A story, Udaan and 3 Idiots

A well known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?"

Hands started going up.

He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this." He proceeded to crumple the dollar bill up. He then asked, "Who still wants it?" Still the hands were up in the air.

"Well," he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now all crumpled and dirty. "Now who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air.

"My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20.

Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. You are special - Don't ever forget it!”

I was emailed this motivating story by a friend of mine. In a short and simple manner it tells its readers to continue to have faith in themselves and not to forget their self worth whatever the life’s difficulties. This will give you the courage to chase your dreams even amidst strong opposition. Rohan’s character in the film Udaan exemplifies this.

Suspended from a boarding school in Shimla, Rohan (Rajat Barmecha) is sent back home to start living with his father Bhairav (Ronit Roy) in Jamshedpur whom he hasn’t met in eight years. On returning he finds a six year old step brother Arjun (Ayan Boradia), whose existence he wasn’t told about, waiting for him. Their father, a strict authoritarian, compels them to live their lives by his rules. For example, his sons must address him as “Sir” and not Papa. Every morning he makes them get out of bed. While Arjun has to stand at the gate with a stop watch, Rohan has to join him for a 40 minutes jog around the city. On reaching close to home the two have to break into a race in which inevitably Rohan loses however hard he tries.

Rohan wants to study literature and become a writer. He even has a diary whose pages are filled with his stories and poems. But his father is set against it and forces Rohan to work in his factory during the day and study engineering in the afternoon. Despite his father’s unflattering remarks on one of his poems, he continues to write.

Much of Bhairav’s anger and frustration is vented on his children. One such occasion results in Arjun’s hospitalization. As Bhairav has to go on a business trip he leaves behind Rohan to take care of Arjun. In the absence of their disciplinarian father the two brothers come close. Their happy and peaceful days are short lived. Back from tour when their father comes to know that Rohan has failed his engineering exams, he burns the much treasured diary.

Then one day his father announces that he is going to get married a third time, send his younger son to boarding school and make his elder son quit studies entirely to join his factory full time. Rohan’s Uncle (Ram Kapoor) tries to reason with Bhairav but it leads to an altercation between the two brothers.

Time is moving. A prospective bride is brought home. Arjun’s suitcase is being packed. Rohan’s friends taunt him. He thrashes his father’s car and spends a night in jail. His tolerance threshold crossed, Rohan tells his father he is leaving the house. Rohan runs with Bhairav close on his heels and for once the father loses the race. Knowing that his younger brother needs him, Rohan returns but only to take along with him Arjun before he can be packed away to boarding school. The two brothers walk away hand in hand with smiles on their faces and hope in their hearts for a beautiful future which they will carve out on their own.

Udaan’s underlying theme of pursuing your passion instead of the course decided by your parents is the same as that of 3 Idiots. But I feel it is Udaan that really scores over 3 Idiots in every way. It showcases how you don’t need (a) a 40 something Aamir Khan to play an 18 year old, (b) witty dialogues in every situation, (c) caricature characters like Virus and, (d) a great location like Ladakh for making a scene look beautiful, to bring home the message.

It is indeed the absence of the above 4 elements that makes watching Udaan a heart warming experience. The manner in which the bonding between Rohan and Arjun is developed is very endearing. The day to day activites such as when Rohan goes out at night taking without permission his father's car, his deliberately spending a long time in front of the mirror, and Arjun's being made to carry messages up and down the building between Bhairav and Rohan bring in a realism without boring the viewer. Along with Rohan we feel every bit of his sadness at parting ways with his school friends, his angst against his father, his helplessness at not being able to change the circumstances, his happiness when his talent gets recognized by unexpected quarters, his struggle to beat his father in the morning races and his exhilaration at the flight or udaan he takes as he narrowly escapes from his father's clutches and breaks free.

In a line, Udaan is a perfect blend of a good story, right casting, sincere performances, fitting music, engaging editing, and bang on target direction.