Tamasha teaches us to listen to our heart – but in a very confused way

What everyone touted Tamasha to be - a love story - it most definitely is not.

Published: November 27, 2015 4:35 PM IST

By Rutu Ladage

Tamasha teaches us to listen to our heart - but in a very confused way

Tamasha, named aptly, is a true tamasha of human emotions and human lives. The movie name, a metaphor between the Indian word Tamasha which means a commotion, a cacophony and human life tells us how our life today is nothing more than an act, a play for the world to witness and for us to battle. The movie has explored multiple themes in Tamasha and it is truly a masterpiece in terms of the acting, the plot and the story-telling. It is the story of a story-teller, Ranbir Kapoor, who lives in the world of imaginary tales. Be it Romeo-Juliet, Heer-Ranjha, Ram-Sita or Helen of Troy, he loves them all and believes his life to be just like theirs. Logic is beyond him – the pure practicalities of Maths and numbers jarr him. However, his family (specifically his father) cannot understand his true love for art and keeps pushing him towards engineering.

Ranbir becomes everything his father wanted him to and he is deeply unhappy. On a trip to Corsica, he meets Deepika Padukone who sets the artist within him free and falls in love with that same artist. However, they soon part ways and then go back to their lives. On meeting again after years, Deepika is still in love with the free-spirited, fun-loving Ranbir but is shocked to see him in his usual avatar. She wovs to show him how he really is – but does she succeed? That forms the most important part of the story.

Tamasha

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What everyone touted Tamasha to be – a love story – it most definitely is not. Instead, it is a mish-mash of a whole lot of social issues and stigmas in Indian society and the problems of the youth, a concept every recent movie is trying to push these days. Though Imtiaz Ali’s concept is amazing, it’s execution is a wee bit shaky. Ranbir Kapoor character is etched perfectly (except for one glaring error where we’re never told why despite killing his wishes, he takes off on a trip to Corsica), his acting is simply superb. The ease with which he portrays both characters – the free-spirited ‘Don’ and the staid, boring Ved amazes us. There are moments when he showcases his internal struggle, his pain effortlessly through his emotions and expressions. It’s the small actions that really tell us of his true nature – looking at his watch each time he leaves Deepika’s place, the daily schedule, the same actions. His acting is effortless and completely applaudable. There are times he makes us doubt his sanity and slips in and out of Ved and Don so easily that we are left with our mouths gaping.

Deepika on the other hand doesn’t get as meaty a role. It’s her responsibility to draw out the sullen Ved and turn him into Don and she does it admirably we admit but she is hardly given screen space. Deepika is hardly present in the second half and her role is completely overshadowed as opposed to Ranbir’s. There’s no background to her story, no character development, no history… As brilliant as she is at acting, Tamasha has unfortunately not given her enough space to prove her prowess. Also, some of her actions seem exceedingly clingy and like a wronged girlfriend who feels cheated despite Ranbir never making her any false promises.

Tamasha

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Infact, the entire movie is about Ranbir, his growing up and his life choices. It does teach us to listen to our heart and it is only then that we can be happy but the message could have been clearer – without all the added mishmash. It seems like too many social issues right from parental force to the rat race are forced into the movie and sometimes, some elements just leave confused as to what exactly happened. But overall, the message does come across – follow your heart. Not your head. From the beginning to the end, that is exactly what the movie teaches us to do. Live life on your own terms.

One good thing about the movie is it’s cinematography. Corsica is painted in it’s absolute best and so is Simla. Both the quaint little towns are captured beautifully, with none of their essence though in some Corsica shots, the un-natural additions like fake flowers and metal windows seem over-the-top. There are even some choice locations of Delhi that made us want to suddenly plan a trip to the capital city. Now, who wouldn’t want to just get lost and enjoy a warm evening in a place like Social? Or enjoy some gupshup with friends in the Dhaba? The cinematography of the movie is a travel lover’s delight! If nothing else, it will definitely make you pack your bags and take off!

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