could, of course, conclude that the story happened in an Indian
community because of the people, culture,and religious
beliefs portrayed and depicted by the characters in the movie.
First
and foremost, one thing that first caught my attention during were
the beautiful fancy housing and structure in the setting. It made me
think then and there that India is such a magnificent place to live
with all those dangling lights and intricately designed mud brick
houses, creatively carved street walls and roads with creeks where
you row a luxurious boat to venture another street. Everything seemed
perfect and magical. But according to fact, India is not that much of
a dreamland.
According
to the Times of India, "a majority of Indians have per
capita space equivalent to or less than a 10 feet x 10 feet room for
their living, sleeping, cooking, washing and toilet needs and one in
every three urban Indians lives in homes too cramped to exceed even
the minimum requirements of a prison cell in the US. The average is
103 sq ft per person in rural areas and 117 sq ft per person in urban
areas.
Only
44 percent of rural households have access to electricity. Although
cities have better facilities than villages, no city in India
provides full-day water supply .Some 700 million Indians do not have
access to a proper toilet. Open defecation is widespread even in
urban areas of India.
The
set is purposely designed to romanticize the characters and the story
itself. Effectively, it made a romantic aura throughout the movie
creating an impression to viewers who haven't known of India yet as
something very spectacular and serene. But, India is indeed beautiful
too. It is just that the setting is somewhat exaggerated to perfectly
suit the mood required for the plot.
Sakina's
potrtayal displays how conservative and demure Indian women are.
Similar to our culture, most of them are not that liberated when it
comes to men and having relationships. They were also the type of
playing hard-to-get like most Filipinas too. Aside from that, they
also believed in waiting and the fulfillment of a promise by a
beloved like what we usually see in southeast asian movies or koreanovelas. Romances are pure and simple yet very passionate
and heart warming.
However, prostitution and
prostitues also made their part in the entire plot. They depict that,
generally, not all Indian women are not as reserved.
There
were, normally, women who could take the face of “renting their
wares” for, mainly, financial purposes. Prostitution in India is
legal that is why, though the community may discreminate these women,
it is “socially” and legally “correct” and “accepted”.
But like Lillipop, most people sights them negatively as they don't
normally conform with the “right' norms of the society and is
considered still immoral. Gulabji is one of these women who fell in
love with the innocence and kindness of Ranbir Raj.
There
was a scene when Raj pleaded to live with Gulabji to eventually learn
to love her in order to forget Sakina. Gulabji was outraged. That
moment, I thought that Gulabji has been that angry because she don't
want to be a “second-choice-lover” or an instrument trying to
fill an empty heart because of another woman's failure to fill it
first and is summoned as a second option to do the job. Another
reason is that because she knew she is considered one of the black
shepherds in the society, considering that she is a prostitute. She
wouldn't want that her beloved may create a similar impression to the
people because of being with her, that is to say that she wanted Raj
to maintain the good image of their town's folks to him. Most
importantly, aside from these reasons, there are legal grounds in
which Gulabji had instilled in her mind that prevents her from
accepting Raj's proposal.
Babusor pimps or
live-in lovers who live off a prostitute's earnings are guilty of a
crime. Any adult male living with a prostitute is assumed to be
guilty unless he can prove otherwise. He could be imprisoned for up
to 2 years.
Gulabji
had just made a sacrifice which she accepts as painful and sad. But
Love, they say, is not being selfish that you mind of your own
happiness without thinking what the other may feel or could become.
Eid al-Adhais
known as the "Festival of Sacrifice" or "Greater Bairam" celebrated by Muslims (including the Druze)
worldwide to commemorate the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ishmael as an act of obedience to God.
Everything in the story ended during the celebration of eid. Not only Gulabji
was experiencing the same agony,for, like her, Raj is passing through
a very sad chapter in his love story with Sakina. I saw how deep is
her love to the maiden that he even, at some part of the movie, 'turn
from an angel
to a stone”. I saw his willingness to make Sakina's every sunrise
happier each day but fate had been so cruel that the only girl she
loved doesn't love her back. The worst is that, Sakina is in love
with another man named Imaan.
The festival of sacrifice suits the situation of Ranbir Raj
unfortunately. During that very day, his most beloved Sakina should
be set free inorder to be with her real beloved, Imaan and see her
become happier in another man's arms eventhough it meant a handful of
heartache that would keep him awake during the nights, remembering
the evenings he shared with Sakina. Though hurt and frustrated, Raj's
optism and his willingness to set her free made Sakina light hearted
to leave him and be with Imaan.
Most
of us had been through this kind of situation. We all fell in love
but unfortunately, we are ,not at all times, loved back by the one we
love. it is even more painful to know that he/she desires somebody
else and not us. But one thing that would make us happier would be
seeing our beloved happy too even if it would mean happiness from the
other's company. Freedom from a love that he/she didn't wish for is
the most selfless and sacrificing gift we could give to someone whom
we loved most that we can't afford to see him/her imprisoned by the
kind of love we keep on offering but still wouldn't suffice the kind
of love he/she longed—and the kind of love he/she could get from
the other.
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