Sunday 6 October 2013

Dear Love


Dear love, 
Remember when we were young and stupid? 
It should be known, 
As youth passed by, it snuffed out cupid. 


Dear love, 
Remember you said that only the unloved lied? 
It should be known, 
Even those lie, whose feet are tied. 


Dear love, 
Remember when you made place for me in there? 
It should be known, 
I didn’t ask to be locked in or gasp for air. 


Dear love, 
Remember how each day, I added lime to your tea? 
It should be known, 
A nod in thanks would have set me free. 


Dear love, 
Remember how the days turned into years? 
It should be known, 
I had silently begun to disappear. 


Dear love, 
Remember you said you would always love me? 
It should be known, 
Now you do it in mercy. 


Dear love, 
We’re old now and learning to forget. 
But if you look into the darkness of my eyes, 
You will find your reflection and my regret. 


Dear love, 
Remember you said that I could fly? 
It should be known, 
I took the leap but it remained a lie. 

Bitch.


You see, if I wanted to, I could do things she doesn't expect of me.
Heck, that's what I've always wanted to do.
Do things to surprise her. Shock her, even.
Things that would knock off her imaginary socks. 

You see, I would've have done them if not for her smug smile.
Which she flashes at me with an alarming frequency
Similar to that of her rancid breath trickling down my neck.
She's clung around me, hands tied in a bow.
Voila, now I have a bitch for an appendage.

It's as if an alarm goes off when she sees me prepping for take off.
So even before take off, I've had an emergency landing.
What's the use of wings then? I ask.
With a giggle like a gaggle of geese,
that bitch tightens her grasp around my throat;
Leaves my question hanging, without an answer.
Like a life jacket without any air. 

She points her concave nails at people she thinks are cool,
She dictates what it means to be cool.
She sermonises, makes sweeping generalisations.
And beneath all those fancy didactic intentions,
Lies a pursuant traitor, pretending to be a friend.

Sometimes, I'm convinced I'm not the kind of cool she thinks is cool.
I can't tell post-rock from progressive rock.
I couldn't care less if they were two names for the same thing.
I can't surf nor can I skate board.
I don't know what being hungover from a hangover feels like.
I don't have good dope or cigarettes to lend.
Or the money for EDM gigs to attend.

I don't play no cello nor do I play mind games.
I once went to the movies alone, multiple times.
I can't grow a beard and that's tragic.
Yes, I did have red hair once but that was when I had ADHD. 

You see, she thinks I'm not good enough.
And she thinks out loud, almost always.
In which case, her thoughts become destructive.
You'd never guess how much harm her thoughts do to me.
Not only are her thoughts potent,
they also have impeccable timing.

She's a bitch, not only for tearing me down, but for feeding on me.
Her sheer existence perplexes me,
'cause she wouldn't if I didn't allow it.
But yet she exists, comfortably cocooned in my spine.
Only because I allow her to live without rent. 

If I were a fighting bull, she'd keep me from my fearlessness.
If I were a tight-rope walker, she'd keep me from my rope.
If I were a sniffer dog, she'd keep me from my nose.
But I'm a human being so she keeps me away from my purpose.
'cause she knows, the day I find it, she'll have to pack up and get out. 

Until then, we'll have to co-habit,
In this no-quarter-given-and-no-quarter-received relationship. 

Last night, she told me "You cannot write."
I could silence her only if I went ahead and wrote about her murderous ways.
She's silent at the moment, which means I've found fleeting success.

You see, now I've stopped being passive,
I smack that bitch right in the face
when I get up and do exactly what she thinks I can't.
Sometimes I'm a failure. 
But failures deserve a chance. 

She doesn't.

She is Self-Doubt. 

Monday 6 May 2013

Bombay Talkies. Part 1.


So, Bombay Talkies. Part 1.

The last scene in Karan Johar's short in Bombay Talkies, you find Rani Mukherji's despair funnel into a feeble smile. She scrubs clean the lie of grease paint on her face to reveal the truth, peppered with her unapologetic freckles. And In her triumph as an actor, you find Karan Johar's as well. His triumph as a film maker that has been eluding him for a while now; even before the sorry excuse for his "youth-oriented" film called Student of the Year. His transition from that attempt to this one is pretty damn impressive. The very first scene in his short progresses with an undercurrent of rebellion which I hadn't experienced in any of KJo's narratives so far. The portrayal of conflicting emotions shines through but what doesn't, is the story's underlining connect with Indian Cinema. More so because this movie was being touted as a tribute to the 100 years of cinema. I saw the attempt in the breathtaking soundtrack used in this short but it failed to convince me.  

I don't want to spoil it for you, but there's a line that Saqib Saleem (one of the lead characters) says to Randeep Hooda when he asks him "You wanna come in or something?" Saqib takes a step back in a way of refusing the offer and says, "No! You wanna come out?" 
On the surface of it, it's a simple response to a simple question. Only, it isn't. 

Then comes Dibakar Banerjee's short. I, honestly, didn't give a rat's ass about the fact that it was inspired by a short story written by Satyajit Ray. How a text comes alive on the screen is what interests me and that is solely the responsibility of the film maker. 
To put a short in short, it tells the story of an unemployed father who spiels out Hritik-chi story or, on some nights, Om Shanti Om-chi story that doesn't seem to captivate his bed-ridden daughter anymore. She is disappointed in him and he, in the actor in himself. And then one day, he stumbles upon an opportunity designed to help him regain the position of a hero in his daughter's life.

Can you Imagine City Lights without Charlie Chaplin? 
Likewise, I can't imagine this short without Nawazuddin Siddiqui. The sheer sincerity he brings to his performance enables Dibakar to harmonize the perils and miracles of an ordinary man's life. Its interesting how the director effortlessly blends in an odd looking emu gawking at neighbours amidst the chaos in a stuffy chawl.
Though Nawaz doesn't quite make the cut with his marathi, his mime is pure sorcery in the last scene. He was soo good that it made me wonder if the story would still make the impact it did if he wasn't cast in it. Hmm.

I didn't realise writing about one film would mean writing about four. Actually, midway, I did.
Will be back with Part 2. 

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