Stories stay with people. Good stories bring emotions, and we remember things based on what they made us feel and not what they were. The same goes for people. We value those who move us in some ways, our friends, while others remain fleeting acquaintances. The same applies to movies as well. We care about good stories, maybe not instantaneously, but eventually, good stories supersede meaningless ventures.
Laila Majnu was re-released in theatres recently. My Instagram feed is now flooded with people sharing snippets from the theatre. I remember, at the time of its release in 2018, nobody was talking about it. In fact, the film, directed by Sajid Ali and written by Imtiaz Ali, was a commercial failure at the box office.
They say that a good story always finds its audience, and Laila Majnu reached its people, found a dedicated fan base, and became a cult classic. Six years later, it was announced that the film would be re-released in Srinagar. Fans across India didn’t have it, and it saw a nationwide release because of popular demand. So many of my friends and friends of friends made the effort to witness the magic in the theatres they had originally missed. Reason? The story and the emotion it arouses, my friend.
Four years later, when Avinash Tiwary returns to his home as Majnu, we can sense something about him has changed. That Qais has gone and a new person, a new identity is enveloping his being. The heartbreak, the separation, the endless wait took a toll on him. He is beyond society and its confining ways now. When he lays eyes on Tripti Dimri as Laila for the first time, he runs away. Perhaps because he’s scared to lose her again, Perhaps because she never really left his consciousness, so. her physical form had begun to be immaterial to him. There can be different ways to interpret the scene, the point being that it was so powerful it moved something within us.
By this time, we were rooting for Laila and Qais’ reunion. We had grown to care for them. Their love felt personal to us and to see them together would have been the ultimate relief. That’s where the film is also merciless because we never get to be relieved. Their love was beyond sensory pleasures, it was enduring, consuming, and that touched us. We don’t see love like this now, and the movie then becomes a medium to experience it. Laila Majnu is available on OTT but people still choose to go to the theatres. It’s receiving its long-due love and recognition now. Both Avinash and Tripti are getting praised for their roles, in the true sense, now. Years after its release, the film has managed to drag people to theatres.
A similar thing happened with Imtiaz Ali’s Rockstar starring Ranbir Kapoor and Nargis Fakhri. When it was originally released, the film was considered an ‘average hit’. Many did not even understand the film’s premise probably because it was way ahead of its time. Again, it became a cult classic and the film was re-released recently and many, including myself, went to the theatre to witness it. The hall was jam-packed.
Jordan’s detachment from society and its many ways was profound. The concept of free will becomes an illusion when you live in a society like ours that always tries to tell you how to be, what to become; a society that always imposes boundaries. Jordan’s big middle finger to society then becomes a reflection of what a lot of us in some ways would have loved to do if we could – to run away, to not care, to be driven by the wind of passion.
You see, stories that reflect life or present an escape, stories that may be distant but feel very real supersede all the meaningless mass cinema that we’re offered in the name of good movies. Many movies with questionable plots are declared blockbusters. Then you watch them and question your existence. On one side, you get it. There’s a business side to the industry and you need money to be able to do quality work too. Besides, not all mass cinema is bad. But many a time, box office numbers are nothing more than a quantitative assessment of things. Good numbers don’t always mean quality.
One of the reasons why Nikhil Nagesh Bhat’s Kill faired well in theatres despite clashing with Kalki 2898 AD — starring big stars like Prabhas, Deepika Padukone, Kamal Hasan, and Amitabh Bachchan — was word of mouth which the film’s antagonist Raghav Juyal himself acknowledged. When Laapataa Ladies was released in theatres people didn’t go to watch it, but then when they watched it on OTT, they could not stop talking about it.
That’s the magic of good stories. You see, they stay with people.
