Monday, July 20, 2015

The Films & I - Lesson One


My tryst with films began earlier than it should have, probably because my parents couldn't find someone to look after me for a few hours  and yet they wanted to watch "Sholay" on the big screen. No television back then. Yeah I'm an old man it seems !

Coming to the point, my first trip to the cinemas wasn't a very pleasant one I heard. An hour into the screaming on screen, I decided to put forward my own version, at which point I had to be hastily carried out of the auditorium, and that's how it ended on that particular day.

As years went by, I got used to the antics. I somehow developed this weird habit of trying to figure out what's common in all the hindi movies I watched. A few things always surfaced. The most interesting of them was the part where someone's face would be forced into a tub of water, followed by an underwater shot of the face (wherever the budget permitted). This used to work in many ways. If this face belonged to the "hero", he would inevitably come out stronger and end up badly beating up the guy who put his face in the water. If this was the "bad guy" then in most cases he would come up with a confession that would connect all the loose ends and end the movie on a sweet note.

This really intrigued me. What's there in the water ? Why does it have such an enormous effect on mankind ? To find out, I once filled a bucket with water and dipped my face. Nothing happened, but it was scary and dark. 

Many years later, after one of several heartbreaks (those kept coming at that age), one day I decided to try out the formula and find out if it brought about a change. When no one was looking I did a quick one, and it worked ! So Bollywood was right after all !

You can try this at home. If you can't find a bucket, or are worried that your family might think you've lost it, try splashing water on your face every time if you feel the world is conspiring against you. It helps. Lets you move on.

"Happy New Year" making billions at the box office ? *SPLASH*

Just been tagged in a photo along with 49 others ? *SPLASH*

Rahul Gandhi on TV ? *SPLASH*

Girlfriend just checked in somewhere on Facebook and you're not there ? *SPLASH*

So the point is, Films have taught me to move on. All stories end at some point of time. Find an exit. Somebody will help you find it if you can't do so on your own. My first lesson, and till date my best.