Chennai Roof Top Film Festival Revival: Heist Night
It was a tricky start.
After the RTFF Google group failed to agree on one genre with a three way split between heist films, noir films and black comedies, it was totally up to the curator to take a call on what he wanted to do for the very first edition of the revival of Roof Top Film Festival, Chennai, a movie marathon series started by Ganesh APP in 2008.
Smartly, Sandeep decided not to announce the genre so that people have to show up to find out. One of the things we had decided during the on ground meeting of RTFF was that the curator should be comfortable with the genre he’s hosting so that he can pick the best films to screen. And Sandeep felt most confident about heist.
I knew what to expect because Sandeep shared his shortlist with me and though we discussed the best options, the final list was going to be decided at the venue based on the questionnaire handed out to every participant on THE night.
So on September 17, the night of the revival edition curated by Sandeep, every camper was given a questionnaire with a list of 16 heist films and asked to tick the ones they had already seen. We had also decided was that we were surely NOT going to screen the obvious choices – films that every movie buff worth his bootlegged DVD had already seen. Reservoir Dogs, Oceans 11, Italian Job, Usual Suspects, Inside Man or Bank Job. What’s the point watching films you’ve already seen with people who had already seen them? Especially, when it’s really difficult to pack more than 4-5 films a night!
Our guess was right – Over 60 per cent had already seen The Usual Suspects and The Italian Job. Only one person had actually seen Bandits. So Sandeep decided to start with the necessary evil – one mainstream Hollywood film for the night.
I reached the venue about five minutes into the film and I was shocked by his choice. “Dude, this is not even a heist film!”
“But it’s about bank robbers, it’s about the Sleepover Bandits,” he said.
Maybe it was a good choice to start off the festival with a film that generates discussion on what is a heist film. A heist film essentially follows a certain structure and comprises of certain elements that define the genre.
“Inception is a heist film,” I told Sandeep.
“No way,” he said.
We didn’t get down to discussing how Inception was a heist film because that would’ve totally taken over the night but I do wish our Roof Top campers were a little more enthusiastic about talking about the films they had just watched. After every film, someone had to ask them what they thought, every single time. Maybe we should have a moderator chosen by the curator who will facilitate discussions if the curator does not want to talk about the films himself.
It’s the conversation that makes RTTF a social event, after all.
Bandits was a buddy movie, a love triangle that was more about stealing your best friend’s girl than the money but thankfully, a decent climax after a long winded detour into the romance portions restored the theme for the night – heist.
It helped that the film brought in laughs at regular intervals and though, at least on paper, NOT the ideal start to revive the RTFF, it turned out to be just fine. Nobody objected because they watched a movie they hadn’t watched before.
It was also the longest movie that night – well over two hours and it was better slotted at the first film than somewhere in the middle being the weakest of the lot Sandeep had with him.
Sandeep wanted to start off with Godard’s Band of Outsiders, the film that’s been described as an anti-heist film, one that inspired Tarantino to call his banner A Band Apart. But due to a technical glitch (the DVD played only on a Mac and not Windows), he decided to play The Score but even that disc decided not to play. And so, Bandits it was. A harmless way to get things started, a buddy film with plenty of feel good & a cheeky ending to save us the blushes.
The big surprise for the night was kept under wraps because it would have been a huge disappointment had our mystery guest been unable to make it for some reason, especially with all the rain. Venkat Prabhu, who directed the superhit Mankatha, one of those rare heist films made in Tamil, had agreed to drop by and talk about his experience. Since he was expected around midnight, we decided to kill some time under the pretext of ordering dinner and playing a short film till it arrived.
We played Shor at 12.20 a.m, the 20-min short directed by Raj & DK that went on to get critical acclaim and also served as a pitch for them to make their feature on the same theme – Shor In The City. When people applaud at the end of the film, you know the fest is doing something right.
The next film for the night was Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing, one of the classic, definitive heist films ever made, one that inspired Quentin Tarantino to make Reservoir Dogs.
Before we could play that, the floor was open to discussing elements of a heist film. And the group seemed to reach a consensus that heist films have four parts – The Players, The Plan, The Execution & The Consequence/Getaway with plenty of scope for twists and turns and surprises.
On this note, we discussed where Mankatha worked despite its deviations into hero-worship and just when we were about to hit Play to get The Killing started, Venkat Prabhu made an entry. Surprise at 1 a.m!
The next one hour was spent discussing how he made his heist film and how it changed considerably with market forces.
Of course, since most of it was off-the-record, on request by the director, we won’t blog about every candid detail he wanted to share with us. The old version of The Italian Job was the starting point for Mankatha. It wasn’t a script originally written for Ajith, it was meant to be a small film with his regular bunch of boys. And the fact that Ajith wanted to play one of the boys was one of the biggest reasons Venkat Prabhu decided to make this a bigger film than planned, especially with the potential and opportunity it presented with one of the biggest stars in showbiz agreeing to play a role that wasn’t typically heroic. But that was also what made it more and more original.
The crowd was hooked. Everyone got to ask him what they wanted and some more over dinner. We watched Kubrick’s The Killing after that and the film ended to more applause with its fantastic ending.
We discussed how the talkie nature of the film meant that every minutest detail was spelt out through voiceover and that this had to be evaluated in the context of evolution of cinema itself.
The next film only highlighted how cinema itself had changed. From black and white to Eastman Colour, from talking to showing as the focus shifted from dialogue to action in The Italian Job, something Sandeep decided to screen though one third of the group had already watched it because Venkat Prabhu had just spoken about that film. Italian Job was not just funny, it also boasted of spectacular action sequences. Turned out to be the perfect choice for the third film as a contrast to The Killing.
When the film is good and people are sleeping, you know it’s not the curator’s fault. More than 60 per cent of the campers had already gone to sleep or left when we decided to play the last film for the night at around 4.45 a.m. Ringo Lam’s City on Fire, another film that inspired Tarantino to make Reservoir Dogs, the film about the undercover cop and a heist gone wrong, with its men in suits shades walking in slow-mos and the bloody Mexican stand-off for a finale.
By the time, we called it a night, it was already about 7 in the morning. A night well spent.
And RTFF got off to a start with a bang, thanks to Sandeep Makam, the curator and Vijayanand, founder of Startup Centre, Alsa Mall, our host for the night.
The next edition of RTFF will happen in October and will be curated by Vijay Venkataramanan, who used to programme for the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles. Vijay is a professional film editor with quite a few films to his credit, including my own ‘Good Night Good Morning’.
He already has a bunch of films he has sourced and one thing’s for sure, you will not get bored. Follow @ChennaiRTFF & @vsnipz to stay tuned about the theme for the next edition. Also join the RTFF Google Group & like the Facebook page to stay updated about upcoming fests.
Saarang 2011: Better than before
Every year, IITians swear how the new edition of Saarang, January 25-29, is bigger than before.
“This year, it will be not just bigger but also better than before,” as Shreyas Rangan, from the Sponsorship, PR and Media Core team pitches it. “With a span of four days, the number of Likes on Facebook for Saarang has gone up to 20,000.”
This, two minutes into a meeting with the Core team. “There are about 24 of them in all waiting for you,” says Shakti, who is co-ordinating the interview.
All of them “Core”? He nods.
“The numbers targeted are bigger than ever,” says Arjun AK, Sponsorships. “We approached about 900 companies for sponsorship.”
“This year it’s called: IIT Madras and Nokia present Saarang 2011 in association with Derby,” Sruthi Chandrasekhar adds. “SBI and Nokia have been supporting us for the fourth year in a row.”
The hospitality team has sent out invites to over 600 colleges. “We are providing accommodation for about 1500 students,” says Rahul K, Hospitality. “This year, we are also going to announce a helpline number given the number of participants expected.”
The publicity and ticket sales have their task cut out – to bring in 50,000 footfalls. “We’ve sent out invites to colleges in 11 different states and made presentations in 150 colleges,” as Praneet, explains. Rajendra, adds that the strategy this year was to cover more regions in North. “Most colleges in South already know.”
When you are juggling funds of about Rs. 1 crore, you need a separate team to keep the monies in check. Ravi Kesav, Finance, says, “Our job is to maintain a balance between the inflows and the outflows and make sure it’s all under control.”
As Yahiya, Finance, adds: “For every expense over Rs.20,000, we make it a point to get three quotations from vendors before finalising.”
