Zoya Akhtar’s iconic Made In Heaven rightly captured the internal struggle of an outsider’s quest to get absorbed into the mainstream along with an insider’s anguish for failing to become ‘one among them.’ Isn’t this dilemma too rampant, everywhere?
Irrespective of who you are, the insider vs. outsider conflict is always there. Unfortunately, an egalitarian society exists only in utopia. Consider the example of any lavish and filthy rich party. There would be the ones who are tasting the water of that brook for the first time and no matter how much they try to cover it up, their modest roots (which they ought to be proud of) show up.
There would also be the ones who behave bitchily and complain about almost everything. Ever thought why they crib even about the finest things? They perhaps feel that they do not belong there and deserve a better place in society. Who is an insider and who is an outsider here?
Check their social media, their stories and statuses. There would be the elite, eating from the roadside to prove how modest and grounded they are. And then there would be the ones who check in at every luxury place to prove that they have forayed into the world of affluence. Who is an insider and who is an outsider here?
Ever crossed downtown where you were warned to be careful from a security point of view? Globalisation has flocked folks from outside and the erstwhile mainstream has become the new fringe. Who is an insider and who is an outsider here?
You might have come across couples where the partners do not belong to the same ‘class’ (hate using this word though). It’s forever a struggle for one to level up to the affluent lifestyle and at the same time, it’s a challenge for the other to prove their modesty and groundedness. Who is an insider and who is an outsider here?
Would have come across cases in a corporate where the manager is just a redundant rubber stamp and is demotivated because their role is irrelevant in business. At the same time, there would be umpteen employees dying to draw that salary and reach that position. Who is an insider and who is an outsider here?
There is perhaps no answer to this. The only probable answer is paradise!
Note: this post was originally published here.