Bahut nikle mere armaan...

You say that the day USSR collapsed, communism died its inevitable death. I ask, hypothetically, if the Taj Mahal were to collapse tomorrow, would you say that Love has died its death? The answer would be an obvious resounding "NO". Why? Coz Taj Mahal is not Love itself, only a symbol of Love.

Similarly, communism is a feeling- like Love.

I've taken out this by paraphrasing a scene from Kamal Hassan's Anbe Sivam, arguably amongst his best ever.

Let me also quote Che here- "Let me say, with the risk of appearing ridiculous,that the true revolutionary is guided by the spirit of Love. It is impossible to think of an authentic revolutionary without this quality."

Why do I write this today?

A few days back, I was at the launch of the Habitat Film Fest, which is showcasing this time, a retro of Sudhir Mishra's films. It began with Hazaron Khwaishein Aisi, the only cult film that I can think of- in my college days, besides Rang De Basanti. Those of us who saw this film loved it- for different reasons.

Siddharth Tyabji (Kaykay) is one of the protagonists in the film. A young man from a well-to-do family, driven by the leftist ideology, seeking to a create a difference in the society. Geeta Rao (Chitrangada Singh), a young lady driven by Love for her man and his ideology she adopts and eventually lives. Vikram Malhotra (Shiney Ahuja), the son of a middle class Gandhian, who is driven by thoughts of power, and the lady he loves (who loves another man).

A story through a decade from 1969, which sees these three go through different surprises in life- which sees them doing what they want to do and also living the collaterals they would never have imagined. It is also a story about Love. Love is a theme that plays in the background of the movie through its reels.

There are those times when I do watch movies purely for timepass. I guess most of us (the serious cinema lovers) relate to a movie/ story when we either relate to the characters or when we see the protagonists do what we wish we could do.

This film takes me back to a few years back. The Afghan war had just begun. In my own li'l way I was involved with a group of people who staged street plays urging people to wake up against American imperialism. We urged people to stop drinking Pepsi-Coke, stop wearing Nike/ Reebok... and disassociate themselves from anything American. Each time a new mind was indoctrinated, my mind rejoiced. And frustration set in each time I saw someone not convinced. We all believed things will change. We all believed that doing what we were doing would "awaken" a dormant society.

Days passed on, weeks flew by and winters gave way to summer that gave way to the rains... to autumn and to the winters.

My very close friend of those days used to call me Ajithations (the etymology of the name had nothing to do with the Afghan war. It came from the legendary BitBis dharna).

The idealism associated with anti-imperialism gave way to a realization that if I needed to do anything that was socially accepted as "worthwhile", I would have to rid myself of these ideas. This eventually made me slowly give up on certain views of mine. Was it a realization that the ideas would never reach their logical conclusion? Was it an awakening that the hopes would never be realized? I do not think so.

Pure selfishness :-)

I remember sitting in the last bench of route no. 816, boarding the bus after downing a bottle of coke- after long months of renunciation. It was my moment of truth at that time. This must have been 2003.

I have seen the film Hazaaron khwahishein aisi.. about 5-10 times now. Each time, I have seen new meanings in the film. Each time my mind takes a new route altogether.
I have nothing against films like "Partner", "Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna" and the likes. But, it is sad that such films as Hazaron don't have a large audience.

Lemme end this one by quoting Ghalib...

Hazaaron Khwahishein aisi, ki har khwahish pe dum nikle.
Bahut nikle mere armaan...lekin...fir bhi kam nikle....