As Prashanth Pinnamaneni (Bait), Facilities and Requirements, spells out the scale: “Fifteen venues, 139 events happening in four days, 30 co-ordinators and 17 lakhs to get everything done.”
“I have 200 students lined up for the security arrangements,” says Lathy, Security. “Especially, when we have personalities like Shriya Saran and Shashi Tharoor walking in, we need to make sure the students maintain decorum. Last time, when we had a lecture by Kamal Haasan, they broke the door.”
The IITians are gunning for the ISO 9001-2008 certification.
Nishant, Cultural Secretary (Arts), tells us what’s new. “We have diverse acts from Israel, France and America as a part of the World Culture Show. We’ve identified what Saarang was lacking and brought in the Classical Arts Utsav and from this year. We are getting professionals to do all the judging for greater transparency.” Ravi Teja Kanneganti, Cultural Secretary (Literary) adds: “Our efficiency levels have improved. We have a quality management system in place.”
Jagadish, Quality Management Systems, elaborates, “We have 250 different types of feedback being collected this time. Since we are growing in size, we need to get an organisational system in place that will be useful for the future.”
Phani Kishan, Proshows, adds: “The idea is to present on a single platform a confluence of cultures. We don’t forget people who have participated here. We are considering bands who have won here to open acts.”
“The ticket sales for the Proshows started on Thursday night. We need to generate Rs. 48 lakhs through 20,000 tickets. Every year, we give about Rs. 7-8 lakhs to charity,” says Sarur, Proshows.
“Fans can pick up exclusive fan passes that gives them access to the pit closer to the stage from Kyazoonga.com,” says Anirudh, Proshows (See Box).
Highlights
Vaaruni Eashwar, Events, gives an overview: “We have about 65 events to suit every interest put together by 112 student co-ordinators. This year, we have a Hip Hop Battle called Streets and an Adventure Zone with Paintball and Zorbing going on throughout.”
Rinju Rajan gives us the list of guests: “We have pre-Saarang lectures – Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday (January 19) and Nagesh Kukunoor (January 25). During Saarang, we have lectures by Malavika Sarukkai, Bombay Jayashree, Dhananjayan, Vishaka Hari, Alarmel Valli, PC Sreeram, Shriya Saran, Shaji Karun and Hari Menon.”
There will be workshops on caricature, calligraphy, magic and a Tree walk, organised by Nizhal.
Children coming from an orphanage, Bhoomi, will attend all the lectures and IITians are putting up a ‘Make a wish’ stall so that anyone walking in to Saarang will get a chance to make any child’s wish come true.
Rohit R, Events, says that Saarang will conduct the regional rounds of the Indian Sudoku Championship on January 29 (9 a.m). “If you get through, you can participate in the national championship in Mumbai in May and if you win there, you get to represent India in the world championship in Hungary.
“We also have a Model United Nations session organised in association with the UN office for India and Bhutan. The theme is Youth and Peace Keeping,” says Hariharan Mohanraj, Events.
Tech-enabled Saarang
The saarang.org website is run by the Web Operations and Design team. “We have a Saarang app with the map of IIT, you can register for events with it and even vote for your favourite team using Bluetooth for Choreo Nite, Tarang and Decibels,” says Jaichander of Web Operations.
Prince, his fellow Core, adds: “We host blogs about Saarang by volunteers and maintain the Youtube Channel, Facebook and Twitter presence.”
Anirudh, Design, says that his team, apart from designing the website, posters and brochures, have also made a couple of videos. “It’s a sneak peek, a teaser to check out what to expect.”
The design team is further split into three departments, adds Pramod. “Photography and videography, Graphic design and Ambience. This year during the Pro shows, the lights will react to the music. Since we are a tech institute, we thought we will incorporate technology wherever we can to make it look artsy.”
Box:
January 25: Classical Nite – Darpana led by Mallika Sarabhai and Keys & Classics, ensemble by Anil Srinivasan, B.S. Purushothaman, Navin Iyer, Sikkil Gurucharan and Vedant Bharadwaj
January 26: Popular Nite – the KK concert.
January 27: Choreo Nite
January 28: Finals of Light Music (Tarang) and Western (Decibels)
January 29: Rock show. The Pain of Salvation concert with opening acts by Nerverek and Bicycle Days
Videos from New York: Good Night | Good Morning Premiere
Interviews & Audience Reactions to the film
Post Film Q&A Session at the South Asian International Film Festival
Pics from the trip are at Memories – South Asian International Film Festival
Good Night | Good Morning
If I have not been regular, that’s because I have been losing sleep
over my new film Good Night | Good Morning about an all-night phone
call between two strangers on New Year’s night in New York City. The
film stars Manu Narayan (Bombay Dreams, Love Guru), Seema Rahmani (Loins of Punjab, Missed Call, Sins), Vasanth Santosham (Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain) and Raja Sen (writer/critic – the one from Rediff/Mumbai Mirror).
It is quite an experimental independent film because the entire movie
is just a long phone call and there’s very little going on apart from
that phone conversation. Sort of Before Sunrise on the phone. The
story and the plot are a little different though. We did a few tests
with friends, strangers and critics and I am happy to report that we
are getting very good buzz.
The film’s already selected into three film festivals – Mumbai Film
Festival organised by MAMI, the South Asian International Film
Festival in New York and the Chennai International Film Festival in
December.
So make a note of these dates:
The World Premiere of my film Good Night | Good Morning is on October
24, 3.30 p.m. at PVR Juhu, Mumbai.
How to get a pass: Since this premiere is part of the Mumbai Film
Festival, you need to register as a delegate and once you do that, you
can watch not just my film about also choose from another 200 films
between October 21-28.
The International Premiere of Good Night | Good Morning is on October
28, 10 p.m. at SVA Theatre, New York
How to get a pass: The ticket costs $15 and you can buy online from by registering with the festival
The seating is limited at both venues (only about 250 seats for Mumbai
and about 500 for New York) and since the free seats we are getting is
just about adequate to accommodate our cast and crew and family, you
need to get a ticket.
Do call me if you are coming or send me an email a day before the show
so that I can look for you after the film or try to smuggle you in if
you can prove you are as broke as I am. 
What I also need you to do is to spread the word and let your friends
in Bombay and New York know about the film.
I am sure you don’t need any further convincing to come and see my
film but your friends might.
So I am attaching everything that will help them make up their mind
about whether or not they want to watch it… with pictures, with
videos of our good scenes and our not-so-good to bad-scenes that we
deleted from the final film.
Basically, all the info you are going to need to spread the word to
your friends. Send it only to people you are sure would enjoy
independent films because like I said, the entire film is just one
phone call (The film is about 73 minutes long).
I can promise you great actors – Manu Narayan and Seema Rahmani are
fantastic!! And there’s some decent writing (I co-wrote this film with
Shilpa Rathnam and I think you know who that is!) and fun moments.
You’ll get an idea as you watch the videos below. I like the film I’ve
made if I can say so myself.
Also, one final request: If you know journalists who write on films,
send them this email please. We need to generate all the buzz we can
since we have no money left for anything. Who knows they may pitch it
with a larger trend story on independent films or technology-based
romance films or write about this film once they’ve seen it. For
which, we need them to come and watch. All pictures from the Publicity
Albums on Facebook can be used to promote the film.
Website:
http://goodnightgoodmorningthefilm.com (Also, if you or anyone has
time to maintain or redesign this thing we did in a hurry, please
help!)
Videos:
Promo 1 – Melons:
Deleted Scene – When Geeky Met Sassy:
Deleted Scene – Kuch Kuch Hota Hai:
Deleted Scene – Pocketful of Rainbows:
Photos:
For more, ping me on Facebook, Twitter or Blog.
Moulin Rouge: This Weekend, Come What May
What goes around comes around. The idea of the singing dancing tragic-comic Bollywood musical imported by Baz Luhrmann comes a full circle back to India as an ambitious young theatre company Nicholas Productions, founded by choreographer Denver Anthony Nicholas, attempts to recreate the magic of Moulin Rouge on stage this weekend at the Chinmaya Heritage Centre (March 6, 7 p.m and March 7, 2.30 p.m. and 7 p.m.)
The last few days have been an emotional rollercoaster for the team behind the show. The producer of the show Roshni Menon died twenty days before the opening night leaving them completely shocked and shattered. Until they realised that the best tribute they could give their friend was make her dream come true.
