Aamir Khan came up with the film title: Sitaare Zameen Par director RS Prasanna

Mint

2 days ago

Bollywood's Mr Perfectionist is back! Aamir Khan returns to the big screen with Sitaare Zameen Par, the spiritual sequel to his hit 2007 film Taare Zameen Par. In an exclusive interview with Livemint, the Sitaare Zameen Par director RS Prasanna shared how his film is going to tug at the heartstrings while delivering plenty of feel-good moments, marking the acting debut of 10 neurodivergent actors. RS Prasanna, best known for Shubh Mangal Saavdhan and Kalyana Samayal Saadham, is the director of Aamir Khan's Sitaare Zameen Par.
RS Prasanna rose to fame, thanks to his successful Bollywood debut with Shubh Mangal Saavdhan. After the Hindi adaptation of his own Tamil film, Kalyana Samayal Saadham, Prasanna took eight years for his next Bollywood film.
He revealed how time isn't a big factor for him as a filmmaker.
'As a filmmaker, what someone hopes for is that you come across a story so powerful that you get obsessed with it. I feel a director brings excitement, conviction, and energy to the set. I think your desire to tell a story should be very, very high. The story must be so powerful that, for me personally, I should feel like I'm dying to tell it. Only then do I feel I have the courage to go ahead and pitch it to people. Filmmaking is a tough process-- you need to be in love with the material for 1–2 years.'
Prasanna toyed with the story of Sitaare… and re-shaped it before pitching it to Aamir Khan, who is also jointly producing the film.
"Once the story came to me, my writer Divy Nidhi Sharma and I were developing it. And it made me feel, 'Mujhe meri second film ki story mil gayi.' Then I thought, who should I take as an actor? And Aamir sir's name struck me. 'He would be the perfect guy to play this character'.
"As soon as I thought that, I became sad also. This is because I realised, what if Aamir sir says no to this? I didn't see anybody else fitting into the role as well as Aamir."
'As a producer, Aamir brings so much empathy and sensitivity, which this movie needed to be made,' Prasanna added.
He also recalled the unique memory of his first narration with Aamir Khan—ironically, he wasn't even in the room. A film meeting without the director? How does that even happen?
Prasanna shared how his team managed to get Aamir on board despite all odds. "For me, it was like the Dangal climax—where Aamir's character gets locked in during his daughter's match.
"The narration happened in September 2020. Lockdown had just lifted, and things were just opening up. When the narration happened… I can never forget the date! My writer went to meet Aamir sir. Of course, we had spoken about the story before and discussed things. But I couldn't get my COVID certificate on time, so I wasn't able to fly. I wasn't there during the narration, and I was very anxious. I was supposed to be connected to the room by video call. The signal went wrong.
'I trusted Divy. What mattered was that Aamir got to know the story—he and Divy should have an uninterrupted discussion.
"I was waiting. Before the meeting, Aamir had texted me saying, "Prasanna, I'm so excited for the narration." I was like—this narration better be okay. Aamir sir and his family liked the story.
'By the end of it, Aamir sir came on the call with me. He said he really loved it. That's when I could finally breathe…after so many hours," shared Prasanna.
'I must have thrown fist bumps in the air and done some dance moves in excitement,' the director laughed.
Prasanna revealed that it was Aamir Khan who coined the film title.
"The title came from Aamir sir, because the thought was always there. We used to keep discussing it during pre-production. I used to talk about Taare Zameen Par with AK.
'One day, AK sir organically felt, 'You know, the thought of inclusion in Taare Zameen Par is getting extended to the next chapter by this movie.' He was like, 'Why don't we make this part of that world—new characters, new energies.' That's how the name Sitaare Zameen Par came. It happened organically. It was one of those 'wow' moments.'
The director also confirmed that the title instantly struck a chord with them—and there was never an alternative. He remains grateful to Aamir Khan, who is producing the film.
'AK is the only person who can allow this film to be a part of his legacy. I was very happy, moved by his generosity. I am touched.'
Sitaare Zameen Par also stars Genelia Deshmukh. The film is set to release on 20 June 2025 in theatres.