Cinematic moments from Tamasha

The movie is the journey of Ved Vardhan Sahni finding his true calling. Ved (Ranbir) meets Tara (Deepika) in Corsica. He appears to be an impulsive and free-spirited guy, though in reality he leads a life that follows a set pattern and is robotic - Wake up by the alarm at the same time, brush teeth mechanically, eat the same corn flakes, knot a tie, clean the car, stop at the same signal everyday, hold the elevator door for a lady colleague, wish his colleagues good morning – and do it all over again the next morning. He is torn between Dil and Duniya. He wants to do what his Dil tells him but does only what the society (the Duniya) deems acceptable. This movie is about how Tara shakes him up from inside and forces him to breakout of his shell. How Ved fights his inner demons, the world and his upbringing, finds his true calling and becomes what he always aspired to - A Storyteller. Ranbir brilliantly portrayed the multi-layered Ved and conveyed the myriad emotions seamlessly, transitioning from the free-spirited dude in Corsica to the regular urban worker whose life follows a set pattern to the one fighting with his inner-self. Deepika effortlessly played the character of Tara.  She looked hot, beautiful and very natural throughout the movie.

Few of the cinematic moments

Scene 1

The curtains go up and the Tamasha begins with a song that shows the beginning and the climax of the movie at once.  Ved (RanbirKapoor) is a robot and Tara (Deepika) is his Dil ki awaaz. The movie narrates the story of Ved, who leads a robotic life (depicted as walking on a treadmill, continuously walking but going nowhere) and Deepika, his inner voice, nudging Ved towards discovering his true self. Coming back to the scene, she touches his heart and it shakes him up. He gets down from the treadmill and starts wandering aimlessly (he doesn’t know what to do and what his true calling is). The scenes from this Tamasha is intercut with the introduction of Ved's childhood, a boy from Shimla, who enjoys listening to stories.

This beautifully captures the overall theme of the movie. A boy grows up listening to stories but is forced by society to lead a robotic (and normal!) life until he meets the girl he loves. She forces him to reconsider his monochrome existence and find his true calling. However, one can only understand it after watching the movie.

Scene 2

Tara appears sad when she receives her passport in Corsica. She walks up the stairs. When she is about to open Ved’s door, she hesitates for a brief moment. Her ambivalence is well captured. She walks down the stairs to check on the next flight to India. She packs her bags, steals another glance at Ved's room and walks down. Before boarding the taxi, she stops and turns back. The camera holds her for a moment.

Viewers realize that she has forgotten something. She quickly walks up the stairs to kiss Ved good-bye. The camera follows her, leaving Ved behind. She  realizes that she has fallen in love. The pain is seen in her eyes. The camera doesn't leave her, even in the car, curiously capturing the emotions running through her mind. She collects herself. The scene now cuts to Ved imagining Laila separating from Majnu. Remember? Ved had grown up listening to stories.

One could feel the dilemma that Tara faced. It was quite an intelligent screenplay that Ved was left behind and the story moved ahead with Tara. It also ensures that the viewers relate to Tara as she uncovers the complex Ved.

Scene 3

Mirrors and glasses are cleverly used as props in the movie. Lets take a closer look at the scene that follows after Ved proposes to Tara in the restaurant. Tara says she wants to speak to him and asks him to come out for 2 minutes.

Tara - "Ved, jab se mai Corsica se wapis aayi hoon, it’s like tum mere saath ho. Samajh rahe ho. Mujhe tumhara naam tak nahi pata. Koyi ummed nahi hai ke mai tumse phir se miloongi.Magar main tumhare saath hoon. Ye possible hai, aisa feel karna. mujhe pehle malum nahi tha”

Ved - “Aur phir main mil gaya” 

Tara - "Nahin.  Mujhe mila ek product manager jo ek shahar me rehta hai. Jo bahut well behaved hai, polite, decent.

Ved (with a smile) -  “To. Tara, to main hoon product manager. Main rehta hoon ek shehar me. Main wo Don thodi hoon Tara, main wo big indian movie writer bhi nahi hoon, wo to acting thi na.Wo main ek role play kar raha tha. Aur ye main real me hoon darasal.”

Tara - “Nahin"

Ved - "Nahin kya matlab?"

Tara - "Tum real me Don ho. Aur Interpol ke afsar. Aur yahan tum acting kar rahe ho. Ye tum role play kar rahe ho, regular aadmi ka role”

For the first time, Ved's full face is shown and not in profile. Something has struck him. Tara has invaded his inner world. 

Tara continues - “Jo ek set pattern pe chalta hai, jo bagair soche hue har kaam waise hi karta hai jaise use karna chahiye. Ye tum nahi ho Ved. ye sab nakli hai. Tum nadi me muun daal ke paani pi te ho yaar jaanwar ki tarah. Tum to pahado se baate karte ho. Tum wo ho Ved. Kya ho gaya hai tumko haan?"
Ved - "Tumko kya ho gaya hai Tara. Ae kaun wo? Wo koyi nahi hai. Wo sirf tumhare dimaag ke andar hai. Tum imagine karti rahi ho shayad ke mai wo hoon." Ye main hoon Tara. Saamne khada hoon. Main sirf ye hoon."

Tara - “Sure?”

Ved - "Haan, main sure hoon Tara.”

Tara - "Phir to main kisi aur ke saath hoon Ved. Main kuch aur dhund rahi hoon. Ye to hai mere paas.Ye to mujhe nahi chahiye. Ye miss ho gaya. Bahut kharab ho gaya. Magar ab ho gaya."