“We had the first audition on the first weekend of November, and had a callback in the second weekend and started rehearsals by the third week. But before the rehearsals, I spoke to Shaun Roberts to get the music ready and Mike (Michael Muthu) about the set design,” recalls Denver.
Though ‘Moulin Rouge’ is his first production as a director, Denver has quite a few shows to his credit as the choreographer ‘ Grease, Little Mermaid, Romeo and Juliet, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Night at the Musical, Chicago.
“Working with different theatre companies, I picked up the nuances of how to direct and what goes into a musical production. After Chicago, I realised I had to move on from being a choreographer to director” Roshni and me were very close friends, she had been asking me to do something on my own and had told me that the day I had decided, she would jump in and help me with my production, he adds.
“Roshni was coming back to theatre after five years.” They had earlier partnered to recreate Grease on stage for Stagefright Productions, a company Roshni founded with Freddy Koikaran.
It was Michael Muthu who had suggested Moulin Rouge to Denver. “That night, I took the DVD from him and ten minutes into the movie, I had decided to do it. I messaged Roshni and told her I wanted to do it. Unlike most of the other musicals, the songs here were already popular cult classics songs from Elton John to Police to Lady Marmalade to something like Chamma Chamma and I loved what Baz Luhrmann did with the colour and the costumes but the main thing that attracted me was the music.”
Shaun Roberts and his band Midnight Groove (Meynard Grant on Drums, Balaji on Rhythm and Percussion, Timothy George and Nelson Samuel on Keyboards, Vikram Vivekanand ( guitar and Shaun himself on bass and guitar synth) will perform live with the eight-member choir and Moulin Rouge will be one of those rare shows performed entirely live.
Shireen, student of NIFT, did the costumes of the period (Moulin Rouge is set in 1899). “The spectacle of the film was captivating and challenging. Initially, it was intriguing to us but everything started falling into place. I gave the actors a lot of space and freedom to make changes to the production and they have helped me a lot.”
“I hadn’t done theatre since college,“ says Cary Edwards, former VJ, stand up comedian and actor. “Seven years ago, Roshni and me were talking about what it would be to do a play together because she had just got into theatre production. And then we kind of lost touch and then, one day I got a call out of the blue. The minute she said ‘How you doing’ and I knew why she had called. I asked her ‘Moulin Rouge’? She said ‘Yes’. ‘You want me to play Christian’? She said ‘Yeah.’ And we had a laugh.”
Cary admits that Christian is everything he is not. “The only thing Christian and me share is that we are both creative, musically inclined and we are both straight. That’s where the similarities end. During rehearsals, Roshni would often walk up and tell me: “More Christian, less rockstar,” he laughs.
Renu Anne Abraham who plays Satine, as Denver describes, is “one of the few around who can sing and dance really, really well.” Like everyone else in the cast, Renu cracked the audition.
“I had to do the most embarrassing scene for the audition,” Renu reveals. “The one with me on the floor going Yes, Yes, Yes,” she giggles.
“I am a dancer, when Chicago happened, I jumped in. I didn’t know to sing,” she adds as Denver clarifies: “She didn’t know she could sing.”
Gibran Osman plays the villainous Duke and has sprouted a moustache for the role. “I think it gives a little quirk to the character and it’s also something to keep my hands on. Ever since I watched Grease, I wanted to work with Roshni. So when she called me to audition, I did a very horrible version of ‘Please Forgive Me’ and I am so glad they had a character that didn’t have to sing much.”
Everyone had a Roshni story to narrate. “On a personal level, it affected me a lot because she is a very good friend but on the production side, her death affected us a whole lot because she was handling the finances,” says Denver. “I never knew who she was speaking to. When this happened, we had no idea of what to do and friends got together and pooled in to make the show happen.”
“This was her dream, this is what she wanted and we will just make sure she gets it now that she has the best seat in the house. She wanted us to be Spectacular, Spectacular and I hope we live up to that,” says Cary.
As they say, the show will go on. Come what may.
For tickets, go to http://nicholasproductions.blogspot.com or call 9940195883.
A. R. Rahman’s Jai Ho Concert
How long would you be gone if you were to step out of home for a concert? Twelve hours, if you had set out for the MARG’s ‘Jai Ho’ concert in aid of Shakti Foundation and A.R. Rahman Foundation on Sunday. Because, about 70,000 Rahmaniacs had decided to brave the journey that took them about 100 km out of the city — to MARG Swarnabhoomi — from where Rahman took them for an out-of-the-world experience over a span of three-and-a-half hours.
Read the full report of the concert here.
Final Moments: Michael Jackson tribute
Just before my battery could die, I shot the last bit of Pravin Mani’s Michael Jackson tribute concert on my N95. Awesome show!
Kamal Haasan’s Project Chennai
“This was a little dream we had in Madras many years ago in a hotel. We were feeding each other with stories and the mosquitoes were feeding on us,” Kamal Haasan remembers that fateful chat he had with veteran French writer Jean Claude Carriere and Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami when they first discussed their plans of mentoring the next generation of writer-filmmakers.
“They had bigger ideas and I have tried to sculpt it down to a palpable size. The Chennai International Screenwriting Workshop we held recently was just the tip of the iceberg,” he reveals, when Academy award winner and Luis Bunuel’s old ally, Jean Claude Carriere (he worked with Bunuel for 19 years), flew down to kick off the mentoring process and the launch of Kamal Haasan’s ambitious short-film project.
The actor-writer-filmmaker plans to produce 30 short films on Chennai written by students from the workshop. “The idea is to get the short film movement moving in Tamil Nadu. It’s not an institute, it’s a movement.”
Kamal Haasan had first met Carriere when he went to seek his advice on Marudhanayagam. He not only got advice, he also found a “young and affordable co-writer who did it for the love of writing” in the veteran. “That was the time I lost my mentor and friend Ananthu. I was missing him when I found Carriere who gave me the courage.”
Film and the City
“There’s an ancient, intimate, deep, secret relationship between cities and cinema,” says Jean Claude Carriere. “It’s like a love-affair since the beginning of cinema. Some of my director friends talk about cities they want to shoot a film in and some cities they will never shoot at a film in.”
The temptation, for most filmmakers, is to go to the streets and make a documentary on the city but he believes fiction often turns out to be more insightful than documentaries.
“Sometimes fiction goes more deeper into reality than a documentary. Fiction is not the enemy of reality. On the contrary, fiction reaches another level of the same reality. That level is sometimes deeper than the other. Don’t hesitate to invent even impossible situations, or explore dreams or science fiction situations taking place in a city that can reveal different aspects of the city. A documentary filmmaker can never use these tools. So don’t hesitate to work with actors. Don’t hesitate to explore,” explains Carriere.
“Imagine your children and your grand children when they watch it, it will be like a treasure. A gift. A moment of life in the city. It has to be made freely, without thinking about money or success. Give the city something what nobody else can give it. Give the city what vision you have, what you have seen, heard, dreamed, imagined about the city,” is his advice to young writers.
“We have to teach the new generation how to do, but never try to teach them what to do,” Carriere believes. “We have to explain how we did and stop on that borderline and never try to impose our ideas, our views, our stories to the newcomers.”
“We were all born in the only century that invented a new language. If we were born 125 years ago, we could only talk about writing books or theatre. So let’s use the film language and not try to compete with novels or theatre. Let’s use this priceless new language that the masters have developed, refined and even perverted and transmitted to us. Try to find your own way, a story situation that touches you deeply and use what you know and what you want to learn and what one day, you will invent.”
Carriere rarely uses the word screenwriter.
“The screenwriter is a filmmaker. Screenwriting is not the end of a literary exercise but the beginning of a cinematographic adventure,” he explains.
The writer of the Peter Brook play, Mahabharata, drew a parallel between how Dushasana tried and tried to disrobe Draupadi but failed and his own attempts in seeing the real India. “I could never see India naked as much as I try,” he says, wishing the young writers luck.
Carriere would mentor some of these writers when 30 of them will be shortlisted ahead of the International Film Festival in Trivandrum in December.
On-hands experience
“Let our minds let loose on Chennai as a concept,” says K Hariharan, director of the LV Prasad Film and TV Academy, outlining the rules. “Since Chennai boasts of a variety of ethnic and linguistic diversity, the language of the film would be the writer’s preference.”
The writers have four weeks to submit their proposal and 60 entries would be shortlisted for further development and 30 would be fine-tuned during the mentoring process and subsequently produced.
“If all goes well, we will go on floors by March 2010. Writers will be invited to the location to see their scripts transform into butterflies.”
