Tamasha – It’s not for everybody

When I went to watch Tamasha, I had already read some comments on twitter about how people were leaving the hall midway through the movie. And there were people leaving the hall when I watched it too. But I guess that these were the same people who make movies like “Happy New Year ” earn crores at the Box office.

I, for one, liked the movie. It is not a ‘Rockstar’ or a ‘Highway’, but Imtiaz Ali does not disappoint with this one. Ranbir Kapoor could not top his ‘Rockstar’ performances in Tamasha and he looks kind of bored. Even though Ved is a layered character and Ranbir could have made it memorable had he tried a little harder, but he does get through to us in parts. A noteworthy performance comes from Deepika Padukone and although Ranbir must have been paid much much more for this movie than she has been paid, but she definitely deserved to be better paid than Ranbir, considering her stellar performance as Tara who never settles for the ordinary and isn’t afraid to go after what her heart desires.

The movie starts with a young kid Ved, who is lost in his own world of stories like Ramayana, Helen of Troy and all great love stories like Heer-Ranjha, Sohni-Mahival, Romeo-Juliet. He is lost in his own world and is generally distant from the reality around him. Then Ved grows up and on a holiday in  beautiful locales of Corsica, he meets Tara who is on a vacation too. Sparks fly and they decide not to tell each other who they actually are. They make up names and thus starts their journey of a fun filled companionship while their holiday lasts. They go crazy and their chemistry crackles! They go their own ways, but Tara finds that she still has Ved in her heart.

You can’t help but notice quid pro quo between Ved and Tara. He saves her in a foreign country by helping her with food and money. And she in turn, saves his soul, gives him his life back with selfless and passionate love. She ultimately is his Knight in shining armour. So, in the end, it’s not your same old love story. The princess rescues the prince in this fairy tale.

They go to their respective mundane lives and get stuck in the daily grind. What happens after that and how Tara helps Ved find himself underneath the ‘aam aadmi’ that circumstances have made him, is a journey in itself. The editing could have been better and that would have brought the movie a little together.

Although Tamasha is good, but Imtiaz Ali definitely has potential for something much better and he must explore his own mind to give us something much better the next time. I recommend watching Tamasha this weekend if you have the appetite for good cinema. I must warn you that it is not the ‘fun’ movie that it appears from its trailor and songs. It definitely is not for everybody!

My Rating: 3.5/5

Fun fact: The holiday in Corsica, where they decide not to meet each other again and even some dialogues in the beginning of Tamasha, are inspired by a portion of Kate Winslet and Cameroon Diaz starred “The Holiday”