Life with Serendipity & Eternal Sunshine

For some unknown reason, these two have been my favorite films. Maybe its the idea of an unknown and non-designated journey of romance that gripped my heart like any romantic fools would (which I don't consider myself to be, sorry!). And at the same time wouldn't one like the option of simply getting rid of bad memories...just ask some heartbroken person and you get your answer!

Watching the film, Serendipity, has always always always moved me. Maybe, for a change, giving up controls of your life in the hands of destiny, fate, kismet (or whatever you would want to call it) and letting it ride you, is an exhilarating thought. A movie is, although, a controlled environment, where kismet cannot play havoc as it often does in real life. It can be a place where flowers bloom and never wither, a place where lover's meet but never part, where things go right irrelevant to the fact that you made a wrong turn.

But at the same time, a film can also be a place where it can be chaotic, raining shell-shocks rather than petals, with people parting ways without knowing the whys. Such a film, that gave me solace at one time, is the Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind (ESSM). The film is based on the idea that the memories of a love turned sour can be erased allowing you to seek love anew and afresh. What an experiment on life...simply marvelous!

I find both these films opposite to each other and yet so similar. In Serendipity, one gives up controlling one's love-life....only to find it with its memories winding back to them. ESSM takes the cake with trying to do the opposite, to control and erase the memory and the experiment failing with re-uniting the lovers and they in turn take a chance on love...again!

I find Life to be an anti-thesis with intricate layers of decisions. Decisions that run the course of our life and yet we are led to believe that despite everything life is decided. In my years lived, I have been playing a constant tug-of-war (or tug-of-love, however you would like to see) with life with me trying to go the opposite at every turn of my life. One thing I have begun to understand is that life makes the allowances, which we believe to be our effort, to make our own path. Or maybe we are walking along with life to build the path for both of us to walk together. Neither of us know it just yet.

Films: Reflecting the Mirror

A lazy Sunday afternoon, watching Mithun Chakrobarty dance to the tune of Bhappi Lahri in the cult-movie Disco Dancer, is perfect food for fodder. The old rich-pouncing-on-the-poor ploy always seems to work in our Indian film industry. And it was an after-movie discussion sorts responsible for this after-thought - Indian films should definitely be considered as a reflection of the changing Indian economy. And I don't mean only in terms of the business Hindi films generates and the amount spent but am referring to the depiction of the Hindi film family or characters – their affluence and of course their lifestyle.

The larger-then-life aura of films is unmistakable. Indians could very well identify themselves as epic-tellers with no story being short of all the requisite masala. After all, Indian culture is rich with the epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata. With unlimited potential, Bollywood is showcasing India in all its glory and its grit. Infact, India is seen through all its years with the characters represent the common man climbing the ladder step by step. Looking at films through the years, it is much easier to understand our growth and visually more appealing. The policies and various causes of the government are truly reflected by the diaspora of subjects undertaken to be filmed, be it the cause female infanticide or the rights of homosexuals or the evolving definition of love.

India in one word is truly diverse and it is more evident through our films. It all may be a number game but it is also about history, culture and creativity. Today the stories are different and they are also told in a different manner. It is no longer lost-and – found formula but the stories too have changed. On one side we have Jodha Akbar taking us back to the quientessential grandeur of the forts and palaces and on the other hand we have the animated Roadside Romeo depiciting a simple love story. And with new heights in technology, we see the future being written on the silver screen with the antics and daredevilry of Krish and the futuristic 2050: A Love Story. No longer does the scripts carry a face of poor India but is painted on the canvass of the richer than rich businessmen. Infact, even the classic Devdas got a facelift to the suit the urban palate.

Glamour goes hand-in-hand with the hardcore businessman within each actor and the soaring packages are a testimony of the industry's rising. Not only on-screen but also off-screen the actors and behind-the-scene technicians live the glory life with hard-earned moolah. Their lifestyle in real life and the changing fashion scenario is evident of the evolving economy of India. The change is moreso demonstrated with the way films are marketed mixing the conventional and technological advantage. The affection the artists' receive can be matched to that given to our Prime Minister who is a charsimatic figure in his own rights.

Experts, or in this case, critics always cite that Bollywood is imitating real life. But can we say that it is an art-imitating-life-imitating-art cult. Would there be a village somewhere sometime in the near furture with no women as infanticide is on the rise? Would we understand the 'Kala Bandar' within each of us to realise that it is our own fears that is dividing us and not any outside force? Would there be a reporter courageous to question a minister and take his seat for a day transforming the entire definition of governance? Would dreams come true of seeing ourselves from being the underdog to stand on the pinnacle of success in sports other than cricket? Questions which can only be answered by the real people living everyday life, the reel stories appearing every Friday, keeping a watch on the changing poster space at the nearby cinema halls.