A few stories worth watching

This is not the first time I am giving my opinion about a movie on a public platform. When in college I had once given my opinion about this Ranbir Kapoor movie that I expected would be a nice one but turned out to be a disaster. However a few others who apparently liked the movie were not much happy with my opinion about it. Hence I was very much under fire and had to listen to a lot of their crap back then. Nevertheless this doesn’t deter me from continue giving my opinions and like I have stated in one of my previous blog posts, it’s actually good to have an opinion of our own. So here I am again giving my opinion on not one but three movies that I watched recently. However unlike the last time, these are not the ones I hated but the ones I liked a lot.

To start with, this one’s again a Ranbir Kapoor starrer, although unlike the previous one, it did not disappoint me. Yes, I am referring to ‘Barfi‘. Bollywood is known for its love stories. However Barfi has given love a new meaning. It has redefined the concept of love. It teaches us, don’t love someone by what he/she appears to be from the outside. Love someone by what he/she is from the inside. Don’t love the way he/she looks or walks or talks, but love the way he/she cares about you and the way he/she loves you back. A story so beautifully told, Barfi unknowingly ends up teaching us a lot. It teaches us to love our life the way it is and enjoy it to the fullest. It teaches us, sometimes rather than just trying to be practical with our life its in fact good to follow our heart. It teaches us to love without conditions. Barfi and Jhilmil make sure that they put a smile on our faces. It was indeed a refreshing experience to watch a portrayal of true love like never before. A touching story made much more beautiful by some really good music and some great acting; Barfi was indeed a tale worth watching.

On one side where Barfi experimented with the concept of pure love, Oh My God touched a more serious topic. When someone tries to question the people’s unreasoned blind faith on Him, it sure raises a few eye brows. However OMG has indeed succeeded in handling a really sensitive topic much more maturely. It puts a strong opinion on the commercialization of temples. It shows how a few play with the faith and emotions of many to make some really good money. OMG reflects a true picture of today’s world where God is not just a divine source of power but also a very profitable business investment. It puts a light on how people are using His name to fool around with the devotion of many, and making millions. A yet another motion picture which has also handled a similar topic in a really good way is a marathi movie, Deool (देउळ). Movies like these indeed makes us give a thought about the rationality of our reverent devotion for Him. Having a faith on Him or not is one’s individual choice. I personally think, one’s belief or disbelief in the existence of God is a highly subjective opinion. However, fooling around with the faith and devotion of the one who believes in Him is something completely unmoral and unacceptable. With a good story at hand, OMG passes a really important message. If you wanna feel the presence of God, feel it in the things around you. Feel it in the nature we have been gifted by Him. Feel it in the chirping of the birds, in the blowing of the wind, in the showering of the rains. We don’t need a crafted rock in a temple to feel his presence. How true! While it gives a strong opinion against the unjust practices at the places of worship, it also puts forward a harsh truth about the people’s uncompromising devotion for Him, it’s because “They are not God-loving people, but God-fearing people!”

At last, the third one on my ‘really-awesome-must-watch’ movies list is English Vinglish; or should I write ENगLISH VINGLIश.  An emotional tale about a mother’s pains to overcome her weaknesses to get a much-needed respect from her daughter and her husband. The debutant director has sure succeeded in showing the journey of Shashi Godbale beautifully, from being ridiculed by her family for not knowing how to speak English, to going to an alien country and determining to learn the foreign language to win back their respect for her. It also highlights the ugly truth of today’s middle class urban society, wherein kids feel ashamed of their parents and consider them old-fashioned. They don’t have any sense of respect towards the ones who brought them to life and don’t care about their feelings either. The movie is a mixture of many good and sad moments, where the protagonist being hurt again and again by her own daughter makes us feel bad, while the proud feeling of she winning back her respect puts a smile on our face. The movie is sure an eye opener for all the kids out there who have forgotten to value their birth-givers. English Vinglish is a story, which may relate and connect with the stories in many families out there. A must watch for every family!

With movies like Barfi, Oh My God & English Vinglish, redefining the concepts of true love, devotion & respect; we can say Bollywood is indeed maturing big way. It would be really great to watch many more movies like these. Movies like the one which teaches us to live life to the fullest, like Barfi did, like the one which shows the society a mirror, like OMG did, or which teaches us a few values and morals which we have seemed to forgotten in today’s time, like English Vinglish did. I wish in the near future we get to see much more of such, stories worth watching!