Antardwand - Dialogue within

फिल्म मेकर हूँ, फिल्मों का निर्माता

फिल्मों से जीवन दर्शाता

कॉलेज में प्यार करे, उन जोड़ो को मिलवाता

कभी माँ मरी हो किसी की, उस बेटे को इंसाफ़ दिलाता

हर इंसान के अंदर का, देखो मैं हीरो दिखाता,

तू सपनो में रहने वाले, जीवन सच से क्या हैं नाता

वो खा रहे पैसे सारे, भूका नंगा यहाँ बिलबिलता

हो रहे यहा क़त्ल-ए-आम, तू विदेश में गाने गाता

चुप बैठ कर देख रहा तू, तेरे बाप का क्या हैं जाता,

हैं दम फ़िल्मो से जगा जोश, शिव टांडव हो, दुर्गा हो चंडी,

वरना झूठ बोल रहा तू पाखंडी, इस रंगमंच का तू शिकंडी

A little bit of Zen, a little bit of sin

Again, blast from the past...few thoughts on Asoka (2001). This was written in November, 2001. The title comes from the quote used by Santosh Sivan, director of Asoka.

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Much has been said about asoka. Its been panned to glory. The movie most of us love to hate. I too have my 2 cents on this movie.

Asoka, the movie is an experience. Its been bad for many and some of us have enjoyed it. I fall in the later category. I agree with the makers that Asoka the movie is "a little bit of zen and a little bit of sin". India knows who was Ashoka, the emperor. He was the brightest star in indian history. Asoka, the movie does not give a damn about the obvious instead it dwelves into asoka,the man. The man before destiny made him ashoka, the great. Here lies the greatness and the pitfall of the movie. It tries to understand the psyche of the neglected son of Bindusara who adores his mother. Who wants that his mother gets her due as the wife of bindusara and not his dasi. (watch for Asoka's expression when the king does not reward him after his triumph of Takshila)

One of the key scene is when a Buddhist monk tells Asoka that his destiny transcends that of an emperor. His destiny is that of a traveller when he completes his journey. Here is the soul of the movie. It tries to follow the journey of Asoka who does not know where he is heading. And if you dont know where are you heading, no direction is wrong.

What made Asoka transform into how we now him is the crux of the movie. He lost the love of his mother and the girl he loved (this is where folk stories come into picture). How many of us when we lose the things we love react, we become cynical and either we become depressed or we become angry. Asoka was a warrior,he chose to become angry. He became avenging and scheming king who did not fear death. (Another thing that i like were the dialogues instead of monologues, they were short, sweet and simple). Killing his brothers he says "Can i be allowed to be the king now?", a touch of sarcasm, a macabre humor.

The highlight of the movie is the post-war scene when Asoka is looking for Kaurwaki, its a magic scene. Its twilight and sun and the moon and the stars shining, as if nature is looking forward to the history that is being created. Asoka sees the death, the gory, the sadness and he sees Love, he sees Kaurwaki and dead Arya. Life comes full circle, the journey is completed. Asoka is a changed man. Movie ends, History begins.

! Swan Song

As the Blog name suggest, it was indeed a lazy period of almost 9 months. Call it gestation period or whatever floats your boat.

So I kick-start the another season of blogging with my 1-min Short made for PasssionForCinema.com 1-min Film Festival.

The name is Swan Song though this post is definitely not that post.

Do let me know your views.

My first post at PFC

Yipee! I got my first post at PassionForCinema published. Its such a great high.
You can read it at
http://passionforcinema.com/heartbreaking-account-of-the-journey-of-lifetime/

I recommend that you read it at PFC. There are many better posts than this one. You won't be disappointed. But again, I am reproducing over here with some minor changes (I am embedding the video instead of giving the  link)

Thanks,

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Heartbreaking account of the journey of lifetime

This post was long due. Seriously. I had been on a trip. Without Ecstasy or LSD.  Before you start thinking of directing me to some Anonymous group, allow me to explain what I have been upto.

