On rejection, failure, critics and more.
I am not sure if you’ve seen Ratatouille. A brilliant film by folks at Pixar (that get each film to win hearts and tears and awards and money and everything else), it’s about a chef who loses his rightful place in the culinary world and his comeback (this HAS to be the worst logline of a film ever!).
In the movie, one of the most important character is this food reviewer, called Anton Ego. One review from him has the potential to make or break the restaurant. Think of a khichadi made by mixing in Vir Sanghvi, Gaggan, Sanjeev Kapoor and Tarla Dalal, simmered over Jamie Oliver and sprinkled on by some classic French snobbery.
So, Anton Ego goes to our Chef’s restaurant and eats a Ratatouille (to date, I dont know how to pronounce the name. No, even this did not help) prepared by the chef.
And as he eats it, Anton’s world comes crashing down around him. He had come to expect the dish as drab as a Karan Johar movie but the dish is so good beyond his expectations that it makes Anton deliver the following monologue. See this video. Please please pls…
Here’s the text, if you are not the kinds to enjoy a well made visual narrative. Highlights mine.
In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little, yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new. The world is often unkind to new talents, new creations. The new needs friends.
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Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere.
The point is, if you get rejected, please do NOT lose heart. You did not get through because the person on the other side could not see who you are and what you’re made of. Not because you aren't good enough.
People like Amitabh Bachchan, JK Rowling, Abe Lincoln, Mozart were all rejected when they started out. If they accepted the fate, we’d probably not know where the queue starts from or what to do with the fainke hue paise.
Ok. Jokes apart. Trust me, anything that you do, you make, you try to do, howsoever crappy the world may say it is, is worth its weight in Gold. If not your masterpiece, it is definitely a stepping stone in your success. Without a piece that the world has failed to recognise the value or the importance of, you will never be able to make that 8th wonder of the world! Baby steps, baby. Baby steps.
And, a rejection does NOT mean that you will stop trying. In fact it must give you the energy and courage to try harder! How can someone not like what you have? You are better than that! Aren’t you?
You may not believe in yourself. But I do. I believe in you.
- Saurabh Garg
P.S.: Wrote this for a couple of interns that are sad about them not getting selecting for a project. I think this one must be read by everyone.
