“All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players”
We are the players but who decides what role do we play? Or who decides at which stage we perform?
Mixed reviews everywhere but it was Imtiaz Ali who was the motivating factor behind this movie. This article will not give you any masala but I want to talk about the learning from the movie. The reason for the delay in article is that I wanted people to watch the movie and then read this.
Generally most of my friends and colleagues did not like this movie but I loved it! There are people who are doing what they always wanted and there are people who have been enslaved by society or liabilities.
In India when a child is born his or her fate is sealed. It is the dream of every parent that his daughter or son should become an engineer, doctor or an IAS officer. No parent thinks my son or daughter will do a course in wine tourism or will become a travel or a food photographer/writer. Many jobs do not get you paid immediately, there is lack of awareness, lesser hiring, or the job you love will make you travel from one place to another. Some jobs do not give you a fixed basic salary which is shocking to parents. For boys engineering from a good college or an IAS position helps fetching better dowry. If a girl is educated and living her dreams, parents still try to find a groom for her even if she is not ready for marriage. She should be ready to be house wife if the groom or his family demands. Who suffers in all this? The child!
Well, this is the drama of our lives and this is what Tamasha is all about. We are the puppets and someone else is pulling our strings. When Ved’s father decided that engineering is good for him he develops this mechanical personality which stops feeling or wanting to do what he wants. His life is like a clock – monotonous.
The real him is only seen when he is alone, discovering places – in the movie the beautiful, Corsica. Here he meets a stranger – Tara who finds him really fun and interesting. She eventually falls in love and although they were supposed to be strangers yet she finds him and not just literally.
She makes him realize what he is and what he is pretending to be. Everything else goes in flash back. How Ved rejects accepting the real him as he has convinced himself that he is this decent polite guy who is mediocre in everything.
Apart from Tara this story teller helps him realize that he has to make his own story as only he can write his own story that is, his destiny .
In the end by his wit which he was gifted with and with the talent he has acquired he is able to convince everyone of what he wants to do in life. Ved found himself. Although, the ending is happy but it leaves the audience with a stinging heart. As most of people watching that movie are Ved and the society has acted as audience and crushed our dreams.
Ved has realized and is actually living the life he wants but can we all do that?
Like the auto wala in the movie could not become a singer although he wanted to, because of his obligations towards his family, are we all doing the same. Are we all auto walas driving this auto without any motive just to go on with life?
At a person’s deathbed I fear the saddest thing that anyone can say is that I wish I had done what I loved or dreamt of. Do we all want to die like that?
If that auto wala would have struggled and somehow become a singer would he not be able to tend to his family better than he is now. If we follow what we love will we not come first in that race as it is portrayed in the movie that not liking a race will never help you winning it. There might not be any race we can start a new one then see how many follow?
I understand the liabilities, but doing what you hate will never lessen them rather you will tax yourself. Doing what you want to do may eventually not turn to be fruitful but later will help more than anything in this world. Would it not be wonderful if people realized it at a tender age when we have a developing brain and a raging imagination? Years won’t be lost and life would be worth living. This society who looks down upon us or laughs at us would want to be us once we excel in what we do! Remember how Ved felt when he was introduced as the story teller. The society became the audience and criticism converted into thunderous claps. This achievement is only felt when it got from the thing we like. No award or praise for a thing you do not like is worth this.
In the end I would like to point out Tara’s character. She could have accepted Ved as a corporate and law – abiding citizen who could have bought her expensive gifts or taken her to the best restaurants in the city. But she knew he is better than this and contentment is what the heart wants in the end. If everyone had a life partner like her they would never cry for money or would never be sad in life. These days’ people marry for money by seeing how much salary a person gets. Hence the cycle never stops. The parents of the son want dowry; they will only be able to convince a girl’s family if their son has quick money not dreams!
The movie brilliantly tells us to do what the heart desires and explains the brain will desire that too. Do not stop yourself from being controlled. Find your own stage. Cut lose the strings which are making you a puppet after all you are the actor in your own Tamasha!
