Tamasha: Lyrical, exquisite, different

One fine day, we all kill the child within us, “grow up”, leave the world of fantasy and become practical, domesticated and professional. For most it is a normal routine process, probably the way they envisioned themselves to be anyway, or they condition themselves better for the world.

But what about the ones that are different and remain fantasied? Those who could never come to terms with the banal realities of life, whose passion, creativity and effervescence constantly fight the mundane expectations of the world? They fight, but ultimately give up, start lying to themselves and try becoming something they are not. However they become lonely in a world where others do a better job of lying to themselves.

Imtiaz Ali captures this process through his protagonist Ved(Ranbir Kapoor) like a craftsman and like an artist he weaves the movie around him. Ved wanted to be nothing but a story teller, but forced by conventional wisdom, he takes up engineering, management, then the job of a brand manager and starts believing that this was actually meant for him. He meets a girl from a past encounter in Corsica, France, with whom he had gelled immediately and had had a short passionate relationship. They fall in love again, but the girl realizes that he is not the same man and  helps him get back to what he actually is.

However the treatment and presentation of this simple storyline is unique and lyrical. Lovely cinematography, deft camerawork, shifting timeframes of storytelling and a deep understanding of human emotions and vulnerabilities. Irshad Kamil’s lyrics add excellent value to the plot points and non sequiturs.

The way a kid’s interest towards a part of life is formed, his fervent visits to the storyteller, how different stories impact his mind with characters and their myriad facets, all this has been brought out very well. The way a creative person’s mind works, Sanyukta marrying Prithiviraj Chauhan in a Church and many other sequences where boundaries blur and classics we have heard since childhood merge together.

Some of the scenes just penetrate through the heart. The simple discussion with the auto driver who wanted to be a singer, who says, “Koi mai ka laal nahi bata sakhta main kaun hoon, par main andar se kuch koi aur hee hoon aur bahar se majboor!” The protagonist probably realizes that the problem is across classes, but maybe the auto guy is more enlightened than him on the issue. 

The symbolism of keeping the flowers at the backseat, that get wizened after sometime, to show that in the grind of life we leave the beautiful things in the backseat. The parties we go with people we do not have a connection with, the show off that we are having fun, while actually we are stuck in a tedious routine. The movie does not say, it shows. In many ways the movie projects a mirror on our faces, that many of us choose to ignore.

Ranbir Kapoor as Ved, brilliantly brings out the confusion, the latent anger, the synthetic cool attitude of a man following a mirage. As the storyteller, who landed up in the corporate world, there are a few close shots where he has to deliver confused and emotionally intense expressions together and he does not falter. After Piku, Deepika Padukone again resoundingly silences her critics(including me) with a vivacious portrayal of Tara, the girl who was made for the original Ved.  She is choosing her roles very well and in terms of acting she is right up there among the top  two or three leading ladies. The multi-talented Piyush Mishra as the story teller is peerless as ever, especially during the last scene. Vivek Mushran and Javed Sheikh as Ved’s boss and father respectively are competent. 

Rahman’s music is good, Mohit Chauhan, Arijit Singh and others bring out the best of their styles that go very well with the theme of the movie. However uncharacteristically my favourite happens to be “Heer to badi sad hai” by Mika Singh, whom I do not like particularly, but must say he has done a great job with the subtle variations of the song.

The good things notwithstanding, the movie has its flaws. Sometimes Imtiaz Ali sets himself too free at the cost of a tight screenplay and the film wanders. Though the music is good, the timing of some of the songs did not seem right and the ideas got repetitive. The first half drags a bit probably in order to drive home the point the director is trying to make. Common Imtiaz, we are intelligent enough, at times think of the producers and commercial viability too! ;)

Please note that Tamasha is not for everyone.

I believe at some point we all ask ourselves, “What am I, why am I doing this? Was it meant to be like this?” Basically hanging between esteem and self-actualization on the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. If one is already asking such questions, is fighting internal battles with the self or otherwise has an excellent understanding of the multi layered emotional fabric of human beings, then this movie is for them. 

If you appreciate the different aspects of movie making, a different style of storytelling, with exaggeration as a catalyst, because the protagonist himself is a story teller that involves exaggeration, and if metaphors, symbolism, poetry and painting appeal to you, then this movie is for you. 

Please do not watch this is you do not want to think much and specifically want to see a “paisa vasool mass entertainer”. In that case wait for Rohit Shetty’s Dilwale, that will surely make 300 crores or more!

4 out of 5 for this one!