Tara leaves him. Camera stays with Ved.  Neither does Ved look at Tara nor does he try to stop her. Throughout the scene, whenever camera is capturing them both, Ved’s reflection can be seen in the glass. Viewers can see two Veds. One who leads a robotic life and the other, who is an impulsive and carefree soul. This is Imtiaz Ali at his best, capturing both the Veds in one shot.

Scene 4
A shattered Ved goes to the same storyteller and asks him about his own story. As if someone else is writing our story and all we do is just live our life the way others want us to, doing what others feel is right. The storyteller tells him, "Darr lagta hai?...kayar. Apni kahani mujhse puchna chahta hai. kis se darta hai?….bol apni kahaani. kya hai tere dil ke andar, chahta kya hai? …. Dil me heer liye, aur heer khoje veerane me. Farebi, dhokebaaz. This is so true - someone else creates our story, they decide and influence what we do. This is a defining moment for Ved, when the storyteller challenges him to write/create his own story.

Don returns - Ved runs towards his house, meeting artists and clowns on the way.Ved narrates the story (of his life) to his father. While narrating, he talks about his saathi (Tara) whom he had met in between Dil and Duniya. While he is telling about her, he pauses for a moment, and enjoys the  memories.

Saathi - "Tum aise kyon bhaag rahe ho?
Ved - "Main ek race me bhaag raha hoon"
Saathi - “Kis race me?”
Ved -  “Main nahi jaanta kis race me. Main bhi bhaag raha hoon kyo ki sab bhaag rahe hai.”
...
Ved -  "Bahut hi jahreela saanp rahe bachpan. Hum to bade hote hi maar daale usko. ab koyi nahi kehta ke main special hoon."
Saathi - "Tum choose karon aapni race, guarantee hai, first aaoge.”
Ved -  "isi tarah apna hero bhaag ta raha aur ek din maar gaya. Ending kharab hai na, koyi baat nahi apni kahaani hai, ending change kar denge.”

Then Ved summarizes "This is who I am, Papa.”

The narration of the story is intercut with the scenes of Ved growing as a storyteller.  A few months later - the same story continues with a small audience.  A year later, he is telling the story on a stage. A few more years pass by and he is joined by other people on the stage. The Stage is getting bigger and bigger. The scene then cuts back to the living room where Ved is narrating the story to his father.  The editing ensures the linearity of the story as well as his coming of age as a storyteller. It is a beautiful way to convey that what he is doing is not what he wants to do and demonstrating what he really wants to do (storytelling) and how he is growing as a storyteller.

Photo source: Wikipedia

Capturing the unspoken expressions - Rockstar

“Rockstar” is the journey of an awkward teenager, Janardhan Jakkar to a rock star, Jordan. The movie delves into the reality of being a star - money, fame and crazy fans that the world sees but a vacuum deep-inside that only the star will know. The movie is well crafted; the music, the art direction, the acting, the overlapping scenes, the photography, and the direction. Aarti Bajaj (editor) has played well with the film’s chronology and her non-linear narrative cuts are brilliant.  Overall, the movie is magical and it truly belongs to Ranbir Kapoor. He lived the character of Jordan and dominates every pixel of the screen, from the beginning to end.

After an initial hesitation, Heer (Nargis Fakhri) develops an affection for Janardan (Ranbir Kapoor). She is about to get married but wants to let her hair down once, before she settles down. Janardhan aka Jordan helps heer. He goes to Kashmir for her wedding preparations. It is her wedding day. Jordan enters the room. Heer looks at him through the mirror and something strikes her.

Jordan - “Kya?”

Heer (turns around) - “kya?”

Jordan - Itni senti kyo ho rahi hai?”

Heer - “Shaadi kar rahi hoon.”

Jordan - “Itni takleef ho rahi hai to mat kar shaadi.”

Heer – “Phir?”

Jordan - “Darwaza khula hai, bhaag le.”

Heer (immediately gets ready) - “Chal”

Jordan didn’t expect this and appears confused. 

Heer - “Kuch mat puchna mujhe, warna mai sach bol dungi”

Jordan - ”bol de sach, darta kaun hai”

Heer (after a short pause) - “Haan.”  

Jordan - “Haan?”

Heer changes the topic. Jordan plays along.

Jordan (later) - “Kahi tu mere pyaar vyaar me to nahi pad gayi?”

Both look at each other and camera waits for heer to say yes but she again changes the topic.  She later asks him “bhaag chale?” Jordan doesn’t reply. The scene ends with an unspoken expression of love. Jordan sings his way out with the song “Phir se ud chala.”

Heer replying to the unasked question - Jordan understanding it – the audience getting the message. The emotions are portrayed beautifully through spoken/unspoken dialogues, performances and the direction.  We are left to draw our own interpretations.  We have heard the unspoken and felt the unseen. May be, the director, Imtiaz Ali wanted to continue his rebellion against the conventional way of proposing love, reminiscent of his previous movies (Socha na tha, Jab we met, Love aaj kal).

This is a crucial scene for the movie for two reasons. First, Jordan comes to know that heer loves him and also realizes that he also loves her.  But, neither of them admits.  Jordan’s heart needs to be broken to bring out the artist in him. Second, if any of them had confessed then the movie would have taken a different turn. They might have eloped and married.  Jordan could have become a singer but not a true Rock Star (like Jim Morrison), the one he always dreamt of being.  

Photo source: Onesmallwindow