Sitaare Zameen Par, his new movie, has become a subject of a storm of controversy after his movie trailer was released on May 13, 2025. Hailed as a spiritual sequel to the director’s highly acclaimed 2007 movie Taare Zameen Par, the new movie is being panned for being a near clone of the Spanish film Campeones (2018), which has also been reimagined into the recently-released Hollywood film Champions (2023) with Woody Harrel
Sitaare Zameen Par: A Familiar Storyline
Sitaare Zameen Par is the story of a basketball coach who is one who became disgraced; Aamir Khan, who is required to train the athletes that were intellectually disabled. While mentoring them, he gets to know their hidden talents and transformation results from the same. This story is quite similar to that of Campeones and its English adaptation Champions where a coach experiences a similar redemption tale in coaching a set of people with disabilities.
Social Media Backlash
Immediate reactions towards the trailer were received on social media platforms. A user on Reddit posted a side-by-side comparison comparison video of Sitaare Zameen Par and Champions provoking massive censure. One person said, “Perfectionist in copying the film frame by frame” and another said, “After the Forrest Gump fiasco, he should have stayed away from remakes or adaptations”.
That criticism is similar to the one which Khan received after his last movie, Laal Singh Chaddha, which is an official remake of Forrest Gump and which was criticised for not having enough originality. Fans are not happy to know that Khan who is known for his innovativeness in his storytelling is doing what is said to be unoriginal remakes.
Defense and Official Remake Status
In spite of the negative criticism, a few fans still defend the movie explaining that Sitaare Zameen Par is an official remake of Campeones. They claim that loyal adaptations are frequent in the industry of films and the attention should be paid to the manner in which it is executed and not the originality. A user mentioned, “Official remake hai bhai tos usme konsi nayi baat hai,” and it emphasizes the fact that official remakes usually borrow heavily from source material.
Broader Implications for Bollywood
The controversy ensured that Sitaare Zameen Par begs the larger question of creativity in Bollywood. However, critics believe that the industry is increasingly becoming dependent on the use of remakes instead of paying less attention to the preserved original storytelling. The outcry over Khan’s film reflects the ever increasing appetite of the viewers for new ideas and new kinds of content.
Final Thoughts:
How the audiences respond to the launch of Sitaare Zameen Par on June 20, 2025 will depend upon whether they like the whole film or not. Although some viewer might enjoy the sincerity of the narrative and performances, there are still those who would go on criticizing its lack of originality. The movie’s acceptance may be a determinant of what to expect in subsequent events in Bollywood in relation to the balance between remakes and original material.