For more, go to the official site.
A week-long masterclass with Kamal Haasan. Interested?
INT. CLASSROOM, IIT – DAY
Professor Kamal Haasan walks around the class talking at length about how he wrote Thevar Magan as students try to catch up, scribbling notes on their copy of the spiral-bound script. One of them raises his hand to ask a doubt.
This scene is likely to play out at Indian Institute of Technology between May 29 and June 3, 2009. And to be a part of that classroom of select 250 at the Chennai International Screenwriting Workshop, you need to apply before May 5, 2009.
Kamal Haasan, in association with Indian Institute of Technology, Madras has convened a first-of-its-kind international workshop and seminar on screenwriting in South India. “It’s a strictly instructional event. Basic education is compulsory and candidates need to demonstrate their seriousness to get selected,” says the writer-filmmaker-actor.
The Chennai International Screenwriting Workshop to be held at the IIT-M campus between May 29 to June 3, 2009 will feature few of the best screenwriters and filmmakers from around the world.
Veteran writer Jean Claude Carriere has confirmed his participation via video conference.
Mr. Kamal Haasan himself will join the discussions and don the role of faculty during the workshop and seminar. “Students will be able to pick up copies of my scripts and get their doubts clarified,” he adds.
The screenwriting workshop will be conducted by K.Hariharan, Director of the L.V. Prasad Film and TV Academy, Anjum Rajabali, Professional screenwriter and head of departments of screenwriting at Film and TV Institute, Pune and Whistling Woods, Mumbai and Atul Tiwari, Professional screenwriter and well known playwright.
“We will be approaching screenwriting from two angles”, says Mr.Hariharan. “How to turn words into images that you see on screen and also how to do the opposite – putting in words what you see as images in your mind. Every day, we will have two sessions of guest lectures by reputed writer-filmmakers from the industry.”
For long, screenwriting has been a neglected discipline even in film schools. “While all good writing is essentially intuitive, it is essential to understand the basic principles of storytelling and the form of the screenplay to be a competent screenwriter”, says Mr. Anjum Rajabali, who founded the screenwriting department at FTII and at Whistling Woods.
“We all agree that it is impossible to make even a half decent film with a bad script and that a good script is the first and foremost requisite to make a good film. But even then we have seen that the pedagogy of the screenwriting has not taken roots in India,” adds Mr. Atul Tiwari, who has who has conducted similar workshops in New Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow, Manipal and Pune.
The workshop will culminate with a seminar, which will be open to industry professionals. The event is an initiative of Raajkamal Films International to bring screenwriting to the forefront.
To apply, students must send a copy of their resume, a passport-size photograph along with a 200-word synopsis on their favourite film and a list of their five favourite films to admissions@screenwritingindia.com before May 5, 2009.
More details are available on http://screenwritingindia.com. For further queries, email helpdesk@screenwritingindia.com
Kalki: On playing the other woman
Not many would want to be in Kalki Koechlin’s shoes. But then, not many would be strong to try.
In her very first film, she ran the risk of being judged against the likes of Savitri, Vyjayanthimala and Madhuri Dixit who played Chandramukhi in the earlier versions of Devdas.
On the personal front, she went public about her relationship with her director and father of an eight-year-old.
The fact that Dev D is a sexed-up modern-day interpretation where Chanda happens to be a victim of an MMS scandal isn’t exactly something one can talk about without courting controversy.
“Half the country got off on that clip. They downloaded it. And, they turn around and call me the slut,” a splendid Kalki playing Chanda tells Dev in the definitive scene that instantly captures angst, reveals vulnerability and simultaneously, her strength.
“I watched a lot of world cinema with strong women characters,” Kalki reveals how she prepared to play one of the most complex characters onscreen in recent times. “These characters taught me a thing or two about how a woman’s strength comes from her vulnerability. She covers herself with a ‘No one messes around with me’ because she’s protecting something else underneath.”
Mention that the confident physicality of the character is striking
and she tells you it’s because “there were a lot of photos of Gia
(Marie Carangi), Marilyn Monroe and other iconic sexual symbols being passed around” for reference.
Did Anurag or she ever talk to the Delhi schoolgirl it is loosely
based on? Did they wonder if they were doing the right thing by
suggesting that the only choice left for her is prostitution?
“It’s completely fictional. The minute you take anything from real
life, you are going to put yourself in dangerous, controversial ground but I think it’s been done with sincerity and honesty. What are the possibilities when your family, people you love and care for – plus the public – judge you? Where do you go? We live in a world where there are a 1000 options, this is one route this girl happened to take. I don’t think the movie is about what she would end up as.”
Chanda wasn’t originally written as an expat/half-Indian role.
“That happened because I came in. Anurag works closely with his actors. Even in Mahi’s case, he wrote the character after having met her.”
Kalki landed the role after three auditions after getting a call from UTV. “When I moved to Bombay, I gave my photos to all production houses because I needed some income. I couldn’t live off theatre alone.”
Having recently won the MetroPlus Playwright Award 2009 along with her co-author Prashant Prakash for ‘Skeleton Woman,’ Kalki considers theatre to be her primary career.
“Theatre is the actor’s playground and film is the director’s. When
you are in film, you have to trust the director completely because there’s a bigger vision that you can’t see,” says the girl who came back home after studying theatre for three years at Goldsmiths, London and was also a part of a theatre company called Theatre of Relativity there for two years.
Post Dev D, Kalki’s parents, who are based in Bangalore, are relieved and happy. “For a while, they have seen me struggling and not making enough money to live out of theatre.”
Does she have more projects lined up with her filmmaker-boyfriend?
“No, no projects lined up. Everybody is very curious and cynical right now. It is very sensitive but at the end of the day, what can we say or do? We are together, we are happy and I guess, only time will tell.”
On ‘Skeleton Woman’
I first heard this Inuit folktale about a fisherman who finds a skeleton of a dead woman when I was in a theatre workshop with Anamika Haksar. We did a skit on it. When I was filming for Dev D, Anurag gave me a book with strong women characters. He had highlighted this folktale. It was a strange coincidence how the story kept coming back.
It was just an inspiration. Skeleton Woman is a love story but as the play continues, you know there’s something bizarre going on and everything is not as happy as it seems. It has a huge, strong, visual element. It’s larger than life and if there’s one thing that’s real in this relationship, it’s the people in it. But towards the end, you discover that even that is not real.
The Pink Panter: The true story of the brave few who dared to be his friends
My latest film. Took four years in the making. Ha ha! Strictly only for those who like my stuff and/or those who know Abhishek Shah. Enjoy!
FREE: Watch my feature film That Four Letter Word online
Update:
Those who have been trying to watch the movie from India and been unable to because of slow streaming, I think I fixed the problem by also hosting the files on blip.tv. So just head here for everything you wanted to/ never wanted to know about That Four Letter Word and also watch the film. Since it’s the world’s first film to be given away free online, I think it’s time it had a home of its own.
Dear People Unfortunate Enough To Be Reading My Blog,
I have subjected some of you to my film already but this is for all those of you who got away without watching my first feature film That Four Letter Word which released a couple of years ago.
After a couple of weeks of testing, I have finally hosted my film on my blog and I think the picture quality too isn’t too bad considering the whole film can be watched online.
So whenever you have a couple of hours to spare, go here.
The password is: ipromisenottohateit
Please note that the password is subject to change. So, if you are unable to load the page using this password, please mail me at madeinmadras at gmail dot com and I will send you the new password in case of change.
Before you can watch it, here are the disclaimers:
1. This is a beta version of the digital print. Given limitations of streaming video online, this is the best size we could manage for a wordpress blog. Please watch with headphones for better audio quality.
If you are not happy with this picture quality, the film will be able on home video in India (through Moser Baer) and through video on demand (through Tata Sky) from mid-February 2009. Thank you again for your interest.
2. This is a low budget independent film made with a budget of Rs. three and a half lakhs and resources available at that point of time. At best, it’s a half decent effort, a five on ten film, which is also the reason you get to watch it free. You can read more on the making of the film at http://that4letterword.com
3. Play and Pause immediately to let the page load (Just like how you watch videos on Youtube). Depending on your internet connection, it may take around 10-40 minutes for you to load each of the two parts and you can start watching even if has buffering suggests only half of it is over because by the time you get to the halfway mark, the rest of it would have loaded too. So I suggest you let Part 2 load as you are watching Part 1. Part 3 is just the end credits, goofs and outtakes – and it’s three minutes long only because we have a long list of people to thank. So if you want to make a hit-list of all people responsible for this misadventure, don’t miss Part 3.
