The classic obsession

We were born to watch the classics again and again. Let it remain that way

Most of us have heard of this famous joke when Santa told Banta he saw ‘Sholay’ 70 times and then he asked him how many times have you seen ‘Sholay’ to which Banta replied “mujhe to ek baar main hi samajh aa gayi thee” ( I understood the story in one time only) .

Yesterday the trailer of a much awaited sequel to the classic of the 90s ‘Ghayal’ was launched; the sequel is called ‘Ghayal Once Again’ that brought the memories of my obsession with this movie in the entire decade of 1990s. We all have such movies, which we have seen again and again. Some of us declare the numbers unabashedly - some of us do not.

I have watched ‘Ghayal’ not less than a dozen times and it is a part of my DVD collection and remains a cherished movie. But for my kind of an avid cinemabaaz there are many more such movies that I watched more than once. ‘Sholay’, ‘Deewar’, ‘Trishul’ to Disney’s ‘Lion King’ to the superhero classics like ‘Avenger’. The list is endless.

So what is it that makes a movie grab your attention and you devote time to it again and again while there are more pressing matters of the real world. The answer is simple - we humans are emotional beings. Movies make us forget what the real world is and therefore relieve us instantly from pain, disappointment and give us hope, thrill, laughter, scare and the ability to express our oneness in stories and moments where we see our own reflections.

For example the stand out scenes for me from ‘Ghayal’ remain where a committed to his profession and the law of the land ACP JoeDsouza, played with such under rated passion and fire by Om Puri discovers that the man he is protecting with all the support of the system is a human scum called Balwant Rai and the fugitive convicted criminal is actually a wronged and cornered man, who decides to seek justice on his own - Ajay Mehra.

He confesses to his superior commissioner that he would rather fight alongside Ajay. The other scene is where a young innocent boy is slapped by the arrogant corrupt cop and he stands crying in a police station with no help or protection expected from any side. Most of us in that cinema hall would have loved to slap the cop back.

Cinema picks up from our life and then builds stories around it. That is why it pulls us in such a way that we visit those movies again and again. Therefore those driven by ambitions and feel deprived by life might watch a ‘Deewar’ again and again and those bitten by love bug might want to visit a ‘Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani’ thrice in three days. Those who like brooding mood hero might watch a ‘Satya’ and those who want to have a good laugh might visit ‘Hero no.1’ again.

The reason I have therefore watched ‘Ghayal’ again and again is that each time Ajay Mehra gets Balwant Rai with that one pistol shot in the head, I feel that is justice delivered. Each time Ajay Mehra wipes out all the evil men around Balwant Rai one by one, for me that is social reforming.

Each time Jai sacrifices himself for Veeru - it is friendship defined. Each time Vijay tells “Davar – mere peeche to sirf meri kismet hogi” - it is confidence. Each time Gurukant Desai tells Manik Dasgupta that he is unstoppable - that is determination. Each time Sonakshi stares at Salman in ‘Dabangg’ - I melt too. Each time I see that haunting haveli of ‘1920’ - I want to get in despite being stone cold with fear.

Some movies pull at your heart and demand your attention. Good movies are like good wine, once tasted you remain addicted and want it again and again.

Rahul Deo Bharadwaj http://thesocietyasiseeit.blogspot.in