Abstract

A person is here instead of there, safe instead of in jeopardy, enclosed instead of exposed, and at ease instead of anxious when they feel inside a place. Every place encompasses geography/material setting, actions/situations/events that generate ideas in that particular place, and the individual creates meaning from their lived experiences. Ravi Chopra's Baghban embodies a spatial exploration of existential insideness and outsideness in the context of a unique combination of Geography (normative), activities, and meaning. Grounded on E. C Relph and Tim Cresswell's theorizations of Space and Place, this research paper examines how the protagonists of the movie experience existential insideness, outsideness, out of placeness, and placeness because of the displacement, familial relationships, material setting, un-involvement, alienation, and created meaning from the lived experiences. At its core, the protagonist in this movie experiences spatial stimuli to tune with the physical setting, situations, and events, and develops meaning from the experiences.

Keywords

Space, Place, Existential Insideness and Outsideness, Out of Placeness and Placeness, Baghban

Introduction

Demonstrating the foundational lived structure of place having meaning, Edward Relph elucidates insideness and outsideness as the essence of place, as it sets these places apart. To be inside is to be here, safe, enclosed, and at ease, while to be outside is to be there, threatened, exposed, and stressed. Relph believes that the Identity of an individual in relation to that place will be stronger if the person undergoes insideness. On the opposite shore, a person experiences some division, separation, or alienation between themselves and the world concerning the place where they live outside, for instance, the feeling of homesickness in a new place. The critical phenomenological dot is that outsideness and insideness comprise a deep-seated dialectic in human life, where different places take different identities with the changing combination and potencies of outsideness and insideness as human experience sees different traits of sensations, emotions, meaning, ambience, and action.

Every place has a unique combination. It includes Geography/physical existence/ material setting, human activities/situations/events that generate ideas in the particular place, and the individual and group create meaning from the lived experiences and intent concerning that place. This dissertation offers a spatial exploration where the protagonists of the movie experience existential insideness, outsideness, out of placeness, and placeness in a normative geography because of the displacement, familial relationships among them, material setting, uninvolved, alienation, and created meaning from the lived experiences. Raj and Pooja experience spatial stimuli to tune with the physical setting, situations, and events, and develop meaning from their lived experiences. Keeping in view the concept of spatial insideness and outsideness in a film, this study examines Baghban to explore the notion of spaces and places, deeply connected with lived experiences in a certain normative geography. Employing multiple theoretical formulations in association with human existential experiences, geographies, and film studies.

Different spatial theorists have distinctly defined the notion of spaces and places. As Tim Cresswell says, space is an "abstract entity" that can only be understood in relation to the concept of places (Cresswell, 2004, 9). Space is the overall geographical unit without any name and emotional attachment, i.e, unnamed, while places, on the other hand, are the meaningful spaces (2004, 7). Places are the spaces where people feel a sense of belonging. Cresswell ropes the notion of place as a meaningful locality with John Agnew's description of the three coordinates of place, which have both subjective and objective aspects. The objective coordinates refer to a particular place, geographical location on a map, while subjective coordinates suggest an individual's belonging and emotional attachment to a particular named area. Similarly, the notion of 'locale' indicates a place, physical setting, and shape of the place (Cresswell, 2004, 7).

Employing theorizations concerning space and place, in the same effort, Edward C. Relph maintains that spaces are abstract and do not have any physical substance. Analyzing the concept of place involves location (which is described as internal and external characteristics, i.e, site and situation), a combination of elements of nature, environment, and culture. Each place comprises its own array, meaning it is a unique entity, interrelated through a system of spatial connections, localized as a part of a bigger area, rising and falling, with the addition of new things in a regular interval of time and meaning described by the beliefs of man (Relph, 1976, 3). A place is a hub of acts and intentions; it is "A hub where significant actions and events of our subsistence are experienced. In the context of certain events and actions, they are important only in the context of a certain place and are shaped and influenced by the characters of those places (Relph, 1976, 42). Places are differentiated because they involve meditation on our intentions, our behaviors, purposes, and lived experiences. The meaning of place may be entrenched in physical setting or in the geography, and objects and activities, which are also the properties of human intentions and experiences, as "an individual is not distinct from his place; he is that place" (Relph, 1976, 43)

