Today is the Day 6 of students strike at FTII against Gajendra Chauhan’s nomination. And here’s another great thing about the strike – the writing is now on the wall, literally. Have a look.
(Click on any pic to start the slide show)
Posts Tagged ‘FTII’
FTII #StrikeIsOn Enters Day 6 – Writing Is On The Wall (Pics)
Posted: June 17, 2015 by moifightclub in cinema, NewsTags: FTII, Gajendra Chauhan, Strike
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An Open Letter To Gajendra Chauhan From An FTII Student
Posted: June 14, 2015 by moifightclub in cinema, News, Open LetterTags: Adoor Gopalkrishnan, FTII, Gajendra Chauhan, Girish Karnad, Open Letter, Saeed Mirza, shyam benegal, U. R. Ananthamurthy
(click on any pic to start the slide show)
(Disclaimer – This is an expression of an individual student and in no way is representation of FTII’s official position)
Dear Mr Chauhan,
I am choosing to address you personally after listening to you respond on several TV news debates about the recent opposition against your appointment as Chairman at FTII. I am a student of FTII and part of the protest.
When we first heard about your appointment we knew little about you except those of us who had grown up on ‘Mahabharata’ the B.R. Chopra serial. We then began to look for more information to get to know your background and work profile. When we did, we saw a huge anomaly in your body of work and the very principles and aesthetic, FTII stands for. We began to smell a rat. Given your political affiliations and given the fact that the ruling party is becoming notorious for making completely irrational and high-handed appointments since it has come to power, it was clear to us you were meant to be a puppet of the Government and chosen despite your capabilities and inspite of your body of work. The protest wasn’t against you personally, coz we never knew you or about you. You, as we saw, are unfit for the job (reasons below) but more important than that this is a strike against the increasing interference of the ruling party to drive their agenda throughout the country without considering the principles of democracies and those of the said institutions. I think, this may satisfy the ‘surprise’ you felt when you heard about the protest before even you joining. This protest was not about you, Mr Chauhan as an individual. This may also satisfy a certain insecurity you may have, going by your own admission of you being a ‘chhota aadmi’, of depriving you of your chance to shine and become ‘big’. (Given your political affiliations I am sure you will receive a much better post, as you again by your admission iterated, that, ‘If you had to use your political power than why FTII, why not a big and more important post?’ I hope you see the contradictions here, Mr Chauhan. First you say give me a chance to progress, then you imply FTII isn’t that important a place to progress with. Strange.)
Now it is comments like these that compel me to write this letter. Because, now that we have heard you speak, we know you better and now that we know you we are dead sure you are wrong for this post. Before I tell you why you are wrong, let me educate you a bit about FTII and what this institution means to cinema as well. On the way you may learn something about cinema too, because as you may not be aware, ‘Khuli Khidki’ isn’t exactly cinema.
What FTII stands for –
- Freedom of thought – We are allowed, encouraged and groomed to think independently to understand the world around us and our own art without any agendas, something I don’t see many institutions that can boast of. We are also taught to respect each other’s opinions as artists. Do you see yourself being able to encourage that?
- Freedom of speech – We are allowed, encouraged and groomed to express our independent opinions without fear of repercussions, disturbing the status quo or upsetting power equations. This, you may not know, is a very important constitutional right of every citizen of India and the cornerstone of democracy which the ruling party you are associated with is trying to systematically euthanize.
- Individuality and unbridled self-expression – FTII grooms students as individual artists above their technical domain, constantly keeping in mind that it is the person who creates and not technology. We are pushed to develop and express ourselves through our art for constant evolution irrespective of our specialisations. Having said that, FTII produces the best technical experts the industry has, on a yearly basis too.
- Justice and fairness in all areas to all sections of society based on the philosophical principles of the Socialist Democracy we are. FTII has always stood for equality and justice for all irrespective of class, creed or gender and this has shown in the films it produces. Cinema, you see, is a wonderful tool of mass communication and if it can be used for propagating ideas of equality and justice, then why not?! These ideas don’t go down very well with your political party unfortunately and that is worrisome for us.