Or lets do it my way. Flash back to December 2008. On a tiny corner of the last page of Ahmedabad Times I see this Ad. It begged to stay inconspicuous (that's the only grudge I have  with the Ad). Luck by Chance, my Lady Luck aka my Taani parnter aka my lovely wife Tina (There Is No Alternative..well thats a story for some other time :-)) saw it. So did I eventually. I was excited. Now, this Ad was not like those that had some Fraanship Clubs which are out to fleece imbecile guys on testosterone overdose. Hook(er), Line and Single and ultimately Sinker. This was different. 

I called up the number they had provided, asked for the details, gave mine in return. The voice on the other side promised me to reply on the mail-ji. Pleased with the response, I waited. Never before I would refresh Mail-G client so frequently. Don't know that pissed off Google or what, I got no reply that day. The night was long (duh, it was winter) which did not matter as I slept peacefully. 

The next morning, Bhor bhai, Panchi Jaage aur Jaag Utha Insaan. I called the number again just to confirm whether they had got my right email ID or some body else was benefitting on my behalf. My doubts were unfounded as the details were right there on top of my mail box. It co-incided with my state of my mind. I was on top. Top of the world, you sneaky perverts. Get out. Now came the part which had to come. Should I take the pluncge or should I not. No rose petals nipped, no coins to be tossed. It was a simple problem of analyzing the probability using the Gausian curve and then eliminating the choice which I never wanted to take at first place.  The answer was right there. Its the question that drives us crazy, my friend Neo would feel. In neo-Bodhi Gaya enlightening moment, I said: Yes, I can. 

With the details in my hand, I felt like a man. Baba, with other stuff also I have felt like a man. But this one is for family reading so no Dada Kondke baazi here. I met him and paid the amount. The man was portly but had tons of energy. We got talking till the next prospective and petite young thing came by. I took leave and also some gyaan on that day.

The D-day came. January 20th,2009. I was waiting for PYT. She never showed up. I felt like I was dumped. I called my wife. She promised to stick around with me still. That was close. Luckily, that man did show up. That man, He is Mr Pankaj Roy. He was meant to be our course co-ordinator. Yes, Mere dost, I had joined a course on film-making. Courtesy Institute of Moving Images. The course was short-term also suitable for people who were like in Ghajini mode lest they forget why they were here. 

Day 1 was introduction also it was the day of introspection. Why am I here? I was asked so were others. It was not meant to question whether we made a mistake being there or regret shelling out nine grand. It was meant to know what your true calling was. Like my friend Neo said, Its the question that drives us crazy. I mumbled some words. Words that I felt and meant. 

What followed in this journey for the next 11 days (spread across 6 weeks) was nothing short of magical. ThodaPyaar, Thoda Magic. Love fostered at home. Magic and learning happened in class rooms. The classes began at 5:30 in the evening and lasted till almost midnight, way beyond their end time of 9 PM. One madness survived the other. Marriage and Movie making. We talked, discussed, ranted about ideas and concepts and plots and scripts. There was training on know-how about the Camera and angles, image size. Hands-on experience with camera. We learnt about scripts, different stages of script writing. About direction and production, about planning and editing and then some.  

But I learnt something way beyond that. I learnt discipline, I discovered myself. I learned that hamari filmo ki tarah hamari life mein bhi dukaandaari nahi honi chahiye. You have to have passion in life. Passionate about movies. Passionate about everything you do. You have to give unconditionally to a movie, to life and then let magic take over. Jaadu wahi jo sir chhad kar bole.

Pankaj Sir, hats off to you Dada, you changed so many lives. you took classes for 7 hours continuously without getting tired or showing any signs of exhaustion. He enthralled us, entertained us and yes, we learnt along the way. Learning was never so much fun.

I made few movies during the course and in the course of making another one. Will leave you one of my short that I made as part of the course work. The assignment was to make a 3-minute observational movie which depicts an activity from start to end. I talk to a street side painter and took lot of convincing for him to star and paint a sketch on camera.