Existential or lived space is the inner constitution of space as it comes into sight to us in our concrete worldly experiences and is being remade and created by human actions constantly. It is the place where human intentions are inscribed on earth (Relph, 1976, 12). Hence, it is both experienced and lived unselfconsciously, that is, without deliberate reflection or prearranged plan.  For instance, our identity is founded on our Home, which is a dwelling place of being as an individual. Home is not simply the house that you are living in. It is not something that can be here or there that can be switched, but a center of importance that cannot be replaced (Relph, 1976, 39). Phenomenologically, anyone who inspects the world around him is a geographer, whose geography comprises direct experiences, memory, fantasy, present circumstances, and future purposes (Relph, 1976, 4). Thus, it is a mirror of man reflected and revealing human nature, and seeking order and experiences that we have of the world.

Cresswell defines the notion of space and place in terms of normative geography and claims that space and place are used to structure or construct a normative landscape (Cresswell, 1996, 8). He develops the notion of normative geography using the 'Sense of proper". This sense of propriety relates to the expectations of actions and behaviors concerning a specific place and space. The notion of normative geography is dictated by certain rules and power. The power and set of rules decide the appropriateness and inappropriateness of actions regarding a specific place and space. Cresswell argues that an action can be good or appropriate in one normative geography and the same action may be bad or inappropriate in another normative geography (Cresswell, 1996, 5). The appropriateness and inappropriateness of behavior are decided by those who hold powerful positions in a particular setup (Cresswell, 1996, 5). In this sense, the constituted behavior or action that deviates from established normative geography is considered as out-of-place action (Cresswell, 1996, 7). In other words, out-of-place actions are considered inappropriate. The notion of out-of-place action creates a link among places, people, actions, and behavior within a particular geography (Cresswell, 1996, 8).

Authenticity of place to Relph is what is genuine, unmodified, unadulterated, without pretense and hypocrisy, and honest to itself. Place spaces an individual in a manner that discloses the peripheral connection of his existence and the depth of his freedom and reality (Relph, 1976, 1). Inauthentic attitude towards a place highlights fundamentally no prudence of place to involve, unconsciousness of the profound and emblematic importance of the places, and no positive reception of their identities. In an authentic experience, home is a fundamental dot of existence and identity as you look out at the rest of the world through its lens. Authentic attitude is an undeviating and genuine experience of the whole multifaceted identity of places, not contemplated and vague through a chain of relatively subjective and logical fashions about how that experience must be, nor pursuing typecast conventions (Relph,1976, 64). Hence, authentically created places are places that have internal harmony and that fit their context.

According to Relph, a person's identification with a location will grow more deeply the more deeply they experience it (Seamon and Sowers, n.d, 44). However, a person might also feel apart from or alienated from their surroundings. Relph explores seven (there are undoubtedly more) insider and outsider modes of being that are based on different degrees of experience, participation, and significance in his book. These modes are valuable because they apply to specific location experiences while providing a conceptual framework for understanding those experiences in more expansive, explicit terms.