Do feel free to report any errors or problems faced in loading the page and I will do my best to assist you.
And those of you who have blogs, please feel free to spread the word and inflict it on the world. And please tell your friends not to embed the videos on to their blogs because as producers, we could flag the sites and report copyright violation. A link to this, however, will be appreciated.
This is probably for the first time here in India that a filmmaker is showing his entire feature length film online and free. And that’s because I want more people to have heard about the film and I hope that the word of mouth will help boost the DVD and home video sales in February 2009. Those who will download will anyway do so anyway and those who want to support the film will anyway buy DVDs… So I’m guessing no harm done here by this experiment.
Feedback on the film is welcome too. But remember what you typed as the password.
Have a that-four-letter-word-in’ time!
Cheers!
Sudhish Kamath
One helluva trip!
I really don’t know where to start.
This post is just for all of you who have been asking me to blog about the trip. With seven travel stories planned, I don’t want to type the whole thing here. But it’s a trip I will cherish for a lifetime for the following reasons:
1. Did Chennai-Frankfurt-Los Angeles (Read: Sunset Blvd, Hollywood, ABC Studios – the home of Lost, Disneyland, Kodak Theatre)-New York (Did two Broadway musicals including Lion King back to back, thanks to Disney)-Pittsburgh (visiting my best friend Murugan)-New York (again for sightseeing, pub-hopping, thanks to Gita and Sheetal)-Frankfurt-Ibiza (Yes, to see the best sunrise in the world)-Paris (should I even say more?)-Amsterdam (Heard of The Flying Pig?)-cut to one missed train to Frankfurt and back to Chennai – all in 19 days! The first leg of the tour was official, on invitation from the Disney Group to get a taste of the Disney Difference first hand and everything from Pittsburgh was part of my personal holiday.
2. Got a Dharma Initiative tattoo done in Pittsburgh. Of course, it hurt like hell but thanks to Murugan and Roshni for having cameras around so that I couldn’t chicken out or show any signs of pain… All my fellow Lost fans will be proud of me. I surprised myself because I never thought I would be the kind to pay to get my skin scalded. I guess I was super kicked after meeting Barry Jossen who was nominated for an Emmy for the Lost mobisodes along with the creators Lindeloff and Cuse. And also extra thanks to Murugan and Roshni for taking me for Burn After Reading on the day of the release. Too bad it was a little disappointing though Brad Pitt turned in an awesome extended cameo and Clooney rocked. But come on guys, this is a film the Coens couldve written in their sleep… An assembly-line Coen Brothers film that smacks of Deja Vu every other scene.
3. Sat on the monster rollercoaster California Screamin. Twice (since I held on to railing the first time thinking it is mandatory for security reasons… the second time around was great fun cuz it felt like a free fall) And did every single ride meant for grown ups at Disneyland including the Pirates ride, the Indiana Jones ride, the Finding Nemo submarine ride, the Maliboomer rocket ride that takes you up 1000 ft and drops down half the distance, the Space Mountain ride, the Jungle Cruise and the some kiddy rides too.
4. Smoked half a joint of hash in Amsterdam. Hated it!! Left a bad taste in my mouth and a hole in my pocket. Not literally. Just shopped for some 250 euros in the next half hour buying clothes with no clue about sizes… Instead of me having to choose the clothes… if I buy enough, friends can always choose what they want right? Had to buy a suitcase to put it in and then missed my train because the train left 40 minutes earlier than the time on my ticket because the Germans suck at building reservation systems. Took five trains in the middle of the night to get to Frankfurt to catch my flight back to India.
5. Saw one of the greatest sunsets in the world in Ibiza with 5000 to 10,000 other people (floating population) along the coast standing by Cafe Del Mar (no place to stand, let alone sit). People actually applauded after the sunset. I could see why it is the world’s biggest party island but I hated drunk Brits pissing in the middle of the street like they owned the place. Also, got conned by Torres Hostal on arrival around midnight (Famous words: “Yes you have a reservation with us. But we don’t have a room for you”) and found decent and much better accomodation next street in Cervantes.
6. Walked all around Paris by day and did the pub crawl at night, partied till 2.30 a.m and had a tough time getting a taxi back to the hostel. Mark Benzer, if you’re reading this… This is your wingman wishing you all the best for the rest of your tour! That was fun, brother!
7. Found out why New York City is everybody’s favourite city in the world. I had a blast there. Did the hop on hop off tour along with the cruise by Statue of Liberty, walked the Brooklyn Bridge and got a great view of the skyline and got a taste of the night life there, thanks to Gita. Times Square was all electric energy and when over a hundred Harley Davidson bikers rode on for a promotional rally, I just loved the city a little more. NYC was great except for an Indian cabbie who decided to give our race a bad name. When I asked him why he didn’t put the meter, he earnestly tells me (as the Vacant sign flashes at me): “They’ve introduced a new system, you just have to key in the zip code and it tells you the fare.” Manjeet Singh, shame on you for swiping my card and helping yourself to an unauthorised 25 per cent tip. Yes, I was conned by a Sardar! Okay, no more Sardar jokes from me!
8. Finally set foot into Hollywood as a journalist. I could see the Kodak Theatre from my studio suite in Renaissance. Yes, Disney took really good care of us, flying us business class and putting us up in some really cool boutique hotels – First The Grafton on Sunset (on Sunset Boulevard of course) and then at the Disney Grand Californian inside Disneyland, Anaheim, Renaissance and Hudson in Manhattan, New York! We met with Disney’s top bosses in Motion Pictures business, ABC (we were at the sets of the Brothers and Sisters TV show), Products, Imagineers at the theme park and even went backstage after the Lion King Broadway musical… Yes, I get paid to do things like this! Well, when work is this tough, what choice do you have but to lie back and enjoy it, huh? 
Watch out for my travel stories starting next week.
Post Script: Note to Kutti:
But it wasn’t complete, wasn’t nearly close to being in the same vicinity as complete because I couldn’t share it with you. I couldn’t hear your voice or laugh about it with you. I missed my – I missed my girl…
I love you. You… complete me.
Ram Gopal Varma: The good, the bad and the ugly (Uncut)
Critics should never interview filmmakers. Everybody knows what filmmakers have to say about people who rip their work apart. And that kind of language will never make it to print.
Also, critics often go soft on a person they’ve met when they have to review.
Having written a few nasty reviews, I am a little anxious on how Ram Gopal Varma would deal with me, considering he launched personal attacks on other critics on his otherwise fascinating blog that’s candid to the point of being confessional.
And here he was to promote Phoonk at Sathyam Cinemas, the place he used to religiously visit every evening to catch a movie when he worked on the script for his first film Shiva, staying at Nagarjuna’s Alwarpet guest house.
Phoonk is supposed to be his scariest film till date because it wants to shake your belief system.
And given that I may have to review that film, I decide not to talk to him about Phoonk. As a critic, I prefer the film talking to me directly.
So waiting for my turn to meet him at Ecstasy, I draw up a list of questions I’ve always wanted to ask the man.
I introduce myself as someone who has said nasty things about his films. You are among the many, he laughs. Just the ice-breaker I needed.
RGV is only as good as his screenplays, I had observed in my review of Contract. “My films are only as good as decisions I made at that point of time,” he clarifies along the lines of a dialogue from his Contract: “Decisions aren’t wrong. The results are.”
And here he was bragging how he spent only four days in writing Phoonk. Kaun was written in two days before shoot.
“Films are about decisions. Time and quality are not inter-related. I am teeming with so many ideas. Not necessarily good. They may be good, bad or ugly but I am in a rush to make films. I wrote Shiva in 20 minutes and Satya never had the script,” he explains.
“Either you can endlessly discuss an idea and the story can go in hundred different ways. Or, you take a decision based on your temperament. One fine day, I decided to give up my engineering and started a video library. And then, I gave it up and became a director and then I packed my bags and came to Bombay. That’s my temperament.”
But doesn’t great power translate to great responsibility. How many people can get the first family of Hindi cinema on board at will?
“If I take all these things into consideration, I cannot make a film. Filmmaking for me is like having a conversation, it depends on my mood. While making Contract, I might have thought let me make a Rambo in a realistic setting. It may not have been a good enough idea to begin with but that’s me.”
But people repeatedly expect him to click again, film after film.
