"The Tragedy of Comedy"

There is something inherently common in these two classic genres. They seem so far apart that they are yoked as good to evil and light to darkness. Sometimes the tragedies grow to such immense proportions that they lose their meaning and then what comes out of them is laughter because it is the most immediate relief. Surf through the Pakistani comic stage and TV shows on youtube from where most of the comic punches are lifted for hindi comedy shows and you will realize how good they are at making fun of everything and most of their own. I find the roots of that profound sense of comedy in the bigger tragedy of Pakistan.

                                                 Intense hunger and destitution experienced by Sir Charlie Chaplin made him the artist he was, not to mention his talent. Johny Lever, the most visible comic face of Hindi cinema until few years ago had a childhood marred by hardships and sadness. To me it seems that the comedy either starts with tragedy or it ends with tragedy. The two people aforementioned started with tragedy and lived almost happy lives as the state of happiness is always almost and never complete. There are other artists who had happy beginnings, entertained people with their mastery over comics, attained success and popularity before grief took over them drying their source and rendering them to the fall. When people waited for more from them to shake their bellies with heartfelt laughter, tragedy drew the curtain. Micke Dubois, the Swedish comedian, Tony Hancock who was famous for BBC’s Hancock’s Half Hour, Richard Jeni who is named amongst the greatest stand up comedians of all them; they all took their lives. Even in the era before motion pictures came in to existence when Theatre companies used to travel the hinterlands of England, there were many stage comedians who committed suicide. Robin Williams, one of the most gifted comedians of our times took his life when he ruled the hearts of millions of people.  If everyone is entitled to his or her share of tragedy, how much one wishes that grief could strike early so that endings are happy. 

Curious case of "Haider Meer"

When was the last time you experienced silent melancholic frames in a Hindi movie or an assembly of great artists, each performing to the best of their abilities? If you are having a hard time scratching your heads then forget about the rest. By rest I mean a Director attempting one of the most complicated pieces of Shakespeare, each character having its layers demanding our attention and still leaving us guessing about the right and wrong, putting forth the tragedy of not only Haider Meer but also of human frailty, commonness of common man(and woman), our institutions and troubled times. If this is heavy then we can entirely forget about Oedipus, the tragic king of Thebes whose traces can be found in the subtext. We can find them if our craving for junk has not made us forget what a subtext means.  Haider could have been the third crown for Vishal Bhardaj after Maqbool and Omkara but sadly it is not so. It tries to set comics in motion when tragedy is at its peak and that makes it falter. Irony of our times is that standing on the heap of jingle bells and gift packets, Haider is still a classic because it is not a commodity but an idea that most of the movies should be. Tabu, Irfaan, Kay Kay, Rajat (young Tigmanshu from Gangs of Wasseypur), Vidyatrthi are there, still Shahid and Shraddha stand out. Every character has it place, space and time. Kashmiri Pandits are almost left out but that is for other daring makers to explore as it is a story of one Haider Meer. Those who think that the image of Indian army is maligned in the movie can only be pitied upon because this is the tragedy of one Haider Meer.