Every story has a Hero…

It needs some courage, experience on the planet and some whacky ideas to believe that each one of us is writing our own story here. We might be side actors in somebody else’s story, but for our very own life – We choose the flow of the story and we are the Protagonist to drive it!

It might sound a little philosophical but true it is… stories are different, characters are different, choices are different – Purpose is different. My purpose of doing the same old job would be very different from my colleague. If everything is so different, what is the point of comparison?

Live life like it comes only once (well, it actually does), be happy, spread happiness and most important be true to yourself. Rest all which we accumulate is the side product J J

Like they say … Its your Life, Make it Large 

(Point to note here is that Large also is a perspective ;-P)

Entertainment… It is

With a big multi starrer movie releasing on a festival, it is bound to create hype amongst the audience who are referred to fans or movie buffs. On one hand, the most recent Shahrukh Khan release “Happy New Year” is set to create new box office records with its grand collections. On other end, the film is being criticized as mindless, thoughtless and baseless output. Ironic, ain’t it?

So, the question that keeps coming to me is are we seriously entertainment deprived and don’t have options? Well, both yes and no. It strikes to me in a country of 125 crore people where more than 75% are struggling to fulfil the basic necessities of life, movies are a source of unwinding for them. The mass audience here has to make so much sense out of the daily life; they don’t come to a theatre to wrack their heads on director’s take on a social issue or witness highest order creativity. Films like these transfer the audience to a virtual beautiful world, generate a sense of hope and gives them a larger than life experience.

Talking about the collections, INR 300 Crore is the latest obsession of all the movie analysts and industry experts. Taking an average ticket size of INR 80 (Considering single screens and tier 4-5 towns), we need 3.75 crore people to get us to that figure. We are only expecting 0.03% population to come and see our movie to generate an amount that we are going ga ga about. However, a multi starrer movie recovers all its money even before it releases, through the distribution rights and in film advertisements. So, the money that we contribute in the form of tickets is a bonus for them.

Considering the so called intellectual well made movies which are high on both creative illustration and technical details like screenplay, cinematography and direction. What happens to them at box office is a completely different story – A Wednesday, Guzaarish, Soundtrack, Aamir, Listen Amaya are to name a few.

So, like any other business, the movie makers are producing where they see the money will come in automatically. So, how much ever we criticize these brainless releases, they are the ones who are bringing smiles on the faces of our fellow countrymen. Mass entertainers as we call them… they are in literal sense.

So if “ Kehte hain humko pyaar se India waale…” gets you grooving…Yenjoy and rest assured as it is not taking away your creative quotient or art quotient as they call it.

Wo shaam ki Chai…

“Chai bana lein”, “Shaam ko chai pe milte hain”, “pehle chai to banane do, fir uthenge”, “Bhaiya ek chai dena” have been most commonly heard phrases if you have grown up in India. The occasion can be anything, chai (tea) brings people together, it is a reason for the family to come close and share some good moments. It adds to the value of the rain droplets touching the dried mud, resonating a familiar fragrance in the air. It gives us company while we enjoy the scenery outside on a long train journey. It is such an integral part of our lives which comes in the form of a fresh five minute break from work or gives company in an intense discussion on life with parents. Chai has always been there as a friend, companion and buddy.

Reminded of my childhood days, I used to look forward to evening 5:00 pm when mom used to enter kitchen again after an afternoon nap. Though I never used to get my own cup then, the feeling that everyone present at home at that time are going to sit together, chat over multiple things with this chai cup holding them like a fevicol bond cannot be expressed easily. The feeling of achievement which comes when you as a 7 year old are able to dip your Parle G in mom’s cup can easily be compared to winning a race. Many won’t agree but I used to adjust my playing time accordingly.

Chai holds a special place in my life as all the important gyaan I gained during discussions over tea still guides me through life somehow. I had my first self-owned cup of tea when I was 15, it was a proud moment. To a teenager in me, it gave a feeling of being included in the grown-ups. Trust me, nothing is more valuable than being considered as equal then. It was different during these years of growing up for me. We had shifted to Mumbai and did not have a big family which will come together during tea time. It is now that I realized that I have started looking forward to the post dinner chai which we had with Geeta aunty, my mom’s best friend who was also our next door neighbour. It was now that I was not only a mute listener but also a part of the discussion. I saw myself making some valuable points (at least I thought so) in that 15 minute chat session. The relaxation that a hot cup of chai offers after a long day at work is incomparable. Chai to me is about relations, values, thoughts, ideas, bonding and spreading happiness.

A lot has changed since then – places, friends, priorities, life and I as a person. However, one thing which still holds a special place is that Chai ka cup… Cheers to that!