Notting Hill

इश्क़ पर ज़ोर नहीं है ये वो आतिश 'ग़ालिब'

कि लगाए न लगे और बुझाए न बने

Whenever I sit down to pen any article I usually face the dilemma of finding a point of origin. ‘How should I start?’ is a question that I encounter very often, finding a genesis to a set of jumbled ideas is a cumbersome task. The beginning should captivate your readers interest and at the same time give a glimpse of what you will be talking about further. This job becomes harder when you venture into the universe of abstracts, where you don’t have definitions or facts to frame a crisp and informative gist, when you slip into the crevasse of human emotions and don’t know how to exactly pen what you feel. My solution to this problem is just write raw, pen down whatever you feel without any filters. Since I was facing the same dilemma while starting this article I penned down my predicament for you guys. I guess now we can move ahead with this piece.

I remember having this discussion around love and feelings with one of my friends, taking names would not be appropriate but Mishra is a great guy I must tell you. He believed that love, yearning, devotion, care were reflections of revolutions. When you step into the Armageddon of Heart you break your boundaries, cross borders, travel into spaces unknown, with new comrades, to create a new world for yourself . You forget your limits, you feel a gush of blood in your arteries, an unknown force pushes you beyond extents of possibilities.

“ Everything is fair in love and war they say, doesn’t make a lot of sense because love is like war. You feel, you fight and then at last you either end up winning or losing”, he said. He was on point with his argument, he had his facts lined up and he was confident about his stand. However, my opinion differed a bit.

Whenever we talk about revolution the first thing that strikes our mind is aggression, sheer and raw aggression. A fire that dwells within masses, a volcano of anger, flowing lava that melted succumbing to years of oppression, grief and maltreatment. Suffering gives birth to revolutions. And true love can be associated with anything but suffering.

Love for me is innocence. There’s nothing grim about true love, everything is magical and euphoric. Like a child who only knows the good and kind in this world, true love smiles and throws its little hands in air with happiness, enclosing purity and soul in its closed fists. And yes we cross boundaries in love, because true love knows no limits or boundaries. There’s a cosmos full of delight, heart, poetry, beauty and aurora of hope. You cannot lose when you love, if you have fallen for someone truly then you are already a winner, every second you are experiencing the kind off delicacy that is accessible to only a very privileged section of people.

तुम सबा हो, या घटा हो

कहकशाँ हो, साहिबा हो

सुबह की पहली, किरण के जैसी

बेबाक अल्हड़, पवन के जैसी

खुशबुएँ तुम लुटाती हो

मस्ती में चूर-चूर

माशा अल्लाह...

I have always been die-hard fan of stories which explore the true beauty of love. Stories which don’t weigh this alluring emotion on the scales of rationality and practical possibilities. Stories that cut across the so called layers of class, society and financial status. Stories that present love exactly the way it should be presented, with innocence and passion. I came across one such story when I was going through Hugh Grant’s filmography, Notting Hill. Looking at the amazing ensemble cast I decided to watch the film and I am so glad I did. So come with me on a journey, a story of how two different characters from two different paths of life end up on the same boulevard.

NOTTING HILL…….

The two characters, William Thacker a travel book shop owner in Notting Hill, London and Anna Scott, the biggest and most celebrated movie star of all time. Two people who were never supposed to meet going by the laws of rationality, but that’s the reason I like being irrational sometimes, rationality fails when destiny is at work. The opening scene takes you through the Notting Hill locality and William gives you a glimpse of what is to come –

Of course, I've seen her films and

always thought she was, well,

fabulous -- but, you know,

million miles from the world I live

in. Which is here -- Notting Hill

-- not a bad place to be...

William is divorced, his wife left him for a man who looked like Harrison Ford or was handsomer. All he was left with was his house with a blue door and a sulky, untidy and kind off crazy roommate Spike.

One fine morning William enters his shop expecting an usual day, when a woman enters through the door. The most beautiful woman according to him. She starts to skim the old and dusty shelves. William tries to recall where has he seen the woman, but then directs his attention towards a man who was looking to steal from his shop. But ultimately he discovers the woman when the thief asks for her autograph, she was Anna Scott the biggest superstar of her age. He encounters Anna again when he accidentaly spills orange juice on her at the corner of the Portobello Street, he asks her to clean herself in his house which is just eighteen yards away.

ANNA

Okay. So what does 'just over the

street' mean -- give it to me in yards.

WILLIAM

Eighteen yards. That's my house

there.

Anna cleans herself up and as she is about to leave she kisses William. She later calls him, although his roommate Spike almost screws up the situation, William somehow manages to things. She invites him to Hotel Ritz where she is staying while promoting her next film. However Anna runs a bit late on her schedule due to which her interview sessions are in progress when Will reaches the spot. To cope up William disguiges himself as a journalist for Horse and Hounds magazine. What follows is a hilarious set of fake interviews with each and every cast member in front of Anna’s staff and finally he ends up interviewing Anna.

WILLIAM

Right. Ahm... the film's great...

and I just wondered -- whether you

ever thought of having more...

horses in it?

ANNA

Ahm -- well -- we would have liked to

-- but it was difficult, obviously,

being set in space.

WILLIAM

Obviously. Very difficult.

She offers to be his date at his sister’s birthday party. William’s friends at the party are at first shocked but then get along with Anna. She magically becomes a part of that little group and even takes part in the Brownie Game, where the one with the saddest life gets the last remaining brownie. However she loses it to William who apparently lead the saddest life of them all.

