Willful Suspension of Disbelief! - the secret to enjoying movies or for that matter anything at all

Willful Suspension of Disbelief is such a useful concept. This is how wiki defines it,

"Suspension of disbelief is an aesthetic theory intended to characterize people's relationships to art. It was coined by the poet and aesthetic philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1817. It refers to the willingness of a person to accept as true the premises of a work of fiction, even if they are fantastic or impossible. It also refers to the willingness of the audience to overlook the limitations of a medium, so that these do not interfere with the acceptance of those premises. According to the theory, suspension of disbelief is a quid pro quo: the audience tacitly agrees to provisionally suspend their judgment in exchange for the promise of entertainment."

Now as far as movies go, the second part of the last sentence is the key - "in exchange for the promise of entertainment". I am willing to suspend disbelief to any extent required provided the movie maker promises to entertain. Many Bollywood movies fail on this count. On the other hand with a little help from the movie maker and a teaspoon of disbelief, a mundane movie can be elevated to the level of a thorough entertainer. Jhoom barabar Jhoom falls in to this category, I simply loved the movie. Watching Lara Dutta gyrate on the big screen in a fanciful setting was well worth the ticket money. The true essence of disbelief comes in to play while watching animation movies. "Ratatouille" is a case in point. It is my all time favorite. The director makes good on his part by dishing out entertainment garnered with a heart warming message, on your part, if you were to slide back in your seat and choose to overlook the minor impracticalities of a rat becoming a chef, you'll be treated to an inspiring fable of Paulo Coelho proportions. The same holds true in the case of Ashutosh Gowatrikar's "Jhodaa Akbar"....was Akbar tall or short, was Jhodaa his wife or daughter-in-law, who cares. As the lights dim, stretch your feet and let the Mughal era unfold. Smiles as the narrative dwells on the practical difficulties of a Hindu-Muslim marriage even in those days. Cheer when Azeem-0-Shah-Shehanshah plays out like the Olympic opening ceremony, make your side of the disbelief pact and the movie director will deliver on the rest.

Now, this technique works well with other aspects of life too. Try it out the next time you sit in an autorikshaw in Chennai and you don't know Tamil. Try it when you have to eat at a roadside dhaba in alarmingly unhygienic conditions. Try it when you are sitting next to a pesky relative, who loves to deliver long-winding lectures....application of this concept will turn such routine episodes in to thoroughly entertaining experiences. Try it and tell me if willful suspension of disbelief works for you..