No matter at what point of life we are right now, what we are doing, where we are heading, we are always told to think ‘out of the box’. Be it a work as simple as writing something or as complex as, let’s say, making a robot, thinking ‘out of the box’ will be one of the most crucial suggestions you will get by an expert from whom you seek help. Well, I do agree to the fact that doing something in an unconventional manner does attract attention for once at least. Digging a little deeper into this matter, I suppose human brain is more than capable of always thinking out of the box, even if some might think that we have reached an era where any more inventions are almost impossible, but still we are amazed on a daily basis by one or the other astounding thing. Perhaps, rubbing stones was an out of the box thinking that led to the discovery of fire, and until and unless such ‘accidents’ keep happening we would continue to be amazed by new things in our life!
In the modern world today where everything is heading towards becoming so modern, so advanced, so complex maybe doing things in a simple manner is a more than accurate way of defining ‘out of the box’. To be fair, beauty lies in simplicity as it is said! There have been a few movies, lately, that have been breaking the conventional, predictable style of Indian Cinema with their eccentric story line, unusual direction style, relevance to the daily life and what not.
Dhobi Ghat and Ship of Theseus, both Kiran Rao movies released in 2011 and 2013 respectively are few of the examples of the kind of movies I am talking about. What these two flicks have in common is that they are crisp, with intriguing stories but not very well defined characters. Perhaps, the arbitrariness of each character makes it difficult for one to predict the plot and the emotions experienced by each protagonist in the movie.
Unlike the other Bollywood movies which go into the past and describe every little detail that took place in the life of each person which has led to the current situation, these movies rather leave it open to the interpretation of the audience or define the unnecessary information symbolically. For example, if someone committed a suicide in the movie, they are not shown buying a rope, getting up on the chair, tying the knot and hanging themselves; but perhaps one shot of the ceiling is enough to signify what happened. That is something which keeps these movies crispy and preserves the interest of the audience as well.
Well, Dhobi Ghat and Ship of Theseus, both are stories that describe situations happening in different people’s life and how somehow they are all connected. Where Ship of Theseus a concept asking, that if slowly all the parts of an old ship are replaced (with the new) and there is a new ship built with the old (repaired) parts, which of the two will be the actual Ship of Theseus? This gives shape to the theme of the movie which involves the three lead roles in need of organs- eye, lungs and kidney and their lives are very wisely connected in the end by a person who donated his body parts to eight different people in need.
The interesting part is that it isn’t until the end that the viewer comes to know about the same because he/she is so engrossed in learning about the lives of three different characters who question life in their own ways! On the other hand Dhobi Ghat is a story about a painter, a photographer and a dhobi, about how all three of them learn about their lives in a better manner by exploring different sides of life! Somehow, Kiran Rao brings deep messages along with her movies that might not interest all type of audiences but are really thought provoking for some!
I will definitely recommend you to watch these films and look towards life from a philosophical angle for a change!