By the way, there was nothing like heart breaking actually. Or there was. When the classes ended. The journey came to an end. For me, it just had begun.

AIFF 2009 Promo Video

More dope on AIFF 2009.

Ajitpal Singh has made a stunning video for the promo.

YouTube wallah can watch it over here.

Or you can watch it below (Courtesy: Vimeo)

Ahmedabad International Film Festival Official Promo from Ajitpal Singh on Vimeo.

AIFF 2009

Ahmedabad is famous for few things. Textile mills, in an era lost. Stock brokers and traders in this era. Also, famous for its typical Amdavadi mentality :-)

Time has come to add, to borrow a cliche, an another feather in its Topi. The Ahmedabad International Film Festival 2009. I went and met the organizers (Shiladitya - the main guy and Ajit heading Programming) and they are gung-ho about it. This is what the organizer have to say.

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http://www.aifilmfest.com

We’re pleased to announce to you the Ahmedabad International Film Festival presented by FulMarxx Integrated Filmed Entertainment Company based in Ahmedabad. 

Aimed at providing a platform to showcase the works of upcoming filmmakers from India and across the world, we started as an exclusive short films festival and are now venturing into an international film festival in Ahmedabad.

We are ambitious about our foray into cinema and have worked dedicatedly for the past two years to tab the market for short films and in return find an audience for new filmmakers. We aim at making this festival an annual feature in Ahmedabad on the lines of the festivals held in various cities world over. We can’t achieve this feat without the encouragement and support of institutes and individuals like you.

The major attractions include:

- Best of World Cinema | in association with NDTV Lumiere
- Best of Berlinale | Berlin International Film Festival
- Best of Tampere Film Festival, Finland
- Best of Children’s Films
- Cinema of Gujarat
- Short Films Competitive
- Feature Films Competitive
- We Care HIV+ | in association with AIESEC
- Theatre by Cyrus Dastur and Tom Alter
- Coffee Table Book Launch
- Short Films Bazaar
- Special Golf Sessions for Juries and Guests
- Heritage Walk of Ahmedabad

We are looking at an audience of diverse interests within the gamut of filmmaking- established and upcoming filmmakers, art connoisseurs, artists, film buyers and enthusiasts and the decision makers of the global filmmaking trends, not to forget the paparazzi. However, we do not intend to be blinded by the flash lights. True to our roots, our commitment remains to bring the magic of cinema and storytelling to the daily viewer.

Veer Rasa

After a long time, I get to hear a song with  Veer Rasa in it.

The lyrics are reproduced over here, the song can be heard somewhere on this desert of world wide web. 

Yeah, the movie is Gulaal. 

Aarambh hai prachand,

Bole mastako ke jhund,

Aaj jung ki ghadi ki tum guhar do ( 2 times)

Aan baan shaan ya ki jaan ka ho daan,

Aaj ek dhanush ke baan pe utaar do,

Aarambh hai prachand…

Mann kare so praan de,

Jo mann kare so praan le,

Wahi to ek sarv shaktimaan hai

Krishna ki pukaar hai yeh

Bhagwat ka saar hai,

Ki yudh hi to veer ka pramaan hai,

Kauravo ki bheed ho ya 

Pandavo ka need ho,

Jo lad saka hai wo hi to mahaan hai,

Jeet ki hawas nahi, 

Kisi pe koi vash nahi,

Kya zindagi hai thokaro pe maar do,

Maut anth hai nahi to 

Maut se bhi kyu dare?

Yeh jaake aasmaan mein dahaad do,

Aarambh hai prachand,

Bole mastako ke jhund,

Aaj jung ki ghadi ki tum guhar do

Aan baan shaan ya ki jaan ka ho daan,

Aaj ek dhanush ke baan pe utaar do,

Aarambh hai prachand…

Ho daya ka bhaav  ya ki shaurya ka chunaav,

Ya ki haar ka wo ghaav  tum yeh soch lo

Ya ki poore bhaal par jala rahe vijay ka laal,

Laal yeh gulaal, tum yeh soch lo,

Rang kesari ho ya mridang kesari ho ya ki,

Kesari ho laal tum yeh soch lo..

