I believe that all of us have scars and these scars define us. An estranged sibling, a break-up that shook everything out of you and left you empty, parents who don't get along, failure at what you do, disconnected spouse, death of a family member, abuse.. something. There is always something.
And these 'somethings' become our identity.
Deepika Padukone will no longer be the girl next door-turned model-turned actor, She will, i think, forever more be the girl who loved and lost Ranbir Kapoor, the girl who is battling depression and who so incredibly bravely came on National Television to talk about this very hard journey.
That grit, determination, the loss of inhibition that comes with a very public break-up - this is what Deepika Padukone stands for today.
...And Thank God for that! I would take this over the girl next door-turned model- turned actor any day.
I think something about these scars define the work we do as well.
Mahesh Bhatt's 'scars'/ghosts - the thing that needs to be exorcised are perhaps his relationship with Parveen Babi, his being an illegitamate child, alcoholism.
Almost every movie of his will reflect these themes - the angish of not being wanted by your father, the pain of being a partner of someone you love dearly having a mental illness..Phir teri kahani yaad ayee, Arth (also has mental illness), Zakhm, Woh Lamhe, Saaransh (alcoholism), Daddy (alcoholism)..
I'll admit that some of this is retro-fitted looking at his career trajectory but most of this you will see is so evident.
Farhan Akhtar for instance - there is a 'Daddy' moment that comes through in his movies that is unique to him... A catharsis moment, a moment when the son confesses pain to the father (Lakshya, Dil Chahta hai, Zindagi na milegi Dobara,.)
He may not have directed all the scripts i am referring so i don't know how that works out, but i am convinced there is something to what i am saying (:) of course, right).
I am all about the catahrsis moments, the release, spilling guts - that is perhaps why Farhan Akhtar's movies appeal so much to me.
My all-time favourite director though is Imtiyaz Ali. There is something there as well. But this one is hard to put a finger on. What is that defining Imtiyaz Ali quality.
There is of course SOUL. He is in his movies. But there is something else there as well.
I think it has to do with his philosophy of life. There is a circular theme in his movies - a journey theme. It is a big part of what he makes. A theme of the story being the same, of the journey being all-important. In Love Aaj Kal for instance - the theme that love will play out in the same way - Aaj ya Kal, you will have intense love, there will be a fight, there will be reconciliation. Highway is very literally about the journey - the actual one, the journey of her life
Tamasha to me was again so much about how all stories are the same, the boy has his part to play, the girl has her drama to live up to..the again and again of life till you break away from the rat race to carve your own road.
I could be wrong but i feel like there are ghosts , scars, ghosts of scars in our life. And no matter how much you try to hide it - it will be the one thing people will always see and identify you with.
Jaya Bachchan will never have the luxury of looking at her phone or her toes when Rekha goes on stage. She will always always be photographed (perhaps more than Rekha) everytime Rekha is on stage - Jaya Bachchan has almost no choice but to make sure her expression is blank, her face pleasant and neutral all at the same time. But the point i am making is - no matter how much she tries to be 'Normal' about it, 'We the people' have zeroed in on that scar and she will be called on it - as many times as it is possible for us to call her on it.
this is probably true for everyone but more true for people in the creative field, artists, writers, directors, actors. And when they are truly led by their heart in their craft - they will keep trying to exorcise that ghost in their hearts...
Not to ever compare myself with anyone creative, but a little story about me.. many years ago i did a film making course in Mumbai for a month which was conducted by the New York Film Academy. As part of that i had to make 3 short films: 1 film which was a minute long, 1 montage against a song and 1 10 minute movie. I made all three and in each one of them there was a very serious twist in the plot - in that there was a certain person you expect to be something through the movie and then at the last second you discover he is something else altogether. EVERYTHING I made was that theme but i didn't realise it. The trainer i was discussing my script with - he said you have a theme around - What you see is not what you get. A mask theme.
I was so surprised because i realised he was right and i it amazed me that i never saw it. I have since noticed that every time i write, it ends there... Things are not what they seem, there is a mask people are wearing.. it is always the same. There is a ghost of a mask in me... and it will not go away.
