Stars ... quite literally

No matter how hard I try I cannot keep my eyes of the television whenever I see a scene from Taare Zameen Per. The only reason behind going to the theater and watching this movie, obviously, was Aamir Khan. For some reason, however, this movie has left an everlasting impression which keeps getting stronger every time I see it. And I am not talking about the outstanding performance by Aamir Khan and Darsheel Safary (Ishaan), nor the subject/story which is naturally touching - instead I am talking about every other aspect that makes this film perfect.

It all begins ofcourse with the cast. Big? Nope. Most of the actors I've never even seen on television let alone movies - Ishaan's mother, father and brother; his school teachers and principal; his only friend in school. The more I focussed on the movie the more I realized the importance of each character in giving life to Ishaan's character. Without these people around him, his character would have lacked the reality with which we identify him as a dyslexic child. These characters were played by people who are not renowned actors. By "not renowned" I don't mean to devalue their effort and question their talent, but by saying that I mean they are not actors who have won many awards and recognition for their work. I think, that in itself, played a role in the movie and made-up the perfect, common middle-class family.

Some of the scences in this movie were very nostalgic. Starting from:
- the english teacher shouting in the class
- exam papers to be signed by the parents
- the class diary with a fake note from elder brother and pretending as if nothing happened when parents question about it
- Mom making breakfast for everyone seperately because the timings are different
- the substitute teacher who would never teach anything but would give some free time and we would hate it if he would'nt
- test dad's patience when eating strawberries without washing them
- ..... and many more

Some of the scenes were not heart-touching - they were heart-ripping. The scene when Aamir khan goes to Ishaans home to pay a visit to his parents. There is no music, no sound, only dialogues & emotions timed to perfection. The other heart-ripping scene is when Ishaan's father visits Aamir khan and tells him about his concern for his son. The dialogue about the "Solomon Islands" could not have had a better timing.

There are too few words in the english dictionary to define the music of the movie. Rarely have I heard the guitar in hindi movies, yet this movie has a good combination of the guitar with contemporary desi tunes.

After walking out of the cinema, I started reviewing the movie at a more granular level and realized another important fact. All through the movie Ishaan does not have too many dialogues. His actions are justified by time and direction given by Aamir Khan. Ishaan watching the water in the ditch for example does not give a clear picture as to what is it about until you see him paint it in a very different way with yellow and orange colors. And after watching the movie 2-3 times I was able to connect multiple scenes that had no dialogues and that put a full stop to my wandering thoughts.

I think this is probably one of the best movies I have seen - certainly BLACK was one, but then BLACK was an inspiration, this is original.

... and it begins with a "how" and a "when"

As my first blog I keep thinking what to post. Nothing comes to my mind. Sitting in front of my laptop with my thinking "shirt" on I realize there are too many things to list and yet something within me is not ready to let it out.

I believe the fact that a blog can be read by anyone is an idea which is a little scary. One has to be sure to let someone into that small world which one keeps alienated from everyone. Not that you have to let out your deep down secrets but then just like chatting you never know - different people comprehend your words differently. And it is not always important "what" you say, but always important "how" and "when" you say it.

Lets take the simplest and probably one of the the most important phrases in the world: "I Love You"
Just write it down on a piece of paper and read it. It would probably mean nothing to you, but would have a thousand meanings, interpretations, judgements if you give it to someone else. Again, comprehending its true meanings would depend on multiple parameters: who is the person, how much do you know him/her, when did you give it, did you say anything while giving it etc etc. Ofcourse, only you can explain the real meaning.

Now lets see "when" do YOU usually say it and "how" to anyone worthy of its meaning.

-- when: after getting an unexpected gift
-- how: usually with a hug or a kiss
-- when: after you've apologized for being an ass
-- how: with a sad, long, pitiful face because you recall all the crucial times when you needed them and they were there
-- when: they will do things for you without expecting a return
-- how: usually with a smile and a feeling that you have rightly figured them out at least once.
-- when: they simply say "I Love You"
-- how: you respond quick and straight with very less emotions involved cause you are not really in the mood to say it.
-- when: in an argument they say it first
-- how: you usually return the favor because the lines of anger on your forehead start to recede and somehow in the heated argument you find peace

Simply replacing the "how" with a different one would kill the very purpose of saying "I Love you". The meaning would change, the emotion would die and the person hearing it would have a hard time picking up the right interpretation of its meaning from all the computations to each interpretation.

As human beings we say everything with certain emotions, and I think I've started blogging with best of them all.