Metamorphosis of Jordan

“I hear music when I close my eyes. When I open my eyes, the music does not go away. I often cannot follow the words that people speak, but I get the music of their soul. It is good that way, because words can lie but music cannot. Pleasant or disturbing, music is always the truth”- Jordan

Sometimes I marvel about the scenario how Imtiaz Ali would react to all the in-depth analysis around his films, his pleasantly realistic characters and their individual perception about love, life, dreams, freedom, and self-realization of their inner voices. People trying to decode the psychology of his characters, their motives, their state of mind at a particular scene, it must be a very fascinating and paradoxically surreal moment for him to read all the theories being put forwarded by people regarding the characters that he has created.

What quality does these Imtiaz Ali’s characters possesses for people to talk about them with so much passion and enthusiasm?

The answer lies in the question itself only, because they are “Imtiaz Ali’s” characters. 

One such fascinating figure from Imtiaz Ali’s universe that he introduced 6 years back to the world was Janardan Jakhar. A Delhi Boy who resents the fact that he has no pain in his life and has never experienced heartbreak. He is told that the emotional turmoil raised through heartbreak would eventually help him become a genuine and passionate musician.

Starts the journey of Janardan followed with a thunderous tune of an electric guitar from Orianthi Panagaris.

So where do we start from? Janardan’s impression that a completely different world exists inside video games, or the one who sprinkles alcohol around his face and collar, and act totally sloshed just so that he can mix up in the crowd. He also put forwards an interesting fact that guest at the wedding fantasize about the bride at night. He does not understand classic music, or he is unaware of the fact that he does, but it just does not go well with his sense of music. He leaves interviews midway without bothering to tell anyone, because he just does not care. 

Perhaps we should start with Jalal ad-Din Rumi’s lines that open the journey of Janardan “Out beyond the ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there.”

Imagine a place, where we do not have to live in synchronization with the social conventions, our actions will not be judged in accordance to what is right and what is wrong. Imagine a place, so revered that we will be able to overcome the despair and misery surrounding our lives because of us trying to be different from what we actually are. There are no society expectations, no pressure to succeed in life in terms of the stagnant parameters of success in life. A place where anyone can run towards their dreams irrespective of the fear of it being reasonable or not.  A place where the impulsive nature of our soul guides us through the questions put forward by scenarios thrown into our way by life. A place where the radiance of the universe permeates through our consciousness and stimulates us to let things go. What is right and what is wrong is very subjective, but the core value that the meeting field brings is way beyond those circumstances.  

     

The two concepts, the meeting place and that heartbreak is necessary for peak creativity form the crux of Janardan’s metamorphosis into Jordan. The two concepts run parallel throughout the film; the need of the meeting ground carved into core idea of how creativity, triggered through deep sorrow is juxtaposed into the narrative. The differential layers of emotions vary in accordance to the mood of Janardan/Jordan and are intelligently conveyed through the lighting of the scenes. The initial life of Janardan is expressed through natural light, because Janardan is a typical Delhi boy, who has not yet discovered the world yet. When Jordan sings at live concerts, on several occasions under monochromatic shades or under suppressed colors highlighting the mood of his state along with signifying the lack of bright colors in Jordan’s life.           

Ustad Jameel Khan spots Janardan at Nizamuddin Dargah, which is the holy shrine of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya.  He was one of the most famous Sufis of the Indian subcontinents. Nizamuddin Auliya, like his predecessors from Chishti order focused upon love as a means of realizing God. Janardan, a bit hesitant in the initial days to mix up with the Qawaali team at the shrine organically gels with them through the magic of his music. He serves as a disciple at the shrine yet act a bit reluctant to ask for anything, and rather just stares with a sign of doubt. Gradually, it is his music that allows him to break the shackles of reluctance, and he utters-

Bring Morning rains on my body, and it helps me clean up the dark soul of mine, the drop of Nourishment that flows from yours, Oh Lord

