Life in a... Metro.. with some chai..

~A few thoughts penned after watching the movie "Life in a Metro"

Its the month of March. The mercury's already gone over 37degC in Pune. But today's a different day. The skies are grey the whole a'noon - looks like it would rain anytime - a welcome shower in this heat. I stand in my balcony, holding on to my cup of strong adrak chai. The cool evening breeze carries the sweet smell of the earth - I wonder is there any appropriate word in English that describes "soundhi" so beautifully.

And then I wonder about Life in a Metro.
They say, movies usually depict life in real. How much does this movie actually represent? I have no statistics or real life examples that come to my mind. Maybe it does, maybe it does not.
Are relationships in today's metro really so complicated?

Rishtey to nahin, rishton ki parchaiyaan miley..
Yeh kaisi bheed hain..
Bas yahaan! Tanhaiyaan miley...

All this while, its the head that is talking.

Isnt it an eternal conflict - the head versus the heart.
What I should do versus what I want to do.

The heart speaks first.
Isnt that why Shruti (Konkona), the 28 year old virgin, lets go off herself in the end - she couldnt infinitely wait for her 'perfect man' - he doesnt exist until she actually gives it a try - the head made her wait for so long, finally she listened to her heart.

The head gets defensive. What about Shruti's very own sister, Mrs Ranjeet, er.. Shikha (Shilpa Shetty)? Had she listened to her heart, she would not have stayed on with Ranjeet (K K Menon), but she would have rather gone on with Akash (Shiney).

Is the heart really so selfish?

Dil khudgarz hai
Phisla hai yeh, phir haath se...
Kal uskaa rahaa,
Ab hai teraa.. is raat se..

Why does she not choose Akash over Ranjeet? Is it because Akash is a loser in life? Is it because of societal norms? Is it because she & Ranjeet have been married for 9 years, have a 6 year old daughter - and she cant imagine herself leaving all this for the sake of a love which is not more than 4-5 weeks old, and which has not withstood any real test of time?

The heart cant bear all this abuse.
It retorts angrily. What about Rahul (Sharman Joshi)?
He listened to his smart head, didnt care two hoots about any morals or principles, and just found new ways to make money. Finally, when he realised that he was sacrificing his love, he listened to me, his heart, and gave everything up! It wasnt just his bag that lay scattered on the railway platform - it was his life. And thankfully, Neha (Kangana) realised it too. Thats why she came to him.

The head cant stop laughing.
It was because of you, my dear heart, that Neha fell in love with her boyfriend, and then got ditched. Then she listened to me and got into the relationship with Ranjeet - both were happy in life until you decided to meddle in her life again. She was getting promotions & perks, he was getting sex - their mutually exclusive needs were being fulfilled - but you couldnt see that happen, could you? Thats why you made her ask for more out of that relationship. You made her attempt suicide - has she listened to just me, her head, she would have never been that unhappy in her life.

What about Ranjeet then, asked the heart.
You will never understand him, chuckled the head - his head & his heart lie in his loins - I wonder if he ever listens to us.

The heart suddenly remembered Amol (Dharmendra) & Shivani (Nafisa Ali) and exclaimed that love finally conquers all obstacles. He listened to his head in his youth - but towards the end - he realised his folly. After so many years, the two of them reignited their love & feelings for each other & became happy.

Baatein kuch ankahee si, kuch ansooni si hone lagi..
Kaaboo dil pe raha na, hasti hamaari khone lagi..
Shayad yahi hai pyaar...

You are crazy! shouted the head. Had Amol listened to you in his youth, he would have ended up being a loser in life like Akash. It is only after you become old & senile, you end up doing insane things and not care about the consquences - coz anyway, there's not much left in life to lose.

What about Monty (Irfan Khan) then, asked the heart?
Yeah, what about him, retorted the head.
He is a simpleton who gives simple answers to all questions in life.
Want to vent out your anger, just shout at the top of your voice.
Want to give love a chance, just go ahead, fall in love.

So, what do you do in the end?
Listen to the head or your heart?
Or wait for your head to permit your heart to make decisions for you?

In dino... dil meraa.. mujh se hai keh rahaa..
Tu.. khwaab sajaa...
Hai, tujhe bhi ijaazat..
kar le.. tu bhi..muhabbat..

I watch the small raindrops fall pitter-patter on the ground below.
With my eyes closed, I hold out out my hand to catch some of those raindrops on my palm. I feel mesmerized with that mitti ki soundhi-soundhi khushboo.
And I continue to sip my favorite adrak wali chai.