“Reason should prevail”, these words are very precious to me as these were once spoken by my father. Initially, I took it mere as three words, spelt by my father, to teach something ethical. Reason, was a fundamental word for my father, so every time one way or other, he tried to instilled this term in my every action. And I accepted everything, without weighing its importance. Also, at that point of time, I used to think, reasons are basically universal. They cannot be changed or questioned for anyone. But as I started procuring my own perceptions, my own logics and of course my own reasoning, I became rebellious (according to my father), my stream of thinking took a contradictory route. I started gauging my reasoning with my self –made thoughts. Today, when I don’t have his presence in my life and whenever look back to recollect my 21years and his memories which I spent with my father, I only able to recall his visionary reasons, which he wanted to implement through me and my life.

Emotions Stirred in the Wake of Crime

Ishqiya reoccupies the same old ground: strength of woman’s character tainted by crime. The story is set in those stomping grounds which have been time and again used by many filmmakers to catch upon criminal backdrops. This time one of the hinterlands of India, Uttar Pradesh has been used.
A notorious criminal, Arun Verma from Gorkhpur has a dangerously ill famed gang which is engulfed in kidnapping and looting. His criminal career is proceeding with great guns until he gets himself a possessive wife, Kisna (Vidya Balan). Kisna craves for a major chunk of his love which he usually gives to his criminal indulgences. He finds his targets and plans flickering and shattering. However she wants to resurrect his evil spirit and submerge her husband in her true love and emotions so that he would leave his anti-social life. All these make him ambivalent and in order to escape her intense love, he flees away and disguises himself as dead.
Being sure of her husband’s existence, Kisna, sets herself on the bleak search for her husband. How she does so, is the main thrust of the story and how coincidences support her is the main focus. Two other male counterparts who seem to be trivial characters in the beginning, Mustaqh and Babban, bring a new lease of hope to her. How she uses her feminity as a weapon to rope in both, emotionally as well as sexually, is another interesting part of the story.
The end of the movie marks a sense of achievement and more than that it somewhere touches fringes of women’s empowerment. Kisna blows up her emotions and releases her suppressed self.
We can find assortment of emotions in every character mainly in the woman’s character that blends her love and hatred. She, the protagonist avails this blend as her strength. Besides this, throughout the movie we can find some confounded and trivial emotions which take actual roles in the end.
Characters have been drawn with leeway in order to develop them in some natural ways whereas the male protagonist has been kept absent. Vidya Balan has once again proved her acting skills flawlessly. She widens the ambit of a traditional middle class look where she gives new definition to saree wearing, carrying it amazingly. Nashuruddin Shah’s phenomenal acting is again unquestionable whereas Arshad Warsi has stolen the show, giving a jaw dropping performance for his well scripted role. Music has some vibrant beauty. Some of its songs like Ishqbatuta, Dil to Bachha hai ji have been extremely appreciated even before the release of the movie. Locations have been chosen, considering the storyline, dwelling deep into eastern UP.
Besides this, the movie emanates a tragic plot but somehow manages to achieve a happy and contented ending for viewers.
To sum up, we can say Ishqiya does not fit into a proper love story definition; neither does it dwell on the strategy of happy endings. On the contrary, Ishqiya sets another parameter for tragic love stories but with a difference. And one should go and watch this movie in order to discover this difference.

My Another Encounter With Fear

Few days back,somwhere i read a quote which said,"You are as young as your faith,as old as your doubt,as young as your self confidence,as old as your fear".Though it remained uncomprehended to me,nevertheless i liked it and kept it on my display board.

It was on one fine day ,15th Jan 2010, that its meaning eventually surfaced and led me to encounter its essence.When i came under the grip of various motivations and impressions and consequentially shed one of my biggest fears.

The day when IGNOU organised and participated in a blood donation camp held by Rotary Blood Bank.Students, teachers and office staff people came up for the cause inundatedly.But some with premonitions,some with apprehensions,some with enthusiasm and some just to sermonize the cause.As far as i was concerned, i was not even aware of the whole activity and whatever came to know,gleaned from my friends ,who were actually interesed in donating blood.I entered the venue without giving the second thought for any such participation.But i had something else in store which took me aback.The venue more than blood donation camp turned out to be a councelling hall for me, where everybody started convincing me to donate blood and uphold the special cause.The ignition point was one of my dear teachers whose councelling helped me only to conquer my basic dousing fear of Haemoglobin test.I went ahead with a strange confidence that i would get disqualified and my fear would able to get re-establised .The result did nothing more than providing spark to the remaining timber.It was the first time that i was not happy with having passed some test and becoming eligible for something.I felt that some monsters are ready to squeeze 250 ml of blood and i would get severly affected if I would donate my blood.Above all,i did'nt want to face that wierd pain which everyone seemed excited about.It was nothing but my fear which overpowered me .That day i realised how much reverence people pay to those who donate blood in any particular camp.For me it was the task full of misconceptions and apprehensions. And with my obvious reasons i did not want to remove those ,inspite of subsequent motivations and encouragements.Finally after half an hour,somehow i lost some strands of my doubt and put a halt over my racing thoughts.

It was an amazing experience which led me to realize my strengths and weaknesses.For anyone it would be an usual blood donation, but as a first time donor i conquered my fear and queer its pitch for ever!