“Hi mom, all of us are meeting up in CP for a farewell treat for Raghav. You remember the topper in my class in the Bio stream pursuing medicine from Manipal?” asked my son adding, “well he is moving to New York, to the Lee Strasberg theatre and film institute to pursue a career in theatre. After his first year in medicine he realised that he was’nt cut out to be a doctor. Dramatics was his real passion. His dad and mom have also been very supportive. So he is off and it’s time to say goodbye.”

I am sure the conversation is not new. Post Indian cinema like Wake up Sid, Three Idiots and Udaan, the mantra of the youth seems to be like a phrase from Bon Jovi’s It’s my Life! The power and magic of cinema, and that too the wizards of Bollywood, is undisputedly one of the most powerful catalysts of the changing Indian psyche. When the background score of Udaan, reverberates with Ik udaan hi sapno ko zindagi degi. Sapno se jod do isse, it strikes the right chords with a young Indian standing on the threshold of a new tomorrow. The precocious youngster has grown into part of a developing India, where an unfurling economy has called for decisive action.
A farsighted Sutradhar (storyteller) picks it up and weaves it into a plausible tale of a laid-back protagonist, shaking off the lethargy to stand tall and successful as Sid — the failed undergraduate whose passion is photography — the photographer. The world loves it when you see the underdog getting the taalis and in this case the taalis are that much more motivating as they relate to a frustrated teenager who does not want his fate to be sealed by his parents “mera beta engineer banega…”
In this relay race that we all watch as bystanders, the baton is handed on to the next medium — visual advertising. So for a popular surrogate advertisement, for Royal Stag there is the Indian opener, Gautam Gambhir, the Indian spinner, Harbhajan Singh and Bollywood actor, Saif Ali Khan, who advise you to follow your dreams and ‘Make it Large,’ not as a businessman or a young nawab but as the individual — YOU. As J. Allen eulogised “Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so shall you become. Your vision is the promise of what you shall one day be; your ideal is the prophecy of what you shall at last unveil.”
Insurance companies selling children’s plans, take the same theme and weave it into their storyline of a young film director whose dad wanted him to be a doctor and a young chef, whose dad wanted her to be a school teacher. So it is a happy ending as the dad gets to eat the murga rather than become a murga, after all Bachhe aaj kal job nahi passion doondte hain…
Reality shows like Sa Re Ga Ma, Indian Idol, talent hunts and the latest Master Chef India, further support the movement. The idea is to make the ‘Mango People’ (aam admi) realise that there is no desire too farfetched, and no dream too big because — as a popular sports brand declares: “Impossible is nothing.” Further support comes through talk shows on the radio and television where psychiatrists and career counsellors provide the logic and directions to making aspirations convert into reality.
The visual is supported by the cerebral; and the print media is not far behind, DhiruBhaism — the story of the Reliance giant and the The Tendulkar Opus — expected this year — are contemporary tales that could inspire countless fledgling Indians, waiting to soar high. Structured guidelines in newspaper education and career supplements make the detailed route to achieving one’s life goals available. There is a dark side to this as well, for as L Hughes said, “Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly.” Thus, the medium also lays the saga of broken wings — the alarming suicides of unhappy strugglers, who despairingly just gave up on an unpurposeful life — open to scrutiny.
One might argue at this stage that this happens only in films and not in real life, but the fact of the matter is that change does not happen overnight, it takes a long, long time for a young sapling to become laden with fruit. The fact is also that the most powerful fertiliser that will hasten the process is the communication media. Thus, this elucidation of the evolving, decisive and individualistic Indian is essentially to salute these instruments of change. But with power comes responsibility. Planting the seeds of change has to be for the blossoming of a healthy and fulfilling life not one of decadence and mindless pleasure, thus the onus of advocating passion with perseverance and diligence also lies with the media.
The writer is Professor, Marketing, International Management Institute, Delhi