~*Sushant's Bollywood Journey*~ #9 - Page 17

Buddy Buddy Baatein

Good films entertain you. They move you. Offer a moment of catharsis. And sometimes teach you. Lessons, about love, about life, about fighting your daily battles, about moving on... We don't expect every movie to do that. No, we generally go to revel in an escapist fantasy. But we do appreciate if sometimes the escape takes us within and makes us revisit some known and unknown vistas of our own lives. Kai Po Che! is one such film. The diehard friendship between its three protagonists, Ishaan, Govind and Omi smacks of real friendships you formed with people you grew up with. They are the people with whom you shared your toffees and your Tintins. Your curd rice and your crushes. Who helped form your opinions and helped you touch base with yourselves. Who accept you unconditionally as what you are, the world be damned. There are only so many such people in your life. You fight, you bicker but they are always there when you need them. You may have lost touch with them over the years but they are always one call away. You can call them at 3 am and they will patiently listen to your rants. In the era of instant facebook friendships, it feels good to be reminded of real connections. The film's other theme is forgiveness. Sometimes, we hold grudges for so long they eat away our inner core and take over our personalities. Hate shouldn't be the defining passion of our lives and the film reminds us of that as well. We must learn to let go. The sad thing however, is that we don't. Real and imagined hurts keep nagging us for years. We cut ourselves off from loved ones because of some small slight that grows bigger with each passing day. Omi and Ishaan's quarrel becomes fatal and well, sometimes anger makes us do tragic things. It's best to forgive as Govind and Ishaan's sister do, they forgive Omi and offer him some sort of closure. I'm happy for Abhishek Kapoor. This film has given him a newfound confidence. It's good that he waited out and made an all-heart product and didn't fall into the commercial trap. He could have easily made a bundle after the success of Rock On!! But he stayed on course of his dreams and didn't waver. The success of Kai Po Che! is sure to shut up naysayers who doubted his directorial abilities. I'm happy that the film's talented cast of newcomers — Sushant Singh Rajput, Amit Sadh, Raj Kumar Yadav and Amrita Puri have come good. Our industry thrives on talent and we need fresh new faces to drive it forward. And I'm glad that good cinema has come calling this early. Waiting with bated breath for the rest of the year to throw in some more pleasant surprises...