How perspectives change with time

I saw ‘Aparajita’ for the first time when I was of Apu’s age. I watched the film from Apu’s perspective.

I cried when the mother died. How perspectives change with the passage of time. It is not merely the

passage of time; it is the context that matters. When I watched Aparajita for the first time, I was a

son. Now I am a father and a grandfather. When I saw Aparajita recently, it was altogether a different

experience. The film is about Apu’s growing up and moving away from his mother. I have not seen

any film which has depicted mother-son relationship so honestly. When I watched the film recently, it

was from the perspective of a mother. It was not deliberate. It just happened. My sympathies were

now with the mother. I cried when Apu left for Kolkata or when the mother waited for Apu. She was

proud of Apu. There was loneliness, but there was also hope that one day Apu will become

something. I felt real joy when Apu deliberately misses his train so that he could be with his mother.

While watching the film I felt I am also a part of their happiness. Only a master can depict complex

human relationships in so few words.