Writing ain't easy

The very first article was posted (by me) on this blog sometime in mid-August. Three full pieces (and another one under construction) later, I'm gasping for air. Oh God ! Writing is easy or so I used to think at one point in time. Quite the contrary. I've always prided myself on a good reading habit ; so as I would go through the pages of some writing I would tell myself -This is easy. All you have to do is to have an idea or an opinion (or both) and then put it into words. Now all I have to do is to work on my vocabulary. A strong vocabulary would mean I'd be able to throw in a few high sounding words here and there. That would make my writing heady. People (not all but some) would think that I'm better at English than they are; hence they would want to accept my views. (I'd request the reader not to take offence at what I just said because I've known people for whom being good at English is a prestige issue; at least I'd have them listening to my ideas; it is better than having no one at all :-).
A little bit of practice, and I'd be in the league of those Sunday Times columnists. No big deal really. Maybe I'm going to write a book one day. Maybe not just one, maybe two or three. Four maybe ? If luck favours, one of them may be nominated for the Booker Prize. Uh well, winning the prize is not something I'm going to do, I'm not that good. So many gargantuan castles painstakingly built in the air, and how much time did it take for all of them to come crashing down ? In retrospect, I'm thinking I needed treatment for an acute case of megalomania. Hell, writing is one of the most arduous tasks that I've ever set myself to do. The problems that I encounter are plenty. One of the major ones is that often I've no idea about what on earth I'm writing. As my fingers seamlessly go on caressing the keys of my i-ball keyboard, my mind drifts. I dare not look up at the monitor. I'm scared. My brain tells me I can't write, but my heart thinks otherwise. And the proof is right in front of my eyes, my writing is gruesome, I just need to look up and into the monitor. Which I won't do. I don't want the harsh reality to hit me. So I keep my head down and continue hitting the keys.
Spelling mistake would have been a behemoth of a problem, unless a few smart people somewhere didn't have the idea of starting an online dictionary (which wouldn't have made them smart in the first place...see how I'm drifting ?). Another behemoth of a problem is grammatical errors, and I still haven't found what I'm looking for (a la U2); i.e. an online grammar book. Last but not the least (actually the problem that plagues me the most) is that often I get stuck; I've an idea or an image in my mind but I can't put it into words. Like I had this image of a bespectacled me looking down, hunched over my keyboard pegging (is that the right word ?) away at the keys; but the words wouldn't just come to me.
Is there any way to improve upon this situation ? The human brain is a wonderland in itself, where small chunks of idea are floating about, randomly, until a collision leads to coalescing of a few chunks thereby giving rise to a bigger idea. Communication is a process by which ideas and opinions lurking in various corners of the human brain are brought out in the open. Make a few people possessing excellent communication skill set sit together, and you may have a plan or strategy. Writing is a very important form of communication, hence it is a shame not to be able to write well.
So here's an idea. Not a scientific approach, but no doubt it's innovative. I don't know how things are going to turn out; but I'm going to give it a go anyway. First I'm going to select a topic. Then I'm going to write down whatever arbitrary sentences (or portions thereof) that come to my mind. In no particular order. Any sentence pertaining to the topic that I think of, I'm going to put it down. I'm going to let my imagination run wild. It doesn't matter if the first sentence that I write down ultimately becomes the forty-third sentence (Gosh, I'm not sure whether I can manage that many sentences) of the finished article (quite literally); and my fourth sentence ultimately becomes the opening line. (Well you may be wondering where would the second and third sentences of my manuscript would go; well....they'd be deleted). After I've enough raw material, the processing unit is going to take over. I'd see how or whether I can pick out some sentences and connect them into a coherent paragraph. Connecting a few such meaningful paragraphs together would in turn, I hope, constitute a (meaningful) article. I think this approach is a lot more quicker that spending forty five minutes for the opening sentence and then proceeding sequentially. I think I need to try out this technique as soon as possible. Maybe I'd have an article by this technique. I think I have one.

