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Are all stories the same?
If they are, then writers would be concerned. Readers might think they are consuming the same stuff again and again. Manmohan Singh might feel that we are all dead in the Long Run anyways.
Ever since I heard about the template of the 'monomyth' or the hero's journey, I have been intrigued. It was introduced by writer Joseph Campbell, who came into popular consciousness when George Lucas, who generously used the concept in his Star Wars series, called him "my Yoda".
"A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder; fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won; the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man."
Indeed, Hollywood has since churned out innumerable monomyth films year after year.Campbell's 1949 book The Hero with a Thousand Faces is undoubtedly a goldmine for writers.
Any film that claims to be universal must tug at the heartstrings of the viewer, make them connect with one or more characters through the story and, at the end of it, have something to mull over and induce a change in themselves.
But an education in business management has made me look for a framework in every damn thing. And yes, there is a framework for every damn thing. I'm not just looking at Campbell's template, which has an elaborate 17 stages starting with the hero's departure and ending with his return. This one, rather, is from Dan Harmon, the creator of the series Community .
And I'm choosing Vasool Raja MBBS as the test subject for analysing the monomyth framework. It remains one of my favourites to this day and its message has remained intact even after several viewings. I’m sure this applies just the same for the original Hindi version too. Also, how often does a comedy film get tested under frameworks like these? (For people not familiar with the plot of the film , have a quick read.)
Harmon's template
Harmon says that any story, when reduced to the most basic level, can be expressed in the form of a circle, beginning and ending at the same point.
He divides thecircle into four quadrants and eight markers, like so:
Let us first look at the circle in two halves — the hero’s world is divided into the known and the unknown. He must move from a place of comfort to the unknown. The moments in the story too work within these halves.
Specifically with respect to Vasool Raja MBBS (hereinafter referred to as Vasool ), the order is represented by hisrowdy state and the chaos by his wish to become a doctor.
Now let us traverse the story using Harmon’s eight pitstops.
Stage 1: Character incomfort
The most essential element of the hero's journey is the hero, who is in a place of comfort at the beginning — Raja (Kamal Hassan) is introduced in the film along with his buddies, going about his job; there is even a dialogue which explains his way of work (a 2% vasool or commission)
Stage 2 : Hero wantssomething
Although something or someone doesn’t let things remain the same way, the journey begins with the hero wanting to do something. The trigger could be internal or — as in most cases — external.
When Raja’s parents areinsulted by Dr. Vishwanath (Prakash Raj), he decides to become a doctor.On one level, the desire here is to become a doctor and irritate the hellout of Dr. Vishwanath but, at a deeper level, it is to fulfil his father’s wish that he be a doctor. " Hero onnusonnaa senju kaatanum. Adhaan hero [If a hero says something, he must fulfil it. That's what a hero does]."
Stage 3: Hero enters the other world
This is a direct consequence of the previous stage — Harry Potter needs to go to Hogwarts in order to become a wizard; and Vasool Raja needs to join a medical college in order to become a doctor. Of course, here too he takes the fraudulent route.
Stage 4: Hero adapts tothis new world
Raja becomes familiar with how a class, college and hostel function and how different it is from the mise en scène of his earlier Vasool phase. This situation is not so alarming when compared with, say, Ringwraithschasing Frodo in Lord of The Rings . But in this slightly more mundane setting, coming face to facewith the reality (and dangers) of the hospital world turns into an essentialtest for our hero.
Now he is well out ofhis comfort zone (remember the two halves).
Stage 5: Hero gets whathe ‘wants’
This is the tricky one. Heroes (like most of us) do not really know what they want. They might have more than one goal. Sometimes, they might get what they did not plan for, and drift away from their initial goal.
Here, Raja doesn’treally want to become a doctor. He is content with being able to annoy Dr. Vishwanath. But along the way, he finds other things like newfriendships and love. His gregarious and empathetic nature — depicted in his Kattipudi Vaithiyam (hug therapy) — make him a darling at the hospital.
Stage 6: Hero deals withloss
Raja believes that a doctor is not just someone who treats diseases, that he also soothes the heart. And he’s able to pull this off through humour and hugs. However, even his best efforts cannot save the life of cancer patient Zakir. Raja’s inability to do anything when a man dies in his arms makes him question the very journey he has taken.
Stage 7: The Return
In the penultimate stage, Raja is convinced that he is not going to achieve anything by prolonging his stay at the hospital; he feels responsible for giving false hope to a dying man. He concedes defeat to Dr. Vishwanath (again recollecting how his parents were made to do the same) and walks back home, having abandoned his wish to become an MBBS — the return.
Stage 8: The Change
Raja is now back to where he started, though he doesn’t want to go back to his rowdy days. His parents are back and they too realise that they have been hard on their son for not being a doctor.
He is now a changed man,possibly at comfort once again.
There and back again.
In a circle, an ending is in fact a point of beginning. The story of the hero might have ended but the journey is continuous. Real heroes accept the change and learning that comes with the circle and set off on another adventure, hopefully a different one.
A framework is merely away of understanding concepts in an easier way. Perhaps there is even furtherscope in the framework when we drill down to each character, but I am nottrying to establish that this is the only way to look at stories. Itundoubtedly worked for one of my favourite films though.
Again, a framework isnot a rule book — things need not happen in all these stages, some might beskipped, happen non-sequentially, even start somewhere in the middleand make its way both sides. The potential is immense.
A framework gives youthe freedom to experiment with how a story progresses, by allowing you to break it down. Community is a telling example of how imaginative you can be while using a template.
The commonalitiesbetween stories across the spectrum — Lordof the Rings , Harry Potter , Star Wars and VasoolRaja MBBS — bring home the universality in the way we think, tell and consume stories.
Yes. Stories can all bethe same and still be different.
