An Ideal Father

Picture 1 – This is my Hero (My papa of course) and this is how he looked in his heydays. It’s one of the pix taken from my parents wedding album.

Picture 2 – 25 years down the line, this is how he looks: Tanned, wrinkled, partially bald, the moustache is lopped a little – the many signs of his descent into senility.

This father’s day (21 June 2009), I was mighty happy to celebrate it with my papa and the rest of the family (mom and bro) on a Sunday. It goes without saying that fathers and daughters share a very special relationship. A relationship that is probably non-defining and certainly unconditional. And this is precisely the relationship that I share with a person who is very dear and important in my life – My Father.

Besides his full time Job, my papa was also a cricketer who played matches for his department (Posts & Telegraphs). Cricket was his first love and he relinquished it after I was born. He was always there whenever I needed him – Be it for my first dance show in school when I was 4 years, the driving license test or when I needed him to drop me to my MA class on time. A disciplinarian who believes in character to comfort and puts values and virtues on a pedestal. Paradoxically he is also a doting father who fulfills my every dream and wish and quite lenient. In my circle of friends, moms were liberal and dads were much stricter; but at my home, it was vice versa.

Today the concept of a ‘hands on dad’ is getting head on but my papa was always one. He would always make it to all events and occasions and whenever he couldn’t due to his work, he would feel guilty. I could never fathom the mystery as to why boys are drawn to their mothers and girls to their dads. I’m aware of the Oedipus complex expounded by Sigmund Freud. But I don’t concur with Freud. It’s something else.

Being the only daughter and just one younger sibling, I lap up all the attention from him. To me, he is the best and an ideal father, who corrects, comforts, instructs and provides for the needs of his children.

Rock on! : Revs up your Spirits...

Prescrap: Oye people,
I had gone to watch this movie for the first time in a Multiplex: Prasad’s; with Komal.She had watched it twice already and replied with a prompt yes, when asked to tug along with me.

Rock on, thankfully is refreshingly assorted from the run-of-the-mill genres of formulaic films. This is one movie that stands true to the contemporary times we are ensconced in. It holds a mirror to our life in its time, age, jet-setting lifestyle, relationships, career and its other facets. This small, independent movie resonates with an audience who can relate to it. I watch movies once in a blue moon. Did you know that a blue moon comes once in 17 years, according to folklore? Since I watch movies sporadically, I prefer to watch good ones with great music and a big star cast. Before watching Rock on, I had compunctions about a star-less movie but once it started, I could immediately connect; I savoured and relished each and every moment of it. There is nothing filmi about it. One can identify and empathize with the characters; be it Saakshi, Aditya, Joe, Debbie, Drummer and Rob.

The plot, treatment, setting and characters are meticulously woven to do justice to the contemporary scenario. The setting moves back and forth between the present and the past. Ego is the order of the day in today’s fickle world of relationships. We have ceased to be tolerant and hence even a slight injury to self-respect cannot be overlooked. It is these ego clashes that catalyze and trigger problems in Aditya and Joe’s lives. One hasty action of Joe leads him to an unsettled life. There’s Debbie, his wife, who by a cruel twist of fate ends up in Fish Business when she passionately yearns to be a Fashion Designer. We come across umpteen people who dream of making a mark in A, B, C career but land in a humdrum career as destiny had different plans. Drummer takes to Jewellery Business while the Pianist follows his heart.

Aditya carves a niche for himself in the Investment and Banking Industry. He’s a pro at it and finds himself at the pinnacle of success but his conjugal life is seeped in monotony. He gets hitched for the heck-of-it and thereby Work is a priority over his Wife. Saakshi, his quintessential wife, makes for a loving and caring wife who struggles to bring life to their lifeless and meaningless nuptial life. Aditya tries hard to run away from the untarnished memories of his past life but cannot. It is at this juncture, we get to see that bold side of Saakshi who confronts Aditya and throws a challenge of a near break-up incase he fails to breath life into their prosaic married life.

On the other hand, there is the other couple: Debbie and Joe who stand like a rock for each other; their love stands the test of times. This movie also looks beyond the teen romances of a happy ending. In real life, love need not culminate into marriage. It might not work if we want to remain rooted in our tradition, family and career. Aditya and his ex break up and 10 years down the line, live happy and fulfilling lives. In Aditya’s life, it’s of course Saakshi who is an eye-opener to his tasteless existence.

Music dances its way into the hearts of the audience. I just couldn’t stop tapping my feet! Farhan Akhtar has done a fantastic job as a singer in his first film as an actor. The movie leaves you with a message that its Passion and Will that makes a world of difference: Two ingredients vital to your success!

PS: Those of you, who hadn’t watched as yet, watch and live it up!