Tamasha; A Chaotically Beautiful Tale of Discovery

 Director: Imtiaz Ali.

Writer: Imtiaz Ali.

Release Date: 27^th November 2015.

Cast: Deepika Padukone, Ranbir Kapoor

Image Source: Still from the film Tamasha

“Kahani, kahani hoti hai, aur wahi kahani har jagah chalti hai, har waqt- Ayodhya me, Yunan me, Laila Majnu, Romeo Juliet, Sikandar ki chadhai, Lanka ki ladhai…is waqt, hamare aas paas, aur tumhari zindagi me… wahi kahani, ek hi. Socho mat, ki kaha aur kab aur kiski, bass maza lo kahani ka dil khol ke.”

Tamasha. A movie that has left people in so much conflict that they flat out decided that it was a shit movie. At least, the majority of them. Those of you who love the movie, hugs to you!

Tamasha, as the name suggests, is a spectacle of Ved Sahni’s (Ranbir Kapoor) life. Divided into three stages, quirkily titled as Teja Ka Sona, Andar Ki Baat, and Don Returns, the film is an experimental attempt at a story that is quite simple yet complex, and outside the box – not adhering to the usual standards of storytelling.

Image Source: Still from the film Tamasha

Ved meets Tara (Deepika Padukone) on the picturesque island of Corsica, France. Ved, a carefree, live-in-the-moment, filmy guy. They agree to spend the 7 days on the island together, without getting too personal, not even revealing each other’s identity, in an effort to avoid the usual boy-meets-girl-and-they-fall-in-love scene. It doesn’t work, Tara leaves, cannot get the boy who brought out the best in her out of her mind, and pursues him 4 years later in Delhi. But when she meets him, it isn’t the same guy she brought herself home with, the guy she has been pining over for the last 4 years. Whom she meets is Ved Vardhan Sahni, a Product Manager at some big telecom company. They date, Ved proposes to her and Tara says no, because the Ved she is dating, is not the Ved she fell in love with in Corsica, not the one she came searching for. Henceforth unfolds the spectacle of Ved’s life where he has to determine who he really is – the play-actor from Corsica or the project manager from Delhi?

Tamasha may be divided into three stages, but it nowhere confirms to a set pattern of guidelines of time or sequence. The whole film is an interplay between past and present, a non-linear plot, telling two stories: 1) of a man shackled by reality and 2) of a love that has conquered all, through ages, in form of different characters. These two stories belong to Ved, and are merged together by Tara. Ved is the hero, the storyteller, and Tara is the spectator who caused, witnessed, and inspired the amazing spectacle of his life.

It is said that “Cinema is both an art and a craft”. Tamasha is a successful experiment that achieves both. The original score by A. R. Rahman is as unique and different as the film itself, blending in and supporting the storyline further. Tracks such as ‘Tu Koi Aur Hai’ and ‘Agar Tum Sath Ho’ capture their respective scenes so quintessentially, portraying emotions and feelings no dialogues could have justified better. The cinematography captures every phase of Ved’s life in the moment, aptly – from the clear, beautiful alleways and mountains of Corsica, the tumultuous lanes of Delhi to the serene valleys of Kashmir, it is all a backdrop to what is going on in the forefront. 

The symbolism in the film is something that gets overlooked because the viewer is too busy to make sense of the story. First the reference to Catch22. In their stay in Corsica, Tara finds Ved’s copy of Catch22 by Joseph Heller, which is what later connects her to Ved in Delhi. Catch22 is a term that is used for paradoxical situations where an individual is stuck due to opposing rules/views/opinions. Ved is an ultimate example of Catch22, a person perpetually stuck in a limbo that he cannot seem to escape or has control over.

Image Source: Still from the film Tamasha

Then there are the frequent scenes where Ved is talking to himself in a mirror. Mirrors are often used as metaphors for reflection of one’s true self. Whenever Ved is seen talking in the mirror, it is not the polite, decent Product Manager we see; it is the carefree, vagabond soul that speaks. Because Tamasha, ultimately, is the story of Ved, a guy held down by his own demons and challenges, who is freed by love. That love is important, but what’s more important is that he chooses to stop being the underdog and becomes the master of his own story.

Image Source: Still from the film Tamasha

Sure, it’s not everybody’s cup of tea; Imtiaz’s cinema never really is. His stories are personal on a level where only a few people will understand it, and even fewer who’ll relate to it. Be it Jab We Met, Rockstar , or Highway. He plucks stories from life and gives it his signature touch that makes it an intrinsic mixture of complexity and simplicity. In Tamasha, the complex overweighs the simple, but keep in mind that it’s a story, and stories are magical and magnanimous. Which is what Tamasha is. You just need to sit back, let the story play out, and it will all make sense, in the end.