Mann Kasturi Re!

It was 2 a.m.

I asked my friends for a movie night, but they were all busy. After a tiring day of spending 6 hours on an online exam that was submitted at 12:30 AM, I looked out for some refreshment.

I switched on Netflix application on my SmartTV and started browsing the titles. Watching a new movie is too much work for me. I don't particularly appreciate reading summaries or plot before a watch and have to be emotionally ready to whatever the film throws at me. Also, I hate watching movies alone.

Not sure of what to do ahead, I stopped at a title I had already watched 5 times (even though I am not a re-watch person). Masaan. The tile showed a side view of Vicky Kaushal (probably unrecognisable) on a boat in a ghat in Banaras.

I, then made up my mind to watch it for the 6th time. A decision to be emotionally shattered once again by a story that introduced me to non-commercial Cinema, to actors and actresses beyond hero and heroines, to the movies that compel one to think.

Every watch is another experience for me; I discover aspects I had either ignored or not appreciated last time. I have tried to summarise each such experience here.

First watch – When my friend and I played this movie (a file shared by her brother) on the VLC player, we were sceptical. Tbh, the cast didn’t seem promising enough. But as story proceeds, Vicky Kaushal’s acting left us stunned. He acted typically like the UP boys we see around us. The expressions, the accent, even his hand gestures are exactly how lower-middle-class people explain something in UP. Despite all this, the ending leaves us unfulfilled, partially disappointed because it is not Happily Ever After stuff Bollywood has prepared us for.

Second watch – In 2016, the concept of taking two totally unrelated stories together – combining them at a crossroad was a novel idea to the Indian audience (of course now we have Ludo on Netflix). The second time one just marvels how the movie moves from a romantic scene to the scene of a helpless father being extorted by a local policeman. That moment when Devi and Deepak get on the boat at Sangam is more digestible now. Now we are not looking for a romantic tale to begin – we are just glad that they both found some peace, and isn’t it more meaningful?

Third watch – Papa’s princess is a common phrase on social media – but in a typical middle-class household, there is a huge communication gap between a father and his daughter. There is a scene where they finally bridge that gap and express the unsaid between them. That scene breaks your heart. There is no woman in the household to hold them together. All they have is each other, and it is so difficult for them to communicate because society stopped men from expressing emotions and taught women to not talk about taboo topics to their fathers. When Devi finally speaks and expresses her aspirations, her point of view, it is as if we all take a liberated sigh.

Fourth watch – Bollywood romance has always been unrealistic; I mean who kisses their partner awkwardly on the neck in front of pyramids? But Masaan’s romance was the one that we all have experienced in some way and the one that society doesn’t approve of. “padhai likhai ke umr me ishqbaazi”, going on the rooftop hiding from family for a 5 min call, planning a marriage literally a few months into the relationship, finding isolated places for a peck on the cheek or a hug. Such is the love story of Shalu and Deepak which is incomplete without the musical version of Dushyant Kumar’s “Tu Kisi Rail Si Guzarti hai” – the combined efforts of Swanand Kirkire, Varun Grover and Indian Ocean - that makes their journey even more heartfelt.

Fifth watch – It is not until you watch and absorb the apparent elements and characters of the movie when you appreciate the character sketch of Vidhyadhar. He is the epitome of Indian fathers trying to keep up with the patriarchal society. When Devi falls into the trap, he does all in his capability to save her - finds jobs for her, deals with the policeman for her, doesn’t share anything that he is facing to the people around him at Ghat. Isn’t that every middle-aged man in India? Not communicating their emotional baggage. The scene where he cries in Devi’s lap – it is probably every emotion that he had suppressed since his wife’s death. His bond with Jhonta also defies society’s definitions that a woman is the best caregiver.

Sixth watch – This time I thought, there would be nothing new to explore. Of course, I knew the scenes, dialogues, and sequence by heart. But every now and then I saw myself staring at the scenic beauty of the movie. The sunset when Deepak and Shalu first kiss to the night when the entire frame is in flames of the burning dead bodies. Even the ghat shows such beautiful variations – from the heart-wrenching night when Deepak cries his heart out about “saala ye dukh khatam kaahe nahi hota be” to the last scene when Devi and Deepak on Sangam feel pacified.

There are many more things that I want to talk about - but I would rather have you go for another watch to experience it for yourself.

I have never met a person who didn’t like Masaan. Every character, every frame, every scene looked effortless. Since then, I have watched many such non-commercial movies and have been in awe of them. But Masaan will always be the one that walked me across the tunnel of darkness created by Bollywood towards the light of such cinema!

Of course, it was 4 AM, and I cried for another 30 minutes.