivergent actors for these characters.

But despite all the well-meaning effort, the first half is a slog. Gulshan’s reluctant journey into this new role is riddled with expository writing. The narrative meanders without momentum, and the humour lands sporadically. At one point, the film begins to resemble a collection of montages held together by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s serviceable soundtrack, which, though hummable, is unlikely to echo the legacy of Taare Zameen Par’s soul-stirring music.

Post-interval, Sitaare Zameen Par finds its groove. Gulshan’s evolving relationship with his team feels earned rather than engineered, and the film breathes with a sense of lightness that had been absent before.

Aamir’s Gulshan is a far cry from Taare Zameen Par’s saintly Ram Shankar Nikumbh. And that choice works. There’s charm in watching him slowly unlearn his prejudices through chaotic, hilarious, and quietly moving encounters with his team. Aamir’s comic timing, especially in the second half, is in fine form.

Among the supporting cast, Simran Mangeshkar as the irreverent Golu Khan is a standout. Whether she’s demanding her pizza sans onions or warning Gulshan not to flirt with her, she owns every frame she’s in.

The rest of the team — Aroush Datta, Aayush Bhansali, Rishi Shahani, Gopikrishnan K Verma, Rishabh Jain, Vedant Sharma, Samvit Desai, and Naman Misra — are terrific in their own space. The casting doesn’t relegate neurodivergent individuals to props.

But at 2 hours and 39 minutes, the film overstays its welcome. The climax, stretched to tie up every emotional loose end, starts to feel like a well-intentioned sermon. Daddy issues, marital angst, professional redemption, and social messaging — everything is thrown into the cauldron, and the narrative begins to feel bloated.

Gulshan’s mother, played by Dolly Ahluwalia, is later saddled with a subplot that feels as if it was added as an afterthought. Genelia Deshmukh as Gulshan’s wife Suneeta does what she can, but her role feels underwritten. Their marital troubles are painted in broad strokes, and it doesn’t help that Genelia looks rather like Aamir’s daughter than his wife.