The identity of places gives rise to the notion of existential insideness and existential outsideness. A place must have a geography or physical being. That is, the physicality is either natural or manmade, which can affect positive and negative experiences for an individual, depending on their mood. Second, Activities also make our experience of a place. Like offices are made for work and mosques for offering prayers. Experience of these different places can be positive or negative, depending on who resides or works there. Third, Meaning is the third aspect that makes the experience of a place. Meaning to a place is given by objects, actions, and physical existence. Every place has its own meaning for its dwellers. If all the above geography/physicality, activities, and meaning are in synchronization for any experience of an individual, then it's termed as Existential Insideness, and if they aren't, then it is termed as Existential Outsideness. Utilizing the theoretical concepts of existential insideness and existential outsideness presented by Edwards C. Relph in Place and Placelessness (1976), the study aims to identify how these changes subject the protagonists to the feeling of existential insideness, characterized by a sense of belonging and comfort, versus existential outsideness, marked by alienation and disconnection. An individual has an implicit knowledge of belonging, usually experienced as 'being at home' in places such as their hometown, where an individual receives social recognition. Contrarily, a person who does not identify with any place is in fact "homeless or without roots" (55). Existential outsideness is the rejection of an individual by a place. This rift results in creating a chasm between the individual and the place, making the person unable to participate in the activities of the place. "It involves", Relph asserts, "existential outsideness is characterized by self-conscious and reflective un-involvement, alienation of place and people, homelessness, unreality of the world, non-belonging". As a consequence, the place loses its deeper meaning and becomes merely a superficial association. The sense of place which seems strongest to Relph is the sense where a person is in a situation of profound, unself-conscious, complete identity, engagement, a strong sense of belongingness with the place, and the feeling of being at home in their own society and state. In contrary to this what he calls Existential Outsideness signifies a sense of incongruity and isolation, self cognizant and weighty un involvement, un belongingness and a sense of unreality of the world for instance novices to a place or the people who, have been away from their birth place, as they feel strange because the place is no longer same as it has different physical setting, activities and meaning.

The research delves into the cinematic portrayal of Raj and Pooja's lived Experiences in Ravi Chopra's Baghban in the wake of a geographical and demographic shift, which highlights the universal feeling of being an outsider when encountering a new place. Edward Casey, 2013. Relph's theory provides the theoretical lens, and textual analysis serves as the methodology to highlight the core lived experiences of the protagonists. The study aims to investigate and analyze explicit scenes and dialogues highlighting individual lived/Existential experiences and connections related to that place. Anticipated outcomes will illuminate Raj and Pooja's response to the place's transformation, revealing whether it results in a continued sense of belonging or triggers a feeling of detachment. The study signifies how people interact with and perceive their surroundings, as it sheds light on human experiences, feelings, and actions, fostering a sense of place.

Director Mr. Ravi Chopra's movie captured a retired father, living in a beautiful house, a bungalow, a caring landlord, a company of good friends, and most importantly, walking into the sunset of their lives holding hands. Being the Baghban who grows a sprout and watches it grow until it sprouts as a tree, hoping that he would be in a position to enjoy its shade as he grows old, Raj and Pooja have brought up their sons with a lot of care.  Raj also adopted and brought up a boy who was an orphan like his own sons. The entire world of Raj and Pooja goes topsy-turvy when he retires from his office. Following his departure, none of his own sons are geared up to support their parents in his old age. Subsequently, their children decided to split from their parents. They separated reluctantly because of the selfish attitude of their loved ones. Raj and Pooja confronted a lot of problems at their son's home as they were very impolite and rude and did not show them respect, however, they cared about their lives. Feeling sad at his son's house, Raj gets friendly with Hemant, who owns a coffee shop, where he spends most of his time writing a family-oriented novel on a typewriter. The couple often cries, missing each other, and wishes to go back to their bungalow. After six months, Raj and Pooja planned to meet at a common place, that is, the railway station, while shifting to their other two sons' houses. Coincidentally, Raj and Pooja met their adopted son. After staying one night with their adopted son, they decided to leave for the bangalow. After arriving, their joy and happiness had no end. In the meantime, the Raj finds out that his novel, which he was writing at the coffee shop, has been published and has become a bestseller. Their children came back with the intention to get their money and asked for forgiveness. The parents didn't forgive them and turned their backs on them. In the end, the couple lives happily in their ancestral home with their adopted son, who adored his step-parents like gods.

