On Barfi and Unrequited Love

By Wheatish @wheatish

Winter Break with family translates into home-cooked meals, lethargy, and Bollywood, yes? Yes. I finally made time to watch Barfi and I’m sooo grateful for the fact that every now and then a Hindi movie is produced that is Desi-parent-safe. A perfectly cute smooch plus well-executed Eskimo kisses?? I could shed tears of joy. Not being a huge fan of Ranbir Kapoor (umm, towel scene in Saawariya?! wtf. Even trumps Dard-e-Disco in terms of the nausea factor…at least THAT had comedic value), I kept my expectations low. Despite being scarred by Saawariya, I thought it was time to give Ranbir a second chance. WORTH IT.

Now, I won’t do a review because, well, internets. And you need to probably just stop reading this and go watch this filum with the fam. (Spoilers ahead, btdubs)

And if you’ve already watched Barfi or for some odd reason are still reading my ramblings, then I’ll skip to discussing one of the major themes of the movie: unrequited love.

I HATE IT. A phrase that indicates to me…lack of closure? ongoing heartbreak? regret? Please let this be a thing of literary/cinematic realities alone. Do people really look back forty years and think, I never found that kind of happiness again? Does that happen? Or is that just a case of glorifying the past? Could I possibly look back and wish I pursued a different path and married a different man as I lie next to the father of my children? Surely that couldn’t happen to me. Surely, that only happens to people who are prone to feelings of regret and who frequently indulge the creeping thought of “what if”. Not me.

WHAT IF that could happen to me?

As someone who has coasted and lollygagged her way through much of life, I am finally in a place where I need to wake the eff up, act like an adult (can’t go to Kroger’s in my jammies, dammit! I now have colleagues and mentors and shit), and make life-altering decisions affecting future offspring. FUTURE OFFSPRING! Their existence, their well being, and, yes, their phenotypes, too.

Life is scary. And I’m just getting started.

And on that note, I am taking a definite, long-term break from Wheatish. I’m off to work on my personal blog (an exercise in communicating science in digestible, interesting portions and giving relevance to sciency things that non-sciency people don’t find as cool YET), my personal life, and my schooling. I’ll be back when I feel like I have some news to disperse, wisdom to impart (yeah, it’s gonna be awhile), or rants to spill.

I think you’ve all had enough Isfahan for awhile sooo until we meet again?

Wishing our sisters in India good luck with their protests and activism in light of–not just the recent rape cases but–a cultural backdrop that will and must transform into one that is actually as progressive as the youth of India appears to be on the surface. May we ALL actually practice the values that we like to preach, be as tolerant/accepting/compassionate as we can, and realize that being progressive or liberal starts at the level of psyche…and is not just a matter of what we openly say or wear. May we all one day live in a world where women can expect respect and it’s not perceived negatively to be a feminist. May 2013 look better for women everywhere.

Best wishes and lots of love to all <3