Movie Review – Tamasha

In the past, the Imtiaz-Irshad-Ranbir combination gave me a character that occupied the real estate of my mind for a long time. It still does. Jordan and his angst had a lingering effect. As is the case with Imtiaz’s previous films, Tamasha too is about the evolution of the lead. It didn’t come across as a love story as much as a tale of transformation – where ‘love’ is the supporting character, powering the narrative. The brand of love in Imtiaz’s films dwells on helping the lovelorn, unearth the best versions of themselves.

Ranbir compellingly depicts the anguish of being imprisoned in an identity. It’s the kind of self-loathing that people stuck in jobs they hate or in existences full of deferred dreams, can relate to. Even the child artist who plays Ved lends an endearing quality to the character.

The ebullience and epiphanies that beautiful landscapes impart, allow us to conjure many existences. Following one’s heart is not always as simple but Tamasha’s Ved makes you want to believe in the leaps of faith. There are times when you literally want to shake him out of his delusions.Ranbir would qualify as the perfect lead if Kaufman’s Anomalisa were to be remade for Bollywood.

The act of making this film itself echoes the philosophy of it – that of being true to oneself. The tropes of travel as a tool for liberation, the wild-child syndrome, incomplete sentences and eloquent emoting – we’ve seen it all before but the cliches don’t deter Imtiaz from exploring his leitmotif in the able hands of Ranbir and Deepika – the evolved Jordan and Meera. Though the lead pair breathes new life into the redundant themes, I wish Tara’s character was not so underwritten. She was reduced to a mere catalyst in Ved’s voyage but every frame with Deepika in it scintillates with her mature grace. Some of her best scenes are the non-verbal ones like her range of reactions, from being baffled to disappointed after meeting Ved in Delhi.

If the ‘What happens in Corsica, stays in Corsica’ rules were not so chaste, the film would have been a more believable take on contemporary relationships. It is the second half, when Ved’s character disintegrates that the film comes together. Though the tone of the verbal exchanges is mostly conversational, if the dialogues had risen above banality, the first half of the film in Corsica could have been a Linklater-kinda-delightful-watch. The title itself affords the liberty of some hyperboles.

Lastly, the crux of Imtiaz’s films unfurls in his songs. Your journey as a viewer can begin with the OST, if you’re willing to listen to it on repeat mode, weeks before watching the film. It lends a perspective akin to adjusting the lens on a DSLR camera. Once you discern the subject from the background, it’s easier to connect with the filmmaker’s process.

Watching a director’s film for his signature style is like finding validation for a worldview. It is like drinking variants of beverages, with the choice of your poison for both – a taste of adventure and the safety of predictability. Imtiaz’s Tamasha has a similar effect – a comforting familiarity that leaves you yearning for more fulfilment.

– Dipti Kharude