Getting personal

I was thrilled to find the first comment by Jose on my post on Taare Jameen Par... It looks like my views on this movie are in opposition with the entire world except me and that rock outside my house.

My primary opposition to this movie is was it necessary that, that kid wins the competition in the end. I hated it. Jose says it was fine, as the guy was not pushed. The point is not about being pushed or being unpushed. The point is winning... 80% of guys and gals in this world are very normal, mediocre, unachivers, who will never win in one or any other competition or space. What do their parents do? That’s why i said, the entire message of that movie was lost when he won.

Movies are about heroes, and mind it heroes might not be winners. A guy who had been failing in a class for years, just manages to pass the grades is a hero. He might not have come first or second or even somewhere at the top, but he is hero, having won his own little battles with himself... his circumstances... his shortcomings, he struggled against the odds. That’s a story.

Now convert the same situation to; A guy who has been failing for years in a class, finds something else that he is good at and achieves success... lets say win a drawing competition. Where is the story, where is the struggle... where is the fight... what are the odds… where is that heroness. It was all too easy, he was special and in the end he won.

Aamir did show Darshil able to learn his studies, and managing to pass, but then this part was diluted by showing it as a series of jump cuts and montages. The focus and finale still went to winning. That’s where my problem is.

My problem is why is winning so part of our psyche, our social system, our family setup. For me pushing is still ok, but the real pressure on kids comes from the expectation to win.

That’s what i so liked about "Suraj Ka Saatwaan Ghoda", That’s why i had a post on it. It was a movie about these mediocre unachivers, invisibles, mundane… but the movie appreciated their daily struggle. That’s why i so liked Rocky Part 1, if i remember correctly, Balboa didn't win his last fight, but he was a hero. He triumphed over his situation, his inner doubts, faced his daemons. Underdog, he stood up with every blow. The movie was not about winning the fight; it was not even about the fight itself. The movie was about life, and the fights that we fight against it not the fighters in the ring.

Being a hero does not mean to win a fight, a competition or some award. The external enemies and competitions are secondary… easy. The real fight is within, against yourself… It’s in reclaiming yourself... The struggle is about making a decision, taking a stand...

By showing a win in a fight that you had picked up, the importance of picking up a fight is lost... to show success in every stand that you take... the importance of taking a stand is lost.

Its never been about winning a fight… its about picking up one.