The Dream Job Controversy!

One of my all-time drives have been to start writing one day. More for myself, than anyone else and if it helps or entertains one or two good souls out there, well what more can an aspiring wordmonger boss lady ask for? When I reached upon the decision to finally pursue blogging, I thought to myself why not start with a topic of my interest? So, here I am penning my thoughts about the most obvious and the root cause of all our problems- the stupid heart backed up by the fickle brain.

For most of you who have watched Love Aaj Kal, have you ever paid attention to the video of the song, Main Kya Hoon? Well, here it goes- my first ever blog, actually second, (I would much rather not talk about the first) is about that song because no one seemed to have cared enough to speculate it. But me, the Imtiaz Ali fan that I have always been, a totally hopeless romantic at heart and most ironically having had a Veer of my own, it is indeed a feeling of its own to make this the topic of my first ever stepping stone in the complex blogging fraternity.

So, the song starts with Veer (Saif Ali Khan) getting through his dream job- The Golden Gate and taking the offer (of course) leaving behind all decisions he could have taken otherwise. Have you ever realized that sometimes the best career decisions you take turn out to be your worst ever mistakes? But what do we do? We must prove to the world that we are smart and practical, so we conveniently ignore everything and just go along the decision leaving all else behind. We shift our attention to something that we may have always wanted and ignore the rest. But my friends, what we forget is that our professional career is only a part of our life. What about the heart? Why make the heart feel left out here? All it wants is a loved one, a little attention and a handful people it can bank on. Why make such decisions which will make you fulfilled yet empty? Why take up a job at the cost of being away from a loved one? Why conveniently take a decision to avoid taking another one?

Coming back to the topic of analysis- the song. It stars with Veer starting it big in a new city in another part of the world, absolutely floored by the opulence of his so-called dream. Since it’s all he has ever wanted and is also seen as a passionate person, he gets recognized by all. After all, everyone likes a person who works hard and parties harder and hence ‘Everybody Loves Veer’. The song covers intricate details like how he falls in love with his regular schedule of taking the tram to work, walking with his colleagues on the busy pathway while interacting with the (don’t know to what consequence) people on the street with the so not needed dash of caffeine, munching on his burger for lunch, quite meticulously putting one candy every day in his dedicated bowl when he gets home, killing it at his gaming console at home as well as parties- basically being the centre of attention everywhere. He is seen singing in the shower like he is the hero of his story and checking himself out in the mirror to self-assert that he is perfect and so is his life. There is this particular scene where he vehemently runs after the tram like one would their dream depicting how we are in our initial days at work and we can’t miss a day at work, FOMO as they call it these days. We want to be there, everywhere – so we don’t miss out on absolutely anything.

As you go through the course of the video, you realize that the grin on his face turns into a smile and finally a glum. Because everything in life especially succeeding at work comes with a warranty card. Change is the most constant thing they say and most necessary it is as well. No one can keep following the same schedule for a very long time hence one should constantly strive at doing and learning new things and picking up new hobbies and activities at every stage of their life. It is this trait which confuses the rather gullible brain that there is something exciting, constantly happening in your life and keeps your heart at pace, empowering your soul. Additionally, you are improving yourself in some way or another which empowers your soul. It makes you feel more confident and enhances your overall personality.

The last part of the song focuses on the bitter reality when you are done being fabulous. We see a different Veer now. Veer is now absent minded at work, is screamed at and the passionate presentations are a mere slide show with no enthuse in them. The literal meaning of the world BLANK takes over! He is seen taking out all his frustration on the same mundane things he liked to do and is seen breaking especially those things which made his life feel worthwhile- the Playstation, the bowl- et al. He is not interested in his upkeep anymore, walks aimlessly and the oh so delicious burger doesn’t taste half as good. He is so not the life of the once he really loved parties anymore. Everything that fascinated him now cringes him and he wants to turn his face away. He is albeit just done with being the favourite and all that he was in love with in the first place. The last scene where he swears “Damn You” to the world outside his perfect apartment is the final reassurance to the fact that he is actually saying those words to himself.

We all reach that stage in our jobs (especially the few of us who love what we do) where we are done being the best and want something different and more challenging in our lives. Emotional support has a huge bearing here because you need someone to discuss your success stories with. What Veer realises here is that he left behind his relationship with Meera (Deepika Padukone) to only face frustration- that maybe the decision he took was not right for him after all. The fact that success is nothing when you have no one to share it with is something that most of us don’t realise and I don’t think anyone has captured the same more aptly by way of a 6 minute video.

Embedded below is the Youtube Video of the Song this blog is about. If you haven’t paid attention to it yet, maybe it’s time to do so and appreciate how beautifully it’s been shot. Storytelling by way of a song is difficult and Imtiaz Ali has done it, oh so well!

https://youtu.be/m0tZ1EdxZng

Moral of the story:
Life is really short, give your heart it’s due importance even it means sometimes by making a compromise on your career. Focus on the smaller things in life and that by itself will take care of the larger picture. The creator writes the script of the movie of your life but you are the director and remember it’s the director’s vision which makes a movie either a mediocre one or a blockbuster motion picture. You’ve got one life. Make it count, maybe?

Hope you enjoyed reading this. Do leave your thoughts in the comments section below.