“The audience is not an animal that you can study its behaviour and characteristics and then feed it. I do various kinds of things. It’s my personality that comes across my films.”
Will he be able to afford this passion for cinema if his films flop?
“I am able to afford it. If I need 40 lakh people to recover money for Sarkar Raj, let’s say I need only two lakh people to watch Contract. If I have to see if they like it or not, I wouldn’t have had made any movies.”
RGV has been a master of spook and crime stories but hasn’t quite found himself at home with masala if Aag was any indication.
“What went wrong with Aag is there was a multiplicity of objectives. I got caught up trying to translate the audio-video bytes in a new setting that I lost the point of the larger story. But if I want to make a masala film, I can really make it…”
With his factory-approach to making films, his assembly-line sometimes repeats ideas, making his films look repetitive, I point out. “Ek Pal Ki Zindagi” from D becoming “Do Pal Ki” in Aag or the type of the nagging housewife of the gangster from Satya put back in Contract.
“With regard to ‘Ek Pal Ki,’ I liked the song very much but nobody had heard that song. I only used it again with intention of popularising it… Similarly, Govinda Govinda is a track from a Telugu film. It’s not because I don’t have an idea but it’s because I think it’s an idea that didn’t realise its potential. So I keep on remaking everything.”
Is that why he’s keen to remake Aag and try his hand at masala films again?
“Maybe. The day I gave an interview, I felt like it but today I don’t. Tomorrow, I may feel like remaking it. I think I can make a masala film really well but in Aag what went wrong was there was a multiplicity of objectives. If I want to make a masala film, I can really make it.”
It’s only of late that people have begun to fully understand Ram Gopal Varma, thanks to his blog.
“I think it is fantastic. Blogging is helping me in two ways. For the first time, I have one place where I can put across what I feel without the fear of it being distorted. More important than that I am getting feedback from people who have no fear of me or not be obligated to be loyal. That’s helping me a lot.”
But he’s also used it to unleash personal attacks on critics, I point out.
“In fact, I changed that approach… When I was very new to the internet, I was not net savvy at all. But today I realise why should I give specific importance to Khalid? I read a review of Sarkar Raj on a site called Passionforcinema. I was thrilled that somebody could hate me so much and I mean it. It takes a great deal to hate someone so much. It was incredible. There were so many things that were far more bitchier than people who are employed to do criticise. As a filmmaker, I am collecting thoughts.”
But did that warrant getting personal? Wasn’t he mixing business and personal?
“That’s what they were doing. If they are talking about me as a person, I would like to know about that person’s background.”
Talking of backgrounds, Varma shares one with Quentin Tarantino. It won’t be wrong to call RGV, Quentin in a maddening rush. They even have similar video-store origins.
But he clarifies: “I stopped watching films after I started video library… It wasn’t for education. A video library guy will never watch films like a bar owner will never drink.”
But like Tarantino, isn’t his cinema derived from cinema too?
“I would say yes and no. My first film Shiva was pretty much derived from my personal experiences… From the college atmosphere to characters but my taking style has been derived from cinema. Every film has a scene I’ve taken from another movie.”
Like Tarantino famously said: “I steal from every movie.”
Varma laughs. “Even when I saw his recent movies… like Grindhouse. That’s pretty much what I like. I can be as mad as that too.”
You get a feeling he’s a little hurt that people talk down at him as ‘Ramu,’ like he was their pet boy. But isn’t that because he’s given them the room to talk about his work giving them films – good, bad and ugly – when he could be working on each with great amount of homework that the masters of cinema are known to do.
“No, No, I love it. I hate to compared to people like Mani Ratnam and Bhansali. I remember Revathy would say, “In Mani Sir’s film this worked and this didn’t” but when my film flops, she would send me a message saying she will kick me in the a**. I love that. I want to be in the position so that I can get more freedom. I can talk about the psychology of an underworld character and Isha Koppikar’s thighs with equal intensity. So I might not be taken as seriously as them but I’ll have more fun in life.”
“I saw this incredible visual the other day. It was dark and I was going for a walk and I saw a ghostly kind of an image late in the evening. About 12-15 couples scattered around the stretch in almost identical poses – holding each other. I didn’t understand and then, suddenly, I realised it was parting time. So though they were different people, they were doing the same thing… Now, I’ve explained this shot to you because we are talking face to face.”
He moves on for a self-diagnosis, trying to explain how he makes his films.
“Now, Aag, the whole country knew how horrible it was, but the 100 people working on the film were taken in by what I told them.
I psyched them with my vision, I couldn’t do that to the whole country. A lot of times, I take it for granted that my thought process will come through when I start making the film… What is in my head does not translate and come out the same way. I had a rogue friend who used to wear dirty chappals who liked this really good-looking girl. One day he came in Nike shoes because he wanted to impress her. And suddenly one day, he choked and said she deserves someone better. The emotion with which he said it served as the benchmark and Nike shoes became the yellow shirt Munnabhai wears in Rangeela. I think in a rush. On the basis of the first excitement, I make a decision to make a film. It is the same wackiness and eccentricity that is also responsible for whatever good work I may have done in the last 20 years.”
It’s that spirit that keeps his alive. As new ideas hit him day after day, like life itself.
“I always wake up in the morning with an idea, not necessarily a good one. I am always eager to wake up with a new idea. I have a ball all the time. It’s a myth that I am callous but I am very intense. I made it with a lot of seriousness. In fact, I had never been more serious all my life like when I made Aag. I was not careless, I seriously did the wrong thing.”
On Love
The maverick filmmaker is a cynic when it comes to love. In his own words: “Love and hate take equal amount of effort and energy that it’s not worth it. Love is a self-induced drug to feel high. You like the feeling of being in love more than the person you are in love with. So your imagination takes over when you are courting and in your mind you put your best foot forward, you say the best lines all the time. When you get married, your true colours come out… What happens is the picture you imagined your head is no longer there and love starts disappearing.
The greatest romantic visual I see is in Mumbai. It’s around noon, it’s a dirty beach with and rocks and dirt all around. It’s ugly but the feel of lovers sitting together in that hot sun is so strong, that for me, it is far more a greater visual than an exotic song in Switzerland.”
My password is redunderwear and my credit card number is…
Arvind got a message on his msn messenger supposedly from me.
The message was: My password is redunderwear and my credit card number is 9876 2353 2876 2223.
Twenty minutes later:
Arvind says: (3:26:49 AM)
dai did you message me?
Sudhish Kamath says: (3:26:57 AM)
nope
Arvind says: (3:27:14 AM)
something about redunderwear and a credit card number
Sudhish Kamath says: (3:27:27 AM)
thats my password
Sudhish Kamath says: (3:27:30 AM)
how did you know?
Arvind says: (3:27:51 AM)
well you messaged me in the middle of a meeting when everyone was staring at my screen
Arvind says: (3:27:52 AM)
lol
Arvind says: (3:28:00 AM)
anyway, I pretended it was spam!
Sudhish Kamath says: (3:28:02 AM)
oh! i didnt message you
Sudhish Kamath says: (3:28:10 AM)
must be spam
Sudhish Kamath says: (3:28:14 AM)
what was the number?
Arvind says: (3:28:24 AM)
I don’t have it now, it closed
Arvind says: (3:28:28 AM)
but it was you for sure
Arvind says: (3:28:40 AM)
you said your password was redunderwear and the credit card number was something
Sudhish Kamath says: (3:28:53 AM)
must be some virus
Sudhish Kamath says: (3:29:09 AM)
or one of those autogenerated mischief cookies
Arvind says: (3:29:16 AM)
not on a mac
Sudhish Kamath says: (3:29:33 AM)
hmmm, what time was this?
Sudhish Kamath says: (3:29:47 AM)
redunderwear is my password
Arvind says: (3:30:27 AM)
20 mins back
Sudhish Kamath says: (3:30:46 AM)
its 3.30 here in india now and there’s no one else here
Sudhish Kamath says: (3:30:53 AM)
3.30 a.m.
Sudhish Kamath says: (3:31:03 AM)
gotto be a spambot
Sudhish Kamath says: (3:31:09 AM)
that has found out my pwd
Sudhish Kamath says: (3:31:15 AM)
i hope it hasnt sent it to everyone
Sudhish Kamath says: (3:31:54 AM)
did it say anything else?
