As I sat down to watch the film, I had no plans of writing in this blog about it. I write in appreciation of the music I enjoy and the music of this film has only very limited appeal to me. Yet here I am!
I was not surprised that I enjoyed this road-movie so very much. I have a serious travel bug and if nothing else, I would have been happy enough to ogle at all the lovely scenery. The cinematography is delightful and Spain has been shot with a loving eye.
What I liked especially is that the three lead characters (the women are just addendums) have shades of grey and hidden depth. One is a man who is in a straight jacket of work-ambition-need for money & security, sharp and bitter, losing life as he lives it. Another is a boy-man who has not outgrown his teenage years, an extroverted-introvert, shallow in parts, conflicted in others and a poet in secret. The third is a pacifist who fears confrontation, he is the cement which holds these three together, a team player, heading towards marital disaster for lack of backbone. With three main leading men and three stories to be told, nothing is delved into with too much detail but what there is, is well-told. Except for Arjun (Hrithik) who takes a 180 towards the end, the others remain true to character. Unlike other reviewers, I didn’t mind the stupid jokes and horseplay at all; I have seen much older men behave in a similar fashion when they get together with old friends!! I liked also that it is fast paced and well-edited. The performances are above average and the film very enjoyable.
The music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy remained unobtrusive on the whole. I shall not dwell on it; it is not my genre of music and I don’t have the ears to appreciate it. The one song which caught my attention was Senorita. I enjoyed the dancing and the spectacle and the song was fun without being memorable. It added to my pleasure that the actors sang for it themselves.
But today I am writing this post to showcase the poetry by Javed Akhtar featured in this film. I moved to Delhi when I was 11 years old with no Hindi. Those first months of struggle in understanding and coping at school in this alien language was quite horrible. I learnt the language soon but didn’t really appreciate it. The next year I had a teacher called O.P.Sharma who was a hasya-kavi, quite a well-known poet whose verses would leave you in helpless giggles. He was not good at following the syllabus but his classes were fun as he would recite his poetry to us. That, more than anything else, made me fall in love with this language and to this day I have a weakness for a well-written phrase in Hindi. Javed Akhtar weaves his words with enviable mastery. Listen to the clip below with four poems recited by Farhan Akhtar (see footnote for lyrics).
Poem 1
पिघले नीलम सा बहता हुआ यह समाँ
नीली नीली सी ख़ामोशियाँ
ना कहीं हैं ज़मीन
ना कहीं आसमान
सरसराती हुयी टहनियां, पत्तियाँ
कह रही हैं कि बस एक तुम हों यहाँ
सिर्फ मैं हूँ मेरी सांसें हैं और मेरी धडकनें
ऐसी गहराइयाँ
ऐसी तनहाइयाँ
और मैं सिर्फ मैं
अपने होने पे मुझको यकीन आ गया
Poem 3
जब जब दर्द का बादल छाया
जब ग़म का साया लहराया
जब आंसू पलकों तक आया
जब यह तनहा दिल घबराया
हमने दिल को यह समझाया
दिल आखिर तू क्यूँ रोता है
दुनिया में यूँही होता है
यह जो गहरे सन्नाटे हैं
वक़्त ने सबको ही बांटे हैं
थोडा ग़म हैं सबका किस्सा
थोड़ी धुप हैं सबका हिस्सा
आँख तेरी बेकार ही नम हैं
हर पल एक नया मौसम हैं
क्यूँ तू ऐसे पल खोता हैं
दिल आखिर तू क्यूँ रोता हैं
Poem 2
इक बात होंटों तक है जो आई नहीं
बस आँखों से हैं झांकती
तुमसे कभी, मुझसे कभी
कुछ लफ्ज़ हैं वोह मांगती
जिनको पहनके होंटों तक आ जाए वोह
आवाज़ की बाहों में बाहें डालके इठलाये वोह
लेकिन जो यह इक बात हैं
अहसास ही अहसास हैं
खुशबू हैं जैसे हवा में तैरती
खुशबू जो बे-आवाज़ हैं
जिसका पता तुमको भी हैं
जिसकी खबर मुझको भी है
दुनिया से भी छुपता नहीं
यह जाने कैसा राज़ है
Poem 4
दिलों में तुम अपनी बेताबियाँ लेके चल रहे हो, तो जिंदा हो तुम!
नज़र में ख़्वाबों की बिजलियाँ लेके चल रहे हो, तो जिंदा हो तुम!
हवा के झोंकों के जैसे आज़ाद रहना सीखो
तुम एक दरिया के जैसे लहरों में बहना सीखो
हर एक लम्हे से तुम मिलो खोले अपनी बाहें
हर एक पल एक नया समा देखे यह निगाहें
जो अपनी आँखों में हैरानियाँ लेके चल रहे हो, तो जिंदा हो तुम!
दिलों में तुम अपनी बेताबियाँ लेके चल रहे हो, तो जिंदा हो तुम!
Music To My Ears 