Nepali Wanderer

Talking about Titanic always sparks nostalgia for me. In a way, you could say it’s the single most overrated and underrated movie at the same time. Overrated if you consider the “greatest hit of all time” tag, and underrated if you think of the meager less than 8 IMDB rating (like come on!) This prompts me to think – maybe this movie transcends conventional ratings!

I remember the enchanting experience of watching Titanic for the first time, only to end up disliking its ending. Yep, the much talked (or should I say memed) about ending. Looking back now, it also prompts me to reflect on two thoughts. But, as with movies, let’s start from the beginning.

For 90s kids born on the other side of the globe, Titanic marked several cinematic firsts: the first English movie we watched, the first English song, the first lovemaking scene, the first movie handkerchief (yep), you name it! Titanic, in every way, was special to a generation.

So was the love story between Jack and Rose. A princess-like figure falling for a charming hippie. Obviously, as a kid, it was difficult to understand other social dynamics, never mind understanding the emotions involved with love. So, let’s jump directly to the ending which is what this story is about.

The ending where the girl outlives the guy, marries some other dude, and goes on to have a family was something just not palatable for the 8-year-old me. And before you bring in the gender angle, trust me it’s not about that on this one. It’d have felt the same had the guy outlived the girl and so on. Truth is, it was just not how we were brought up watching movies in the Subcontinent.

Almost 90% of the love stories we watched would have a guy meeting a girl at the end. And for the remaining 10%, both of them would die. Simple. Literally as simple as that. Any “if or but” would simply just feel like a betrayal. So no wonder how I felt at the ending of Titanic. It’s only when I watched the movie again (years later) I understood and appreciated its ending: that life is the greatest gift of all, and the sacrifice of Jack was only to see Rose have a beautiful life ahead.

I know it’s a light childhood memory, but I find it scary when I think deeply about it: that I’d rather have two people dead than one living happily ever after. Such was the concept of love I had learned from movies. So, herein lies my first thought: To what extent can movies mold our minds, opinions, and perspectives? And that way, do the filmmakers bear responsibility for the narratives they propagate, considering the impact on societal norms and individual outlooks?

My second thought revolves around the power of movies in elucidating the change in us. Movies, as non-living entities, remain constant; the only thing that changes is our perspective, which is to say, us! That way, movies offer a tangible measure of how much we have changed over time. I had a similar experience rewatching Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna and 500 Days of Summer.

So, next time you want to gauge how much you have changed, pick a movie from your childhood!