Jis kavi ki kalpana mein 

Zindagi ho prem geet,

Uss kavi ko aaj tum nakaar do,

Bheegti nasso mein aaj, 

phoolti rago mein aaj,

Aaj aag ki lapat ka tum baghaar do,

Aarambh hai prachand,

Bole mastako ke jhund,

Aaj jung ki ghadi ki tum guhar do

Aan baan shaan ya ki jaan ka ho daan,

Aaj ek dhanush ke baarn pe utaar do,

Aarambh hai prachand- ( 3 times)

My Movie List -I

I really wanted to talk about movies that I had liked in past six months or more but never got time. These also include movies that were made ages ago but I never saw them. Most of them merit an individual post. Don't know if that will happen in this lifetime. And you can blame that on hours that I spend watching movies.

Anyways, these are the movies that I would recommend, in no particular order.

1. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi

2. Gone Baby Gone

3. There will be Blood

4. No country for Old men

5. The Constant Gardener

6. Sin City

7. V for Vendetta

8. Freedom Writers

9. Wall.E

10. Ratatouille 

11. Iron Man

12. City of God

13. The Motorcyles Diaries

14. The Inside Man

15. Aamir

16. A Wednesday

17. Haasil

18. Cindrella Man

19. The Dark Knight

20. Get Smart

21. 21

22. Cars

23. Little Miss Sunshine

24. Rock On!

25. Welcome to Sajjanpur !

26. Jaane tu ya Jaane na..

27. Wall Street

28. The Untouchables

29. Heat

30. The Bourne Ultimatum

United in '03

I had written the draft around first week of August, 2008. Thought would add more to it. But don't feel like doing anymore. So I let it be. The only question is whether we will be united in '08 to fight our war?

7th August, 2008

The end credits start rolling. I continue staring at the screen. No one survived the crash on that day. United 93 flight "terminates" on HBO. In the other room, its another world. Mom and Dad share a joke. He chuckles, she laughs. The world is back to normal.

I am thousand of miles away today. That day, I was few hundred miles away.  A sense of grief, triumph, and relief interject each other. I may never know what made the passengers do the inevitable. I may never know how would I respond to such situation.

Carter Coaching Classes

I teach Jholi Gola aka Basket Ball for you Hindi impaired imbeciles. I make you sign contracts (in triplicate, if you are in India). I also make you quote poetry and force you to have a high GPA. For this I get nothing, no Oscar, no award, in my Jholi. Not even Angelina Jolie. Next movie or next life, Amen.

I am Samuel son of Jack and though I am father of one of the players in the movie, thats no feather in my topi. Cos I don't wear any. The birds of same feather flock together in pubs, streets and do drugs. I am here to stop them so that they don't die of bandook ki goli. No Homicide, only suicides. Play gola. Run with Lola. Run you will for I will make you run for the entire running length of the film. Its a moving picture, you idiot.

Because the players are bursting with hormones, I teach them the moves of the game and codeword them after my non-existent sisters. The scum bags, they let run their fantasies wild courting the gola and yell for my sisters during the game. So much for winning. No Sir, its not only about winning. You gotta have a good GPA, remember. All play, no classes and lo, Jack (not my father) is benched till he has good grades. Fair trade, no. This Pappu has to pass his tests before he passes the ball.

Y'all dogs, if you wanna learn from me, you go watch Coach Carter. I bet you if you are disappointed then its 100 suicides for me.

Before I call it quits, I leave you with "Our deepest fear"

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Cinema Paradiso

Trust Ambani to think BIG. After BIG Entertainment, BIG Music, they come up with BIG FLIX. Those who have tasted blood in celluloid with Blockbuster stores know what I am talking about. A DVD/VCD rental service, with an online, phone and SMS feature to order for free pick-up and drop facilities with no due dates. Matra rupaye 299 mein ! I can avail original DVDs rather than pirated ones available at the local DVD store. Whoopee !!!!