Arvind says: (3:33:10 AM)
i don’t know
Arvind says: (3:33:17 AM)
only the first message pops up on my screen
Arvind says: (3:33:26 AM)
after that I closed the program
Sudhish Kamath says: (3:34:11 AM)
hope people just did the same
Sudhish Kamath says: (3:34:17 AM)
dont want my credit card number at risk
Sudhish Kamath says: (3:34:28 AM)
how does it keep track of passwords and credit card numbers?
Sudhish Kamath says: (3:34:37 AM)
i think amazon isnt secure
Arvind says: (3:35:22 AM)
how is amazon involved?
Sudhish Kamath says: (3:35:38 AM)
been using my credit card on amazon quite a bit
Sudhish Kamath says: (3:35:41 AM)
over the last month
Sudhish Kamath says: (3:35:47 AM)
oh and once on rediff
Sudhish Kamath says: (3:35:52 AM)
and my books still havent come
Sudhish Kamath says: (3:35:58 AM)
must be rediff then
Sudhish Kamath says: (3:36:04 AM)
they had free shipping
Sudhish Kamath says: (3:36:17 AM)
and i found two Lost spin off novels
Sudhish Kamath says: (3:36:20 AM)
they are rare
Sudhish Kamath says: (3:36:24 AM)
so i ordered them
Arvind says: (3:36:33 AM)
ok
Arvind says: (3:36:48 AM)
Something fishy about the whole thing
Arvind says: (3:37:05 AM)
I’ve never heard of IM clients sending out messages on their own
Arvind says: (3:37:11 AM)
so, what IM software are you using
Sudhish Kamath says: (3:37:22 AM)
msn messenger
Sudhish Kamath says: (3:37:26 AM)
that i downloaded for mac
Sudhish Kamath says: (3:37:30 AM)
long ago
Arvind says: (3:37:39 AM)
hmm
Arvind says: (3:37:58 AM)
should be fine
Sudhish Kamath says: (3:38:09 AM)
hope so!
Sudhish Kamath says: (3:38:16 AM)
wokay me off to sleep now…
Arvind says: (3:38:19 AM)
alright
Sudhish Kamath says: (3:38:23 AM)
Have a great All Fool’s Day machchi!
Sudhish Kamath says: (3:38:24 AM)
Arvind says: (3:38:27 AM)
Sukumar also joined the cult of mac
Arvind says: (3:38:29 AM)
wotha
Arvind says: (3:38:38 AM)
should’ve known
If not for such cheap thrills, how would I get sleep on April 1?
The Name is Rajinikanth: Making of the Superstar
“I do not know what the contents are,” said Cho wondering why they didn’t give a copy of the book ‘The Name is Rajinikanth’ though they wanted him to speak on the occasion of its launch last week.
A little later, the author’s husband admitted: “We were scared about he would say.”
On reading the book, you realise they needn’t have worried.
The larger-than-life true story by itself more than makes up for the flaws in its telling. The compilation of the Superstar’s filmography with plot summaries and release dates, makes the book a ready reckoner for hardcore fans and trivia buffs.
Yes, it does read like a flippant novel that’s been compiled from blog posts with spelling inconsistencies, punctuation errors and haphazard non-linear structuring-without-a-cause.
Gayathri Sreekanth, the author of the book, explains: “Keeping in mind his personality, I wanted to make it racy. I wanted it to read like a screenplay.”
And, as D.R.Karthikeyan, former CBI director and head of Special Investigation Team probing the Rajiv Gandhi assassination understates, the book sure can do with a little editing.
“The credibility of the book comes out because she was prepared to find out his own failings he admits in his life. One thing about Rajni is that he’s not a hypocrite. He has the courage to admit whatever has happened in his life and whatever he is. That’s his greatest quality and that’s what endears him to millions of people,” notes Karthikeyan.
“The book deals in an interesting way, the transformation of an ordinary looking, not extraordinarily talented actor, born from a poor family, highly mischievous in his younger days, into a superhero with a massive fan following,” adds the outspoken police officer.
“Karthikeyan has read the book obviously,” political commentator and journalist Cho said at the book launch. “He cannot wait for the release. As a policeman, he must be allergic to word ‘release’,” he quipped as the crowd erupted into laughter.
“To know Rajnikant as a friend is a matter of pride for me,” said Cho. “Can anyone define him? I do not know. He’s in the show business. But, he’s not a showman. He makes political comments now and then when he chooses. But, he’s not a politician. He talks spiritualism. But he’s not a guru or an acharya. So whatever he does is different from whatever he is. Essentially, he’s in my mind, an act of God.”
True to that quote, the book gives us a glimpse of what went into the making of the Superstar and his inexplicable persona. The book dwells on the paradox that he is, and provides an insight into his personal and professional crises, also touching upon issues close to his heart – spirituality and politics.
As the book hits the stands and with the publishers having plans of translating it into Tamil, the next round of persuasion for Superstar to join politics has already started.
“What is democracy ultimately,” asks Karthikeyan. “Do you have the support, confidence and strength of the largest number of people? That’s the only qualification. Nobody is born with experience of administration. A person who can inspire thousands of people, lakhs of people is certainly entitled to be in politics.”
But does the Superstar ever give in to such pressure?
Cho gives us an insight: “The Mahabharatha says of a king: Do not do anything all by yourself. Consult a chosen few and even they should not know what decision you’ve taken. So though as close friends we give our opinions on his film scripts, ultimately we do not know what decisions he has taken or what changes he has made till they are implemented. It’s his own decision. That’s the sign of a great manager, an administrator. To get proper advise, to sift, to sort it out and then, to make a decision of his own.”
“If Rajni enters politics, Tamil Nadu will go one step ahead of everybody,” believes Cho. “Because, basically, the man is honest. His grasp of even international issues, his concern for the common man, all this go together to make him the ideal choice. I wish he does but I do not know if he will.”
He is a man of mystery and continues to be so. It was the day of the release of a book on his life and he didn’t deem it right to be present. His daughter Soundarya was present though. “It is a great honour to be here today. On behalf of Appa, I would like to wish Gayathri and her team all the very best. Thanks,” is all she spoke.
Shorter than even soft-spoken AVM Saravanan’s brief speech where he called it “a nice book about a good man.” Apparently, Gayathri had told him that she had no problems at all putting the book together and she got all the co-operation she needed from him. “Looks like I should talk to her next time to get Superstar’s dates.”
As the book reveals, he’s not too enthusiastic about politics, signing films in a hurry or inclined towards endorsements. Cho believes this to be a saintly quality. “Any Chief Minister or Prime Minister believes that the chair is greater than him. Which is why they are afraid to leave it. But Rajni, he’s greater than everything he does,” observes Cho.
Ajay Mago, publisher of Om Books International, says that the idea to do a book on a Tamil Superstar came after Mushtaq Shiekh’s ‘Still Reading Khan’ sold over 30,000 copies. While ‘The Name is Rajinikanth’ is not exactly in the same genre, it does have a far greater appeal than any coffee table book because it’s an extraordinary story of an ordinary man – a true story of a much-celebrated Superstar who remains a reclusive enigma.
Superstar on politics (excerpts from the book):
“When you enter politics, you have to compromise. You cannot be honest and clean. It is difficult to maintain your decency and it is not easy to have principles. I also know that one person cannot change the face of politics. The system is such. The British rules, outdated as they seem, are still implemented. So unless the system changes thoroughly, it is not possible to revolutionise political transparency. Until bureaucracy exists, there will be red-tapism and well, corruption levels will continue to be higher…
My path is spiritual and acting is my profession…
But you never know what is in store tomorrow. Yesterday, I was a bus conductor. Today I am an actor. Tomorrow, who knows?”
A.R.Rahman: Bridging the gap
He lured an entire generation of musicians towards technology.
And now he comes a full circle, trying to get them back on track.
A.R. Rahman’s current passion is to create an authentic Indian orchestra. The first step towards that is establishing KM Music Conservatory as a bridge between music, technology and culture.
The conservatory will help techno-savvy sound-engineers to learn the basics of composing and spend time with instruments hands-on and musicians to learn the importance of technology and the basics of sound recording. And thus, create the unique Indian orchestral sound. Or symphony as Rahman likes to call it.
The reason musicians in the West find themselves financially secure is that even if they play in an orchestra, they do other music related things – they edit music, they freelance and are not dependent on any one source of income, as Rahman points out.
“We want our Hindustani and Carnatic musicians to be able to read Western notations and adapt to playing with other musicians,” says Rahman. “So that they can learn to play with ten other sitar musicians at the same time. That’s the sound we’ve never heard before.”
