Go Lynch, Speilberg, Tarantino...Aamir Khan is here. For those who have not yet watched this masterpiece, I am talking about Taare Zameen Par - written by Amole Gupte and directed by Aamir. There are movies that make you laugh, that make you cry, that inspire you, that terrify you, after watching them you fall in love or are in complete awe, but rare are the ones that liberate you. And that is what Taare Zameen Par does. I can't think of another piece of art that has given me this feeling of liberation before. Two stills from the movie that sum up this feeling are below, first is the portrait made by Aamir at the Art fest to show Ishaan his true self and second is from the last scene of the movie when Ishaan has broken free from his shackles, all set to fly. (Sorry about the poor quality of screenshots, I couldn't find better stills). Isn't the freedom and joy so evident?
Every child is special in the title could well be replaced by every soul is special. Or maybe that is what was meant, there is a child inside everyone :). I am saying this because I could totally relate to the story of Ishaan Awasthi, and by no means do I look like a child anymore :). At times I felt that this is indeed my story and of every soul who is on the path of discovering himself in a world that would never settle for below par results. Mediocrity is unacceptable in this mediocre world :). One who is trying to discover himself is better known as a failure - "poor guy looks so confused". One who makes an attempt to live the life that it was born for must definitely have gone cuckoo - "could have made so much more money had he listened to me". Those who shy away from all these scary words -purpose, reason, life- constitute a secure majority that does all the hard work, meets all the deadlines and basically runs the world - or so they claim. The funniest part is whenever someone who dares to live on his own terms succeeds in showing to the world what true human potential can be - be it Gandhi or Einstein or in this movie Ishaan - he is relegated to the class of 'genius', a synonym for crazy, and a convenient way of saying all this is not for me. "I am just a common man, sir."(best read in a Mallu accent). If only we could see the true genius in these souls. The one thing that sets them apart from the "common man" is that they dared to walk the path they were born to and not the one they were taught to.
I am extremely lucky to have found my
guru just as Ishaan did, his entered singing bam bam bole while mine sang bam bam bhole :). Nevertheless I feel jealous of the kid who has already crossed the shore while I still stand clueless on the way. And of course you can see the eternal smile on the portrait, something I wish could remain with me forever, something that can't be replaced by any number of smileys on this blog :) .
The depiction of Ishaan's first few meetings with his guru are noteworthy. Remember how he refused to paint anything when that is actually what his soul had been longing for all the while, or the way he was shying away from Aamir whenever he tried to help. This is indeed very interesting. What is it that was stopping the kid from opening up to Aamir from the very first scene? Was it his past experience, or his ego saying "I don't need anyone's help, I will manage on my own" or "Why should I be a burden on someone", or was it a doubt in Aamir's ability to help him. It could be none or all of the above, I don't know. But this is something I have seen before, not once but a dozen times. People shy away from the very person who can be their potential guru, who could simply turn the life around for them, if only they are willing to walk into his arms. I think they need to keep their intellect, memory and ego aside for a while and have faith. Yes it is easier said than done. You don't want anyone else to "teach" you how to live your life, right? My dear, the Guru is not there to tell you what you should do and what you should not. He is the light in which you see yourself. He is there to provide an environment where you can blossom and discover what you truly are made up of/for.
There is a lot more I can write. Each scene in the movie teaches something to one who has the eye. The lazy Ishaan in the morning is telling you to just relax and ponder, the one roaming on roads shows how much there is yet to explore and what great fun it is, and when he is painting he is just an embodiment of the flawless human soul. I can go on and on, but it will be better if you just go and watch the movie. Learn as much as you can, and share whatever you learn.
Go enjoy...aur zameen par mat rah jaana...abhi ye gaane se khatm karta hoon...
Kyun Is Kadar Hairaan Tu
Mausam Ka Hai Mehmaan Tu
Duniya Sajee Tere Liye
Khud Ko Zara Pehchaan Tu
Tu Dhoop Hai Jham Se Bikhar
Tu Hai Nadee O Bekhabar
Beh Chal Kahin Ud Chal Kahin
Dil Khush Jahan Teri To Manzil Hai Wahin
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