TALAASH: What Lies Beyond
Well, well. No pretensions. No attractions. But a heart-touching story that is told as it is. It hits the bull’s eye and stays in the heart. For it is our story. If anyone deviates from it, there are consequences to bear in this life itself or in the hereafter. There is the reality and the unreal. There is seen and the unseen. And there is dead and the visibly alive. I had seen Madhumati (1958). I thought no other actor apart from Dilip Kumar have lived that role but the movie belonged to the ghost. I saw Talaash (2012). I know no other actor apart from Aamir Khan could have dared bring to life this role.
Two stories run parallel. One is a happy ending and the other has been untimely and brutally snuffed out. It is seeking justice and a CLOSURE. God is not far-away to help achieve this end. And what a story that enriches the soul and doles out a moral. This world is a temporary abode. Every soul must pay for his/her ill/good-deeds. God is the final doler of the justice. He’ll help even the damned to implement it. In His eyes, all r equal. Everyone, who is born must taste death. Death the leveller. TALAASH is a spiritual journey that shows us both good and evil but ultimately you are the one to follow your heart and reap its consequences. Purification of soul in this deadly world and buried souls.
Aamir Khan’s cop character Surjan Singh Shekhawat loses his only son to an untimely death in a watery hole. He blames himself for being unable to save him drowning. The grief has snatched even the smallest of pleasures in his life and created a rift between him and his equally grieved and coming-to-terms-with-the-loss wife Roshni (Rani Mukherjee). Roshni finally believes a séance-holder (Shernaz Patel), who contacts her son’s soul and son says he is happy. Aamir doesn’t believe in supernatural stuff. For he is the living (dead).
And then a superstar Armaan Kapoor (Vivan Bhatena) meets his untimely watery death. Surjan has to crack the case that hasn’t left any clues. In walks a female e-scort Rosie (Kareena Kapoor), who knows everything but has her own limitations. Her aloofness mesmerises Surjan. Inevitably he is attracted to her. In walks a ghost Simran too, who is seeking justice. Some people don’t have a hold on their own lives. Others lead them like animals and let them die untimely unnatural brutal death. Simran too has been a victim of someone’s lust and murder. She has been left to die unattended. And there is no record of her death. For she was a mere sex-worker and the law does not even recognize sex trade so forget the sex-worker. But above all human man-made laws is the law of God. And God won’t let even a vulnerable, defenceless and innocent soul go without justice. Does Simran succeed in getting her revenge and justice? All rascals think they can do anything they like and get away with it but the actual CONTROLLER is surveying everything and he pushes the buttons. We are mere puppets. And then there is CLOSURE. The tormented soul is satisfied with the result and leaves this world peacefully. Surjan too accepts his son’s death and that he is indeed happy in the other world. This much was the life span God had written for his son. There is CLOSURE for Surjan too. He can move ahead in life thus reuniting with his wife. He understands life a little better now.
The movie is actually soul-searching. It is your and my story except that we forget our own actual roles. We are here on earth with a purpose and that is to make it a better place for all to live in. It is not to implement our nefarious designs that take away others rights to live so much so that God has to intervene. OMG! Both Aamir and Rani r the killers - with their national award winning performance. End of sizzling suspense. Rani has soul-searching eyes and an equally expressive face. She doesn’t need glamour to add to her. She really is the powerhouse of performance. Aamir lives up the role. He doesn’t need to act. It seems, he actually is undergoing grief. Faces don’t lie. And he has such silent authority, that others have to obey. Watch how he rescues a sex worker from the lion’s den. Class act. If dead were 2 live, Kareena walks away with honors. In Chameli, Kareena was innocent and eager. Here she is mature and subtle. She is too damn good.
Is TALAASH ne jo PYAAS jagaai hai
Aankhon se utar kar dil mein samaai hai
Is TALAASH ne jo PYAAS jagaai hai
Khuda jaane, iska sabab kya hai
After the countless BHEJA FRYs (Ek Tha Tiger, Rowdy Rathore, JTHJ, SOS), here comes the right BHEJA CRY - Talaash. Don’t go expecting the usual trash that is doled out each Friday to enter 100+ crore club. This is life’s spiritual journey. At the end of the movie, you know what path you will take. I left the theatre happy in my own thoughts. Neither money (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) nor land will help you. In the end, a six-feet space, is all you will occupy and what will accompany you are your deeds. You will be held accountable for what you did here. So, are you ready for it. Watch the movie with your heart and feel it in your soul.
The movie has been shot mostly in the night. You will end up loving the dark. Song ’Jee Le Zara’ sums up life beautifully. Your talaash for the real you is complete.