It would be more appropriate to state that Janardan served as a disciple of a Sufi Saint, and it eventually helped him rediscover his music through a different perspective. Ustad Jameel Khan serves as a Messiah in Janardan’s life. He convinces an unenthusiastic Dhingra to give him a break and quotes “He is a big animal; he won’t fit in your small cage, he will create his own music, he is something else, the Almighty has blessed him, he has his Inayat (Grace)”. Ustad Jameel Khan seemed like a messenger of God sent to identify the ones who had God’s grace and fulfill their wishes. He kept track of his green colored Misbaha (Prayer bead) which is used to repeatedly recite prayers silently within the mind or aloud. He had two disciples with him, carrying his wheelchair, who appeared twins, with nearly same facial features and same clothes. According to Islamic tradition, the two kiraman and katibin (honourable scribes) are two angels called Raqib and Atid, believed by Muslims to record a person's actions, thoughts and feelings.       

If you go through the posters of Rockstar, you will notice a pattern of a strong color template surrounded by flames. I wonder if it symbolizes “Wings on Fire”, the name of Jordan’s concert. The man you see on the poster is not Janardan; he is Jordan, who is broken, empty, under immense pain, in quest of the meeting place, burning in the fire of his own strong emotions. He can only express his pain through his music, and yet cannot be heard. The posters featuring Jordan and Heer have an indispensable aura of enraged sexual energy. It is as if both of them want to shred all the inhibitions laid down to them by the society and get lost under the passionate fumes of loves. Meanwhile, the ones featuring Jordan alone denotes an intellect of Sufism hidden under his music. 

The transformation of Janardan into Jordan is organic, systematic and painful, Heer gives him this new name, Janardan unaware of the consequences that his life is about to undergo accepts the new name with an initial hesitation. The first point of transformation is through the song “Aur Ho”, where Jordan is full of sexual energy, and by this, I do not mean he is full of lust; it is rather the restlessness after a string of passionate kisses and intimate moments that has turned him helpless against his conscious judgment of what is right and what is wrong. He constantly wants to look into the eyes of Heer, he cannot accept Heer turning her face away. He wants to feel the sensations brought because of his hands touching her skin.  

“I have become a string tangled in wish, untangle me
I am a knock and you are like closed doors, open
O helpness staying in the heart,
come, live and while living, live the dream..
There should be more, more noise of breaths and move towards the flame”

The moment that catalyzes the transformation occurs when the people are aware of his music, his eccentric personality, and wants to pass on a judgment on his personal space, they are more interested in his personal actions rather than his music, people wants to cash-in on his music through his idiosyncratic nature. Dhingra Saab, knows the value of public image, because according to his market experience “Everything is Image, and Image is everything” and that is how he brands Jordan’s first album as “Negative” because in media only negative prevails. Jordan expresses his volatile reactions through the song “Sadda Haq” where he starts with these lines-

“In this world of you people, at every step, a human is wrong.

Whatever I feel is right and say,

you call it wrong, if I'm wrong then who's right?

Should I send you a request

for me to live with my own wish?

Means you all have a right on me

more than I do it's my right, put it here and give it to me”

  In the middle of the concert, Jordan narrates an incident to the public about how many years ago; there was dense and fearsome jungle at this very right place, which was converted into a city with neat and clean houses, wide straight roads, everything with proper planning. The day the jungle was torn down, a flock of birds left the place forever. Jordan mentions that he is searching for those birds. This part left me wondering whether Jordan at this point is not aware of the meeting place, and those flock of birds went into that sacred space, far away from the humanity.

Does the search of those flocks of birds guides Jordan to discover the meeting place?

At one point in the film, post the transformation of Janardan into Jordan, there is a pause or perhaps a Trans like state where Jordan stands still, as if Jordan wants time to stand still. He recalls the time spent at the shrine, may be looking for same kind of solace that he found during his stay at the shrine. There is also a shot of him shivering with cold and witnessing sunrise, still longing for something even he has not determined yet. The scene between Khatana and Jordan works on the principle of paradox. Even Jordan agrees with his queries and to his best ability tries to explain his state of mind but fails. Jordan has fallen into the gap of contradictions, which is explained so aesthetically via the dichotomy of fame. He is no more Janardan from Hindu College, who had heated arguments over little Chutney offered for two Samosa’s, he is now Jordan, the rockstar. His friends are not interested in understanding his mental frame of mind; rather their priority lies in getting as many pictures as possible with the celebrity that Janardan has become.     