Well, I don't know. Look at

William. Very unsuccessful

professionally. Divorced. Used to

be handsome, now kind of squidgy

around the edges -- and absolutely

certain never to hear from Anna again

after she's heard that his nickname

at school was Floppy.

After they are done with their dinner, Anna and William stroll around in the neighbourhood and decide to climb the gates of a private garden. In a sort of moonlit dream, with lights of houses around surrounding the garden Anna and Will share another intimate kiss. They read inscription on one of the benches –

'For June, who loved this garden --

from Joseph who always sat beside

her.'

Well next William and Anna go for a movie and later have dinner in a restaurant. They overhear a group of men bad mouthing Anna and saying awful things about her. At first William ignores but when he is not able to take it anymore he gets up and tries to argue with the trio. However, he becomes back disappointed and finally Anna gets up and confronts the group, finally shutting them off.

ANNA

Please, please -- let's just leave

it there. I'm sure you meant no harm,

and I'm sure it was just friendly

banter and I'm sure you dicks are all

the size of peanuts. A perfect match

for the size of your brains. Enjoy

your meal. The tuna's really good.

When they return to Anna’s hotel William discovers that her American boyfriend Jeff King has been waiting for her in her suite. William pretends to be a room service employee and leaves quietly, heartbroken. Over the course of next six months he tries to get over what happened with Anna but is not able to forget her.

One day out of nowhere Anna arrives at Will’s doorsteps. She was hiding from a tabloid scandal. She apologizes for what happened. Will offers her a place in his house to hide which she gladly accepts. They spend time together once again and rekindle their lost connection. They end up spending the night together. Anna wakes up in the morning to find Will besides her, one of the most beautiful mornings of her life.

ANNA

Rita Hayworth used to say -- 'they go to

bed with Gilda -- they wake up with me.'

Do you feel that?

WILLIAM

Who was Gilda?

ANNA

Her most famous part -- men went to bed

with the dream -- and they didn't like

it when they woke up with the reality --

do you feel that way with me?

WILLIAM

(pause)

You're lovelier this morning than you

have ever been.

However the dream is disrupted with a flurry of press reporters who surround Will’s house, Spike had accidentally tipped of Anna’s info at the bar. Anna thinking that Spike had done this on purpose storms out in anger leaving Will alone and miserable. The next few seasons turn out great for Anna as she makes her comeback in the industry, however William continues to be miserable. One day he gets the news that Anna is in London shooting for her next big project. He decides to visit her. He reaches her set, Anna is happy to see him and asks him to wait for sometime as she wraps up her sschedule. However he overhears Anna talking to one of her co-stars and referring to Will as just some guy from the past. Once again saddened, Will leaves the set.

However next day Anna arrives at his shop. She confesses her love for Will and asks him is she can see him more. But this time afraid for a possibility of another heart break Will refuses.

WILLIAM

... with you, I'm in real danger. It

took like a perfect situation, apart

from that foul temper of yours -- but my

relatively inexperienced heart would,

I fear, not recover if I was once again

... cast aside, which I would

absolutely expect to be. There are too

many pictures of you everywhere, too

many films. You'd go and I'd be...

well, buggered, basically.

ANNA

I see.

That reality is a real 'no,' isn't it?

WILLIAM

I live in Notting Hill. You live in

Beverly Hills. Everyone in the world

knows who you are. My mother has

trouble remembering my name.

Anna politely accepts what Will said but before leaving reminds him that beneath all the superstardom she is just a girl searching for true love.

The fame thing isn't really real, you

know. Don't forget -- I'm also just a

girl. Standing in front of a boy.

Asking him to love her.

After she leaves Will meets his friends and tells them everything. His friends extend their support at first but when Spike confronts him about his decision he realizes that he has made a mistake.

It was sort of sweet actually -- I mean,

I know she's an actress and all that, so

she can deliver a line -- but she said

that she might be as famous as can be --

but also... that she was just a girl,

standing in front of a boy, asking him

to love her.

Oh sod a dog. I've made the wrong

decision, haven't I?

All of them run in order to see Anna one last time before she sets off to U.S.A. They reach the hotel where she is having a final press conference before leaving. William once again poses as a reporter and asks Anna one final question –

WILLIAM

Thanks. I just wondered if Mr. Thacker

realized he'd been a daft prick and got

down on his knees and begged you to

reconsider, whether you would...

reconsider.

ANNA

Yes, I'm pretty sure I would.

WILLIAM

That's very good news. The readers of

'Horse and Hound' will be absolutely

delighted.

Anna then asks Dominic to repeat his question –

JEREMY

Dominic -- if you'd like to ask your

question again?

DOMINIC

Yes -- Anna -- how long are you

intending to stay here in Britain?

ANNA

Indefinitely.

With Elvis Costello’s cover of ‘SHE’ playing in the background the two characters look into each other’s eyes. In the epilogue that follows Anna and Will get married. The film ends with Anna being pregnant as Will reads to her on a bench in a park.

I love the movie not because it shows a fairy tale love story but because it captures the true essence of what love is. You cannot control who you fall in love with, it just takes a moment. And that’s where the beauty lies, anyone can fall for anyone, its all a game of destiny.

She

May be the face I can't forget

A trace of pleasure or regret

May be my treasure or the price I have to pay

She may be the song that summer sings

May be the chill that autumn brings

May be a hundred different things

Within the measure of a day

She

May be the reason I survive

The why and wherefore I'm alive

The one I'll care for through the rough and rainy years

Me I'll take her laughter and her tears

And make them all my souvenirs

For where she goes I've got to be

The meaning of my life is

She, she, she