India Like Stars on Earth returned 10.9× its production cost, earning $28.4M against a $2.6M budget — one of the highest-return India films in our catalog.
Synopsis
तारे ज़मीन पर
“Every child is special.”
Ishaan Awasthi is an eight-year-old whose world is filled with wonders that no one else seems to appreciate. Colours, fish, dogs, and kites don't seem important to the adults, who are much more interested in things like homework, marks, and neatness. Ishaan cannot seem to get anything right in class; he is then sent to boarding school, where his life changes forever.
Reception Benchmarks
Ranked #30 of 1,983 India films indexed here (98th percentile by TMDB audience score).
Rating is +1.6 points above the India average of 6.4/10.
Among India Drama productions specifically: #21 of 1,132 (top 2%).
Audience Engagement
1,037 audience reviews — more than 99% of India films in our index.
Popularity sits at the 97th percentile among India films.
Budget & Box Office Efficiency
At a 2h 45m runtime, production spent $16K per minute on screen and earned $172K per minute back.
Titles With Overlapping Themes
Films and series that share thematic tags with Like Stars on Earth. Number on each card indicates how many keywords overlap.
Other Titles From Aamir Khan Productions
The 2006–2008 India Window
Among 151 India films we catalog from this window, Like Stars on Earth places #2 — near the top of its class.
The 2000s India Landscape
Catalog density by release year across the 2000s in India, 454 titles in total. Highlighted year (yellow) is when Like Stars on Earth premiered alongside 52 others.
Position in Catalog
Released alongside 52 other India films in 2007.
The 630th India title from India we index (earliest catalogued entry: 1913).
Our India catalog contains 1,983 titles in total (1,904 films).
Thematic Fingerprint
Tags on Like Stars on Earth, grouped by how common each theme is across the full Asian catalog. Rare tags are more distinctive signals.
- boarding school · 4
- little boy · 4
- teachers and students · 3
- dyslexia · 1
- teacher · 26
- jealousy · 24
- childhood · 12
- painter · 9
- father · 7
- india · 84
- parent child relationship · 46
Production Details
| Primary Country | India |
|---|---|
| Original Language | Hindi |
| Spoken Languages | English, Hindi |
| Production Companies | Aamir Khan Productions, PVR Pictures |
| Runtime | 2h 45m |
| Release Date | December 21, 2007 |
| IMDb | tt0986264 |
Questions Answered
Was Like Stars on Earth profitable?
Yes — Like Stars on Earth earned $28.4M against a production budget of $2.6M, a return of 10.9× its cost.
How highly rated is Like Stars on Earth?
Among India Asian filmss in this catalog, Like Stars on Earth ranks #30 of 1983 — in the top 2%.