God of small things

On August 27, 2006 our very own Herculean movie industry lost one of its unique offspring. Affectionately called Hrishida by millions of fans in and outside the country, the man who redefined faith and hope became a star in the sky. A man, who had started small and continued to look for the small things in life even after becoming a legend, was now a part of history. Hrishikesh Mukherji was more than just a film maker with a stroke of genius. He was a complete human being. A human being who believed and who had faith. A faith so strong that it became more apparent with each of his ventures. A hope so concrete that no sense of commercial or parallel categorization could hinder his path.

Be it the amusing classics like Golmaal and Chupke Chupke or the echoing silences of Anand and Mili. Hrishida had spoken volumes in a few seconds of cinematic silence. And how loud and clear were these silences is obvious when despite being part of a generation that is fed on a rich diet of sleaze and deceit, I still find myself looking for Hrishida's rare recipe at the end of the day. Even if my day starts out with a in-the-face pop ups of pin-up girls I cannot help but feel a little sad that Hrishida too had to see this culture take birth in our country. Hrishida never let us down throughout his career but I am afraid we sure did by moving beyond the things that matter. Simple things.

When the mischievous Raghu tilts his head and reminds us of how important a family is, we look beyond Rajesh Khanna and see Hrishida standing in the corner with a smile in his eyes. A smile that hoped that some day all of the viewers who watch his movies will somehow become like the characters themselves. Individuals with a passionate adherence to the simple things in life. When the crying heart of Babu Moshai screams at his dying friend in Anand our eyes well up because we too feel the pinch and pain the humble doctor is going through.

Somewhere down the lane of memories we seem to have lost the strand Hrishida had given our lives to hold. Somewhere swinging between globalization and a mad race to infinity we lost the context in which Hrishida had set so many gems as examples. Somewhere between Abhimaan and Jism we managed to lose our values. Yes. We lost Hrishida way before August 27, 2006. Can anything be more tragic than this?

Adieu dear Hrishida. You were right sir. It is indeed simple to be happy but so difficult to be simple.

--ShaKri