Tamasha that is Life : Blog # 251

Tamasha that is Life

If you are someone who walks on a running escalator, Tamasha is not a movie for you. If you are someone who paces in a train impatiently waiting for your station, please do not go to watch Tamasha. If you are someone who enjoys the gliding of an escalator while watching people moving around and who smiles at a small kid’s enthusiasm just before stepping on to it; If you are someone who sits beside a train’s window looking out in to eternity enjoying nature moving by, then you will enjoy this movie.

It is not one of those movies that gets you gripped right from frame 1.In the beginning, it is disarrayed. One should wait patiently long enough to understand that those disarrayed scenes that pop out of nowhere will eventually make sense. Isn’t that the same mistake which we do in our lives too? We either get too happy to be thankful for the bright moments or we get too sad to understand that the dullness will pass by. We don’t take the effort to pause and look at random events that occur in Life with the time and attention that they deserve. We miss them just like we miss a beautiful patch of green and a stream in a fast, long journey.

Isn’t it strange that we all need that one person in Life who asks us one right question at a particular moment in time which changes us to an extent that we feel as to how could we live with our earlier self? That is exactly what Deepika’s character Tara does to Ved played by Ranbir Kapoor. Many a time, we dare not ask ourselves certain questions. It is not that those questions don’t occur to us. Oh it does, time and again. Yet, we are too afraid to listen to the answers which those questions might give way to.

Once we gather enough courage to face ourselves, then the world will welcome you with open arms waiting for you to embrace it. There is a scene where Ved talks to his parents about who he really is. I am yet to see a more earnest portrayal of courage on Indian silver screen. That was Imtiaz Ali at his brilliant best.

Many a time, we tend to forget to thank those people enough who are responsible for making us who we are. We do thank. But is the gratitude conveyed appropriately? I doubt. That is the beauty of the closing scene. All those moments where Ved thanks Tara without any words, sheer magnificence it is! It will be a crime if I don't call out the brilliant performances by the lead actors. Not to belittle Ranbir's chameleon like effortless drifting between different emotional states of his character, Deepika did outstandingly well for a character that had so less to do in this movie.

Is Tamasha a flawless movie? Of course not. At times, it is overtly indulgent. It expects the audience to be patient and to watch the magic unfold in slow-mo. There are way too many references to old Hindi films (Don-Don-Don). But yes, Imtiaz Ali’s labor of love does inspire one to courageously break away from the monotony of walking towards mediocrity and to start sprinting towards the destiny that awaits each and every one of us.

Arun Babu

Was it your choice, lady? : Blog # 250

Was it your choice, lady?

              Parineeti Chopra is an immensely talented actress who has given beautiful performances in all her films so much so that not even a single critic could come down on her in any film. The films might have been bad, but not her acting. I remember watching some of her earlier interviews. She is well read, comes with a formal education (master’s degree), well-traveled and wonderfully well informed of her trade. She understands how business of movies works.

            Parineeti was not your quintessential Hindi film heroin. She was not slender thin, does not have a vampire-level-fairness and is not unusually tall. She was a normal good looking girl. The reason why I have used past tense in the sentences above is because now, she has changed. I thought given the abundance of talent, she would not have to fit in. She might not need to go through the physical metamorphosis in order to subscribe to Bollywood’s idea of looking good. But alas, she too has done just that.

      In Parineeti’s case, it might have been a demand of the profession.  We can debate about whether or not to focus on physical appearance in cinema. We can also come to an elitist conclusion of appearances not being important by pointing out some classics and art house films. The fact remains that it is a visual medium. It is the largest format of entertainment that is in our country. The revenue of films doesn’t come from the multiplexes alone. The thousands of class B and C theaters across the country is filled with an audience who demand their actors and actresses to be as good looking as possible. Let us not discuss as to whether the multiplex audience want their actors to look good or not. That will become an entirely different blog on people being consciously hypocritical. And an average Indian’s idea of looking good is to be fair, slim and tall. That might explain as to why Parineeti had to lose weight.

Now this article is not intended to debate whether she should lose weight or not. It is Parineeti’s prerogative as to what she wants to do with her body. Just like it is with each of us. What I would want to bring your attention here is to the fact that it just is not one’s choice anymore when it comes to one’s own physical appearance. The society decides it for you. Sadly, this is truer when it comes to women. Almost all women around us are forced to fit in or subscribe to what the society thinks is good looking. Parineeti’s situation goes on to prove that it doesn’t matter what strata of society one is in, how educated one is or how economically liberated one is, society is equally harsh and demanding at all levels.

