This post is not a review of the movie Highway,to be precise. As such my intention is to share my feelings about the message the movie delivered, but I would like to take a moment to reflect on the movie- perhaps, with rational directors like Imtiaz Ali, Bollywood has evolved into making movies that actually are influential more than being just an entertainer. The screenplay, direction and locations were fantastic. More phenomenal however, were both the actors--specially Randeep Hooda and not because he was looking really hot in that rugged look of a Haryanvi, but because he had to deliver most of his emotions through his facial expressions and that, my dear friends, is very tough for an actor playing a protagonist with limited dialogues.
That apart, by the end of the movie, a very obvious thing struck me- Life is short. Veera, in the movie, was living all her life affluently and having the ultimatum luxuries of life--yet, she was suffocating & unhappy. There are many times in life, where we sense that something is wrong. The feeling of discomfort at the thought of that "something wrong", the fear to face it or the fear of the resulting consequences. And yet, we either fail to assess the serious impact of that situation on our life or even worse, do not realize the existence of that discomfort as constant denial has made it part of the subconscious.
This situation could be implicated in anybody's life in any phase. For instance, there could be this person taking all criticism from the one and only best friend but does not speak up for fear of losing the friendship. There could be the obedient child, who knows that the particular decision his/her parents made for him/her is not good for them but has made it part of their system to believe that parents are the best-decision makers for them. An employee having to be a sycophant to his boss for reasons valid to him/her, to get a promotion or a raise. All these hypothetical people in the hypothetical but real situations in life, tend to feel suffocated but tend to just go on living the same old way.
Break Free! That's the first thing the movie told me. No matter what situation of discomfort/uneasiness/unhappiness in life, be bold enough to come face to face with it, for starters. Whether you want to bring about a change or not is secondary and has nothing to do with facing-head-on your discomfort, suffocation and that "something is wrong" feelings. In fact, it is crucial to the well-being of the mind that you understand what it is feeling rather than to dismiss it, deny it and push it into your subconscious where it only accumulates until one day it bursts out.
If all this was too hard to understand, all I am saying is begin to do what Veera does at the end--Break free out of the discomfort & Just do it. Now, I am not indicating that you must pack your bags, grab a chunk of money from your bank and start a business in the hilly North Indian region-- I know we all have jobs and families to take care of, and such endings in the movies are, in most cases, hypothetical (Although I am not ruling out the possibility of the occurrence of such an event).
But when you start tackling your inner discomfort, and begin asking questions to yourself about what is wrong, that's when you begin to get answers and locate the reason/s for that bad feeling. The next thing you need is courage to do what it takes. I will discuss that, in yet another post of mine--but this is the first step to being at peace with yourself.
Because the real joy of living is not breathing and surviving but experiencing your existence every moment by doing things to breathe life into life.
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| Thanks to Imtiaz Ali-I got to see a fant-abulous movie after a really long time! picture source:musichitzz.com |
That apart, by the end of the movie, a very obvious thing struck me- Life is short. Veera, in the movie, was living all her life affluently and having the ultimatum luxuries of life--yet, she was suffocating & unhappy. There are many times in life, where we sense that something is wrong. The feeling of discomfort at the thought of that "something wrong", the fear to face it or the fear of the resulting consequences. And yet, we either fail to assess the serious impact of that situation on our life or even worse, do not realize the existence of that discomfort as constant denial has made it part of the subconscious.
This situation could be implicated in anybody's life in any phase. For instance, there could be this person taking all criticism from the one and only best friend but does not speak up for fear of losing the friendship. There could be the obedient child, who knows that the particular decision his/her parents made for him/her is not good for them but has made it part of their system to believe that parents are the best-decision makers for them. An employee having to be a sycophant to his boss for reasons valid to him/her, to get a promotion or a raise. All these hypothetical people in the hypothetical but real situations in life, tend to feel suffocated but tend to just go on living the same old way.
Break Free! That's the first thing the movie told me. No matter what situation of discomfort/uneasiness/unhappiness in life, be bold enough to come face to face with it, for starters. Whether you want to bring about a change or not is secondary and has nothing to do with facing-head-on your discomfort, suffocation and that "something is wrong" feelings. In fact, it is crucial to the well-being of the mind that you understand what it is feeling rather than to dismiss it, deny it and push it into your subconscious where it only accumulates until one day it bursts out.
If all this was too hard to understand, all I am saying is begin to do what Veera does at the end--Break free out of the discomfort & Just do it. Now, I am not indicating that you must pack your bags, grab a chunk of money from your bank and start a business in the hilly North Indian region-- I know we all have jobs and families to take care of, and such endings in the movies are, in most cases, hypothetical (Although I am not ruling out the possibility of the occurrence of such an event).
But when you start tackling your inner discomfort, and begin asking questions to yourself about what is wrong, that's when you begin to get answers and locate the reason/s for that bad feeling. The next thing you need is courage to do what it takes. I will discuss that, in yet another post of mine--but this is the first step to being at peace with yourself.
Because the real joy of living is not breathing and surviving but experiencing your existence every moment by doing things to breathe life into life.
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