Zindagi na milegi dobara (ZNMD), a movie with a lesson in the title itself was an amalgamation of everything I was keen to know while growing up. Honestly, it has been more than 10 years since the movie was released and I have watched it over a hundred times and discovered a lot more than I could possibly imagine. It is a certain mood with which an individual decides to watch a movie, to me, ZNMD, is like a comfort film that I can watch in any mood. It is the kind of cinema that can heal me and gives me numerous reasons to be thankful for the life I am living and the people I am living it with. But most importantly it makes me introspect deeply and contemplate nothing but itself.
I remember how it was when I watched the movie for the very first time, admiring the scenic beauty of the locations, the comic sequences, the lively songs, and the dance. 10 years down the line where I have grown up, been through various phases, and understood that life is the harshest truth that can possibly exist, I admire the film for the deeper meaning it has given to my life. The film allured my heart to its core when I could understand how emotionally balanced it was, there was laughter, jealousy, love, friendships, realizations, forgiveness, adventures, regrets, and whatnot that the movie was brimmed with. After all these years, I could actually watch it for what it really meant because I feel, now, finally I was emotionally capable to handle most of the emotions the film was trying to portray.
For the longest time I have feared life or living it because I was so terrified of the future, maybe I still am! But at least now, I know that to value life, I do not need to have the dread of living it or maybe losing it. I can learn to value my life, by living every second of it, and by feeling alive. It is often said that humans, value things only when they lose them! I do not want to be that one, at least I have realized that.
Der lagi lekin, mene ab hai jeena seekh lia!
When I saw the movie, as a kid, my focus was merely on the comic sequences between the three school friends who were on a holiday. However, their holiday not only changed their lives but mine as well (after 10 years) better late than never! Do you know how our elders say that as you grow up, you will be more mature to acknowledge certain aspects of your life? Their holiday for me was a reflection of how real friendships should be, these friends would tease you, laugh at you, and prank you but they would never leave your side, they would motivate you to do the right thing no matter how tough it gets but they would genuinely stick with you, through thick and thin! I am so glad that I could differentiate between my group of toxic and true friendships.
We crave peace and happiness everywhere, may it be sitting under the sky full of stars, diving deep under the sea, or flying free in the clear sky, but till the time we don’t find these treasures within us, our lives will be full of voids. There is nothing wrong with being an ambitious individual, but forgetting to live should be a serious offense!
Living every bit of whatever we are doing is a must. The future is, and will always be unpredictable but how we live the present moment is all that we can control. If we become conscious and grateful for every breath that we inhale maybe that’s how we can live a life being fully alive!
Zindagi na milegi dobara, isseley mene jeena seekh lia!