Here is an example from a very non-intellectual ground: After watching 3 Idiots young people generally was having a tendency to induce a Rancho syndrome in themselves, as clearly this movie feeds you that who is successful(say Chatur) and who is excellent (Rancho). One of my brilliant friend who is not at all a film or a literary buff once expressed violent views saying that what Chatur was doing is practical, he is hard working, he is restricted, he is professional, he is ambitious and he is shown to be a successful that internally every student dreamt off!!! so why to criticise Chatur and make him a clown. He felt that ultimately director didn’t know how to prove the excellence of Rancho, hence added 250 patents to him and show him in Ladak, which may be possible in Cinema but ask yourself ‘Do you want to be that?’ Suddenly all stopped, many argued for the sake of argument, but there, you know, 3 Idiots works at a personal level with him asover glorification of Rancho and Chatur, made to be a Joker was unaccountable to him.
But there are examples of many movies where perhaps no hero is there, you even dont know whom to support and whom to condemn, the protagonist is not the most ‘excellent’ person you know. You are not fed anything to believe and have to use your own judgement constantly. No ‘ALL IS WELL’ at the end, no big sunrise scene. 100 people understand this work in hundred different ways, some may move some may get bored. But we should be patient enough to know and value each and every opinion such that our CHOICE IMPROVED.
In Massan, just the effortless story telling appealed me most. First time when she changed and when to that boy in that hotel, I didn’ feel in obscenity there. But situation changed, any external person who found couple in that way will always see the darker side. And there how, dark shit starts from the society and the life of that girl just burned. It made me ashamed because if I would have in that place of that inspector, who knows? I would have done the same thing. And then scandal and burn in the subsequent process just kept on growing. In the world filled with ‘character less’ people, to whom you will apply for character certificate. The girl on the other hand is not Jhansi ki Rani or Phoolan Devi who will return to normal life by the virtue of bravery nor shown to be a timid who will commit suicide just to escape from this stupid, unfortunate, fucking life!!!Day in day out, more she tolerates insult and humiliation more she gets changed. And we know life always finds a way, so here life also does that!!! But still pain remains (remember the scene where she became envious seeing a couple and refuse to give them ticket).
Similar thing works for the young boy, raising in the neighborhood of burning ghat. He was never content with his grey life and wanted to have a different living. He joined poly-technique institution fell in tremendous love with a higher class girl. He discovered that instead of being grown in the background of burning dead bodies and ashes there can be a savage romantic side of him.
He was at his best, loved his life the most, prepared himself for all the odds which might have come towards his journey with his lover, but life just dethroned him in a moment. All turned black when alike a casual night just one dead body made him lost to dark!!!! When he sees her dead, there was no time to mourn, no time to cry, only thing acceptable was just to be a cold professional of that burning ghat.With that death of that girl, a part of him was also thrashed and burned without any noise. Unbearable pain!!!where to escape? where to cry? where to find an absolution? But life is a perpetual journey, it will always find a way.
At the fag end, the director didn’t give you some abrupt happiness unlike commercial movies but provide meeting of the two persons…both suffering from unbearable agony. We might expect that a deeply hurt person can be a very good friend to other since one will understand the pain of other; hence there will be chance of warmth and healing, and lastly a small insertion of HOPE. Hence both of them moving in boat in the backdrop of sun gives you a sudden untold freshness and ultimately to explore the movie the way you like. These extreme unbiased, humanly, sensitive, deeply thought yet experimental attempt is very rare in our cinema and hence these qualities make this movie a piece of personal experience, The way I was moved by various aspects of the movie might not work same for others. Just like each of us looking towards life is different. I will end my answer with one statement of Dibakar Banerjee regarding the celebrated movie ‘Ship of Thesius’ ………………………………………
”Don’t praise it, don’t ignore it, just watch it!!! and watch it TWICE!!!!!!!!!!”