Taare Zameen Par

The stars are on earth (Taare Zameen Par), people are queuing up for tickets, the critics are heaping praise on debutant director Aamir Khan (who, incidentally, is also a co-producer and an actor in the movie), and most important of all aam-junta, people who matter the most, have given a thumbs up to the film. I happened to catch the fourth-day-first-show, if I may call it, at the local theatre. I saw people doing their second stint, and a few guys claimed it was their third. That tells you a story.
The story revolves around eight year old Ishaan Awasthi (played by Darsheel Safary). He is dyslexic, therefore he cannot master the english alphabet and is abysmal at math. His parents are, however, unaware of their child's learning disability and worse, they make no concerted effort to try to comprehend his difficulties. The resulting poor grades in school infuriate Mr. and Mrs. Awasthi who attribute the results to their son's intractable and obstinate nature. Part of the problem is that the egotist Mr. Awasthi cannot even think of the possibility that HIS son could have a disability of any kind. When Ishaan's art teacher Ram Shankar Nikumbh (played by Aamir Khan) tries to convince the little kid's parents that their child has a learning disability, Mr. Awasthi fumes incredulously. Ishaan's elder brother Yohaan is the quintessential 21st century Indian upper-middle class teenager - he's a focussed, hard-working, docile careerist- everything his younger brother is not. The other three members of the Awasthi family, however, love Ishaan and are deeply concerned about his future. At one point things get out of control. His parents decide that boarding school is the right cure for their fractious child, that he needs to learn a thing or two about discipline. Each teacher in this school is a martinet, and things look bleak for Ishaan who gets increasingly detached from his family. The story unfolds as Mr. Nikumbh discovers the potential in the little kid and provides him with guidance and encouragement. The movie ends with Ishaan resplendent in victory; finally getting the recognition he deserves for his magnificent talent; and a vindicated Nikumbh.
The scene where little Ishaan stands all alone inside the ominous, squalid boarding school or where he's shown in the middle of the night, out of his bed, thumping on the bathroom wall, crying for his mother, whilst his tearyeyed mother, brother and son are on their way home, is heart-wrenching. I heard a few snivels in the audience. A few people were trying hard to suppress their tears, but Shankar Mahadevan belting out 'Maa' in his rich, melodious voice didn't help matters. Kudos to Prasoon Joshi for the lyrics of this song in particular, not to mention the other five. It reminded me of my mother, and I'm sure that it did the same to quite a few others (I didn't have the tears, though). Shankar,Ehsaan and Loy have done a superb job (as usual ) with the soundtrack of the movie.
Issue-based films are a rarity in Bollywood, hence Aamir deserves an ovation for going beyond the usual song-and-dance bullshit ( like Fanaa) that Bollywood churns out all the time. The movie raises awareness about dyslexia, also blatantly points out how children are being robbed of their precious childhood by overzealous, tyrannical parents who want their little ones to excel in everything from studies to extra curriculars. Failure is not an option in a marks-based education system that needs urgent reforms.
While judging a movie, I take into account only one thing - my feelings and emotions just after watching the movie. I do not let the opinion of my friends and critic's reviews affect my judgement. Hence my ruling would be this - TZP is a good movie, but falls short of expectations. And my expectations were sky-high, simply because it was an out-and-out Aamir Khan movie. He directed, produced and acted in the movie. Considering his track-record, Aamir has the burden of expectation on his shoulders. That is one of the downsides of being so good in an industry plagued by mediocrity. Well, it would be harsh to say that Aamir didn't deliver, but I expected more. The plot has no twists and is hopelessly predictable. Midway through the movie, if you try to conjure up the storyline for the rest of the movie based on what you have seen already, you would be surprised at your accuracy. That abrades the fun part, because you know beforehand how things are going to shape up. The acting, barring that of Darsheel, is okayish. No power-packed performance from any of the actors - and the reason for this is that the storyline is too simple. TZP is not in the league of Rang de, not even Dil Chahta Hai or Lagaan, in the sense that it doesn't offer anything new or extraordinary. The social issues presented in the movie are not new; a lot of writing and discussions have taken place on how our education system is harsh on differentially abled children and needs to be revamped (although yielding no tangible results as of now). Rang De was a revolution; Dil chahta Hai became an attitude; Lagaan went to the Oscars. TZP would bag quite a few Filmfare Awards (the Oscars of Bollywood) this year, that's a guarantee, but I'm afraid that's where it is going to end.