Silsila@34: Lessons learnt from the film

Amitabh Bachchan- Jaya Bachchan and Rekha starrer Silsila turns 34 today. Possibly the biggest and most epic love triangles of all times, the film delicately unweaved the threads of a love story outside an arranged marriage. While, it was said that the film largely took inspiration from Amitabh-Jaya and Rekha's alleged real life love trail, the maturity and elegance with which the entire plot was portrayed onscreen was commendable. How the seeds of Amitabh (Amit) and Rekha's (Chandni) complicated relationship were sown, and how their passion and desire to be with each other blossomed into something which could not be accepted by the society or their spouses; left us in awe of the lead cast of the movie. Let's take a look at few lessons we learnt from the film…

A veil, vermillion and your husband's last name; won't always make your life easy: In the film, Shekhar Malhotra (Shashi Kapoor) dies in a tragic accident leaving behind a pregnant Shobha (Jaya Bachchan). Amit (Amitabh Bachchan) takes pity on Shobha and marries her. Now, one thing we all need to understand here is that marriage is not always a solution to pre- marital pregnancy. Of course we all believe in the sanctity of marriage and it’s wonderful to have a companion you can love and be with throughout your life. Women have the greatest gift to bring a child into this world, and life becomes much easier for a child, if he has a mother and a father, both. Having said that, forcing oneself into a relationship just so that the child is never questioned is not an ideal thing to do. Women like Neena Gupta are living examples of the fact that you don't need a father to raise a child. If there was anything we learnt from Shobha's character in the film, it was the fact that a veil, vermillion and your husband's last name; won't always make your life easy.

Forget your past: Never carry the baggage of your previous relationships into your marriage. Love affairs, break ups are pretty common these days. Couples these days are more vocal about their life before their marriage and are also ready to accept their partners with all their flaws and shortcomings. It is important that you don't see or expect your spouse to be a reincarnation of your previous partner. Give a fresh chance to your marriage. Give it the space and nourishment it requires to flourish. Fill it with love and trust. And most importantly, forget your past. The biggest mistake that Amit (Amitabh Bachchan) did in the movie was to allow Chandni (Rekha) to come back into his life again.

Don't let someone exploit you, even emotionally: Amit's (Amitabh Bachchan) behaviour towards Shobha (Jaya Bachchan) after he had met Chandni (Rekha) again, was a clear case of emotional abuse. While Shobha kept surrendering to his whims and fancies, pleading with him to be with her; considering her to be a weaker sex, Amit gave preference to his interest. Letting someone exploit you is not the way to handle relationships.

Let go: What Shobha and Amit needed was a good, candid chat. Shobha should have clearly told him that she was aware of everything that Amit had been doing. And Amit should have told her clearly, if he really wanted to be with Chandni. Shobha and Amit, both needed to come clean out and loud.