Why study films and literature?

Written by Professor Mazhar Kamran, IDC School of Design, IIT Bombay

As I sit down to write this, thinking over the subject I have been asked to write about, I notice before me a book, and on its spine, it says: “Khoya Hua Sa Kuch” and “Nida Fazli”. Of all the books in the room, this one sits right in front of me today. Serendipitous, one would say. And it seems apt, that is the magic of this thing called serendipity, one of the nicer words in the English language. “Kuch”, something. “Khoya Hua Sa”, that qualifier adds to that something a quality — of lostness. What is this something that feels like a lost thing? A phrase from the poet spawns many thoughts and partly answers the question that has been posed. I could answer in many ways, and just as well, begin with the title of the book.

Every work of film or literature invites you to search for that which is lost. We are constantly losing something–  a day, a moment that passes, losing places where we cannot be (Life is Elsewhere, observed a novelist) and losing people that we cannot be with. A voluminous novel has been written in search of lost time and hailed as one of the greatest works of literature.  You could be lost in another way.  There is a sense of wonder when you lose yourself this way. Unsure what the next turn, the next page or the next moment will bring up. But sometimes this losing is of another kind. It is about losing yourself.

Being unsure is wonderful, as everything can take on a new meaning. You discover the familiar all over again. Today, there is so little mystery left. One of the few places where you can feel the mystery is in film and literature. Why not open the imagination by breathing in that world?

Unlike texts that teach you what you need to know for your courses, film and literature are more personal forms of knowledge. You listen to the voice of an individual as they describe an incident, a feeling– which is deeply moving. Each one distils and presents the most interesting, the most significant aspect of life. You may recognise your own life is similar in many ways and thus connect. Take these lines just as an example from the same book of poems:

Apni marzi se kahan apne safar ke hum hain

Rukh hawaon ka jidhar ka hai udhar ke hum

(How can I say I am on a journey determined by me

I go where the wind takes me.)

These lines have layers of meaning, and they resonate with many. You may agree or not, the richness of expression is a delight in itself. Nida Fazli, in this famous poem from the book (you can listen to the entire poem in Jagjit Singh’s magnificent voice on YouTube), expresses a state of mind, a feeling and puts it into words as accurately and as beautifully as he can while remaining honest to himself. That is the work a man of literature does. You recognise in his words this condition of helplessness of a human in the vastness of time.

It is through literature we rediscover meaning in the world. Great films play a similar role. To make sense of the human experience for all. It is a service that creators have been rendering to society, showing that we are more mysterious than rationality can tell us about ourselves. It is a dimension that can make you whole. And it can give you strength, which comes not from power but from humility. 

You have to be selective in what you read and what you watch. There is always more to read than you can possibly find time for. It has always been so. And now, when there is an excess of things clamouring for your attention, being selective requires extra effort. The best lists will not do. What is popular is not always the greatest. Go to the classics. The classics are waiting to be rediscovered by every generation. A classic discloses new meanings on each reading or viewing. Or take recommendations from those you respect. It is possible that early courses in school may have put you off literature. It is possible that bad films would have put you off cinema. All the more, you should now take a second look at literature and cinema; you will discover what you have missed. One more thing: Try to read stories in your mother tongue, too, if you have not done so already. You will be surprised how books from other languages, when read in a good translation in your mother tongue, suddenly become many times richer. It takes patience to read in a disciplined way. It is always well worth it. Your life will be richer. You will come alive in a different way. Serious reading and serious watching will reward you in ways that you would not expect.