Statement of the Problem

In Baghban Home is something that can be anywhere, that can be swapped, but an irreplaceable core of meaning and significance whose geography comprises direct experiences, reminiscence, fancy, present situations, and future purposes; thus it mirrors a man reflected and enlightening human nature, in quest of order and experiences of the world. This study explores the heartrending scenes and dialogues from Baghban to investigate the experiences of the protagonists in place’s transformation that triggers Existential insideness and Existential Outsideness, the evolution of experiences of Spatial Existential Insideness and Spatial Existential Outsideness and how it tunes with physical setting, situations and events(geographical, demographic shift) and creates meaning from the lived experiences under theoretical underpinnings of Edward C. Relph.

Research Questions

This paper seeks to address the following research questions:

• How Protagonists’ lived experiences trigger Existential Insideness and Existential Outsideness, in the wake of geographical and demographic shift or place’s transformation in Chopra’s film Baghban.
• How does Raj and Pooja’s experience of Spatial Existential Insideness in their home turn into Spatial Existential Outsideness in their children's house in the Chopra's film Baghban?

Research Objectives

This paper aims to achieve the following objectives

• To analyze the substantive scenes and dialogues from Baghban to investigate the experiences of Raj and Pooja that trigger Existential Insideness and Existential Outsideness in the wake of geographical and demographic shifts or the place's transformation.
• To analyze the specific scenes and dialogues from Baghban to examine the evolution of the protagonist's initial experience of Spatial Existential Insideness to experience of Spatial Existential Outsideness in their children’s house.

Significance of the Study

A person is not divergent from his place; he is that place. Examining how people interact with and perceive their surroundings sheds light on human experiences, feelings, and actions, which intrigues researchers and prompts exploration into the intricate dynamics between individuals and their surroundings. Hence, the study holds significance to explain Raj and Pooja's spatial experiences, which are deeply connected with lived experiences in a certain normative geography, by employing multiple theoretical formulations in association with human existential experiences, geographies, and film studies.

Delimitation

The research is delimited to the Specific scenes and dialogues of Raj and Pooja highlighting a sense of strangeness and alienation, self conscious and reflective un involvement, un belongingness, a sense of unreality of the world and sense of place experience where a person is in a situation of deep, unself-conscious, complete identity, engagement and strong sense of belongingness with the place and the feeling of being at home in their own community.

Research Methodology

The present study is a qualitative research comprising an anthology of logical and colloquial perceptions that purely rests on my insights. Textual analysis has been carried out to highlight the lived existential experiences and their interconnection with the particular places, situations, events, and the created meaning in Ravi Chopra's Baghban. It is a process to gather information about other humans about how other people formulate wisdom from the world. Concerning probable elucidations, the text has been analyzed for intellectual deductions. Concerning the matter of acquiring logic of the conduct, the Text has been interpreted in a particular time and culture so that human beings create good judgment and verdicts about the world around them. A text is basically something that we derive meaning from. There is a difference in the value of making sense, and that is because of the differences in value judgments, in the existence of abstract things and concrete things, seeing things, and reason and thinking. Interpreting other cultures and making sense of the world through Realistic perception, you basically intend for a "single text" which represents "reality" most precisely through your own lenses and review other texts according to this. Qualitative research provides a deeper understanding and exploration of the real global issues and problems. Qualitative research makes you generate hypotheses, and you are able to further investigate and collect the views, behaviors, and experiences of people. It addresses how and why in the text rather than how many and how much. Furthermore, textual analysis introduces the readers to some fundamental requisites, principles, and functions of qualitative research. This research uses the technique of textual analysis designed by Catherine Belsey, who says textual analysis is a method of uncovering the actual meaning of a text.

