Expect More

I saw 2 very disparate movies over the past few weeks. The first was Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and the other Ghajini.

What can is say about a movie where the woman cannot recognize her husband just because he no longer has a dorky mustache and hairstyle and wears differently styled clothes? It was a light-hearted one-man show. The message they wanted to give out was simple enough – love must be honest, must surpass all sorts of boundaries (including those of logic), beliefs and has to necessarily be total in nature. That its ok to waver, its ok to like the flamboyant guy who makes you laugh and makes you have a good time but in the end, it’s the simple sweet one who would do anything for you in the world is the one who finally pulls at your heart strings.

I don’t think I will ever understand why this conception exists in the Indian mindset. There is nothing wrong with being aggressive, pushy and flamboyant. Just because someone is that way, is no reason to presume they will be a certain way. But we perpetuate these stereotypes all through our lives. The guy with the flashy sunglasses has to be obnoxious. The pretty well dressed girl must be snooty and therefore good to have fun with and nothing else. Walk into a room and you can feel people sizing you up based on the way you walk, talk eat, drink, dress – the list is endless. Yet, when you think about it, how many people who you know really well, have really lived out these perceptions. Often, the most flashy guy will be the most soft-hearted guy and make an awesome friend. The gorgeous woman with an air about her may be just shy or self conscious or may have that air to protect herself against people who judge her. The badly dressed guy with poor vocal skills may be a victim of a lack of exposure but may have the most intelligent thoughts. Every single person is a cocktail – it’s a mix that has to appeal. Somewhere, what we like to see on screen – is that the mix is completely perfect and universally acceptable. Even the most perfectly made margarita is not universally acceptable. You would expect more from people.

Ghajini – well it was weird on a whole different level. Well acted (a tad on the over-done side), a completely copied story line and misplaced (yet awesome) set of songs. While RNBD had someone who could not recognize stuff and use her head while she was completely in her senses, Ghajini had a person with severe amnesia, leading life with unexplained precision. No explanation as to how he begun to realize he had to live life that way. How he managed initially– and a host of other logical gaps- creative license is what its called I presume.

What struck me quite a bit again was the naïveté of the female lead. She can’t seem to see what evident to everyone around. Made me wonder – do we not like to see things just because they may be too unbelievable for us to digest? Its easier to presume ones own opinion to begin with still holds – because if we admit that things may not be what they seem or as easy as we like to believe, we may have to let go – and that’s never a pleasant or easy thought to live with. Another obvious observation – why is it that the women are the ones portrayed with the lowest level of logic? In both RBDN and Ghajini – inability to see the obvious seems to be a natural gift. When in reality, women usually have a reasonably good level of intuition and when dealing with people can often be at least (as much if not more) astute than is expected. So is expected the operative word?

Hum of the day:
Expectations form the basis of how we see life and things. It is recommended that for peace, renounce expectations. Do and don’t expect. Impracticality abounds a lot of our lives. To be human is to expect. To expect is to dream. And a life without dreams is mere existence.