Of Talaash...

I watched Talaash at my cousin's place in California. I really really liked it. Reema Kagti, who also directed Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd, has created a very deep film about loss. As Greatbong wrote about Talaash: As a thriller, weak. As a study of grief, spectacular. I totally agree. More than the talaash for the killer, it was more about the talaash for inner peace as the title says the answer lies within. Rosy was searching for her peace by taking revenge while Roshni and Shekhawat were searching for their peace by overcoming the death of their son. More than the murder part of the film, I was fascinated by how to deal with the loss part. Like that scene where Roshni is sitting at the psychologist and she says she is more worried about Shekhawat because he can't sleep at night. Or the scene where Rosy takes Shekhawat to a place which she calls 'meri jagah' and Shekhawat says that he is not able to understand anything but aisa lagat hai jaise sare jawab mere saamne hai. The beautiful bond that Rosy and Shekhwat had, helped both of them overcome their grief. Shekhawat was so against Roshni talking to their dead son but in the end, he goes through the same fate. Elizabeth Kubler Ross defined five stages of grief as denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Indeed, acceptance is the hardest part. Shekhawat was undergoing anger, bargaining, and depression - the way he was angry at himself for not being more careful, the way he dreamed of the different situations he could have done to prevent his done from dying reflected his bargaining with fate..his inner turmoil and the way he used to play with his son's toys at night because he just couldn't t sleep as he was terribly depressed. It is the final part of acceptance that was troubling him. Talaash made the point that each of us could have our own way of overcoming grief. Some people speak to psychologists, some people might believe in the supernatural to overcome the loneliness of loss (a phrase borrowed from Barkha Dutt).. they show that all the while Roshni had not been taking any medicines but she still got cured. The mind is a fantastic creature - we know how complex the placebo effect is..how just by talking to someone we can be cured. A wonderful concept.

Talaash also made this point on how we forget about people who are not so rich. The way Rosy made a point that she had a friend who disappeared but no one cared..the way she mocked Shekhawat when he asked her why didn't she contact the police. The stunning opening credit sequences showed this dark side of Mumbai with nameless ordinary people that if they get lost no one will care. A lot of sequences in the film were at places where these ordinary people are present. Temur's death near a place of laborers, the fight at the railway station among so many people, how a film star's death is news but no one cares for the death of a girl. The harsh socio-economic reality of life.

Each and every scene in Talaash meant something. I saw it on a not-so-good print and didn't get much of the details. I need to watch it again to understand it more. There were some beautiful scenes. One of my most favorite scenes was when Frenny says that the wandering souls come to only those people who can understand them, who are going through a troubled phase themselves because they will identify with them. Rosy came to a troubled Shekhawat because they both were terribly in grief, Karan came to Roshni because he thought she will understand him, even Frenny must have gone through something troubled in her own past. That was the theme of Talaash in a way - to gain closure one needs to let it out and people who are themselves troubled can help achieve it. It was a sheer coincidence that my sister, at whose place I was, told me the same thing a day before when we were talking. She is going through a really difficult time right now, and then she told me how when she told everyone in the office about her problems, people came and started talking to her. Those she hadn't spoken to at all came and told her their problems because they thought she would understand. Her boss called her in a meeting and told her his experiences. People just need someone to talk to. Talaash in a way meant the search for people who could give them peace and as it says the answer lies within the same people who are going through a similar fate. Just read the lyrics of the song Muskaanein Jhooti Hai and you will understand what I am saying. One of the other moving scenes was when Shekhawat discovers Rosy's body and he sees the same ring. He gave closure to her and in a way she thanked him by taking him out of the water. I think he was completely in love with her. I also really liked the scene when Shekhawat comes home, Roshni and his soul give each other a hug but in reality, they do nothing. There were some other great scenes but I forgot. Talaash has some fantastic performances by all the three lead actors. There is some sparkling quality in Kareena's scenes. I don't know how she does that but she has a great screen presence. I really like her as an actress. Even the side roles, particularly the assistant cop and Nirmala (the aging sex worker) were excellent.

Talaash is not a perfect film. You will be disappointed by the climax but it worked for me because of some other beautiful things. Watch it.

As Mihir Fadvanis pointed out, Temur who walked with a limp, played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui, is a reference to Temur The Lame - reference of the day :)

Critics are calling the duo of Reema and Zoya the next Salim-Javed jodi. They are my favorites - I will again start talking about Luck By Chance :) Eagerly awaiting Zoya's next film.

Dialogue of the Day:

जो रूह प्यासी है,

जिसमे उदासी है,

वोह है घूमती,

सबको तलाश वोही,

समझे यह काश कोई,

यह है गुमराहों का रास्ता,

मुस्कानें झूटी है

 —Talaash