The late 1960s and early 1970s were turbulent times globally, angst filled and strife scarred if you will. It was the time of Vietnam, of flower power in the west, of the Emergency and the rise of the Naxal movement in India. It meant that a booming population of restless youth driven by torment and perturbed as to where India was headed to was eager to wage war against anything that curbed idealism. The mall going, disco toting, MMS flashing generation of today is not quite aware of those times of unrest. “Hazaaron Khwaishe Aise” tries to depict some of it through its beautiful plot.
This movie is shot in the backdrop of the Naxal movement in Bengal. It features Shiney Ahuja in his pre-lobotomy (Gangster) days, Kay Kay Menon before his cool deliverances (Corporate, Black Friday) and the exquisite debutante Chitrangada Singh, better known besides this film as the better half of ace golfer, Jyoti Randhawa. I’m a sucker for films which follow characters over decades. It reminds me of Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Dreamers, which is set in Paris during the 1968 student riots, but of course sans the messy, taboo-breaking sex so intensified by the tempestuous Eva Green. The film also likens itself to Dil Se and Dr. Zhivago, if only for its romance during revolution.
It is so rare to find period films being made in India. Having watched English classics which were mainly war time love stories, it always was a dream to see Hindi films shot in the backdrop of social and political movements of our own country. Besides being a period film, a love triangle of talented actors, fantastic background score, an Indianised script, the crescendo is an enthralling Shubha Mudgal signature song.
The beauty of the film, however, lies not in its undivided attention to either relationships or the progeny of such movements in India but intertwined between those, the hopes and aspirations of the three protagonists. Each is mature enough to appreciate the other’s “khwaish” while being single-mindedly devoted to attaining theirs. So if Vikram (Shiny) understands that Geeta's love is only for Siddharth (KK) it doesn’t stop him loving her and caring for her selflessly and unconditionally. Possibly utopic in today’s world but heart rendering nonetheless!!!
Geeta, a traditional south Indian brought up in Canada and Delhi is drawn to Sid because of his ideologies, his revolutionary and socialist thinking. And when marriage with him fails her, she does not flinch to run away from her marriage to spend nights with Sid in the villages, even fathering his illegitimate child. Again utopic even in the India of today, but what the heck, fulfilling the character’s dream in the scheme of things!!!
All in all, Hazar Khwaishe (thousand aspirations) of the three don't really get fulfilled but isn’t that life? We all dream a thousand dreams, nay a million ones, some real some unreal some abstruse – material ones like the job, the car, the wife, the partner, the championship, and then the ones that I term ethereal, a Mother Teresa out to help orphans, a Gandhi advocating peace and non-violence amidst battlefields and war, an Al Gore out to green the world with a vengeance (so what if it has political undercurrents) or even you and me dreaming to get the elusive happiness that we are so bereft of in today’s slam bang world. The fact that only a few fortunate ones realize them, make dreams as surreal as they get. However, in spite of all cynicism, people dream and life moves on – POSITIVELY. The end might not always be a happy one buts it surely should be optimistic. That, if anything, succinctly sums up “Hazaaron Khwaishe Aise”, the movie.
“Haazaron kwaashen aisi ke har khwaish pe dam nikle,
Bahut nikle mere armaan, lekin phir bhi dam nikle.
Nikalna khuld se aadam, ka sunte aae the lekin,
Bahut be aabroo ho kar tere kuche se ham nikle”
Mirza Ghalib thank you so very much for your inspirational and allegorical couplets…….
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3 comments:
Saw the movie ...2 years back ..one of the very few movie which left me close to shedding tears. I think the movie itself was more like a slowly blooming flower..coming to its full glory at the end. Apart from that, what is more scary to myself is to see how human ambitions, greed, love, hate has remain the same if not become worse as we travel across decades.... nice piece of writing and comparison with the reality of the backdrop of the film's context
Yet to see the movie but the vivid description did find utter resonance with a lot of innate feelings in some corner of my heart!abt my own little dreams...abt "Khwaish"..abt all that makes me smile while i m lazilly sky gazing!The last para makes me wonder if we really need 'luck' to reach those surreal dreams...Is it all "Maktub"...pre concieved tapestry of life or just a wild goose chase...??It's still better that we dare to dream and maybe remain closer to the auricles and the ventricles!amen!
Some one told me ..
“ The movie is dull, and the story does not actually get us anywhere - except to various bedrooms. We are apparently supposed to admire the artiness of it all, which merely means no good song and dance routine, which would not have saved the film of course, but might have at least alleviated the boredom. Immorality of the whole story is annoying , not the bedroom bit but the whole pointlessness of the story. The message seems to be that ideals are not worth pursuing. The movie tries to impose a false pace but never reaches a true rhythm. Barely coherent at times, there is no maturation and growth whatsoever in the arcs of the 3 ex-college buddies Even after they are presumably married, engaged, settled or whatever, they are ever too eager to just ditch it all and head off to a village to have sex with the ex-lover or ex-flame. “
Can you believe that? What do you say to these opinions? I am speechless and but not speechless enough to raise a voice against it. Someone needs to tell the writer to get a grip; Perfection is boring and so not real. Its like aishwarya rai, gees I don’t even want to get her name spelt right.
For me, the movie is near perfect,pls note the usage of the word near perfect. Though memory slightly dim about the technical details, as watched it quite some time back but like any other class movie remember the central running theme of love between 3 people who start off with different ideas and whose ideas criss-cross in the course of the film .All characters are different, standing for their own ideals, consistent with who they are and so very disjoint from who the others are. Not one character does anything that cannot be justified in their context. None of the characters go overboard in their actions, something that is almost inconceivable for anything that comes out off Bollywood. I can go on and on.
You might debate about the complexities or the completeness of the characters of Geeta(Chitrangada) or Siddharth(Kay Kay) but The most complex of all these characters is Vikram(Shiney Ahuja). His desire to climb the social ladder is surpassed only by his fiery passion for Geeta. She is the only centrality to his other wise meaningless, high-powered, and politically connected life. She makes him yearn for making himself successful, and that is what drives her away from him. His choices can be understood only in the context of the complex and unfulfilled relationship he shares with Geeta. His love is never requited in the true sense of the word. Nevertheless, he is the one who finally brings meaning back into Geeta's life and LO.. that’s love. Somewhat ironical was the fact that Vikram who used to be so disjoint from the whole ideal I-will-change-the-world business, was the one who was most severely affected in the end from the whole process. It was ironical because he wasn't there taking the blows for the cause. He was there taking blows for Siddharth. And he didn't even care for Siddharth so much; he cared for Geeta who cared for Siddharth! Rest my case, love triumphs, that all pervading emotion.
it also shows how much one's context affects who one is: how a rich child is more inclined to take up social issues, as money is not an issue with him, whereas a lower middle class person better earn some money and feed himself and his family well. Also, the brutality of Gandhian principles and altruistic living develops in the child a sheer disrespect for a selfless life, because the child recognises the neglect he/she suffered while the parent was away helping others.
Another interesting observation is that we, humans, tend to leave behind the original reasons for our doing something in the first place. For instance, Geeta continues to work in the village even when Siddharth is no longer there, because she started owning the cause. The cause didn't remain limited to something she is doing for Siddharth. The realization is that life is unpredictable; it has the capacity to offer something that is totally unexpected. While life is unpredictable, people themselves are too -- they change. The process of growth of a person never ends, even to the extent that the sole purpose of life changes sometimes. !
A must watch for all the ones who would want to know what love is…It's a life time treat and if you can watch the characters through your heart, you will find this film soul stirring. Rare does it happen that an Indian movie leaves such a lasting impression.
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