In 2007, actor Aamir Khan turned director with the emotional drama, Taare Zameen Par (TZP). The film, which showed actor Darsheel Safary portray a dyslexic child and Khan as his teacher, struck a chord with the audience and emerged as a critical and commercial success. Keeping up with his endeavour to throw light on lesser-known health conditions, we have learnt that Khan’s next project, Sitaare Zameen Par (SZP), centres around Down syndrome.

A source close to the development reveals, “Just like in TZP, Aamir wanted to bring focus on another condition that gets stigmatized in our society with his next project. That’s when he found a heartfelt story on Down syndrome and what people dealing with it go through.”

With the film, Khan wishes to “raise awareness and create an impact” for people suffering from the genetic disorder to be treated as equals. The source adds, “He wants to handle the subject very sensitively.”

The project, which is slated for a Christmas release this year, will feature actor Genelia Deshmukh and Khan, who is also producing it. The 58-year-old has been on a hiatus from acting since the release of his last film, Laal Singh Chaddha (2022).

Other details about the upcoming film have been kept under wraps. We reached out to the actor and his team for a comment, but received no response till the time of going to press.