'Kaminey': Moments that stayed with me...

Cruising at 80 miles/hr on the 101 freeway at 1:47 am in Los Angeles on a Sunday morning listening to the Kaminey soundtrack after watching it just 24 hours back. Sigh, just beautiful, there is something so relaxing about driving, its like the whole world leaves me alone, my body goes into auto-pilot and I let my mind go...

Kaminey: as the music takes me back through the film...

The shot where Charlie stands between 2 local trains screaming in opposite directions, with his voice over "ye life badi kutti cheez hai"

The shot where Charlie innocently dances in heavy rain "Fider man, Fider man...!" near the rail tracks. Mumbai never looked so larger than life

I am a sucker for chase sequences; there is one very beautifully shot in a hotel. Action like it should be. Nobody was flying, hero was not all powerful, the bad guys weren't all stupid,even gravity & physics were not disregarded and it was still gritty; Loved the way the camera moves, drags the viewer into the action. Brilliant!

Priyanka Chopra, just loved her character, loved her dialogues, loved everything she did in the movie. Starting when she reveals to Guddu that shes pregnant, 15 minutes that follow is probably the best on screen romance I have seen in Hindi cinema recently. She screams at him in marathi "jzaa mug!!" (go to hell!) and then starts to storm off, and then turns around in 3 seconds and runs back. :) Lovely

Bhope's side-kick who has been sent to beat the couple up, says to Bhope on the phone "bhau, par bade pyaare lag rahe the dono..."; beautiful, the goon has a heart :)

Amol Gupte as 'Bhope Bhau', almost everything he says and does is memorable. He plays this racist, cold-hearted, selfish leader. Its so hard to believe that this is the same man who wrote the sensitive 'Taare Zameen par'. My favorite scene is when he breaks into Charlie's house. "Kya tum teen bhai hote toh mooch ukhad lete meri?" lol

Shahid Kapoor's Guddu character stammers uncontrollably in Police remand because he is so scared during interrogation. The cop asks him to sing his answers and it works. :)

Finally the heart-wrenching title track, shown with a very gloomy, cloudy Mumbai slum close to the railway track as the background. I have lived in Mumbai, and this is one of those sights that almost everyone who lives in the city has learned to ignore in their minds, because its too heart breaking to acknowledge. "Meri arzoo kamini, mere khwaab bhi kaminey, ek dil se dosti thi, yeh huzoor bhi kaminey"; Gulzar saab, take a bow...

There are many more as I will discover when I watch it again and again in the future. I have started a new journey with this Classic. Maqbool and Omkara are still going strong.... :)

Colt: Mock Shoot 1

We have finished the final shoot of 'Colt'. It was a heck of an experience. However getting it all done required a lot of planning. So right after the screenplay was done the quest to shoot this film began, sometime around April this year. So this is a note on how it started

'Colt' is a conversation piece. One of the reasons we picked this idea was because it sounded easy to do. As in seriously, what could be easier than to shoot a conversation in a quiet room eh? And yes, as we have discovered after finishing the final shoot, when it comes to the basic challenges of shooting it is straight forward compared to a lot of other things like outdoor shooting. However getting the basics right to begin with was challenging, and even getting those right does not guarantee that your film would be visually appealing or that the narrative will engage the viewer, it just means that you didn’t screw up that badly :)

We estimated the film length to be about 10 minutes runtime. Since there were so many assumptions made during the writing phase that going directly into the final shoot would be a huge leap of faith. Also we were convinced that we should shoot this with a 24p HD camera, which we would have to rent. Since renting those is expensive we had to have our act together on the shoot and finish the whole thing in no more than 3-4 days. This seemed almost impossible unless 1 we are sure that the screenplay holds, and seems as effective in the act as the reading and 2 we were clear on the logistics of the shoot, the lighting, the sound recording, the props, how to log the takes, camera angles etc. Without doing this it would be just be a waste of money to rent the camera because we wouldn’t do justice to it. To solve 1 it was clear that the cast had to rehearse, a lot. The cast mainly consisted of me and Nayeem, almost no prior experience of facing the camera and Nayeem had the added challenge of not being comfortable with the Hindi language. So we did rehearse, and to be honest Nayeem worked a lot harder than I. By the time I started practicing the lines, I was already bored of the script, mainly because I had read it so many times. Neways, to solve 2 we came up with an idea to do a "mock" shoot. A mock shoot would have everything like the final shoot except the camera. This was mainly to put all our theories to test, lighting, camera angles, sound, logging all the data, continuity, and off course the actors would get to see how they look on screen.

