Our time is running out

The concept of time is a funny one. We have divided our lives into seconds, minutes, hours, days. We count our age as the years pass us by. We desperately wish to never grow older than 30. We make time tables, calenders and five-year plans. We celebrate anniversaries, birthdays and silver jubilees. Sometimes we feel time whooshing past us, and sometimes it crawls like a snail.

Do we know any other species that does this? Animals never look at the time, or wear watches or make schedules. They never feel scared that their time on the planet is getting over. They never have to be 'on time' or get reprimanded for delaying anything. They simply live. They take one day at a time. And it is this timelessness that makes their lives richer than ours. They do not fear old age. Or deadlines. Or death. And this is one of the many reasons which defies the human belief that we are the most superior of all species. 

Zinda hoon yaar, kaafi hai

I watched Lootera yesterday. I loved a Hindi movie to this extent after a long time. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting such good performances by Sonakshi Sinha and Ranveer Singh after the kind of movies they’ve done. But I had my hopes anchored at Vikramaditya Motwane, and I knew he won’t disappoint the audience after Udaan. I was right.

The entire movie is a visual masterpiece, with each shot planned and strung together beautifully to bring out the surreal, dreamlike feel to the movie, while not overdoing it. The cinematography is breathtaking and the performances powerfully played out. Even though there is minimal dialogue exchange, a lot of emotions have been evoked with silence and expressions. The music is sublime and beautiful, and stays with you long after you walk out of the hall. I can’t stop listening to the album. It’s healing and uplifting, to say the least. The lyrics are unbelievable. Amit Trivedi and Amitabh Bhattacharya have outdone themselves.

The movie promises to be an unforgettable one at the very first scene, where the father narrates a story to her beloved daughter. The simplicity of the scene was something anyone can fall in love with. Barun Chanda has played the father’s role with genuine intensity and compassion. Ranveer Singh’s dialogue delivery seems to be a bit too soft at times, but he plays his role as the hero, as well as the anti-hero convincingly. Sonakshi Sinha is the beautiful, protected and isolated daughter who discovers love and falls in it momentously and tragically. She is often hot tempered and irrational, which makes her all the more endearing. Her role as the desolate, failing writer who sits by her window looking at the snow falling outside and the slow falling of the leaves off the branches of a tree is brilliantly carried out.

The fact that the movie has its own flaws cannot be denied though. The relationship between the protagonists could have been explored a little more, the second half of the movie fails to establish the connect that the audience has with the first half. But the music, shots and the earnest performances overshadows the somewhat weak storyline. I’d really want you to ignore all the flaws, and enjoy the film for what it really is. Live it, feel it. Watch it, if only to watch the last scene.