Tamasha : When the Mind is without Fear

There is a race out there, a race that has no meaning, yet every damn folk is part of it. Millions are caught in the rut, living a pretentious life, a life that is fast losing its inherent meaning. In a robotic, corporatized world, where you get judged by the minute, there is an inner self that is getting suffocated deep inside, yet powerless to liberate itself.  Gone are the days “When the mind was without fear” – in a modern, materialistic world the mind is tuned to take instructions only. In a world obsessed with pragmatism and success, spontaneity has faded into oblivion.  The inner struggle is so evident, the angst is so palpable, hence the escape to Corsica. Such a poignant and powerful story. And Imtiaz Ali decides to use “Tamasha” to portray it.

Imtiaz who depicted the soul stirring journey of Janardan to Jordan in “Rockstar” decides to tell the story of Ved’s self discovery in Tamasha. Forced to choose an average, ordinary life, labelled as a well behaved man Ved, probably discovers the full potential of his true inner self when me meets Tara in Corsica. Yet he thought that was momentary and resumes his mundane, normal, robotic life once he is back in India, till he meets Tara again, years later. His discovery is gut wrenching for him and fascinating for us, as we continue to live in a cocooned world, in a pre defined way, scared to take the plunge.   However Imtiaz chooses a weird narrative, partly magnificent and partly monotonous to paint the canvas. The opening scene, at almost twenty minutes, is too long and fails to connect with the audience .Much of the first half is lost in capturing the picturesque Corsica without any effort to flesh out the characters. But post interval the film picks up pace and decides to delve deep and gives us some brilliant moments.

Ranbir and Deepika’s Chemistry is enigmatic. Deepika , it seems , is on a roll. She effortlessly gets into the skin of Tara displaying us her myriad moods. Ranbir is back with a superlative performance. Watch out for his monologues in front of a mirror, where he speaks with his inner self or for that brilliant scene where he shares with his family his own story, the story of a life he wants to live. Irshad Kamal’s lyrics are partly haunting and partly playful. Unfortunately the songs have not been used properly. Ravi Verman’s cinematography is beautiful. It is the editing that slows down the pace of the film and it veers in all direction.

Ironically a film that talks about what life “could have been” if we dare to take the path of self discovery, ends up being a film “that could have been so much more”! I will go out with 2.5 out of 5 for Imtiaz Ali’s “ Tamasha” – go be a part  of the journey of self discovery , it may not be entirely fulfilling , yet who knows, it may  fascinate your soul to take the plunge !