Now, other than the camera, there were other things to be acquired for the shoot, the lighting equipment, the mic, the boom pole, the props and also a possible location for the shoot. A lot of this stuff could be rented, so we were considering what to buy and what to rent. All this was taking its time, while we were all ready to shoot. So then we decided to do a shoot without any equipment, assuming that we would do another one when we get all of it. This was mostly to realize big mistakes/holes if any in the process early, so that we can fix them before the real-mock shoot. And hence the first mock shoot was planned, all the equipment and the location was make-shift and our inspired crew was ready to roll...

The Crew:- Nayeem(Actor), Onkar(Actor), Tushar(Direction, Cinematography), Marut (Cinematography, Assist director), Sailesh(Continuity, Lights, Sound, Set Design), Sravanti(Continuity, Lights, Set Design, costume, make-up), Ashwin(Set Design, Lights)

The Logistics:-

Location: My Apartment, the hall
Camera: Canon MiniDV handy Cam
Lights: Basic home lamps, 100W bulbs
Sound: Mic on the handy cam, no external sound recorder
Props: Everything from the Apt

April 19th 2009, A Sunday Afternoon, the crew gathered, moved things around the apartment, put the table in the center, covered all the windows with bed sheets, and set was ready!

The shoot
And so we began shooting, the first time, after all that talking it was time for action, the director uttered the magic word, "Action!". Nayeem and I gave the first take, then the second and then the third. Very soon it was clear that during rehearsals we only noticed the good parts and thought we were doing well, while during the shoot, we started noticing the smaller things that weren’t working in the acting and dialogues. But we still kept going, since we had the mental satisfaction that this is just a mock. We worked for about 5 hours nonstop; shot about half the film from about 2-3 camera angles and then called it a day.

One of the most important things that came out of this was how suddenly we all assumed our roles. Before this we were all friends and each one of us having different work didn’t really mean anything. But then I realized that each person needs to be in that role and cannot be doing everything. For example, I was always too pre-occupied by little things and gestures in the performance to even care about the lighting or how the props look on the table. I assume everyone went through similar transitions. Sailesh and Sravanti probably had the most technical of challenges of getting the lighting right, making sure the positions are documented, log all the prop positions, it just seemed like a lot of work to me, I wasn’t really following everything they did. Then let’s come to the 2 people with the most responsibility, Tushar and Marut. They had to set up shots, make it look aesthetically appealing, capture gestures, expressions, just right, and also judge the emotional content of the take. Tushar and I initially had the idea that we might co-direct this one somehow, but it was clear to me from this shoot that he’s on his own. I could discuss with him all day before and after the shoot, but during it I had my hands full with acting. Also as director he had a lot more to do than just the technical work, the most important one being, being able to communicate with everyone on the set. Now this does not just mean telling people what to do. He had to quickly come up with different ways to talk to each one of us. Also the fact that we are all friends may have helped or may have made it more complicated, I am not sure. Every person that needs to be given instructions has 2 characteristics, 1 the work he does on set and 2 his personal equation with you. Also suddenly everyone had to understand the director is the boss, everyone has to follow his lead, since he’s the owner of the vision. If they don’t follow his instructions, we won’t achieve the original vision, simple. And frankly who likes to be the guy ordering friends around eh? Neways, I thought the idea of this shoot was to discover these challenges so it was a success in that sense.