Literature Review

Singh and Pandey, in their article Framing Disability in Contemporary Bollywood Cinema, argue that one of the most effective media for influencing an audience is film. Since Bollywood produces the most films in Indian cinema, and India is the world's largest producer of feature films, any problem portrayed in a Bollywood movie is highly notable. Because it influences how people see, conceptualize, and stereotype physically challenged people in real life, it is crucial to study the narratives of disability in films. The medical paradigm, which sees impairment as a functional constraint, is the foundation of the prevalent perspective on disability. However, the social model emphasizes the inclusion and acceptance of people with disabilities in society and offers a contemporary alternative. This study aims to examine how physically challenged individuals are portrayed and told in current Bollywood films. According to earlier research for this study, Indian films have portrayed individuals with disabilities in a way that is contemptuous, sarcastic, dependent, and mocking. However, the representation of disabled characters in films seems to have changed since the year 2000 (Pandey & Singh, 2021, 52). According to the study's findings, disabled characters are rarely portrayed as self-reliant, driven, ambitious, successful, and hardworking professionals. The disabled aren't even depicted as being socially active or working in most movies. They are typically shown as struggling with their impairment and relying on their relatives. Even while the filmmakers show a great deal of empathy for individuals with disabilities, they end up leaving the audience feeling afraid and sorry for people with disabilities, which should never happen to anyone (Pandey  Singh, 2021, 60).

Exploring female archetypes in the films, Seema Saujani, 2014, in her research paper An Exploration of the Female Form as it Appears in Indian Popular Cinema, examines how Bollywood films depict female archetypes through culture-specific conventions of eroticism. Based on social, religious, and cinematic traditions, the study examines how female characters in Bollywood's song and dance sequences perform erotic and sacred roles. The main contention centers on the feminine form's dual nature as sexual and sacred. Given that modesty is interpreted as sexiness in Indian cinema, the article argues that the "female form nude is less exciting than veiled." Bollywood avoids cultural sensitivities by showcasing the female figure with the help of traditional clothes, damp saris, and veils. The study maintains that Bollywood frequently depicts women in ways that conform to traditional roles. Hindu mythology is the source of these archetypes, which support social norms around women. Examples include the submissive daughter and the protective mother. Bollywood used religious imagery to depict women as both objects of desire and symbols of virtue, as seen by examples from movies such as Mother India. The study, "Negotiating Tradition and Modernity," makes the argument that Bollywood uses the song and dance sequence as a means of resolving the conflicts between tradition and modernity. Bollywood still engages women in culturally defined standards of erotic exhibition while limiting them to certain tropes.

Syed and Tarioq (2017) explained how gender and leadership in India are characterized as being paradoxical and dynamic by critically reviewing the Indian film Mardaani. The article provides a critical evaluation of an Indian movie and connects the findings to the country's leadership and gender dynamics. The data shows that women have the capability of exhibiting worthy leadership and emphasizes that being a leader, or "mannish," at work does not absolve women of familial and compassionate responsibilities at home. In actuality, Indian women leaders still struggle to strike a balance between their personal and professional responsibilities. The review demonstrates how, in the Indian context, masculine leadership stereotypes are both upheld and challenged, and how, in spite of all the challenges, women's roles in organizations are marked by change and dynamism. The article provides a critical analysis and places this assessment within the larger framework of gender, leadership, and employment in India. Overall, the movie demonstrates that women can possess exceptional leadership abilities despite negative gender preconceptions. Nonetheless, being a female leader at work does not absolve them of household and caregiving responsibilities. However, the Paradox of Leadership and Gender in India makes the argument that men and women should be treated equally in the workplace, free from prejudice and unfavorable stereotypes. Therefore, rather than stigmatizing and discriminating against women, the movie encourages regular people to value them and raise their social standing.

