Mirzya: Celebrating the fragrance of eternal love

Please note: This is not a review of Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's latest film, 'Mirzya', and there are no spoilers of any sort.

A round of applause for actors, Harshvardhan Kapoor & Saiyami Kher - 'Mirzya' doesn't seem like their debut film.


There are two magicians who make this film a thing of beauty, a joy forever: Gulzar Saab & cinematographer, Pawel Dyllus. Needless to say, a hat tip to the director, Mr. Mehra for pulling off a love story in an age when eternal love is a rarity lost somewhere on our digital timelines and limited attention spans.



As a hopeless romantic, it has been my constant pursuit to understand the phenomena that love is, and it will remain so till I am alive. Thanks to 'Mirzya' I have found some deep insights into the feeling of love, as it celebrates the eternal fragrance of love. The only thing I have always wanted is love - this give and take of love has been the most used currency in my life, to the point that I think that I have never worked for the want of money, or have stopped working if I had a lot.

It was always the love I felt from the employer (immediate bosses) and the colleagues.

Give me love, and I will love you right back till death do us apart. For me love is and will always be forever a constant. I discovered my idea of love while watching 'Sadma' as a kid, I still don't know why I cried throughout the entire climax, because I was too young to know anything beyond food and poop. I can only guess that perhaps a love of mine from some other lifetime reached out to me though that gem of a film that 'Sadma' is.

Later in my life I was filled with the fragrance of love when I watched 'Sagar' - I think I was sold by the fact that love makes you do the craziest of things with no expectations whatsoever.  As Gulzar Saab has aptly put, there are only three witnesses of love. Sample this:



The thing about love is that it gifts us with memories galore, and moments of intense passion, to the point of no redemption. There's a quote, "If you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt - only love." This line resonates throughout 'Mirzya,' and I have felt this too. Those who have been reading my blogs would know about Rani, the love of my life, who went through this trauma, just because I had locked up my heart for the longest time, because I knew I couldn't take another heart break.

At least not in this lifetime.

“Doonge dard judaiyan de, kad lende ne jaan…”
[The wounds of separation run deep and take the life out of you]...

Sadly, this 'Hichki' thing really doesn't let you sleep well.



If the love is real, it reaches out to the lover through the sheer power of the universe. Rani found me when she was a popular radio jockey at Dubai, at the prime of her career. I was just a rookie writer-day dreamer, with hopes of becoming a filmmaker. I could understand how in 'Mirzya' the lovers reunite even when they have been away for two decades, the two soulmates will reconnect at some point in time, their geographies be damned, with the same passion as before.

“Gol gol ghoome zameen, aave na jaave kahin…”

For me, 'Mirzya' highlighted the eternity in love which seems to have lost its relevance in our time. The thing is that though the way we dress and talk must have changed, but the concept of love will always have the same fragrance as ever. In a recent interview for The Hindu, Gulzar Saab said -

 "The change is in what you wear, the way you live, in your relationships. A different period means a different culture. So your behaviour pattern will also have to be different. Speed has altered; the rhythm of life has changed. There is such a lot of gadgetry. Earlier, it was like someone has gone to the city, there will be no news, close ones will wonder when he will be back. Now you can talk on the phone anywhere, any time, any moment. You fly in planes. When will you come back from abroad? Well today if you tell someone in the morning to come, they can reach by the evening. This is the speed of life. But the speed of a heartbeat is still the same. Dil aaj bhi usi rafter se dhadakta hai [the heart still beats at the same pace]. That is eternal. Aapke aansoo usi rafter se behte hain, nabz waise hi chalti hai [Your tears fall at the same speed, the pulse moves the same way]."

Dil aaj bhi usi raftaar se dhadakta hai. That is eternal. Aapke aansoo usi raftaar se behte hain, nabz waise hi chalti hai.

I couldn't agree more, Gulzar Saab!