Right after the shoot, we watched the shots and it didn’t look that bad, but then it didn’t look good either. I had assumed that we would be able to look at it and point out what’s wrong and fix it. But it’s not so easy to put your finger on what’s wrong, and most times it’s a little bit of everything. The acting was strictly ok. I was extremely bland; Nayeem was scratchy with his lines and a little awkward with his gestures. He looked rehearsed and I looked very disinterested. The lighting as expected was off. We worked with a couple of home lamps that Ashwin held thru the shoot, since that was the only way we could direct a lamp like that. The walls were too white, the light bounced off them too much. We needed it to look like a dark place. Camera couldn’t be hand held, if it’s not a controlled motion, it’s almost unwatchable on screen. But still the camera angles were cool. All-in-All it was pretty awesome because finally all the speculation and imagination met reality. It’s like the first time you drive a car or the first time you give a GRE or a GMAT test. You have a perception in your mind which finally meets reality. Some of it worked, some of it didn’t, but one thing was clear, there are just too many variables involved and each one could mess it up. A lot of work ahead...

'Colt'

'Colt' is the working title of our first short film (in Hindi). When I say "our" I mean my whole team for which I still dont believe that we have a name. We considered calling ourselves '710 films' or 'Empty Wallet Productions' but nothing ever finalized I think. Anyways, I will write another post about my team

The madness started about 12 weeks ago when we just suddenly decided to make films. Its not like we never considered the idea before, its more like someone asked "and why are we not doing it?" and there, we were off. So as one of the first few ideas that we explored the most popular was 'Colt'. This was mostly because of the sheer presumed simplicity of its production. Obviously 12 weeks later we now know that nothing is simple, really nothing. So it was just an idea for a 2-3 minute conversation film. Then we started writing. After a few weeks of trying to write an actual script out of just a concept (a kick-ass one) we have something we consider a completed script. It was a challenge given that none of us have any screen writing experience. Google links, YouTube training videos, uncountable number of films that we have watched over the last 2 decades and the instinct of a passionate fan who seems to think that he understands "what works" on screen :) has helped us through. It will now be a 10 min film.

I have always been disheartened by Bollywood's lack of content and attention to detail. We have tried our best to have these 2 things in plenty in this powerful little dream kick-starter. The image is actually taken from a rehearsal session. The picture shows the 2 main characters of the film. The cast has been finalized and these are the 2 leads. So this is like a sneak peek.

I dont think I can reveal much more at this stage. But we are on track to do a full shoot in about a month's time. Lots of challenges ahead, cinematography (a lot more involved than anticipated), Lighting (cant see anything --> damn everything is ugly), sound (soul of any video clip), acting (lol, what were we thinking), direction (leader of the clueless), editing (argh!!). But would it be any fun if it was simple? :)

Will write more soon, cheers!

Leave Your Hearts at Home!

For the longest time I have heard this term "Leave your brains at home" used to describe a movie. After hearing it for such a long time I have come to see a pattern in the movies for which people use this term. But what do people really mean. What does leave your brain at home mean. I believe what they mean is not to question blatant holes in the plot? or unrealistic characters? or silly looking locations? or broadly speaking just don't ask any questions.

