How Do They Do It?

What does it take to be happy all the time? What do these people eat or thrive on to exhibit a smiling face and a carefree personality all the time? It can’t be that they have no problems. We all have problems; no living creature has a life devoid of that. Then how is that a handful of them manage to don a happy hat all the time?

I am an avid movie watcher and have always derived many aspects of life from them.  If one were to introspect on the characters that have illustrated this vivacious and mirthful personality in movies, we can very much fall in love with many of them.

The other day I was watching the 1992 American comedy flick Sister Act. The humorous story of a lounge singer who disguises like a nun to protect herself from her boyfriend, a mobster, when she witnesses him killing a chauffeur. Let alone the humor part, the movie  also teach you how to bring about a change in the way things already are. Apart from role of the protagonist essayed by Whoopi Goldberg, I loved the character played by the American actress Kathy Najimy. Sister Mary Patrick is a bubbly nun who knows no other thing than smiling and talking care free all the time. She is not a person who has cultivated or knows positive and optimist thinking, but it is something found naturally in her. She has found contentment in the life of a nun and never even once winces about the sacrificial life they lead. Instead she jokes and stays joyous all the time.

Sister Mary Patrick

I like animated movies a lot because they set no limits on your creativity and vision. Any emotion, no matter how complicated can be seamlessly conveyed through them. Imagine a fish staying cool even while been chased by a shark! That’s Dory for you; a Pacific Regal Blue Tang voiced by Ellen DeGeneres in the movie Finding Nemo. Ever had someone around who comforts you unknowingly whenever you are feeling low and helps you no matter what the situation is? Someone who brings a smile to your face by their mere actions when all you want to do is cry? Dory becomes that someone for Marlin, the clown fish in search of his lost son, Nemo who gets captivated by a sea diver. She suffers from short term memory loss, but does not complain, instead just ignores it and leaves it to her companions to worry! She seems naïve at times, but guess we all are a little dimwit inside.

As a kid I loved watching the Disney’s cute cartoon series Winnie the Pooh. It portrays the adventures of Winne, the bear with his friends. I have always loved the episodes where Tigger shared more screen time than other characters. Tigger is a young tiger voiced by late Paul Winchell. He is funny, cheerful, confident and vivacious among all the characters. The way he spirals his tail into a spring and jumps around is indeed a delightful sight. He is very competitive, in a healthy way and wants to outdo his mates in all chores. He seldom succeeds but never runs out of steam due to this. He is great motivator and ever energetic.

Coming back to animated movies, I am reminded of the hilarious 2002 flick Ice Age. The jocund group of three, Manfred, the mammoth, Diego, a saber-toothed feline and of course my favorite Sid the sloth, are on a mission to find the kin of a lost infant. Sid is voiced by John Leguizamo. The best thing I like about Sid is his acceptance of the fact that he looks ugly. He lives with it but ignores it ironically. He is like all other characters mentioned before, ever joyful and very talkative. He has a knack of getting into trouble and is often ridiculed and bullied by other beasts.  But he acts cool and takes it in light spirit every single time; maybe because he has no other choice! He is kind hearted but at the same time has a mischievous innocence about him. He is surely a thing to lift your damp spirits.

Siddy boy

I am not a big fan of Kareena Kapoor, but her one performance closely outdoes the definition of ‘acting by getting into the character’. The bubbly role of Geet portrayed by her in the movie Jab We Met is simply commendable. It is one of those movies I never get tired watching repeatedly, much due to the persona of Geet. She is, as she describes herself, a Punjabi Sikhni, very talkative, cheerfully optimistic and lives life to the fullest. She likes to do things in a crazy style of hers and takes whole responsibility for her actions. You can’t help smile seeing her mumble in sleep, miss a train while arguing with a stall keeper, her ignorance while booking room in a cheap hotel.

Such personalities are sparsely found in real life and I admire dearly those who I have come across. Being happy comes naturally when we are feeling good but it takes a lot of courage to smile or even stay composed in adversities.