My life till date has been pretty normal and mostly happy! Anti-jinx to that. No extreme lows, some highs and a lot of simple days with neither. But everyone has some angst at some point in time and mine was my looks. Or lack of it if I may say so. It is never easy being an average looking teenager. Dark, thick glasses, no sharp features and a big boned structure maketh not a traditional beauty.
Yes, one always knew about Inner Beauty and Personality, but these words made no sense when you did not get no boyfriend in college or even have boys noticing you. It was difficult not to feel bad sometimes about lack of roses on the dratted rose day or knowing there was precious little you could do about the image in the mirror.
The parents were ever supportive. Always talking about the innate intelligence and the street smartness that not many girls had. The fact that one was a social being and knew how to have a conversation with everyone. That one had good manners and kind heart. But that did not make the one I had crush on look at me. He still did prefer the obviously pretty.
The angst of an average looking girl is only what she can understand, deal with and get out of. There are no popular books and movies that talk about the Plain Jane. If they do, it is in the tone of how ugly duckling turned into a swan. The girls always become prettier and sexier, get rid of the glasses and the plumpness and get themselves the man. Which is why i LOVE this movie called Thodasa Roomani Ho Jaaye with all my heart.
It captures the life of a young woman who is not beautiful by any conventional standards. She can cook up a storm and repair cars. She is not scared of getting dirty, but cannot get herself to preen and look pretty. She obviously is not getting married because she just does not have what it takes. Then comes along the Rainmaker - Baarishkar who tells her to look within. Tells her that there are no bad looking woman. Then follows the gorgeous song "Main sundar hoon" - the realization that she is special too.
It is not just about her, but how he brings out hope and longings of each of the family members. The way he reads them, the way he helps them bring out their best, face their fears, accept what is good in them and believe that they can succeed. The movie is sheer poetry. Every dialogue will make you ponder, smile, tear up or do all of the above. With top class performances by Nana Patekar and Anita Kanwar, this movie is a treat that one just should not miss. The father in the movie is one who adores his daughter, sees the best in her and cannot understand why other people cannot see how special she is. I am yet to see a subtler and a more awesome portrayal of a father.
As I watched the movie again today, I still got transported to the time when I wanted to beautiful, when I identified with Binni's character and thought that with her I had discovered my beauty as well. For the longest time, i dressed in checked shirts and pants behaving like a tomboy! :p While it takes a lot of influence me, I think this movie really made me challenge the way I looked at myself and the world and it is still the best "pick me up" for me.
There is no DVD of the movie, but you can find VCD online. And the whole movie is available on YouTube as well. If you have not watched it, make sure you do.
If I could talk to my teenage self, I would tell me to just relax and while it would be great to be a stunner, you really wont do badly for yourself and your happiness will always shine through! :)
Here is the video of Nana Patekar reciting the dialogue in some interview. Amazing is an understatement!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVLH5HnNmbs
Here's another lovely article someone shared with me on facebook. It is good to know you are not the only idiot! ;)
http://www.divinecaroline.com/24133/96491-never-ugly
And here are some lines from one of my favouritest songs from the movie!
rasta akela ho
har tarf andhera ho
raat bhi ho ghaath ki
din bhi lut raah hoAao tum aur hum dard ko basuri banaye
Yehi to hai mausam
Aao tum aur hum
Thodasa roomani ho aye
Mushkil hai jeena umeed ke bina
Thode se sapna sajayae
Thodasa roomani ho jaye
Yes, one always knew about Inner Beauty and Personality, but these words made no sense when you did not get no boyfriend in college or even have boys noticing you. It was difficult not to feel bad sometimes about lack of roses on the dratted rose day or knowing there was precious little you could do about the image in the mirror.
The parents were ever supportive. Always talking about the innate intelligence and the street smartness that not many girls had. The fact that one was a social being and knew how to have a conversation with everyone. That one had good manners and kind heart. But that did not make the one I had crush on look at me. He still did prefer the obviously pretty.
The angst of an average looking girl is only what she can understand, deal with and get out of. There are no popular books and movies that talk about the Plain Jane. If they do, it is in the tone of how ugly duckling turned into a swan. The girls always become prettier and sexier, get rid of the glasses and the plumpness and get themselves the man. Which is why i LOVE this movie called Thodasa Roomani Ho Jaaye with all my heart.
It captures the life of a young woman who is not beautiful by any conventional standards. She can cook up a storm and repair cars. She is not scared of getting dirty, but cannot get herself to preen and look pretty. She obviously is not getting married because she just does not have what it takes. Then comes along the Rainmaker - Baarishkar who tells her to look within. Tells her that there are no bad looking woman. Then follows the gorgeous song "Main sundar hoon" - the realization that she is special too.
It is not just about her, but how he brings out hope and longings of each of the family members. The way he reads them, the way he helps them bring out their best, face their fears, accept what is good in them and believe that they can succeed. The movie is sheer poetry. Every dialogue will make you ponder, smile, tear up or do all of the above. With top class performances by Nana Patekar and Anita Kanwar, this movie is a treat that one just should not miss. The father in the movie is one who adores his daughter, sees the best in her and cannot understand why other people cannot see how special she is. I am yet to see a subtler and a more awesome portrayal of a father.
As I watched the movie again today, I still got transported to the time when I wanted to beautiful, when I identified with Binni's character and thought that with her I had discovered my beauty as well. For the longest time, i dressed in checked shirts and pants behaving like a tomboy! :p While it takes a lot of influence me, I think this movie really made me challenge the way I looked at myself and the world and it is still the best "pick me up" for me.
There is no DVD of the movie, but you can find VCD online. And the whole movie is available on YouTube as well. If you have not watched it, make sure you do.
If I could talk to my teenage self, I would tell me to just relax and while it would be great to be a stunner, you really wont do badly for yourself and your happiness will always shine through! :)
Here is the video of Nana Patekar reciting the dialogue in some interview. Amazing is an understatement!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVLH5HnNmbs
Here's another lovely article someone shared with me on facebook. It is good to know you are not the only idiot! ;)
http://www.divinecaroline.com/24133/96491-never-ugly
And here are some lines from one of my favouritest songs from the movie!
rasta akela ho
har tarf andhera ho
raat bhi ho ghaath ki
din bhi lut raah hoAao tum aur hum dard ko basuri banaye
Yehi to hai mausam
Aao tum aur hum
Thodasa roomani ho aye
Mushkil hai jeena umeed ke bina
Thode se sapna sajayae
Thodasa roomani ho jaye
PS: This is no fishing post asking you folks to tell me that I am indeed beautiful or how gorgeous my smile is! :) I now know my beauty and the lack of some of it mostly does not matter! Cheers!