Om Shanti Om was one film that falls under this category. It is a LYBH film according to a lot of people. It started alright, silly humor, some of it really funny and I thought this was one of those films which are meant to be stupid all over. But then mid way it became serious and expected me to start caring about the characters which were originally set up for a spoof. So if someone dies in a spoof the audience tries to laugh at that too, but this was not funny. Then a bunch of other things happen which are sad but not funny and eventually you realise that these guys are serious about it. So coming back to my point, half way through the film i had started finding flaws in the characters, locations, dialogues and pretty much everything with the film. Some other films were Singh is Kinng, Welcome, a lot of David Dhawan stuff back in the 90s. But does this mean that these "flaws" that we point out in a film do not exist in other films we adore. Actually they are all over the place, its just that we don't notice them because the director was successful in keeping us focused on what he wants us to focus on. According to the definition above of a LYBH a lot of classics should be categorized here. Have you ever heard anyone asking you to leave your brain at home when they talk about say Andaz Apna Apna. No you don't; they all say "its awesome", "its a cult" etc. This is because the humor keeps us engaged, same goes for Padosan, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron. There are "flaws" in the basic plots of these films if you compare them to reality but we never feel the need to leave our brains at home. I am not even considering GolMaal, Chupke Chupke, Lage Raho Munnabhai because you might argue that they clearly don't fall under this category and are bad examples. But if you really think about it, they have flaws too, maybe not as obvious but they are there. Is it really practical for a guy to pull off what Amol Palekar did in GolMaal, can you imagine what Aneez Bazmee would have done to the same story, I cringe. But you buy it, this is because of the treatment, because how you care about the character. Do you really think what happens in the Munnabhai films is possible, the protagonist himself is an unreal character, a lovable bhai. They conveniently don't show the dirty side of what he does for a living for him to stay lovable. But what works for GolMaal, Munnbhai is that people connect to their protagonist, the viewers care when he has a problem and feel happy when he wins, which is the biggest victory of a writer or a director in my opinion.

Most people don't go to a movie to ask questions or to analyze it, they just want to have a good time. I do analyze films but never when am watching it for the first time, i consciously forget about film making and try to have a good time and in fact give the director a chance by trying hard to feel what he/she is trying to convey. A film might be from any genre, but one thing every film needs to do is engage the viewer in any which way. If the film does that, you don't tend to analyze the locations, characters, flaws in the plot etc, because you are engaged in the characters life, his/her predicament, happiness, or by the film's humor or simply its visuals. So whenever you feel like too many things in the film are not right while watching it, its probably because the director has failed to engage you, obviously this assuming that you were diligently paying attention to the film.

But the films which get tagged this certainly have something in them, otherwise why would someone feel the need to defend it, its gotta have entertained the person at some level. So OSO, Welcome, SIK have all succeeded in entertaining some people at some times during the films. Also they were packaged brilliantly and were a marketing success. These films would have failed miserably in the 70s as then films had to run for 20 weeks to be called a hit. Unfortunately today the first weekend is enough. Ne ways, coming back to the most important thing missing in these films, it is the connection with the audience. Its one thing to give ppl some giggles and another thing to make them laugh so much that they bring the film home into their lives and keep it there forever as a part of fond memories. Also such films consistently fail to make you relate to the protagonist. How much did we care if Akshay Kumar gets the girl, or brings the don back to the village in SIK or if SRK really got his revenge in OSO (were the directors even trying, he he). As opposed to that, we still remember Nasseruddin Shah and Ravi baswani's earnest fight for justice in JBDY or Amol Palekar's struggle to keep his job in Golmaal. So really speaking the way you would enjoy LYBH films is to not expect to have a great time but just about OK time, expect to be a little bored and wait for a few laughs, expect forgettable characters who don't connect with you, in short leave your hearts at home.

Living a Dream

I am making my first film. No, not just a home video, not with a cell phone camera or a just another handy cam, not a spoof, not a video of my fav song, an actual, real, living, breathing, dreaming, ass kicking, world rocking, mind blowing narrative short film! (phew!)

I will write another post explaining exactly how I am doing it. But I have finally made the switch. For years now I have heard filmmakers saying "don't plan to write a script, write a script, don't plan to make a movie, make a movie". Apparently that is the best way to learn. So what stopped me? A mental block, yes with me, probably a result of listening too much to people around.