"A small step by Ambani, A giant leap for my kind"
I know this was bad. But its way better than Ravi "Lalit Modi is Moses" Shastri. For a movie buff like me this is God sent. For that I will definitely watch Bhakta Prahlada in orignal as my obeisance.

As far as my experience, it has been satisfying apart from a little clunky website. That's nitpicking, I know. If you are residing in any of the cities that has BIG FLIX stores, I strong recommend that you go for it. Its show time, folks.

Chak De! revisited

When you are the brand ambassador for mobile services company as well as company that makes handsets, the benefits are many including a very very long text messaging service feature available to you for free.

And what do you do with it is send a very very long text message.
So that the rest of us can read that very very long text message.

Read SRK's SMS to his Kolkata Knight Riders team after all the controversies and losses.

"Story time boys... I told you if you keep losing you have to bear with my long, boring msgs.... This is your punishment.... Many times I have made movies which don’t do well.... When I’m doing them, of course, I don’t know they won’t do well.... The story is written by somebody else and I just do my bit as an actor. But I have a way of dealing with flop stories..., I try my best to keep my character in the film at a level that it makes a failed story also special for me...."

“I enjoy the work.... I make jokes about the failure.... And, of course, feel awful about it too.... So, right now, all of us have become part of a failed script... A bad IPL script.... Let’s try and keep our characters worthy of still looking back at this story and remembering it as a special story becos we all worked very hard at this....

“So, chin up and don’t spoil yr character in the next two games.... Let’s go out with a bang and not a whimper.... In films, we say u r only as good as yr last film.... So let’s make the whole world know how good we r in the last (maybe not) two games...

“Also, do ignore all this bit about Dada, me and John having issues.... It’s a normal thing in the world.... People like to hit you when u r down.... So, we will be hit.... No stress.... It will make us stronger.... The only way to avoid this is to win.... That’s one of the reasons why everybody likes to be a winner....

“On the other hand, the beauty of failure is that it brings people together.... So, let’s stick this out together.... You know me well enuff to know I am not the kind of owner who has issues with the team ’cos of losses... I am too much of a sport myself to get beaten by defeats.... Like you guys are.... Like Dada and John....

“I am still trying to understand the code of conduct expected of me at the matches of the IPL.... ICC... Etc.... After I understand it, I will decide whether to accept it or not.... Till such time, I will be with you guys at the hotel... in the meetings etc., but won’t come for the matches.... So, please don’t ever feel it is anything to do with us as a team....

“I am as dedicated to my Knights as I am to my kids.... Only, I won’t be coming to the class room till the headmaster’s rules are understood by me.... I am a bit anti-Establishment kind of a guy, so I apologise for this quirk to u all.... So, head’s up.... Have a good match and let’s make 200 runs tomorrow.... This 150 seems to not work any more....

“We have nothing to lose now, except our character.... Let’s not lose that.... Lov... SRK.

Amar Akbar Anthony

Manmohan Desai will be proud of Friday the 21st.
Its Idd, Good Friday and Holi on the same day.

School and college students will be cussing. They lost out on 2 holidays.

Idd Mubarak and Happy Holi !!!!!!!
Amen.

After all these years.....

Finally, The Departed is released in my gaon. May be I will go and watch it sometime next week.

Somebody had the courtesy to remember Scorsese this Oscars. After all these years.
I think something similar will happen with Sachin Tendulkar.
Arre nahi, he won't get the Oscars for Boost ad.
May be, he will get the most coveted cup of all. May be.

Knock ! Knock ! Who is it ?

DON!!!

The wait gets over on 20th October, 2006.

Though one of my favourite dialogues is not in the movie:

"Us diary mein ek dhaadi waale ka bhi naam tha"

Razors are cheap these days.

Finally, I saw .....

KANK.

I found it entertaining but the pop-corn sucked big time.
Wait, did I say other way round. Umm, nope, the statement holds.

If I feel I may write more but if I feel I may not write at all. Such is life.