Darsheel Safary is an Indian television and film actor. Safary made his film debut with the leading role of a student with learning disorder in Aamir Khan's directorial debut, the critically acclaimed drama Taare Zameen Par (2007), for which he won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor.
In 2007, Safary made his acting debut in Taare Zameen Par, playing the film's protagonist Ishaan Nandkishore Awasthi. Safary was discovered by script writer and creative director, Amol Gupte in late 2006 when he was looking for a male lead for Taare Zameen Par. After going through hundreds of auditions, Gupte found Safary at Shiamak Davar's dancing school, "Summer Funk". In choosing Safary, Gupte had a number of boys audition for a scene in which they would informally describe how they would "bunk" school after being given a few scenarios. He recalls, "It was a tough call. But Darsheel has the mischief in his eyes to be Ishaan. Everyone just naturally gravitated towards him."