How can I make a film? How would I do it? Its not really a great industry to be in. Its years of struggle. Most people never make it. Its just a silly craze, it'll phase out. But now you're an engineer etc etc

I don't have answers to any of these, and I honestly don't care. I guess every person has to go through this process of deciding what he/she really wants to do in life. It takes conviction, passion to go for a less travelled path. People have advice, a lot of them may tell you not to do something and often with good intent. But they do so from their own travels and experiences. They cannot possibly imagine what it takes to make it or if you have it in you. So how do you know if you have it or not. Well that's the million dollar question, ain't it? That's something a voice answers, from deep inside and that voice makes more sense than any person telling what you can't do. So after making sense of all this, the only thing left was to get over my inertia. 18 years of education has slowly but surely sucked every bit of instinct out of me. I like most others am incapable of taking any risks. We are trained that way, in an assembly line, living everyday to make a "good" living with an imaginary family. But I don't wanna get noticed in the crowd I just wanna leave the crowd completely. The people who follow their goals some how manage to do this successfully. A lot of such people just don't have a choice, they don't know how to do anything else, its their only option. But what about someone who is doing something else and strangely is successful there. It takes something more for such a person to look else where.

Then recently I lost a dear one, actually my dearest. After I got over the shock, the pain hit me, like a train. I have lived with it everyday since then. Even when I am happy I can feel it deep in my gut. But along with the sadness the pain did something else, it amazingly dragged me out of my 18 year coma. It has forced me to get a perspective of life. I feel that it forced me to see what really matters. I take my mind more seriously. It has has slapped me in the face. Its not just theory anymore, its not just in the movies anymore, it has happened to me, I saw a loved one die in front of me. So anything can happen to me, so then none of those things are just imaginary, they all happen to real people like me, even the dreams coming true part. And now, I want to try, no matter what happens, the will is finally getting stronger than the fears. I believe I have gotten there, I can take risks again, I got my instinct back.

So I am making my first film, because I don't want to wait anymore. I don't wanna go through life wondering why I didn't. All the time i put into watching movies, analyzing them, critiquing them, obsessing over them came to just one conclusion, "it would be fun to make one myself". Not for becoming rich, not for winning awards, not for the fame, just for the process. And I was right, its not just fun, its like a dream

The Impending Implosion...

(Inspired by the Grammy Nominated Song by NIN, 'Every Day is Exactly The Same' and off course life)

He sulks,

He goes for long angry walks,

He hates his space,

He hasn't shaved in days,

Disheveled,

Its like nobody can hear him scream,

But hes a nice guy,

Hes a dreamer,

He loves loud music,

He drives fast to calm down,

And he waits,

He knows. one day he will snap,

The impending implosion,

And he cant wait for it...

--Onkar

"There is no love here and there is no pain, Every day is exactly the same..."

Turn it up, way up, 2:54 - 4:54 - My world goes into slow-mo and I cant hear anything but the music...

Music Saves My Soul

I have 9 gigs of music and growing. I spend at least 2 hours everyday looking for new songs. I listen to my Ipod all the time at work. which is about 9 hours. I wake up everyday absolutely uninspired to be at work and then the Ipod takes over. I almost forget what I am actually doing. Its a way I cheat myself, I can be at work and somewhere else at the same time. Every song that I like takes me away somewhere. I start visualising the music, I start thinkin what could be the best video for this song or where should this song be placed in a video. It always starts exactly where I am at that instant. It sort of triggers a flow of sequences which justify the rhythm. All this while I am doing something else at work. Its like I am making some sort of short films everyday in my mind. Apparently film making is a process where I could do this for a living. I dont know much about it, but I know it sure does require creativity. I feel like I have it, its dormant but its there. I cant seem to trigger it easily, until music is on. Then I am in a trance, I am a cinematographer, I am a narrator, I am at work. Its like somebody opened my mind up. 2 things trigger it, the music am listening to and the location I am at. I am always convinced I can shoot a scene right here, like this, with this happening in it and this background music.

This is more of an explanation of the title of this blog than an introduction. I named it a while back and never wrote anything. Today I started wondering why I named it this. So this is it I guess, I am always directing somebody's story, whose? I don't know, maybe the person who made the song am listening to. But none of this can happen unless the music on, without it there's no story, there's no film, there's no film making there's only reality and who wants that eh