Seasons change....Do we?

In college, my favorite pastime used to be going for movies. I waited eagerly for Friday papers to know which movie is releasing in which theatre. My preference used to be some entertainer with enough masala to get my paisa vasool.
Today, after 2-3 years, going for movies is the last thing I would do on a holiday. I love sitting at home and read or do some writing. I don’t want to go for a movie and waste some 3-4 hours. I am not saying the quality of our movies have deteriorated in 3 years. May be I got enlightened.
But recently I saw one of the best movies I ever seen in a theatre. It was none other than Shyamaprasad’s ‘Rithu’. I am not good in reviewing and nowadays I hate those category of people who does review with hidden agendas and thus churn out stuff ultimately destroying the good movies.


Cinema is perception of director on some subject. His ultimate success lies in how well he communicates his ideas. I believe the viewer has also an important role in understanding what a director is trying to say. The greatest curse today is people read the review first which most probably is a paid one or done by someone with some pre conceived notions. Cinema viewing is passive participation in the making of that cinema.
I want to list out some thoughts I got off from the movie ‘Rithu’. The perspective with which I saw might be different from what someone else has seen

Director has been careful not to portray an ideal character. He has simply painted the characters we see around today. It is left to viewers to choose his role model. Before I proceed three cheers to Joshua Newton who came up with a great thought provoking script on debut. I have read his blog and this man has shown class. Hope he goes a long way. As I said the story is a usual story but the way he transformed this story to tug at a few strings in our heart is amazing.


1. Sharath comes down from USA. He gets a better opportunity here. He comes from a family with leftist background and he himself carries a revolutionary fire in him. He calls up his friends, who are now working for different software MNC. He dreams about carrying on with his passion. Here we see a basic trait seen in us all (especially Mallus). We may have dreams and we may be passionate about them. But we make sure we don’t risk anything chasing them. We always take a safe path.
Here there is also an indication of failed revolutionary who is afraid to take the same path their parents have taken. The older generation is also afraid to commit that their path was the right one. Hence we surrender our dreams to live a ‘settled life’. With time our dreams gets polluted by materialism.
We also measure success in terms of money and other solid assets. Success has become a quantitative term. We measure a student’s performance by the marks he gets and not by the hard work he puts in. Ethics has taken a back seat. Today ends satisfy the means.

2. Sharath expects that his friends not to have changed. But he forgets to look into himself how much he himself has changed. Sunny and Ria has become more materialistic and detached from the reality. The escapism that we see in the people around is seen in their actions. But director has also stated his reasons. Sunny comes from a family with an abusive father. Varsha’s father ran away with another woman. In order to escape from this degraded system they identify more and more with the system. Among the three Sharath comes from a stable family. But in worldly terms a failed family in terms of success. Director points out the tendency to measure value in terms of success. People mistake that everything is a market commodity, even values.
The film says that the erosion of values or moral degradation is not something seen exclusively in the youths of today. The roots have come from the false values imparted from the previous generation. We are witnessing the results now.

3. Another class of people the director has painted is the ones displaced due to the internet city project. As a token they have been relocated somewhere else and were promised jobs in the booming internet city. Director uses a person to represent the whole community. The jobs they have been promised are menial ones. The director has not named the character so I am naming him as DP. DP is forced to move on from one job to another because he is not able to keep up with the pace. At last he is beaten by a gang for not cooperating with their unlawful activities. He tearfully asks ‘Why did you do this to us? At least we could have earned a honest living earlier.’ This is a question to us in large. In order to satisfy the needs and luxuries of a minority, a majority is made to sacrifice their lives. This majority is ignored by all from the ruling class to media. There are few scenes in which Sharath looks at DP. A silent stare with no words or smiles. Have we bothered to look into the lives of people living in the fringes. People who do menial labor for us. I always wonder if I can survive without the man who cleans my toilet in office. But I don’t know his name yet!

4. Then there is Sharath’s boss who dreams about conquering the empire. Her meek husband proves an ideal foil. She is aggressive, stylish and in terms of today’s world ‘successful’. But as movie goes on we come to know that they have sacrificed their family life for material success. She asks if it is worth it to bear children and sacrifice this success. The husband meekly gives in to her wishes. But asks pointed question once in a while ‘Is there any purpose in this?’. A refreshing change from normal filmy situations where men happen to be aggressive. But this situation is on the rise all around. A question to everyone in corporate world ‘Which comes first – Family or Career?’


5. Sunny is a typical character seen around. He had a dream of going abroad and he decides to sacrifice all his ethics and friendships for that. He spies for his boss against his best friend Sharath. Later he cheats the company and tries to sell a secret. In the end he is fell by his own sword. If you play by a rule get ready to fall by it. In this ‘rat eat rat’ world get ready to be eaten by a bigger rat.




6. Sharath’s parents are another set of characters representing a generation who finds it difficult to find any relevance for their principles and ideals in this world. Sharath and his family finds it difficult to understand each other. But his father persuades him to take up writing which ultimately turns out to be his redemption.

When Sharath sits alone at their previous getaway, an old man come and asks him ‘So your friends have gone and you are alone. Look at this tree. It came here in a flood. Took roots here and sheds leaves unchanged for years.’


The childhood friends drift apart from each other. They understand they changed too much to maintain their old relation.

In the end an ultimate question- Have we changed with the seasons? Have the dreams we nurtured once got corrupted with neo materialism? What are our priorities now?

My friend Matt, friend from my school days makes it a point to keep in touch with everyone from our batch. Although I feel a bit irritated at time, in the end I am thankful to him for keeping the old friendships going by acting as a link