And these 'somethings' become our identity.
Deepika Padukone will no longer be the girl next door-turned model-turned actor, She will, i think, forever more be the girl who loved and lost Ranbir Kapoor, the girl who is battling depression and who so incredibly bravely came on National Television to talk about this very hard journey.
That grit, determination, the loss of inhibition that comes with a very public break-up - this is what Deepika Padukone stands for today.
...And Thank God for that! I would take this over the girl next door-turned model- turned actor any day.
I think something about these scars define the work we do as well.
Mahesh Bhatt's 'scars'/ghosts - the thing that needs to be exorcised are perhaps his relationship with Parveen Babi, his being an illegitamate child, alcoholism.
Almost every movie of his will reflect these themes - the angish of not being wanted by your father, the pain of being a partner of someone you love dearly having a mental illness..Phir teri kahani yaad ayee, Arth (also has mental illness), Zakhm, Woh Lamhe, Saaransh (alcoholism), Daddy (alcoholism)..
I'll admit that some of this is retro-fitted looking at his career trajectory but most of this you will see is so evident.
Farhan Akhtar for instance - there is a 'Daddy' moment that comes through in his movies that is unique to him... A catharsis moment, a moment when the son confesses pain to the father (Lakshya, Dil Chahta hai, Zindagi na milegi Dobara,.)
He may not have directed all the scripts i am referring so i don't know how that works out, but i am convinced there is something to what i am saying (:) of course, right).
I am all about the catahrsis moments, the release, spilling guts - that is perhaps why Farhan Akhtar's movies appeal so much to me.
My all-time favourite director though is Imtiyaz Ali. There is something there as well. But this one is hard to put a finger on. What is that defining Imtiyaz Ali quality.
There is of course SOUL. He is in his movies. But there is something else there as well.
I think it has to do with his philosophy of life. There is a circular theme in his movies - a journey theme. It is a big part of what he makes. A theme of the story being the same, of the journey being all-important. In Love Aaj Kal for instance - the theme that love will play out in the same way - Aaj ya Kal, you will have intense love, there will be a fight, there will be reconciliation. Highway is very literally about the journey - the actual one, the journey of her life
Tamasha to me was again so much about how all stories are the same, the boy has his part to play, the girl has her drama to live up to..the again and again of life till you break away from the rat race to carve your own road.
I could be wrong but i feel like there are ghosts , scars, ghosts of scars in our life. And no matter how much you try to hide it - it will be the one thing people will always see and identify you with.
Jaya Bachchan will never have the luxury of looking at her phone or her toes when Rekha goes on stage. She will always always be photographed (perhaps more than Rekha) everytime Rekha is on stage - Jaya Bachchan has almost no choice but to make sure her expression is blank, her face pleasant and neutral all at the same time. But the point i am making is - no matter how much she tries to be 'Normal' about it, 'We the people' have zeroed in on that scar and she will be called on it - as many times as it is possible for us to call her on it.
this is probably true for everyone but more true for people in the creative field, artists, writers, directors, actors. And when they are truly led by their heart in their craft - they will keep trying to exorcise that ghost in their hearts...
Not to ever compare myself with anyone creative, but a little story about me.. many years ago i did a film making course in Mumbai for a month which was conducted by the New York Film Academy. As part of that i had to make 3 short films: 1 film which was a minute long, 1 montage against a song and 1 10 minute movie. I made all three and in each one of them there was a very serious twist in the plot - in that there was a certain person you expect to be something through the movie and then at the last second you discover he is something else altogether. EVERYTHING I made was that theme but i didn't realise it. The trainer i was discussing my script with - he said you have a theme around - What you see is not what you get. A mask theme.
I was so surprised because i realised he was right and i it amazed me that i never saw it. I have since noticed that every time i write, it ends there... Things are not what they seem, there is a mask people are wearing.. it is always the same. There is a ghost of a mask in me... and it will not go away.