Are the cosmetic ads encouraging these mindsets? Yes, they are. But they are not the cause. They are just the effect. The cause is the society’s mindset – our mindset. As long as that doesn’t change, the likes of Ms. Chopra and other beautiful women will need to try and fit in.

p.s.If it were indeed your personal decision to lose weight, I am happy for you and hats off to your disciplined, focused effort :)

FRIENDS Afterlife # 5 : Blog # 249

                            F.R.I.E.N.D.S After Life # 5

*We, all diehard F.R.I.E.N.D.S fanatics have been waiting forever for the best sitcom ever made on Television, to resume. Here is an attempt to look at what our favorite characters are up to these days.

Mrs. Geller woke up startled. She asked Mr.Geller to wake up.”Jack, I dreamt of Ross. We must go and meet him. Something’s wrong”. She rang up Monica. “Monica, I dreamt of my child today! We are coming over”. “Oh! That’s so sweet of you mother. You saw me in your dream?”. “Yea! I meant my other child. Ask Ross to come over to your place”. 

“Mike, why did you learn Music?” Quizzed Phoebe. I like learning Music. It makes me happy. Why Phoebs? “No I meant why did you have to learn Music?” Oh that! Not everyone is born a musical genius like you, my love. “ Hmm..At times, I feel God is too partial. I mean, look at me! Beautiful, smart, talented.” Might I add, wonderfully weird too J.  “Let me call up Rachel. It has been a while. Hey Rach! How are your doing?” I am good phoebs! Just had my lunch, How are you? “I am terrific. So you are coming by next week is it?” How do you know Phoebs!!! I have not told anyone. Even Ross doesn’t know. “Ever heard of Frederic Myers? In one of my earlier births, he and I coined Telepathy. Come home soon. We are all waiting for you”.

Feeding the kids, Monica told Chandler “Mom and dad are coming over. Can you come a bit early from office today?” What happened all of a sudden, all well Mon? “ Yea , yea mom dreamt about her child and is worried” Oh, let me call up Ross. He will be happy to hear this. “I AM ALSO her child!! What is wrong with you people?? On the way home, pick up Joey too. He hasn’t visited in a while.”

Joe! Chandler here. Come home today. I will pick you up on the way. “Ok. I have a shot today. No worries, I will push it” Is it ok for you? Should I come over a bit later? “No Chandler. It is ok. Your Joey is a star you know. And the director’s secretary has a crush on me. So it’s fine.”

Ross was commuting to work. He was reading “Paleontology – A study of the days before dates”. A very attractive lady sitting next to Ross asked him “ Hey, can I see your book once?”. Oh! Are you also interested in Paleontology? I am a Doctor you see. “ Oh No! Just that my nephew likes to read dragon stories. Been looking for a book!”. Driver, stop the bus will you? screamed Ross.

Previous Episodes :

S11 Episode 1 : http://praisesnbrickbats.blogspot.in/2015/05/friends-after-life-1-blog-215.html

S11 Episode 2 : http://praisesnbrickbats.blogspot.in/2015/05/friends-after-life-2-blog-217.html

S11 Episode 3 : http://praisesnbrickbats.blogspot.com/2015/05/friends-after-life-3-blog-220.html

S11 Episode 4 : http://praisesnbrickbats.blogspot.in/2015/06/friends-after-life-4.html 

Tell me a Story : Blog # 248

Tell Me a Story

Once up on a time, there lived a group of people. They used to talk. They used to look each other in the eyes. They used to smile at each other. They used to waive at each other. They used to enjoy the breeze, the sunset, the birds that flew around, the sounds they made, the scents of nature. They used to sit together listening to each other. They used to sit together in silence. 

Once up on a time, there lived a group of people. They had smartphones.

I feel stories are a great way to communicate. They convey the message so effectively and helps us to remember them better. But at the heart of it, I think all that a story is doing might be that it is appealing to our inner child. Somewhere, it connects us to our childhood. May be that’s why our attention span stretches when someone tells us a story and knocks on our intrigue with double the will.

Everyone is telling a story these days. When I say story, I don’t mean that which starts with ‘Once up on a time’ and which ends with ‘and happily ever after’. I am talking about just creating an element of intrigue in your conversation. Ever thought as to why did Nestle tell us about how they evolved over almost a century in India? They could have easily listed down the awards that they won over the years or the regulations that they follow. Reason is that by telling us about their evolution as a tale, they captured our imagination. It is the same reason that all the products, apps and platforms that we see around us are requesting their customers to tell a story – not a testimonial, but a story.

I stumbled up on a website created by Varun Gampa from IIM Trichy. It goes by the name www.varun4flipkart.com . You might ask what is so great about his website. It is a very novel approach towards applying for a job. What he has done is that he has explained through this website as to how he can add value to the company. As a recruiter, I feel my counterparts at Flipkart should spare a moment to give credit for this ingenious approach.

What Varun did is also story telling in a way. He created a story around himself. He will soon become that guy who created that resume-website. If Flipkart looks at his resume, they will soon become that company with an open mind. 

Weave a story around yourself and see the magic unfold!

Arun Babu