Having read the mixed reviews, I didn't know what to expect when I went to watch Tamasha. The reviews ranged from ones lavish in their praise to ones sour in their scorn.
The movie opens with my favourite scene - two actors on stage of a play - which operates as the introduction to the main story. From early on it is quite evident that this movie revolves around Ved, the character played by Ranbir Kapoor. He is enamoured by the world of stories and fairy-tales. Growing up in Shimla, he listens with rapturous attention to the local story-teller, attends Shakespearan plays and constantly makes his own fables as a part of his daily routine. The reality-check comes in the form of his societally correct father, who imposes on him to study engineering (we've all heard this story in India). He proclaims he doesn't understand Math, and that his passion lies in story-telling. However, his admission to an engineering college has already been taken care of and there is no turning back now.
Ved's life transitions from following his father's orders at home to following his boss' at office. He is the product manager in his firm, but far from being independent. He is considered sensible, polite, hard-working and 'good', traits he has worked very hard to nurture. The scenes showing his everyday existence, the repetitiveness and the monotony, capture the drudgery of corporate life quite well. All this, is now what he is.
In the midst of all this, he finds time to visit Corsica for a week. We have all seen the trailers and know whom he meets there. He meets Tara, played with grace and aplomb by Deepika Padukone. He helps her out when she is in a tight spot and that's how they get together. But only for a week! They promise to hide their true identities from each other and never to meet again after departing this small French island. They speak to each other in cheesy Bollywood dialogues and make up impromptu situations to explain their next moves. It's a bit stretched in parts but one must sit back and enjoy their chemistry. Deepika looks stunning in this part of the movie. Ranbir plays the affable joker, but some of his lines are over the top. They leave each other earlier than scheduled, with an 'off-limits' parting gift from Tara to Ved.
But alas, the heart understands no boundaries set by logic and rationale. Tara ends up falling in love with the stranger she met on vacation. After a very long time, she finally tracks him down. But, soon, she discovers that the person she'd met on the island is not the same person she finds back home. The stranger on Corsica was impulsive, this man is bound by societal norms. The stranger on Corsica was adventurous, the only adventure this man back home has is their daily dinner at a restaurant. She eventually tells him her feelings, but that's when the problems start. She is vehemently shunted away from Ved's life to wallow in her own grief, We lose track of her character for some time as the narrative goes back to the main character.
Ved, suddenly shaken out of his pretences by Tara, starts to 'act up'. There are times in the day when he goes back to behaving the way he did in Corsica. The problem is that this is not Corsica. And his behaviour gets him into a lot of trouble. Unemployed, lost in love, and hopelessly lost in life, he goes back to his home-town of Shimla, seeking out the old storyteller. The old man is now bordering on craziness. On being asked the 'story' of his own future by Ved, the old man first speaks of a rather gruesome end, He then goes on to say something which Ved takes to heart. This is where he starts writing his own story, this is where he starts directing his own course and this is where he starts leading the life of his choice.
One can say that Deepika's character, Tara, really was the 'Tara', or guiding star, in Ved's life. The movie captures the grief of a 'mediocre common man', stuck in the wrong profession, very well. There are certain scenes where you connect with the actors thinking that this situation could have arisen in your own life. Deepika's role is essentially that of a supporting one, but she brings immense presence to the screen. She has surely come of age in the past eighteen months or so. Ranbir, on his part, is intended to be the star of the show, and he pulls off most of his role accurately. The fumbling, angry boyfriend, the obedient, subservient employee, the rebellious, hurtful, free spirited story-teller, he plays these aspects of his character appreciatively. The music does well to fill up the background, but I don't think this is one of Rahman's more memorable albums. It's decent.
All in all, I have to say that the message of Tamasha is one that everyone should listen to. Following others' orders will eventually lead one to stagnation and frustration. Sometimes it just needs a chance encounter, or a few well spoken words to rekindle the fire of passion in someone's heart. It takes one moment of courage to follow that passion. This can only be followed by a lifetime of loving your 'job'.
Ved's life transitions from following his father's orders at home to following his boss' at office. He is the product manager in his firm, but far from being independent. He is considered sensible, polite, hard-working and 'good', traits he has worked very hard to nurture. The scenes showing his everyday existence, the repetitiveness and the monotony, capture the drudgery of corporate life quite well. All this, is now what he is.
In the midst of all this, he finds time to visit Corsica for a week. We have all seen the trailers and know whom he meets there. He meets Tara, played with grace and aplomb by Deepika Padukone. He helps her out when she is in a tight spot and that's how they get together. But only for a week! They promise to hide their true identities from each other and never to meet again after departing this small French island. They speak to each other in cheesy Bollywood dialogues and make up impromptu situations to explain their next moves. It's a bit stretched in parts but one must sit back and enjoy their chemistry. Deepika looks stunning in this part of the movie. Ranbir plays the affable joker, but some of his lines are over the top. They leave each other earlier than scheduled, with an 'off-limits' parting gift from Tara to Ved.
But alas, the heart understands no boundaries set by logic and rationale. Tara ends up falling in love with the stranger she met on vacation. After a very long time, she finally tracks him down. But, soon, she discovers that the person she'd met on the island is not the same person she finds back home. The stranger on Corsica was impulsive, this man is bound by societal norms. The stranger on Corsica was adventurous, the only adventure this man back home has is their daily dinner at a restaurant. She eventually tells him her feelings, but that's when the problems start. She is vehemently shunted away from Ved's life to wallow in her own grief, We lose track of her character for some time as the narrative goes back to the main character.
Ved, suddenly shaken out of his pretences by Tara, starts to 'act up'. There are times in the day when he goes back to behaving the way he did in Corsica. The problem is that this is not Corsica. And his behaviour gets him into a lot of trouble. Unemployed, lost in love, and hopelessly lost in life, he goes back to his home-town of Shimla, seeking out the old storyteller. The old man is now bordering on craziness. On being asked the 'story' of his own future by Ved, the old man first speaks of a rather gruesome end, He then goes on to say something which Ved takes to heart. This is where he starts writing his own story, this is where he starts directing his own course and this is where he starts leading the life of his choice.
One can say that Deepika's character, Tara, really was the 'Tara', or guiding star, in Ved's life. The movie captures the grief of a 'mediocre common man', stuck in the wrong profession, very well. There are certain scenes where you connect with the actors thinking that this situation could have arisen in your own life. Deepika's role is essentially that of a supporting one, but she brings immense presence to the screen. She has surely come of age in the past eighteen months or so. Ranbir, on his part, is intended to be the star of the show, and he pulls off most of his role accurately. The fumbling, angry boyfriend, the obedient, subservient employee, the rebellious, hurtful, free spirited story-teller, he plays these aspects of his character appreciatively. The music does well to fill up the background, but I don't think this is one of Rahman's more memorable albums. It's decent.
All in all, I have to say that the message of Tamasha is one that everyone should listen to. Following others' orders will eventually lead one to stagnation and frustration. Sometimes it just needs a chance encounter, or a few well spoken words to rekindle the fire of passion in someone's heart. It takes one moment of courage to follow that passion. This can only be followed by a lifetime of loving your 'job'.
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