scribbling

As a teacher, I always have to keep myself open to experiences. Some are good, some are bad, and some are to be remembered forever. My love for movies landed me amidst such an experience.

It was April 2022. We were conducting Group Discussions (GD), as a part of the Admission process. This time, the entire process was on MS Teams. I and another faculty member were sitting together to conduct the GD. After 2-3 groups, we were feeling tired, as the topics were boring and we were bored of hearing rehearsed dialogues. When the new group joined, something clicked in my mind, and I told my co-panelist, "Madam, let me try something different this time." She said, "Yes, that'll be good. Let's try."

After a round of generic introduction, I threw an ice-breaker, "I know all of you have prepared for the GD. But I am not going to ask you to discuss anything on current affairs, as I know you all are well aware of it. Let's try something different. Do you watch movies?"

All of the participants said, "Yes Sir, absolutely."

"So, are you interested in a discussion on movies?"

"Yes Sir. We would love it."

"Have you watched 'Mera Naam Joker'?"

A reluctant answer came, "Yes Sir...long back..."

"Have you watched 'Joker'?"

An excited answer came, "Yes Sir. Joaquin Phoenix literally set the screen on fire."

Now, I threw the googly at them. "Great. Now in both the movies, you can see two shades of a joker. Life gave lemons to both of them. Both of them were carrying unhealable wounds, and their hearts were full of scars. But they approached life differently, they affected their surroundings differently. From an ideological point of view, why do you think Raju and Arthur reacted differently?"

There was pin-drop silence in the meeting window. I continued, "You have three minutes to prepare your points, and then you can start the discussion."

My co-panelist Professor asked me in a low voice, "Avik, isn't the topic too difficult?" I said, "Madam, they are going to be managers. Let's see what is the level of their critical thinking. A tough challenge might bring out the best in them." She agreed.

After three minutes the discussion started. As expected, the majority of the participants were talking about the love life of Raju or the brutalities of Gotham. Nothing special was coming out of the discussion. Both of us were patiently awaiting some radical points. Suddenly, a participant started, "Life was boiling water for both of them. But Raju was a coffee bean and Arthur was an egg. When the coffee bean is thrown into the boiling water, it spreads its fragrance in the entire water. But the egg becomes hard after the same treatment. There lies the difference between Raju and Arthur." He stopped to take a breath and another participant took over the discussion immediately in the same old direction.

Both of us sat straight and intervened, "One amongst you is trying to give the discussion an interesting shape. Please give him a chance to speak."

The participant started again, "Both of them were carrying fire inside them. While Raju tried to light up candles, Arthur was lighting the pyres. It is the share of love and hatred that made them what they were. The blessings of a mother, affection of a teacher, and momentary warmth of love made Raju an optimistic person, who believed in the goodness of people. On another hand, the curse of illness, societal rejection, a broken family, and bullying made Arthur a pessimist, and unsympathetic toward the world. Both of them had nothing to lose, except what they have earned from their surroundings. Raju shared the love and blessings, while Arthur only had only hatred in his store."

I stopped him for a while, "Do you think calling Arthur a pessimist is right? Or should he be called a 'Cruel Optimist'?"

He responded, "Yes Sir, I believe Cruel Optimist will be a better explanation, as Arthur says 'No man chooses evil because it is evil. He only mistakes it for happiness.' This only can happen, when someone is dying out of thirst, and only has a glass of poison left to drink."

"Absolutely right. Now proceed."

"I will say they are the two sides of the same coin. They represent creation and destruction. Reciprocation is a basic instinct, and what they reciprocate to differentiates them, not how." He concluded. The discussion started again.

Both of us were mesmerized by the explanation given by him. I never thought that someone can come up with such a picturesque explanation of this difference. But there was more to it. After 20 minutes, the GD was over, and we were about to close the session. Suddenly the participant said, "Sir and Madam, I have one last point to make."

"Yes. But keep it short."

"Sure. It surprises me when Arthur says, 'The smile...was being put on by the society I live in', and it exactly resonates with 'Kehta Hain Joker Saara Zamana, Aadhi Haqiqat Adha Fasana'. They are the same at some point, yet are different. Thank you, Sir."

That was the moment when we were speechless.