Yes, finally I watched the movie Tamasha. In the third week after its release. All I can say is that it was worth the wait.
The movie is about a boy who wants to do just one thing in life – tell stories.
But reality intervenes – in the form of his dear dad – and he does engineering and becomes a product manager.
Earning enough to have not just two square meals a day but also a home, a car and a fat bank balance. A regular guy, as he has labelled himself.
And real stories are lost somewhere on the way.
The concept of the movie is so apt. I don’t know about other parts of the world but in India almost all of us are forced to conform to the set norms of the society.
I say almost because, thankfully, there are some spirited souls who follow their heart and give people like us something to cheer about. People like us.
Yes, common regular people like us. Who have no alternative but to join the rat race and try to reach God knows where.
What I liked about the movie was that it also showed you really small ways in which you can start following your heart.
For starters, take holidays where you can be yourself, where no one knows you. Wow!!! I loved the idea. And mind you, it need not be as exotic as Corsica.
I think I especially liked the movie because living in a tier 3 city, I have to face more societal interference than someone who, say, stays in a metro.
Because this is India. Here every one has a right to butt into your matter. Except you. But why? I wish I could know.
Tradition and values are the first things that come to mind. We are taught to respect our elders to the point where we cannot express what we want to do. What we want out of our own life.
So we see artists studying to become a doctor. Students with leadership abilities doing a BCA. Or a brilliant musician enrolled in integrated-MBA degree. Poor souls.
The plight of Ranveer Kapoor in the movie is not a fiction. It’s a reality played out in every second or third hostel room in the country’s professional colleges. And mind you, level of the college is immaterial. As guardians of every strata try to get the best for their kids.
No one wants to be left behind. Not at least due to lack of money. Where I stay, the city is supposed to have really good schools. And what is the definition of a good school? Not educational standard or faculty qualifications or lab facilities but number of students clearing prestigious entrance exams. Just numbers.
And I have seen people selling or mortgaging their land, homes and other valuables to fund their kids’ 2 years of education here. As if getting them admitted is ticket to a secure and prosperous future.
I long for that time when children will be “allowed” to choose their own path. Path, not career. Because if you follow your heart, with all the passion you can muster, the rest will automatically follow.
