The Hamlet inside us all!

To be, or not to be, that is the question:
Whether 'tis Nobler in the mind to suffer
The Slings and Arrows of outrageous Fortune,
Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them: to die, to sleep...

-----William Shakespear's Hamlet

We go for the movies to leave behind our realities and routine for a few hours, laugh with the characters, soar with the camera angles, flow with the music and dream impossible thoughts. But the movie ends, and life catches up. Hunger, thirst, going home, traffic, all of it encompasses our thoughts. The movie then remains just a movie. Liked, disliked, enjoyed, debated, recommended........but always.....just another movie.

Sometimes, one movie, one story, stays with us. This one stayed with me today, walked out of the theater with me, has taken deep roots in my mind.

This movie is Natsamrat. The story of a star on his decline. A celebrated stage actor who bids adieu to the stage to take a quiet retirement. But fate has other plans. Thomas Hardy would recognise this story's mood. His characters, too are mere puppets at the hands of fate.

"A resolution to avoid an evil is seldom framed till the evil is so far advanced as to make avoidance impossible."

-Thomas Hardy

There are so many ways in which this story touched my Soul. It went deep inside my being and twisted it around. My love of literature, language and drama was pampered by the sheer magnanimity of these characters. But on a deeper and personal level, the story pinched my heart and made it weep.

A person, loved by many for his talent. A celebrity. A notable name - unloved and cast out by his own family.

I know what it is to live like that. I am a common person with no celebrity but I know what it is to be the black sheep and how to learn to be proud of being one.

I know what it is to create family members out of strangers, because the ones given by Lord don't care about you.

"कुणी घर देता का, घर ?"

Nana Patekar delivers this monologue. The angst, fear, pain and tiredness of his character are real. He has reached the end of his tether and is unable to handle any more pain. His world has collapsed, his own people have betrayed him and there is nothing to live for. This is not relegated to mere physical homelessness. We take our existence so much for granted, we don't realise what it is we are living for. We all have our reasons, our families, our people who make a home. If these reasons stop existing one day, we would be homeless too. It doesn't really matter how much money you make, how big your house is and how many people know you. When you are facing the last few moments of your life, who sticks around with you? That is all that matters, eventually.

To be or not to be..... This was Hamlet's monologue. There is a Hamlet inside us all. He questions our existence and our Reason time and time again. In Shakespeare's play, Hamlet is contemplating suicide when he delivers these lines. All that he questions is still relevant today. This is what made Shakespeare immortal. His words, his thoughts and his insight into human psyche. Time has moved on, but human psyche hasn't changed much. We have the same joys, the same fears and the same insecurities even today. Nana Patekar's character has brought to life, many of these classic characters on stage, including Hamlet and King Lear. And they have lived on inside him like ghosts till the end. Constant companions, like a burning talisman, keeping him company when all else is gone.

I don't want this monologue of mine to be a spoiler. And as it is, describing how this movie affected me is not easy. You may not feel the same way. But you won't step out of the theater without being touched. When I entered I was curious. Even though Nana Patekar is a versatile actor in his own right, I knew he had stepped into big shoes with this role. Dr Shreeram Lagoo made Ganpat Belvalkar immortal on stage and recreating that magic on film was not easy, I am sure. Nana Patekar does it with aplomb.

His hospital scene with Vikram Gokhale shows the strong bonds of friendship between their characters. This is a jugalbandi without song or shayari or instruments. The symbolism of their dialogue is genius writing. On the outside, it is a scene out of Mahabharata but delve deeper into the meaning and you will know what made this play so different. After all these decades, this story is still relevant and relate-able. That is the common thread between Hamlet and Natsamrat. Both stories are timeless.

Kusumagraj - V.V Shirwadkar (वि वा शिरवाडकर) wrote the play originally and it has now been made into a film. This itself may have made many people skeptical about watching it. If you have been feeling this way, go ahead and watch it. If you can't go to the theater, buy the DVD when it releases but don't download this one on torrent. This one deserves the amount you will spend on it.

Watch it till the end credits roll, that monologue is not worth missing.