It's a pity when good things get wasted on bad things. When the billionaire wins the lottery, when Louboutins you've been lusting after get worn by someone who asks if she can 'get a pair without the red sole', when the rich kid gets a summer job while you're thin soled feet get sore from trekking up and down high streets, when an absolutely brilliant idea isn't executed properly. That bites. Stings. Makes you want to kick something.
Needless to say I had such a moment a few days ago when I chanced upon a television advertisement for some sort of fairness cream (Fair and Lovely?). Normally I love the ads on tv in India – the Vodafone (previously Hutch) ones with the pug will always remain a favourite – and this is a really nice ad. But how I would have loved to read about this in a book or in a romance flick of sorts!
The ad goes about like this : young artist is painting a portrait of a 'dusky' woman. Woman poses for him and initial portrait seen by viewer shows woman slightly dark (more muddy to be honest) with spots etc. As the days roll on, we see the artist make changes to her face along the lines of painting over the spots, lightening her skin and making it all glowy, accompanied by a voiceover talking us through the miracles of the cream. On the final day when her portrait is ready, she goes behind the canvas and sees herself looking all wonderful... and with a piece of jewellery not on the real-life counterpart. A diamond wedding ring.
It would have made for such a wonderful love story! Artist commissioned to paint picture of woman. Back when everyone had their portraits painted ofcourse, now it wouldn't go as well. Although it could easily be made into one of those timeless classics, ahh, my story is already a classic in my mind (well, the cream's story atleast). Think of a snooty, indifferent artist, and a plain jane (at first) sort of client. As the days roll on, and the artist and client begin to open themselves up to each other, or maybe the artist learns more about her somehow from the person who drops her, to a scar on her neck, her manner on the phone, or how she reacts to the most banal of things (hidden emotional scars perhaps?) As he learns more about her she seems more attractive... her eyes sparklier, her smile brighter...sort of a Shallow Hal type of view. And at the end, he falls in love with her, and asks her to marry him by painting a ring on her finger. Or maybe (and I wish I knew what the cinematographic term for this is) you have this man who gradually falls in love with a woman, and their relationship is mapped by clips of him as an artist painting her from ugly duckling to swan. Or something along the lines of ostensibly 'poor' people, slums and rags and what not, and the narration is punctuated by the artist and his objet d'amour in a regal setting. I can see this so clearly in my head.It would work as a book as well I suppose.
But it's wasted on a fairness cream. I totally don't get that.
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