The Blind Girl's Movie

For most of us, the Plan is clearly designed. When the time comes, our parents will try and arrange our marriages. Our focus, they ensure us, should be our studies that will prepare us for a stable future. Once we are settled in life, a bevy of candidates are thrown at us, of whom we pick a few - perhaps because they look good or sound interesting from a paper known as the 'bio-data'. Eventually, it all clicks and we end up married to a person we barely know but slowly grow to love over time. That's the Plan.

With all this, there are certain rules - we can have friends of the opposite sex, but that's it. There are certain lines that we cannot cross. We cannot be too flirty, we cannot 'play the field', we cannot dare to fall in love. We must keep the honour of the family and think with our heads, rather than live for the moment. It's all OK, because it will all work out in the end.

But what if you are blind? Deaf? Dumb? Have a disability? Suddenly, the rules don't seem to make sense anymore. Who will marry a blind person? Will he or she ever experience the love of another person?

Yes, I watched Fanaa, the new big movie starring Aamir Khan and Kajol. Those were the questions that were thrown at the beginning of the movie, and some stay with you till the end. All the main characters in the movie were Muslims. Should a blind girl, who admonishes her hero for skipping work as it goes against her values, or asks her parents for permission to marry the love of her life, decide to follow her heart and break apart all rules because she knows she may never experience love again? There is one point where she tells her friend - 'this feels right. And that's all I care'.

The movie was predictable to a huge extent, but given the hype and buildup, I am pretty sure it will make lots of money. Woodside was crowded when we went, and sold out. And like the Plan, there is one more fact that is constantly in the design when I see a movie at Woodside.

A guy with a huge turban or head will ALWAYS sit in front of me.




Update: A review that hits the spot perfectly.

Shiney Ahuja. Poor Shiney Ahuja. One would think he would have offers pouring in after 'Hazaaron khwahishen aisi' and 'Gangster'. I wonder what made him accept the script that listed his part as follows: 'Play football. Answer call. Drink tea. Die.'

Tags: Fanaa Desi