Of ghisi-piti jawaanis and some good news.

Reportedly, before she signed on the dotted line for Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Deepika Padukone made a deal with director Ayan Mukherji. “I will wear spectacles in the first half of the movie, if you let me wear short dresses, shorter skirts, shorts and bikini tops throughout the film.”

“But the major part of the first half is going to be based in Manali! How can you be wearing shorts and short skirts there? Especially during the treks on the snow-capped mountains. It’s supposed to be cold in Manali, you know.” Ayan Mukherji tried to reason with her.

“I don’t care. I will not wear anything that covers my legs. That’s it. The audience is stupid anyways. They won’t notice. Also, if my character has to undergo a transformation from geek to cool, then you have to get rid of the glasses. Because, you know, people who wear spectacles are dorks.”

“Alright alright. You can have whatever you want. Jeez, the things I have to do to draw crowd to the theatre when I don’t have a good enough story to do that for me.”

Ok fine. I just made all that up. But I really can’t think of a better reason why Deepika Padukone is prancing about in Manali wearing tiny little skirts and shorts and dresses. Not just her, the rest of the ladies, except Kalki, are also similarly dressed.

YJHD is basically a cocktail of many Bollywood films’ themes and concepts that have been doing the rounds for so long that it’s just not appealing anymore. The timid and shy girl who wants to break free from the rules that bind her (Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge), a group of friends going on a trip that leads to a whole lot of self-discovery and other inspiring stuff (Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara), the boy and the girl deciding not to be together because they have different dreams and different goals (Love Aaj Kal), the boy finally realising that he can’t live without the girl even if it means letting go of his dream (a whole lot of movies).

My problem with the movie is not so much the story but the jaded clichés. FYI, not all medical students are geeks. Not all of them wear spectacles and walk around with a book in their hand all the time (I’m not kidding. Deepika Padukone walks around with her textbook in her hand while pushing her shopping cart in a supermarket. Dood. Seriously?). And not everyone who wears spectacles are uncool. As a chashmish myself, I take offense to that. First there were fairness cream ads telling me that my life is doomed because I’m dark. And now there are films telling me I’m dorky because I wear spectacles? Can’t I catch a break?!

Most of the comedy in the movie seems forced. For example, that scene in Manali where they get into a spat with some hatta-katta gunda-types tourists. The sequence that follows is such a cliché that even your laughter is forced after a point. Hint: the scene is clearly inspired by many scenes from Barfi, which in turn was inspired by Charlie Chaplin. The cinematography of the film is awesome, and so is the acting by Ranbir and Kalki. I have always found Deepika to be even more expressionless than a block of wood, so let me not say anything more about her. ARK is decent, he could’ve done better if his character had a bit more depth. The film drags unnecessarily. At a day and age where most movies don’t go beyond 2 hours, it’s tedious to watch so much of drama for close to three hours. If only the film was as short as Deepika's clothes. I expected a better fare from the man who gave us the adorable and refreshing Wake Up Sid.

The other problem I had with the film? Ranbir Kapoor’s character dreams of travelling the world, of never being tied down in marriage, of being free always. Where did all those dreams vanish, when he met the new, cool Deepika? Was it the fact that she had ditched her spectacles that made her more appealing? Or her gravity-defying bikini tops? (Deepika’s lower half is on display during the first half of the movie, and her upper half is on display during the second half. There is no simpler way to summarize this movie).

Ok, so people have dreams. And sometimes, when they meet the love of their lives, they are willing to trade their dreams, the ones that they have been nurturing for the longest time, for a lifetime of love and companionship. Right? Because what can be better than being with the person you love for the rest of your life.  

Bullshit. 

I have learnt it the hard way, out of personal experience, that you should never stand in the way of somebody else’s dreams. You can be supportive all you want, you can put up with all the mood swings that comes with being a dreamer, you can bend over backwards trying to be understanding and patient, but at the end of the day, you will always be that one factor that’s standing in the way of that person achieving his dream. You may have fallen in love with that passion, that drive, that determination, everything. But those very factors will soon seem too much to handle. When someone is forced to let go of his dreams because someone is expecting him to ‘settle down’, it will only lead to resentment. Even if he does it voluntarily, sooner or later, he will regret it. It may not be an immediate thing. It’s a gradual process. One that slowly eats away at all the love that was there between the two of you. Until finally, all that’s left is a lot of blaming. “I gave up everything for you. What more do you want from me?” So no, Ranbir, I don’t buy into that logic. You have a dream, go chase it. Go live it. Don’t give it up for anybody or anything. Especially not for a person who is not willing to even leave her city because her clinic and her parents are there. (Yup, believe it or not, that’s the reason she gives). You both will be happy for a while, but soon, the wanderlust will creep in, and when she doesn’t let go of you, the resentment will creep in.

Oh well. Maybe there’ll be a sequel to the movie. Ye Jawaani Hai Ghisi-piti.

***

On a happier and lesser cynical note, I’m happy to inform you guys that my blog was featured in the directory of India’s best blogs, 2012-13 edition. Yay. J To be honest, I’m a little confused at to why. I hardly even write these days. I was pleasantly surprised.

Soumya too considered me worthy of a Creative Blogger Award. Thank you, Soumya. I shall be doing the post soon. :)

And yes. I finally got a job. J I’m jobless no more.

The dance show was awesome. I did a Bollywood (but of course!) and a cha cha number.

And! It finally rained in Chennai. J 

But I'm not getting too excited because, you know, this is Chennai. Kya pata, ye baarish kal ho na ho.

Life, as of now, is good. *touchwoodtouchwood touchwoodtouchwood touchwoodtouchwood touchwoodtouchwood touchwoodtouchwood touchwoodtouchwood touchwoodtouchwood touchwoodtouchwood touchwoodtouchwood*

P,S. For some reason, I'm not able to make changes to my blog layout, to add the award label. When I click on the layout tab, an error message is displayed. What do I do?