Focusing on the themes of Subalternity and marginalization, Raj et al., in their paper Dissent and Displacement of Subalternity in Malayalam Cinema: A Cultural Analysis of Papilio Buddha, examine how Jayan K. Cherian's film Papilio Buddha addresses the depiction of the Dalit society in Indian cinema, particularly focusing on the themes of subalternity and marginalization in Kerala. The study emphasizes how Dalit characters have frequently been marginalized in Indian cinema, particularly Malayalam films, and reduced to clichéd parts like unskilled workers or merely supporting characters for affluent heroes. These positions hinder Dalits from effectively expressing their identities and perpetuate caste-based oppression. According to the study, Papilio Buddha defies this custom by emphasizing the Dalits' quest for land rights in Kerala and illustrating their struggle for identity and dignity. The film offers a nuanced depiction of Dalit consciousness and activity by exploring actual events such as the Chengara and Muthanga land fights. The writers highlight how Papilio Buddha depicts Dalits as "othered" even within their own country, drawing comparisons between the diaspora's experience and the alienation of the Dalits in their homeland. The Dalit community is portrayed in the movie as striving for acceptability and acknowledgment in Indian society at large, in addition to seeking land. The essay also explores the dual oppression Dalit women experience as a result of their gender and caste, as exemplified by Manjusree in the movie. Despite experiencing severe assault, Manjusree's portrayal reflects the harsh reality of oppression based on caste and exemplifies the agency and tenacity of Dalit women. Within the context of cultural studies, the writers examine how Papilio Buddha subverts caste hierarchies and prevalent cultural clichés. Acts of rebellion against the established Brahmanical order include the burning of Gandhi's image and the use of symbols like the butterfly (Papilio Buddha).

Highlighting the notions of female archetypes, Subalternity, marginalization, Disability, and gender, the aforementioned critics have scratched these areas. However examining existential lived experiences of the characters, This study endeavors to project the Ravi Chopra Film Baghban through the lens of Relph and Creswell theoretical formulation of space and place, existential insideness and outsideness, authenticity and normative geography to highlight the cinematic portrayal of Raj and Poja Lived Experiences in the Ravi Chopra’s Baghban in the wake of geographical and demographic shift.

Analysis:

Snaring Existential Experiences

The film opens with scenes of familial harmony and celebration as Raj and Pooja Malhotra mark their anniversary surrounded by their children and grandchildren. The warmth and intimacy of these moments underscore the deep sense of insideness within the family, with Raj and Pooja serving as the anchors of familial unity and love. Raj and Pooja share a deep emotional bond that serves as a source of strength and solace. According to Relph, a person's identification with a location will grow more deeply the more deeply they experience it (Seamon and Sowers, n.d, 44). Scenes and the physical setting depicting their intimate moments together, their unwavering support for each other, and their shared dreams and aspirations in that bungalow highlight existential insideness in that particular place. Existential insideness is experienced when Raj says to the landlord, "destroying relations? With you and this house? This is the house where I brought my wife, this is where my children were brought up, will I break the relationship with it? No way, I have very fond memories with you and this house. How can I sever ties with them? (Chopra, 2003, 1:03:53) The Geography, that is the physical setting, has given Raj his identity of being the head of the family and a respectable person among his friends and neighbors. At dinner, being the head of the family, the first chair is always left for him to sit in. Morning walk and upon his return, the waiting of his wife also contributes to the insideness they feel in this physical setting, as Relph believes that the Identity of an individual in relation to that place will be stronger if the person undergoes insideness. It's the home full of emotions, as whenever Raj arrives home, Pooja says Whether you ring the bell or not, your footsteps ring a bell in my heart (Chopra, 2003, 0:9:04). Similarly, when I return, so that I can see your smiling face (Chopra, 2003, 0:5:40), here he expresses his deep insight in his ancestral house with his wife Pooja. It's a place where they share happiness in living together. As we see the actions like Holi, Party of the anniversary, and other gatherings contributes to the give a positive meaning which highlights their existential insideness as Relph believes that meaning to a place is given by objects, actions and physical existence but then their family's idyllic facade begins to crumble as their children decided to split them into two from here the actions of deep sorrow separation and alienations begins as

Who has lit the fire of sorrow?

My fields are rendered wastelands.

