It is a film that has stirred the conscience of the nation with its strong and effective message of ensuring a ''carefree childhood'' for the tiny tots and ''allowing children to follow their dreams rather than making them hostage to the sky high ambitions and expectations''.

Taare Zameen Par's soul-stirring depiction of the perils of a carefree childhood lost under societal norms of rearing one's children to be excellent both at academics and in sports has wowed cinegoers the world over, fetching for the film stupendous box office collections while winning laudatory review from film critics at home and abroad.

Riding on its moving portrayal of a dyslexic child Ishaan's turmoil at being dubbed a loser both by parents and teachers, and his struggle to survive in an atmosphere emphasising on perfectionism, along with powerful performance of the film's cast, the Aamir Khan-directed 'Taare Zameen Par' has garnered phenomenal box office collections of nearly Rs 75 crore worldwide in just four weeks since its release on December 21.

According to the box office figure given by the IBOS network, 'Taare Zameen Par' has grossed total earnings of Rs 61.3 crores in India in four weeks since its release.

In US, the film has grossed earnings of 1,204,660 dollars (nearly Rs 5 crores) in its four weeks, while in the UK were 317,036 UK pounds (approximately Rs 2.44 crores).

When added to its collections in the UAE and Australia, the total overseas collections came to nearly Rs 13 crore.

Though a slow starter, a strong word-of-mouth publicity for the film gave a tremendous boost to its box office collections in the subsequent weeks.

'Taare Zameen Par' has been one of the rare films in the recent past to have tugged at the heartstrings of the masses as well as celebrities from all walks of life, be it Karan Johar, Anurag Kashyap, Shekhar Kapoor, Ravi Chopra or Madhur Bhandarkar, all have been effusive in their praise for the film.

The film recently moved former deputy prime minister L K Advani, who saw it at a special screening in the capital recently, to tears.

Besides the praise from critics and the overwhelming response from the average cinegoers, what has further boosted the box office earnings of the movie has been the tax exemption for the film in metros like Delhi and Mumbai.

According to the trade analysts, the tax exemption has certainly given a huge boost to the earnings with entire families going to watch it, many of them repeatedly.

The film is one of the few superhits to release last year, the other being 'Jab We Met', 'Bhool Bhulaiya', 'Partner', 'Chak De India', 'Om Shanti Om' and 'Welcome'.

While the film has crossed the collections of the first three superhits, the overwhelming response has led analysts to say that it could well equal, or even surpass, box office figures of 'Chak De India' and even Farah Khan's 'Om Shanti Om', two of Bollywood's highest grossers last year.

Dipping only slightly from previous weeks in various overseas territories, the film is still going strong in India.

The tremendous impact created by the film has led schools in Vadodara to revamp their educational standard. The Vadodara Municipal Corporation-run school board has embarked on a mission to revamp its educational standard, taking inspiration from the movie.

Around 1,200 teachers of 115 schools from across the city watched the movie during a special screening recently in a city multiplex.