Taare.....Zameen......Par

…..Taare Zameen Par …..when buddies mentioned this to me… I passed it off to be yet another mundane flick of the bollywood and said….” Cant you all see people…..Taara Zameen Par….me?” and laughed it off. No, it did not stop there a few more of my pals came along and rattled off praises for the flick. I decided to watch the movie that weekend, yup a couple of weekends back and did hire the DVD from the vendor. It was a balmy late winter evening when I decided to go for it. I intently watched the intense story told by Aamir Khan. Indeed, a stupendous work. Great deal has gone into the movie I presume. One of those movies which has a Hollywood touch that makes the movie even better. I was amazed about the concept that was brought out. I just said to myself what a star cast of the movie could do to a movie actually. If one revisited the past, not aeons ago but recent past like the 80’s or the late 70’s, movies that were made by Shyam Benegal or Sai Paranjpe or Gulzar, Govind Nihlani type of directors which casted amazing actors like Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Farooq Sheikh, Dipti Naval or Shabana Azmi were written off to be art movies. Trust me, I love watching movies with power packed performances rather than watching movies with status stacked stars. I’ve watched quite a few movies of these sorts and they all have a decent concept that fill the movie in making of one. However these movies were on a normal basis awarded with one Swarna Kamal kind of award and written off. But the TZP worked wonders. It did get enormous mass appeal for the movie. No, am not shying at Aamir Khan to be an over rated performer. The Khan and the kid have delivered extraordinary goods. It actually set my thinking clock about this beautiful concept that was brought out in the movie. The parents force the kids to be the numero unos in what ever field they step into no matter if the kids are dyslexic or not. This could go to the extent of parents forcing their kids to take up things in their walk of life that they do not wish to. Seems like the parents are either apprehensive of their kids taking the unknown path or they feel more comfortable when their kids take the beaten path to the success. There could be another factor of the parents aspiring their kids to be rich and famous.

In the recent past I have been witness of the parents forcing their kids to pursue their Post Graduation in abroad countries and preferring them to get settled there. Is that because every one around here wants to lead a rich life possessing the affluence of increasing the purchasing power parity??? No clue. The parents around here admit their so called academically challenged kids to the most prestigious alma maters. Is that they have to prove to the society that they live in that their kids go the most esteemed institutions or is that to satisfy their own ego? Frankly speaking a learning environment does help any individual gain a lot of wisdom though it is not mandatory that it has to be one specific institution. So why don’t these parents look into the factor of supporting their kids in what they are good at? I was shell shocked when I recently met a distant relative of mine at one of those social gatherings and the kind of conversation I had with her. I looked at her sweet little daughter and said “hey your daughter looks like an angel” and there started the story “ you know what she is the topper of her class. She constantly stands first in the class or else she gets a nice beating from her dad” wowwwwwwwww ….. stupendous I thought. I remember my dad chiding me as well when I failed to perform but it wasn’t to this extent. She rattled off again “ I am sending her to music classes as well …. You know she goes to the music classes conducted by so and so”. The person who conducts happens to be one of those light singers who is famous and charges some 3k every month. I thought to myself what’s the world coming to. “I am planning to enroll her for the singing competition that is aired on the television”. Phenomenal …Phew!!! I asked the kid what she wants to grow up to be she answered promptly writer, but amma doesn’t allow me to write. I thought ofcourse kiddo not every writer makes a fortune like any mundane professional.

But there is a point to debate here. For every right that you possess you need to pay in a country like ours. There aint anything that gets worked upon without money…. There aint right that you can access without the dough. Alas! I personally feel of being abused of my right many times. I have felt helpless being an Indian citizen when I couldn’t do much about retaining a man like Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam for the second term of President., instead there is this woman who looks more like a spastic than a puppet. Pensioners are supposed to duly pay bribe to get their pensions and their pension appraisals sanctioned which they are entitled to as their hard earned money for which they have slogged their butts out for years together. The roads aren’t great here. The living isn’t great here. So is there something defies the logic of the parents wanting to have their kids a better life may be with loads of money so that they can sustain and survive in our great nation or may be settle abroad and accustom themselves to the life style of the other nation. TZP truly put me into a state of chaos. Confused!!! Poof!!!

Obrigado

Phaedrus