In a Film Companion interview, Imtiaz Ali mentioned that in retrospective, the film has defects after a particular point; he says that how beautiful it would have been if they had just got together and after a certain time realized that they have nothing in common and are not compatible. Ranbir Kapoor points that it is a perfect film that it was necessary for Jordan to get heartbroken towards the climax and end their story the way it ended.

                                           

6 years have passed since the release of the film, but the character continues to grab our attention, A.R.Rahman’s sensational soundtrack refuses to leave our mind, the magic delivered through words by Dr. Irshad Kamil continues to make us in awe, the soothing voice of Mohit Chauhan always brings a sense of calmness all around. Each song creates a different vibe and narrates the story in itself. Jordan’s character left an indelible mark for every protagonist suffering under the effect of love; the closest a character has come to Jordan is Arjun from Arjun Reddy. The two seems different sides of a coin, both flawed in their own way yet they both engross us in their stories, in their idea of love. I found Arjun a far more evolved version of Jordan. Arjun does not shy from fulfilling his physical needs whereas Jordan tries but fails miserably in the same case. Arjun is optimistic about his love, while Jordan remains stagnant in his life and chooses to remain enclosed in a shell of his own emotions during the period when he is away from Heer. The common string between the two that I found is that they are highly polarizing characters and they evoke polarizing emotions from the people, you either love them unconditionally with their flaws or loathe them in regards to their emotional shortcomings.      

Jordan is aware of the void in his life, the angst that engulfs him every moment despite having everything that he always wanted. He is enraged within, burning in his love for Heer. There comes a point where Jordan does not want himself to be heartbroken, he just want to be with Heer, but it is too late for him to realize this. The path of destruction that he embarked on has eventually broken his heart and shattered the innocent Janardan hiding somewhere within Jordan. All he wanted was to be with Heer in a world of their own, where they can live in solace, with no one to judge them, question their actions. I do not want to believe that Heer left Jordan all alone to suffer even more, I tell myself that they reunited at the meeting ground where the flock of birds resided. They did not deserve the world we live in; they deserved a far more suitable place for their love. 

The Journey of Suffering with Arjun Reddy

“Man must be sustained in suffering by a hope so high that no conflict with actuality can dash it- so high, indeed, that no fulfillment can satisfy it; a hope reaching beyond this world”

Friedrich Nietzsche, The Antichrist 

In the initial scene of the film, we see Arjun’s grandmother candidly narrates a small incident from Arjun’s childhood with a deep metaphor about the stubborn nature of humans. She mentions about the Sages, Saints, Goddesses, birds and the creatures of the sea being vulnerable to change with respect to time. Then, she questions the human resistance to the course of change and even after accepting that change, there is a bundle of grief. Her simple and resounding rationalization is “Why grieve on incidents that are both unforeseen and predictable”. She further recounts about Arjun’s deep attachment with a doll draped in a white gown. One day, when the doll is lost and Arjun despite lot of attempts is unable to find her, he sleeps in sorrow after constantly asking his grandmother to help him find the doll. Director Sandeep Reddy Vanga has told us a major characteristic of the protagonist, he is stubborn about change, yet accepts it with unhappiness, but does not, under any circumstances leave “Hope”.

Arjun Reddy (Vijay Deverakonda), found in weird conditions on several occasions under the influence of alcohol and drugs, is in desperate need for a physical interaction, and when his quest is rejected from several feasible options, he picks a handful of ice and place it down his jeans, probably an effective but definitely not a subtle way of calming the raging hormones.

