Sitaare Zameen Par: Handball logo shown during National 'Basketball' League Scenes
Aamir Khan’s latest film is being widely appreciated for its uplifting, feel-good message centered around the inclusivity of specially-abled children.
Aamir Khan’s latest film Sitaare Zameen Par is being widely appreciated for its uplifting, feel-good message centered around the inclusivity of specially-abled children. The film, which revolves around basketball as a key narrative and visual element, has earned praise for its positive storytelling. However, amidst all the goodwill, one surprising oversight has left many in the basketball community scratching their heads.
In scenes meant to depict the National Basketball League, a handball logo is clearly visible—an unfortunate and avoidable error, especially in a film that has placed the sport at the heart of its story.
This oversight is all the more surprising considering Aamir Khan’s reputation for perfectionism. For Dangal, which focused on wrestling, Khan famously underwent months of physical and mental preparation, transforming his body and learning the sport in detail. The contrast between that level of meticulous preparation and this misstep in Sitaare Zameen Par has not gone unnoticed.
In recent years, filmmakers have often enlisted the help of sports professionals to bring authenticity to on-screen action. Notable examples include coach Sylvan Desmond, who helped choreograph basketball scenes in Chhichhore and also believed to have contributed to Sitaare Zameen Par. Similarly, the technical personnel from the NBA India team had lent their expertise to Half Girlfriend and Jigra.
While such collaborations are encouraging signs of growing awareness and care for how sports are portrayed on screen, minor details like logos often still fly under the radar—despite being among the most basic markers of a sport’s identity.
As Indian basketball steadily builds its presence in pop culture, getting these small—but significant—details right becomes all the more important.
***
If you've come this far...
Appeal to readers - ₹₹ Support Ekalavyas: Ekalavyas is India's first and only basketball media company. We are not foreign-funded, nor investor backed. Your support and encouragement have got us this far. We now need your financial assistance to ensure we can keep providing you timely, accurate and important information. Please contribute via https://razorpay.me/@ekalavyas 🙏🏾. We are accepting contributions as low as Rs. 1/- (including a small processing fee charged by the payment gateway provider). Thank you for playing a part in keeping media independent and objective!