Expectations from Ghayal Returns

Image Courtesy: http://www.thehindu.com/arts/cinema/article2096213.ece

Ghayal-fans must be aware of its sequel movie, Ghayal Returns, which is scheduled to be released in 2012. I sincerely hope it is not simply “just-another action-entertainment” movie. Ghayal has been a very special movie for me. And I wish that whosoever is making its sequel is mindful of its core elements. In this article I shall share my story to explain why Ghayal is so personal to me and what I think its core elements are.

If I am asked to list movies that impacted my life profoundly, Ghayal would easily top the list. I remember quite well that I was in first standard, when this movie was released.  I along with my whole family (i.e., my parents, elder brother, all uncles, aunts and my cousins; about 15 people in total), had gone to drive-in cinema in Ahmedabad. It was my first ever “drive-in cinema” experience, and I still have a few glimpses of that visit enshrined in memory. 
[Note: For summary of story of Ghayal click: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghayal_(1990_film)]

At that time, quite obviously, I did not understand the story but something was telling me from inside- “this is something extraordinary”. I don’t remember exactly what was going through my mind while watching the movie, but I am absolutely sure about the effect it generated in me afterwards. For several days the movie scenes were repeatedly being played in my mind. Movie had raised a lot of questions – “can a system be so unjust? What can one do when the system itself is rotten? What will I do, if I face such situations of systematic injustice?” My five year old mind had concluded that I had to be physically strong and powerful like Ajay Mehra (Sunny Deol) to fight against villains like Balawant Rai. Nobody in my home exercised, so I started exercising in private, keeping doors closed of my room, to develop a muscular physic like Ajay Mehra.

In my school, Vishwabharati at Shahpur, I and my friends started forming a gang like Ajay had. I remember some of my close gang members’ names - Suhel, Robin, Harshid, Wasim (there were others but I have forgotten names). Unstated primary objective of our gang was to secure the territory of our classroom-lobby in the recess-time from big-boys (students of std 2 and above). The problem was that all classes had shared balcony, and the big boys would play in the whole portion leaving no space for us. And whenever, a first-grader (my class) would get in the way of the big boys, they would beat him with no-mercy. This was completely unfair to us, just because they were more powerful one-on-one. There was no point in complaining to the teachers, as they had hundreds of complaints everyday and their response was no different than that of Police-Commissionaire to Ajay– “I’ll look into the matter”. We had then decided to defend the portion of balcony that covered our class-room (we called it ‘our part’). We would guard the borders of our part and if a big boy infiltrated, we would all strike simultaneously, needless to say, with no-mercy. Within a few days the big boys started respecting our portion and us, as they had self-experienced our collective strength. Gradually, we started providing protection to our classmates, who might have received threats from big-boys of getting beaten up. Also, we gained so much courage that if any of our classmates was beaten, we would enter big-boys’ territory and knock down the perpetrator in front of girls of their class. Quite obviously, my name started appearing in the complaint list. And in the 3^rd standard, my parents decided to change my school. The new school, Abhijat Shishuvihar, had students of completely different background. My class had 15 girls and 2 boys and almost no fights. All my high adrenaline adventures died down.

As I grew up, I have turned to socially acceptable and legal ways of fighting systematic injustice. But the fire that keeps me going is fueled by the core elements of Ghayal, which I have seen countless times over all these years. This movie has made me not to forget any acts of systematic injustice to me or to anyone else. An incidence of systematic injustice gets recorded in my long term memory as it happens, and then I strive to gain strength to be able to fight the system and to change it forever. In one of scenes of Ghayal, inspector Sharma slaps an innocent collegian just to show his police-power. Ajay calmly walks a few steps to pick up the boy’s specs and gives it back to him saying – “Is chot ko apne dil aur dimaag par kayam rakhna. Kal yahi aansu kranti ka sailaab bankar is mulk ki sari gandagiko baha lejayenge”. [Always remember this blow in your heart and mind. Tomorrow, these same tears will turn into the tides of revolution and flood out all dirt of this country.]       

Recording of such pain is especially important for making our world a better place. It is very likely that in current circumstances we may not be in position to respond to systematic violence and injustice, but we have to wait till we gain required strength to respond. We ought not to forget such events. We shall be able to focus our actions on fight against systematic injustice, if we constantly are mindful of it. So that nobody in future has to suffer what we had to or what people of our times had to suffer. When Varsha (Meenakshi Sheshadri) asks Ajay if killing Balawant Rai is the correct solution, Ajay responds, “It’s not about me or my family. I agree that it will not restore the happiness of this home, but it will surely save many more families”. This point puts this movie to a completely different level. It is not simply a story of revenge, but it goes far beyond than that. It is a story of securing lives of vulnerable and at-risk families, who could easily fall into the trap of big drug mafia like Balawant Rai, who otherwise pretends to be a white-color businessman in public. 

In addition, every rotten system has at least one dedicated official of high integrity. This is underscored by the character of Assistant Commissionaire of Police, Mr. D’ Souza, performed by Om Puri. Systemic reform is best possible when both upward and downward pressures are applied simultaneously, when people inside the system are as frustrated (if not more) as people outside the system. An epic dialog of ACP D’ Souza goes like this – “Jab bhi Kanoon ke haatho insaaf ka khoon hoga, ek naya Ajay paida hoga”. [Whenever legal system will perpetrate injustice, a new Ajay will born.]  

I was also struck by Varsha's character performed by Meenakshi Sheshadri. Her dedication and unconditional love was Ajay's biggest strength. It made me realize the importance of people who love and care for us. No matter how hard you try, you are going to need support; and you need to value and cherish people committed to you and your cause. How can anyone understate the contribution of Ajay's gang members, who fought on his side till their last breath? And in the final scene, when Ajay was captured by the police and had absolutely no possibility of accomplishing his mission, it was Varsha who generated an opportunity for him.  

For me, Ghayal is much more than smashing dialogues or thrilling action sequences. This movie had convinced my five year old mind that one man can stand up against the system and emerge as a triumphant reformist. Whenever, I see Ghayal, my that belief is corroborated and strengthened. For the world it is Director Rajkumar Santoshi's or lead actor Sunny Deol's film, but I have always considered it mine. [Deep inside me, I felt being ignored, they did not even consult me before deciding to make its sequel!!!] 
I am looking forward to Ghayal Returns that reinforces these powerful character-values with a newer story-line.  

I welcome your comments....