Arjun Reddy is going through a drastic transformation in his life, post a major incident, yet he refuses to come out of it and move on in his life, like most of the people around us do, but no, not him, he is Arjun Reddy, a medical prodigy, the one who refuses to bow down to anything which under his judgment and sensibilities is not right.  He is aware about the 690 carcinogenic agents, 4 cancer-causing factors and 48 COPD diseases found in cigarettes, yet he smokes, because it has become his habit.  Nuance is not Arjun’s cup of tea, but a strong trait for his character, that the director paints on the celluloid. Arjun speaks with his heart, no matter what the situation is, he can easily make you fall in love with him, at the same time, the anger issue he goes through, the sudden mood swings might make you despise him. 

The moment he sets his eyes on Preeti (Shalini Pandey), he is sure about his feelings, and does not take too much time to amplify his notion of love. It’s the subtlety of his character through which a better perception of his inner character can be guessed, like for instance, when Preeti’s father cleverly tries to suggest that he should take care of Preeti as an elder brother, he instantly rubbish off the suggestion, citing a reason that he doesn’t have a sister, and won’t be able to connect emotionally with her as a brother, so it’s better she remains a junior for him. You are not sure, what Arjun might do in the next moment; he might unintentionally objectify girls because of their weight and tell you with a straight face that fat chicks are warm and loyal, so friendship with them would last longer. He might just casually barge into girl’s hostel and lay down under Preeti’s lap as if it is the only place, he will find solace.

The film at some point does feel like a documentary on this fascinating character, but yet it never provides a dull moment, the narrative of the relationship between Arjun and Preeti is told through the lens of Arjun, and not Preeti. We do not get into her frame of mind, her perspective of being in love with Arjun Reddy, off using his influence to avoid ragging, her thoughts about strategies of studying various topics of anatomy through diagrams drawn on her skin by Arjun, her tactics of calming the spontaneous anger that might burst out of him at any moment. It seems likely that Arjun act as a catalyst in Preeti’s life, to help her open up a bit and embrace the love he has to offer. Honestly, I am not even bothered about any other point of view, because Arjun has all my attention. However, the impulsive nature of Arjun Reddy is put to a test in a crucial moment in the film, where we are introduced to a cockier version of him, where he will curse, give deadlines, immerse himself in alcohol, find something irrelevant like someone’s hair (Probably Preeti’s) on his bed, do pushups (way to calm himself down).

There is a gradual transformation of Arjun Reddy in both physical and mental aspect. He flaunts a thick beard, which often might be misinterpreted as sign of toxic masculinity (Cumulative of his actions). He is adamant in his actions and explains to his friend that his situation is similar to a girl going through her periods, instead of being supportive, affectionate, and attentive, people around him are neglecting his sorrows. There are numerable scenes, where Arjun show signs of being under the influence of “Dev D” syndrome through the aid of alcohol, drugs, and casual sex. He even joins a group meant for people failed in Love named “Love Failure Support Group” and solves the questions in order for a group conductor to assess Arjun’s pain. Arjun’s grandmother mentions that “Suffering is very personal”, and sums up the situation that Dr. Arjun Reddy has put himself in. Arjun has indeed embarked on a personal journey of suffering with loads and loads of hope, in search of peace of love that he found under the lap of Preeti; there will be moments of heartbreak, loneliness, self-discovery, a moment where we might see a glimpse another shade of who actually Arjun Reddy is.

We are spectators of his journey. He will be judged through our patriarch opinions; anti-feminist judgments, hypocrite nature. We will applaud/notice him for his drinking stamina, his style of inhaling a thin layer of cocaine, his style of smoking, his obsession about riding solo on his Enfield, his idea of hating good-bye, his habit of suddenly doing push-ups while pondering over something, his precision about not using suture on underage people, his notion of being in love with oceans, his strong sense of opinion that he had a benchmark love story, his ability to visually represent his thoughts about a topic from human anatomy, his stubbornness of not agreeing to take money from friends when he is broke, his frank belief that other people are not worthy of love marriage.

Arjun Reddy is an up-close encounter with this fascinating character; let’s witness his personal journey of suffering.