By Rahul Puri,
Managing Director, Mukta Arts
The film fraternity has lost some wonderful talents in the last few months. The hilarious Joan Rivers passed away last week, and the incomparable Lauren Bacall a few weeks ago, but for me the biggest loss was the demise of the unbelievably talented Robin Williams. Williams for me was an inspiration. A man who could make you laugh uncontrollably, but at the end of your laughing fit, you always learnt something. It is a rare talent indeed and one Robin Williams had in spades.
I remember Williams in Mork and Mindy which was his first big breakthrough. The series, which was a massive hit, was about an alien who is confronted by suburban life in America. Williams stood out as the naïve outsider who constantly struggles to fit in. Always funny, but still telling stories about adjustment and acceptance, the show was Robin’s launch-pad.
Throughout his life, he played roles that made us laugh, but also think. Whether it was Good Morning Vietnam, Patch Adams or Mrs Doubtfire, Williams had the knack to drive home a point without making it melodramatic or sometimes without us realizing he had done it.
I can’t forget his film Dead Poets Society. To me, this is his masterpiece. He played a teacher in Good Will Hunting as well, but as John Keating, Williams truly captured my imagination. I was at an impressionable age when the film came out and I can honestly say that his portrayal left as strong an impact on me as it did on his pupils in the film.
The film stuck with me and so did the idea of teaching being about experience and emotion. I never thought of subjects as creative and non-creative from that point onwards. The difference was in the way you looked at the world and a problem. There is always a solution if you are willing to apply yourself and use your own experiences and emotions as your strengths in finding a solution that suits you.
Of course at that point, I never thought I would then further propagate this idea to other minds. However, about a decade later, I had the opportunity to do just that, teaching students at Whistling Woods International for their MBA course, to think of subjects like management and finance as creative. I encourage my students to think of innovative solutions to commercial and corporate problems that use their emotional and artistic bent of mind. This combination of creative and commercial truly makes for a formidable combination, which if harnessed, can make all the difference to students looking to make a mark in a highly competitive industry.
It’s this deeper thought that made Dead Poets Society such a landmark movie for me. I will always remember the film and what it taught me and I will always remember Robin Williams for indirectly teaching me too. It’s as John Keating says in the film, “No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world.”
Feedback: rahulpuri@muktaarts.com