From a thriving garden of life rises a sandstorm (Chopra, 2003, 1:02:15)

Relph asserts that "existential outsideness involves self-conscious and reflective un-involvement, an alienation from place and people, homelessness, a sense of unreality of the world, and of not belonging. In Baghban, the couple faces financial difficulties; their children, influenced by their spouses' selfish desires, treat them with neglect and disrespect, making Raj and Pooja feel like burdens rather than valued members of the family, leaving behind love, friendship, and loyalty. The moment they enter their son's house, they feel the air of existential outsideness as Raj takes his own luggage upstairs. Similarly, Sanjay's wife's intention of bringing Raj has been revealed to him as she says, when we go there, we will be told that Sanju's father has retired. He neither has a place to stay nor any money, so what could he do? i had to bring him along” (Chopra, 2003, 1:07:31) further more when Raj was asked to leave the chair of the head on the dining table he felt existential outsideness because he lost his identity here as a head of the family and now Sanjay is the head of the family as in their own house he remained the head and he felt alienated when he was not listened to use telephone and he went out to call from a telephone booth which epitomizes the ultimate betrayal and the harsh reality of outsideness within their own family. Similarly, when Pooja entered Karan's house, she felt existential outsideness as no one wanted to share their room with her, even their maid servant. All these activities, the geography as they had no separate rooms for them, hence they get the meaning of alienation, sorrow, and heartbreak, which triggered existential outsideness. The two most beloved who can't live without each other at once are no longer with each other at their son's place. Raj and Pooja felt existential outsideness while talking on their first telephone call after their separation.

I am here, you are there.

What has life come to?

I get no sleep, I miss you

I can’t live without you anymore

It’s as if time has come to a standstill

There is gloom everywhere

My loneliness has the state...

where I am lonely, thirsting in my soul

Days and nights go by

A lonely life doesn’t go by

I can’t say a word even if I wish to

How do I express my sorrow? (Chopra, 2003, 1:12:24)

Pooja also felt existential outsideness because whenever Raj came home, she would be there to receive him in their bungalow. There was a place where they were together, but now the tables have turned; here she felt outsideness as she expressed

Whenever I hear footsteps

I feel as if you have arrived

Those were the days when we were always together

And there is so much distance between us

I am here, you are there

What has life come to? (Chopra, 2003, 1:15:25)

Poja was ignored to the extent that her own son tells him not to interfere in their matters as she is just a guest in this place, nothing else. Existential outsideness triggered as her identity was compromised. Here, identity has now been changed from a first lady of the family to a guest...As Ajay says, you are here as a guest for a few days, so behave like a guest (Chopra, 2003, 1:25:09). As a mother, Poja believed as if it were their house because he was their son, but her hopes were shattered at hearing his own son. Then she says I came here, I thought and considered it as my house, but you turned your mother into a guest (Chopra, 2003, 1:25:17). The feelings and lived experiences at their own house were turned off at their son's house, which Pooja misses thoroughly. Poja writes in a letter to Raj as Separated from you, I feel so incomplete. Neither is it the same at 7:00 am in the morning anymore, nor is it the 5:30 of the olden times (Chopra, 2003, 1:29:49). All these created meanings in a particular place triggered existential outsidness in that place.

In the world of existential Outsideness at his son’s place Raj met a friend Hemant who has Archies Gallery a Music Cafe where he would sit and started writing with typewriter, brought the feeling of some sort of existential insideness as after a long time he saw some respect, care and love from someone which he once experienced in his own house. As he started writing on a typewriter, which he was not allowed to use at home because his son was getting disturbed. So it was the Cafe where he penned down his feelings and emotions for his beloved and experiences of life. It was the café, a geography where he felt a sense of belongingness, as Raj writes to Pooja.

The husband and wife run a cafe, and I spend all day with them, but when it's time to go home, my feet refuse to move, and my heart just doesn't feel like going there. After all, a home is where the heart is (Chopra, 2003, 1:40:58).

