Wednesday 27 April 2011

Teenmar: A movie with a wrong message

I watch more or less all telugu movies.  This movie caught my attention not because its bad but because its story is based on wrong fundamentals. 

The role of Arjun Palwai is that of an idealist and a virtuous man, one who is courageous, principled, etc.  Arjun fights for good causes.  In one such fight he sees a girl who expresses her interest in him. He loves the girl with devotion.  He confronts her reluctant family with courage and righteousness.  Arjun ultimately succeeds in marrying her against the wishes of her family.  But he does it rightly.  The role shows love, courage, marriage as values worth dedicating ones life for.

The other character of Michael lacks values. Mike works as a cook and leads an utterly useless life of pleasure; a life neither useful for him nor others.  He is a drunkard who keeps changing his girl friends like clothes.  A simple and beautiful girl Meera catches Mikes attention at a pub.  It is to be pressumed that Meera too lacks values because he meets her while she is enjoying her drink at a pub. 

As usual he ends his affair with Meera.  At that time Mike comes across Paresh Rawal who narrates him the inspiring story of Arjun Palwai in bits and pieces as and when they meet.  Mike finds a new beautiful russian girl friend in the meanwhile who loves him sincerely.  But as the narration of Arjun's story progresses, it casts its spell over him.  He once again starts getting drawn to his previous girl friend Meera.  Just as any life of values inspires the one who listens to it, Mike too gets inspired by Arjun's story.  By the time the narration of Arjuns story is complete, Mike changes his way of thinking, gets some clarity of thought, leaves his Russian girl and decides to marry Meera.

But Meera by that time already marries another man.  There is nothing to be faulted with Meera who gets married without waiting for Mike.  Any girl responds to the man she loves in proportion to the feelings the man has for her.  In this case Mike is a confused man who doesnt know either the value of a relationship or the value of permanent attachment with a girl.  Hence Meera is right in assessing the weak bond Mike has with her. But little does she know that some fellow in far off lands is inspiring Mike with the values of a permanent relationship through some Arjun's story.  The teaching of the value of permanency of relationships drives Mike towards realising that he should marry Meera.  So he quits his dream job in New York and flies back to India. 

Knowing that she is already married he charges into the house of her husband like a rabid dog.  Here is the problem with this story.  Under no stretch of imagination can we consider Meera's husband as a villain.  He is a man who married Meera after knowing that she broke up with Mike. 

When Mike says that he is going to do what Arjun would have done had he been in his place, I was expecting him to go back to the russian girl and commit to her.  Chadavaka mundu kakarakaya , chadivintaruvata keekara kaya annadanta venakatiki yevado.  Arjuns story is supposed to have taught him values, but I was horrified to see that Mike is a dumb ass who understands that being Arjun means marrying the girl you love even if she is already married.  A man of principles like Arjun would never have gone to attack the husband of an ex-lover with the motive of convincing the wife to divorce her husband and marrying him.  Mike at that time doesnt know that Meera is another dumb girl who herself doesnt understand the value of marriage.  Ultimately when both of them hug one another at the end of the movie I came out with a feeling of disgust which overcomes us when we see a man hugging another mans wife.

The explicit lip lock scene involving the hero though did not give any advantage or disadvantage to the movie, it certainly damaged the image of the actor in real life. 

The movie in essence is a story about how a dumb fellow like Mike can mis-interpret values from the virtuous story of Arjun.  On the whole its a movie of a foolish girl and a foolish man who remain so from beginning till end.

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