Chhoti Si Baat!

We take little things in life too seriously, and this I realised just last night when I was watching Basu Chatterjee's film Chhoti si baat. God! this man was most gifted with the art of simplification. He really had that magnifying outlook to look into the nitty gritties of life which most of us ignore or don't even bother to talk about. In Amol Palekar's character Arun, I saw a great deal of myself. Someone, who just did not know how to market himself in this big bad world. Poor Arun, lost in love, taken for granted at work and who any one could cheat because he did not have the art of judging people. I can say Arun here has more so been like Anjali few years ago or vice versa.
But, as tables turned for Arun after meeting the much helpful Col J N W Singh, so did I meet many people who taught me the meaning of life and most importantly how to live and rule it. A lot of my friends today tell me that I am very good at judging how the other person is and they ask me how do I do it. Well, as practice makes one perfect so did it make me. And not only practice, but also betrayals, deceptions and many more which I would not like to talk about because here I am talking about the much optimistic Chhoti si baat. The best part of the film is when Arun, who has given up hope in life goes all the way, beyond hills, cliffs, river, railway tracks, guided by arrows to seek help of the great Col J N W Singh, the most soft after man and a great advisor. So much so that even superstars like Amitabh Bachchan come to take his advise (yes its very much shown in the film). And the most hilarious part of the film is, when Col Singh asks a bundle of questions from Arun about the life he had been leading so far. And whatever Arun replied, on that basis, Col dictates to his secretary the disorders he is suffering with. Wow, one of the best scenes I have ever seen! Imagine the plight of Arun, who got to know then that the life he had been living so far was 'incorrect'? But we all in some way or the other are like Arun- waiting in the wings for the our dreams, our aspirations to come true without doing much about it. The film inspired me that if I want something in life, I just cant wait and watch what god has in store for me. I need to make the move and then only things will fall in place. After seeing that film, I also realised that I don't think I need somebody like col J N W Singh to be my mentor, but would rather be my own, because not everybody in life is as lucky as Arun to be blessed with someone to be his torchbearer. Guess, would have to do that on my own! So, here I come!

ANJALI PANDEY