CONFRONTING OUR FEELINGS

“Little by little, we human beings are confronted

with situations that give us more and more clues

that we are not perfect.”

-      Fred Rogers

Last week-end, when I had the choice to watch two well-publicized Hindi films – ‘Chhapaak’ and ‘Tanhaji’, I settled for the former. It was the fourth day of the release when I went to buy my ticket at the nearest multiplex. It was very clear to me, that ‘Tanhaji’ was doing well at the box office while ‘Chhapaak’ was not. But, then, the box-office success was not the reason why I had decided to watch Megna Gulzar’s ‘Chhapaak’… The subject of the film was.

Ditto happened on this week-end. I wanted to watch an English film and I had this choice: ‘1917’, the story set during the World War 1, or ‘A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood’, the story based on the life of Fred Rogers…

“Who?” My wife asked me when I expressed my desire to watch it, that evening, along with her…

The same reaction - ‘Who?’ - was mine, too, when I first read the review of the film that morning. I spent the next hour and a half watching videos relating to Fred Rogers… his interviews, speeches during acceptance of awards or at the graduation ceremonies… His legendary (and I had no clue about it!) testimony before the US Senate seeking funds for public broadcast of children programme…  and so on. And, the more I watched them, the more I got awed by Fred Rogers’ life, work and personality…

To think of the fact, that Rogers could continue doing his children programme over three decades – in sixties, seventies and eighties – and touch lives of millions of children and parents alike… yes, against the ‘bombardment’ of all the ‘fast-and-furious’ shows on television – it was just a tribute to the simplicity, integrity and honesty of the man…

Both, my wife and I, came out of the theatre a lot moved by the story of the film. Tom Hanks plays the role of Fred Rogers and wins our hearts. The story is based on the award-winning article by Tom Junod for the Esquire magazine – ‘Can you Say… Hero?’… It’s a compelling story – how this journalist (played by Matthew Rhys), who was skeptical, unenthusiastic and even opposed to doing the story… ends up seeing his own life transformed and heart healed by that interaction… “The only thing evil can’t stand is forgiveness.”

“Confronting our feelings and giving them appropriate expression always takes strength, not weakness. It takes strength to acknowledge our anger, and sometimes more strength yet to curb the aggressive urges anger may bring and to channel them into nonviolent outlets. It takes strength to face our sadness and to grieve and to let our grief and our anger flow in tears when they need to. It takes strength to talk about our feelings and to reach out for help and comfort when we need it."

Such was the quiet power of Fred Rogers!

It broke my heart to see around in the theatre, on the first day of its release… Only eight of us! ‘Chhapaak’, on the fourth day, was better placed. Yet, it broke my heart to see around…

My wife and I are glad, that we could watch ‘A Beautiful Day…’. Sometimes, it is better for our souls to be away from ‘the fast and the furious’ and embrace ‘the slow and the steady’…

Highly recommend this film… Please watch it  wherever it is available… Just to come home with the feeling - ‘It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood’!

GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic.: www.eonline.com

Videos: 1. Austin Casey 2. Julian Park  3. Orvill Morris 4. Metaflix 5. Affirm Films