Whereas Sanjay's house was a place where he felt existential outsideness, as he also thought

I think of the Past

Whenever I am alone

Silence speaks to me

I cry away from prying eyes

It’s been ages since I have smiled

Tears are now part of me (Chopra, 2003, 1:33:18)

Towards the end of the Movie, Raj and Pooja also felt existential insideness at their adopted son's house, Alok, who respects and loves his step parents more than anything, as Raj says to Alok when he was convincing him to stay, I too wish to stay with a son who takes his father to be his God (Chopra, 2003, 2:25:02). Then they left for their ancestral home of existential insideness where they weaved their dreams that were once shattered as Raj said, “We are at home at last” (Chopra, 2003, 2:28:46).

Baghban is a garden. To Raj and Pooja, this garden was a place where they felt Existential insideness that is their own Home, as Relph also believes that Home is not simply the house that you are living in. It is not something that can be here or there that can be switched, but a center of importance that cannot be replaced (Relph, 1976, 39). Furthermore, Cresswell also argues that Places are the spaces where people feel a sense of belonging. This Garden was a hub of acts and intentions where meaningful events of our existence are experienced. This Garden was an Authentic place because it had genuine experiences, unmodified, unaltered, without hypocrisy, because Authenticity of place, to Relph, is what is genuine, unmodified, unadulterated, without pretense and hypocrisy, and honest to itself (Relph, 1976, 1) The Garden then starts getting barren, a place is becoming a space with no sense of place involved, unconsciousness of the profound and emblematic importance of the places, and no positive reception of their identities. The fundamental dot of existence and identity has vanished. As a consequence, the place loses its deeper meaning and becomes merely a superficial association for their growing children. Relph also argues that Existential Outsideness signifies a sense of incongruity and isolation, self cognizant and weighty un involvement, un belongingness and a sense of unreality of the world for instance novices to a place or the people far away from their place of birth, as they feel strange because the place didn't remain the same anymore as it has different physical setting, activities and meaning. Their Children's houses signified this barren garden where they felt Existential outsiders. The Physical setting is changed, Activities are changed as Raj and Pooja are separated, missing each other and the Meaning is also changed which brought me to a point that is; if geography/physicality, activities and meaning are in synchronization for any experience of an individual then it’s termed as Existential Insideness and if they aren’t then it is termed as Existential Outsideness.

Conclusion

In Baghban, the Malhotra family's journey encapsulates the existential insideness and outsideness. Through a series of poignant scenes and dialogues, the film illuminated the profound impact of betrayal, abandonment, and separation during the shift from one place to the other, where the physical setting, actions, objects and lived experiences to create meaning made them feel existential insideness and outsideness on Raj and Pooja Malhotra's sense of identity and belonging. Through the lens of Relph's conceptual framework, Baghban has offered a critical exploration of the human lived experience, reminding us of the enduring power of love, resilience, and the pursuit of belonging amidst life's trials and tribulations, betrayal, un belongingness both positive and negative feelings out of the physical setting or geography which defines existential insideness and outsidness in that place. The protagonists of the movie experienced existential insideness, outsideness, and out of placeness and placeness because of the varying physical setting, loving and harsh familial relationships, objects that contribute to the meaning, uninvolvement, and alienation, and created meaning from the lived experiences.

References

• Casey, E. (2013). The fate of place: A philosophical history. Univ of California Press.

• Chopra, R. (Director). (2003). Baghban [Film]. B. R Films. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baghban_(2003_film)

• Cresswell, T. J. (1992). In place/out of place: Geography, ideology and transgression. The University of Wisconsin-Madison. http://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/2281/1/51.pdf.pdf

• Relph, E. C. (1976). Place and placelessness. Sage Publications.

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• Seamon, D., & Sopher, D. (n.d.). Place and Placelessness, Edward Relph. In P. Hubbard, R. Kitchin, & G. Valentine (Eds.), Key texts in human geography (pp. 43–51).

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