Symphony is not to be confused with Western Classical Music, he clarifies using his ‘Bombay’ theme to explain. “That was essentially Indian but it played out through a Western sensibility.”
Rahman’s vision is to create an orchestra that not only sounds distinctly Indian but also culminates various aspects of Indian culture and bhakti, which he believes, is at the heart of orchestral symphony. “Devotion is the basic element in all the music. It’s an open thing, so many things can be done,” he says.
Spirituality plays a huge role in his life, so much that he’s chosen to call the conservatory KM as he believes that these initials are “spiritually close” to him and have brought him good luck.
But, necessity is the mother, of course. After frequent trips to Prague and Birmingham to record orchestral sound for his films, Rahman pondered over the need for our own orchestra. “Even Bahrain and Iraq have their own national orchestra,” he laments. “We are a country of 1.4 billion people and we don’t have our own national symphony orchestra. Since then, it’s been a burning desire to have something like that of our own.”
The reason why music directors go abroad to record orchestral music is that what takes two months of effort in India can be completed with foreign orchestras in four days, he says. “There’s so much perfection the way they approach music and translate notes. It used to be there in my Dad’s generation but it’s not there anymore.”
Rahman probably knows he’s responsible for more and more music directors slanting towards technology-based music. But there’s only so much you can do with technology and nothing can match the feel of listening to a live orchestra.
“Our source of entertainment has always been monopolised by films but there’s a different kind of entertainment too: Orchestral music which is on the other side of art. If we educate our people, we could get that into the mainstream,” he explains.
Orchestral sound is probably the future of film music, if we take a cue from original soundtracks from Hollywood and trust Rahman to understand its importance.
As the founder Principal of KM Conservatory, Rahman has pulled all strings and created an advisory panel consisting of a repertoire of veteran musicians, both Indian and Western.
The conservatory received about 250 applications since the announcement on his birthday.
Rahman’s says that he’s not even started calculating the cost of the project. “We’re just putting everything we have. God willing, we will have our own campus in two years. I have a place in mind that is about three to five acres, a quiet kind of environment where there will be music and not car horns,” he says.
Apart from visiting faculty from all around the world and guidance from veteran musicians, the students will have special classes from Rahman himself.
“I am doing just two films a year, so I guess I should have all the time,” he smiles.
Box:
Rahman’s pillars of support
As honorary advisor and member of the panel, classical violinist Dr.L.Subramaniam says: “It is a courageous bold brilliant start. It’s going to give a lot of opportunities to groom our own talent and give them adequate exposure to other cultures through a holistic approach to music.”
Also part of the panel of experts is Hindustani classical veteran Ghulam Mustafa Khan who expressed his solidarity saying that Rahman had pulled off what he had only thought about. “I am with him. And will always be,” he said in Hindi.
Srinivas Krishnan, founder of the Global Rhythms ensemble, recalls how it started: “It was way back in 2003 when he spelt out what he had in his heart. I was fortunate that many of my students were at his studio collaborating with him.”
T. Selvakumar, Managing Director of KM Music Conservatory and Apple-certified Audio Media Education, tells us that the first batch will start in June 2008 with an intake of 150 students. The conservatory will have three different kinds of courses: a part-time two-times-a-week preparatory programme that anyone can join, a foundation course for beginners and a diploma course. “All admissions are through auditions only,” says Selvakumar.
For more information and announcements, visit arrahman.com or audiomedia.in.
Lucky Ali/Karthik in Concert @ Saarang 2008
Also see video clip at the bottom of the review.
Maybe it’s a good thing that Lucky Ali left after his part of the concert. Local boy Karthik would’ve given him a hell of a complex. The Open Air Theatre at IIT came alive on its feet with, what the IITians believe is, the biggest crowd ever drawn at Saarang pro-shows.
Good old Lucky couldn’t help saying: “What a great campus, man,” before he warmed up to the junta with his brand of soul, sporting a brown waistcoat over a black tee and cargo-styled denim. Casual and laid-back, just like his approach to music.
Maybe he took it a tad too light with an all-new line-up for a band to play in front of one of the greatest crowds any musician in the world would die for.
“We’re just getting to know each other,” he admitted, introducing his internationally-flavoured band led by his New Zealander brother-in-law, producer and guitarist Michael. “He’s not married yet,” Lucky told the girls as one of them screamed: “Michael is yummy.”
The boys in the crowd, of course, promptly yelled back: “Where’s your wife?”
Lucky got them swaying with an eclectic mix of slow and soul, with those mobile phones glowing in the dark as Lucky exclaimed in awe: “This is one of the best crowds I’ve ever seen. It felt like a thousand stars out there.”
Without a break, Lucky had them hooked for about 80 minutes, with most of his album regulars starting from ‘Anjaane Mein,’ ‘Tumse Milne,’ ‘Yeh Zamana,’ ‘Jaane Kya Doondtha,’ ‘Mujhe Aisa Lagta hai’ (made in Chennai) and ‘O Sanam’ which made the crowd chant: “Once More, Once More.”
“Everybody’s gonna go through this at some stage in life,” he said, introducing ‘Yeh Jawani’. But it was the film music that got the crowd really excited. “Aa Bhi Ja” got them all senti as they joined in the singing.
The finale though was turning out to be a near anti-climax as the band went out of sync for ‘Ek Pal Ka Jeena’ – THE song junta was waiting for.
Lucky stopped to apologise, taking the blame, but only after he first tried blaming it on technology. At IIT?
But then, he began the song from the start again and this time, the crowd was back to loving Lucky.
There was nearly a half hour break before Karthik took stage. The crowd did all possible countdowns as prompted by the Core, went on to do a count-up, recited A to Z and even started singing nursery rhymes and Happy Birthday to Karthik to keep themselves amused.
With the pressure mounting, would the local boy satisfy the full house?
Right from the moment he crooned, ‘Oru Maalai Ila Veyil Neram,’ it was truly one of the best concerts ever. Not only because Karthik is a great singer who had his hand on the pulse of the audience. He had a tight band to back him up. And he knows it.
“You like my band,” he asked excitedly before going on to tell them: “This is a song I really like. It’s from Kaakha Kaakha. We have the director here and I’ve spotted him. Let’s thank him for showing Jyotika so beautifully in this song.”
‘Oru Ooril Azaaghe’ was followed by ‘Therathi Veethiyil Thiruvizha’ as he got off stage and went into the crowd, holding the mike up to the boys to join him in concert.
Kalyani did a fabulous job of keeping them entertained with a medley of ‘Parde Main Rehne Do’ and ‘Dhoom Machale’ before Karthik came back with ‘Unnale Unnale’
“Everything here on stage is being played for you live. No sequencing or programming,” he announced, before breaking into ‘Oh Hum Dum Suniyo Re’ and finishing the song with the Tamil original ‘Endrum Endrum Punnagai’.
Andhraites in IIT had a surprise waiting as Karthik thrust the mike in front of his shy guest from Hyderabad, music director Micky J. Meyer before going on to sing ‘Arey Re Arey Re’ from Happy Days. The crowd erupted in ecstasy, transporting you to Hyderabad instantly as students joined in the singing.
Language seemed to be no barrier. “We will rock you,” he launched his tribute to Queen and the crowd was only too glad to be rocked. Karthik, in spite of proving to be an Energizer Bunny, gave melody the due choosing to sing songs not originally sung by him. And Hariharan would have been pleased to hear the young singer do ‘Nila Kaaykirathu’ (from Indira).
‘Pehla Nasha’ further intoxicated the young before Andhraiites bonded over ‘Oh My Friend’ (also from Happy Days). Karthik returned to his rockish best with ‘Enakku Oru Girlfriend Venumada’ sending fans into a frenzy before his hand lent a nice Elvis-y touch to ‘Baar Baar Dekho,’ a surprise for retro-lovers.
Though what he sings mostly is in the realm of boy-band songs and love ballads, while performing, he does it with the attitude of a rockstar with plenty of scope for audience participation. Yes, it helps that Bennett is quite something with the lead guitar.
Calling the IIT Core members to the stage, he launched into what’s considered an anthem for the youth, ‘Mustafa Mustafa’ for a finale. Sensing they wanted more, he captured the mood with ‘Engeyum Epothum Sangeetham Santhosham’.
And, junta was on Cloud Nine: “ARaaa-raaaa-reee-reeee Yo!
