Stories ...

I sit here writing and rambling about a movie while I should actually be making a job that creates a cartesian join in DataStage. My love for movies and good stories bring me here because it is very seldom that I come across a story that touches my heart. I know -- it is kind of ironical. I live for stories, don't I? Even when I am living a moment, I have words forming in my head for how will I narrate this story to someone who cares to listen. There are not many listeners in my life these days. When I was in school, I would be back home at sharp 1:30 PM. And every day, the one single statement that I would utter as soon as I entered was , "Mummy, pata hai aaj kya hua?" and then the rant would continue while I would wash my hands, change and sit down for lunch in that exact order.

Things are different now. The husband listens, but I feel him wandering when he loses interest. It is the same with friends. So, I try not to rant. Kapoor and Sons, however, was a story that I loved to see and hear and feel and live it with them. It was a story of 2 brothers and their family and I was in it with them. I was with the successful brother, wishing that one day I will see the same success. I was with the other brother, who was shadowed by his sibling. I felt him more. Somehow I feel the sadness of a failure more than I feel the happiness of success. I need to change this in me. I was with the parents too ..wondering how does it feel to live in a family with constantly bickering parents. Ok, I lie. I know how it is. The issues were different, but bickering is bickering. As kids, you don't want to choose sides.

I felt the sadness of the wife who fears she is being cheated on. I felt fear. I hope it never happens to me. But I don't know why I knew how it felt. It is a scary feeling, especially when you are in a relationship with someone you fear losing. Oh! Now I know why I could understand how she felt. Losing a loved one is scary, especially when he is your friend, your family, your whole life.

When the grandfather sends a video message to the sons ,folds his hands and requests them to come back home, my heart broke into a million pieces. There is nothing more difficult than seeing a perpetually happy person cry.

I was definitely with the goofy Tia -- I may not be as funny and I don't like to dance in shady discs (I don't like to dance in classy discs as well, so there is that!) But I have crushed hard on good looking guys. I have not kissed them for sure but my crushes were not Fawad Khan either. I have made inappropriate jokes, though!

There was never a moment in the movie which felt forced or useless. There was never a moment in the movie that lacked familiarity. Even the scene where Ratna Pathak Shah confronts Fawad Khan felt so true. There was a small moment in this scene. When the mother and son yell at each other, their dog "Kishu" sits on Fawad's bed and Fawad yells at the dog too, "Hat Kishu yahan se!" and I thought, Isn't it so natural? Don't we end up shouting at someone perfectly innocent, when in rage?  I wonder why do we like movies that mirror reality? Don't we go there to escape our realities? Isn't that the exact reason that I love Harry Potter? Because it transforms me to a world far away from the real one? But I guess when we see our lives playing out in front of us, it makes us want to realize that there are others who live like us ... who go through the same smiles and same tears. Maybe these "slice of life" movies tell us that we are not alone. Maybe, it is an understanding hug from a stranger saying, "I have been there and it will be fine"

Speaking of performances, everyone was fantastic. It was difficult to take eyes off Fawad Khan, but I did manage to check on others as well and they were brilliant. I thought the grandfather's hysterics were OTT and unnecessary. In a few scenes, I felt Siddharth Malhotra could have been better, especially the one where Alia Bhatt talks about her parents' loss. Alia Bhatt was pleasant and lovely and I loved her. I have loved her since Highway and seriously, what did people like Alia Bhatt and Deepika Padukone really do that made them fabulous actors?

Before Highway, Alia Bhatt was in Student of the year and she hardly did anything worth noticing in that movie. Before Cocktail, if I watched any Padukone movie, it was not because of her and honestly, I have physically cringed at a few dialogues in Love Aaj Kal. But then, what happened? She was mind-blowing in Cocktail and Alia Bhatt was beyond words in Highway. If it is a secret potion, I want it!!

Some say that a movie is not just a story. It is also the direction, the cinematography, the performances and so on. I agree. Or not. A movie is primarily a story but a story well told is a great movie. Kapoor and Sons in one of those great movies. And in  times like these, it is not a lesser feat.