Chapter 14: Kaisi Hai Yeh Rut

“Ghul rahe hai rang saare, ghul rahi hai khushbuein.”

In Kaisi Hai Yeh Rut, Sid finally captures Tara into a portrait that he had wanted to do for a long time. During his art exhibition, Tara agreed to let Sid paint her at a time of his choosing. She had agreed earlier in the film, too, and an exhilarated and excited Sid had rushed to get his art material, but she had to cancel it at the last minute. Now, the moment that Sid was waiting for has arrived. The setting of the portrait is Tara’s house. She comes out of her room dressed in a white saree. A stream gushes in the background. Sid is stunned to see her. He is mesmerized by her. His face has the same expression that he had when she read him through his paintings. He fell in love with her at that moment earlier. After seeing her, he has fallen for her all over again.

The song begins as Sid begins to paint Tara. He takes us into his dream world that Tara had talked about when she saw his paintings: Tumhare andar jo ek duniya hai, tumhare khwaab, tumhare sapne, woh tum kisi se baantate nahi. This duniya within him is a faraway land where he seeks refuge from the real world. There are no other people except him. He has only nature for company. He paints by the flowing river. He feels the rushing water. He hears the chirping of birds. He follows the fluttering butterfly. He walks among the floating bubbles. He touches the burgeoning flowers.

Kaisi Hai Yeh Rut is sung by Srinivas. The lyrics of the song are about Sid’s feelings on love. Love is the season where the hearts blossom like the flowers in the spring, he says. Phool banke dil khile. It is the time when the singing birds call on to their lovers. It is the meandering journey that the river undertakes to meet its sea. “Dekho yeh jo nadi hai, milne chali hai saagar hi ko, yeh pyaar ka hi saara hai caravan.” There are neither any limitations nor any barriers in his love. “Isme bandhan nahi hai, aur na koi bhi deewar hai.” In his world, he can love anyone, but in the real world, he is bound by the suffocating rules of society. He is in love with Tara but cannot express it because no one would understand his feelings. “Kaise kisi ko bataaye, kaise yeh samjhaaye kya pyaar hai,” he further added. His friends do not get his love. His mother does not understand his love. He is hesitant even to let Tara know that he loves her. All he can do is express his love for Tara by making his favorite painting ever, which is of her and for her. It will be his masterpiece, like Varun Shrivastava’s masterpiece for Pakhi Roy Chaudhury in Vikramaditya Motwane’s Lootera (2013). Sid spends sleepless nights thinking and painting Tara. He designs the palette by mixing a range of shades and brush strokes. He finesses her hair with his hands. He adds blood-red color to her lips with his thumb. He adds tiny magical details, such as a girl descending in a parachute, on it. Once he finishes it, he caresses her face as he cannot do the same in the real world. It is the closest he gets to touch and express his love for her. He then shows the finished portrait to Tara, who finds it lovely. She asks him to sign it. He puts a thumb impression on it. He then gives it as a gift to her. “Tumhare andar jo ek duniya hai, tumhare khwaab, tumhare sapne, woh tum kisi se baantate nahi”, she had said. With this painting, Sid allowed Tara and made her a part of his dream world forever.