One Little Thing – I Miss You
Sunday afternoon screening of Choti si baat. Associations aplenty.
I won my first inter-collegiate prize for Jaaneman jaaneman. A special mention for my solo rendition of Na Jaane Kyon as well. Now this one is special. There is a sweet, innocent freshness in this movie, in its two protagonists and their dewy-fresh romance, all of which is captured in this song. No tear-jerking melodrama, no profound poetry, just a simple ‘I miss you’ that goes straight to the heart
Na jaane kyon
hota hai yeh zindagi ke saath
Achanak yeh mann
kisi ke jaane ke baad
Kare phir uski yaad
choti choti si baatI wonder why life make us suddenly,
Think of someone who isn’t there
And remember the littlest of things about them.
When I came off stage, a classmate quipped that I looked like a lost little girl waiting for my Prince Charming. 
I certainly don’t look that way anymore. And I haven’t missed anyone that much in a long time.I was alternately tickled and touched by the depiction of typical middle-class life in Mumbai. Thirty-two years haven’t changed much in this city. The same crowds, the same blank expressions masking busy minds and life on the go. I wonder though if that hidden human spirit blossoming in the form of sweet, unritualized romance still exists. I wonder if there are still hearts beating in the countless Arun Pradeeps in this city who fill our office desks and bus-seats. I wonder if there is any hint of guileless mischief in the vixenish Prabha Narayans of today.
It doesn’t seem like the people of my city feel that much any more. Well, I certainly don’t think there are men like that in this city anymore. Then again, I’ve changed as well. And the little things have stayed behind in an era we can only reminisce about in a movie made before we were born.
anand jeyahar on 
IdeaSmith on 
1Adithya
wrote on 18 February 2008 at 4:36
Yes, brilliant movie and good songs. And the BEST bus stops, chinese restaurants in the movie, to me Bombay still looks the same!
2meetu
wrote on 19 February 2008 at 7:22
Hey! now that’s a coincidence!!! “na jaane kyun” is the only song, i think i can sing. I sang it in college too, for some random competition…
3Anil
wrote on 19 February 2008 at 12:45
It’s a movie I can see over and over again, and the song I can listen to days on end.
The city has changed for sure, and I won’t be surprised if it isn’t the cynicism that has chipped away at the straightforward innocence from the Chhoti Si Baat era.
What a movie indeed, refreshing to the core.
4IdeaSmith
wrote on 20 February 2008 at 10:51
@ Adithya: I wonder if Peter of ‘Chicken a la pousse’ fame is still at Samovar!
@ meetu: And now we know its time for a jam session!
@ Anil: It really made my weekend.
5Adithya
wrote on 21 February 2008 at 5:19