SHE (A token of appreciation to Ranjith Balakrishnan)

I came across a beautiful piece of writing in Malayalam by a gifted story teller and quintessential romantic. Ranjith Balakrishnan, a much acclaimed script writer and ace director from the Malayalam film industry takes us through his romantic ideals.

A note from someone who has shown us various dimensions to romantic relationships through many of his movies.

SHE

A captivating melody, a beautiful poem, a couple of mesmerizing lines from a favourite book- the experience becomes complete when there is someone alongside me. There is incredible joy in enjoying an experience with someone; be it sex or a song or even a journey together. This coming together need not be between a man and a woman; it could be between two living beings or two minds. I cannot enjoy something on my own. My happiness becomes complete when I share it with someone who is close to me. Romanticism for me is not to be enjoyed in solitude but to be shared with someone dear.

The notion of romance is a very personal one. There is no standard yard stick to measure it. You can romance with a person, a movie, a place or a book; the options are endless. There could be disagreements among our likes. What is special to me might not be special to someone else. The sense of romance in an experience can be destroyed at any time. For example, a beautiful aerial view of the earth below during an airplane ride can be destroyed in essence if you are troubled or if there is too much of chaos around. The state of romance, thus, is not a permanent one. I am not a brave one to enjoy a romantic experience ignoring the external distractions around. I find this to be the case in relationships, in watching movies as well as in reading books. The romantic essence of any experience can be shattered at any moment. For all you know, this loss could be its beauty too.

I have penned down a number of romantic scenes for the cinema. The scenes in my movies are an exaggerated version of the material gathered from my life. Once transported to a dream world, writing takes on a larger-than-life view. In real life, the experience of intense romance has never been mine, though I have brought it on to my stories on reel. It must be the lack of freedom that we encounter while living in a conservative society which curbs the depth and intensity in romance for us.

As long as passion and intensity stays on reel we consider it romantic. The moment it steps out of that, there are prying eyes around which makes the experience unpleasant. This hypocrisy I could never find during my travels abroad. Our society is slowly evolving in to one which sees romance and romantic relationships, outside the world of movies, without any predispositions. If you ask me which is the most romantic scene that I have written so far, I would have to say that it is yet to come.

Mayamayuram is a movie where I have given the concept of romance between a man and a woman, a different dimension. There are a few more which are my favourites. Most of them have their sparks from real life. The woman who subtly kills the overworked macho flame in her man, the woman who is secure enough in her relationship to understand the concept of space- all these images are romantic for me. Sense of humour is an attribute that I attach prime value to, in any romantic relationship. I feel that this disseminates any trace of ego or the need for secrecy in a couple.

What makes a woman extremely romantic to me? Her intelligence, first and foremost. Her physical appearance matters too. Her choice of colours, her fragrance, most importantly the way she interacts with others; right from my friend to the lift operator. A hint of arrogance from her and this ideal comes crumbling down. A woman to me becomes a romantic ideal with her intelligence, beauty, warmth in interactions and sense of humour. She is like a bouquet of flowers.

Travelling instills romance. I set out on a journey in hope of meeting that invisible something that’s awaiting me. I don’t need the sea or the hilltop to enjoy the romance in a travel. All I need is the presence of someone dear, alongside me. Even an ordinary room can turn in to a romantic destination if I have that person beside me. Paris has a flavour of romance which spreads across the city unlike any other European city. For me, hence, Paris is the most attractive romantic destination. You find this flavor in the people on the streets, in restaurants, in bars… In Kerala, the equivalent for me is Wayanad. I now have a farm house there and it is my favourite get away from the mundane.

”There is only one woman in a man’s life. He then keeps searching for her in the others”, this is a line from one of my screen plays. A man would find traces of his first woman in the many others that he meets, later on. But he would never meet her in her fullness in any of them.

 I first fell in love with a girl when I was in class 10. But I never told her that I loved her. The lazy irregular me made it to school everyday just to see the studious girl who had stolen my heart. One particular day, when I left for school, I could hear Salil Chowdhari in the background. My trips to school were energized by these songs. I come back home and I get back to Chowdhari. The intensity and pain that I experienced in this romantic endeavor, I have never, ever since. Even today, the songs by Salil Chowdhari bring back that face; I see her, somewhere, in the distance.