- Only film institute in India to have a global perspective on cinema as a pure aesthetic medium without any mercenary considerations. It is an art form and it is upheld as one here, without compromises. Cinema here is taught from the lessons and learnings of world greats by people who understand it as an art-form, to students who want to become artists not assembly line film-makers. This requires a certain bent of mind and commitment to cinematic arts. Do you think you have it?
- The only film institute in India that considers cinema as a vehicle as much of self-expression as much as a mirror to the society we live in. Cinema, for us, cannot be divorced from a personal voice and the socio-political context within which we live. Cinema, for us is about comment and expression not distribution and titillation. Do you understand this distinction?
Now you may say, you will uphold all these principles. Fine, we may consider your earnestness to get your ‘chance’ but what about the fact that one must understand these principles to execute them? Your body of work and now more importantly, your responses, clearly show you don’t. If you still don’t get it, let me tell you why you are wrong for this post –
- You have no connection whatsoever with FTII to understand this space. You are not an alumnus nor have you worked or associated professionally with students or artists from here. I doubt you have even visited this place ever. You may say you will learn on the job, but Sir we aren’t talking about hiring an intern. YOU are supposed to be guiding US, deciding our future. Without knowing what this place is all about, how will you?
- You have nothing in your body of work that shows any kind of affiliation to the philosophy or aesthetics of cinema we practice here. If you haven’t studied or practiced then you don’t understand, you see. Then how will you show us the way ahead? How will you approve, disapprove and draft policies, make decisions, appoint people to take our learning forward in the way it should be done?
- You have nothing else in your body of work to show any kind of inclination to arts and aesthetics, or an intellectual or questioning bent of mind. This especially, is disastrous for both of us. You may not know, but the key ingredient in learning and teaching, especially of arts and aesthetics is a constantly questioning mind.
- And because of these three points above, your political affiliation troubles us a lot. Because a fourth standard student can see why you are not fit for this post but the Government of India has handed it to you on a platter. Hence, even if you are sincere this very lack of understanding can easily make you a pawn in the hands of the Govt to push their decisions on to the institution. In that case, for your own peace of mind and job security with your bosses I think this could be unhealthy for you. Why would you want a job where you can’t prove your own mettle as you so badly seem to want to do? Please seriously re-consider and withdraw.
- If we talk of pure heritage, the post of the Chairman has been held by the following – (Please google them if you don’t know of them and you will know more about why you are wrong for this place.)
Adoor Gopalkrishnan – Director, writer and producer, FTII alumnus and 16 National Awards, Padma Shri, Padma Vibhushan and Dadasaheb Phalke awardee. (The last, you may not know, is the highest honour conferred in the field of cinema.) If awards don’t cut it for you, it doesn’t for some of us either, then maybe the fact that he started the ‘New Cinema’ movement in Kerala that synthesized the mainstream and so-called art cinema for a wider appreciation of cinema as an artform.
Shyam Benegal – Director, writer, faculty at FTII before he became the Chairman twice. 12 National Awards, Padma Shri, Padma Vibhushan and the Dadasaheb Phalke Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. His films have been nominated at Cannes, Berlin and Moscow in competition sections. But more importantly he was a huge influence and constituent of the parallel cinema movement in India which changed the shape of cinema forever.
Girish Karnad – Actor, director, writer, playwright, recipient of 9 National Awards, Padma Shri, Padma Vibhushan, Sahitya Akademi and Janpeeth Award (highest literary honour of India). He marked the blooming and maturing of Kannada literature in the sixties.
U.R.Ananthamurthy – Novelist, playwright, poet and literary critic, Padma Bhushan, Sahitya Akademi, Jnanpeeth awardee. Finalist of the Man Booker prize. He had no association with cinema and we protested his appointment too despite holding his body of work and the power of his intellect in high regard.
Saeed Mirza – Director, writer, novelist, producer, FTII alumnus, 3 National Awards winner and a very important film-maker whose films gave impetus and shape to the parallel cinema movement of the 70’s.
And now some GK about FTII in the last decade, actually just last two years is enough. I wouldn’t have taken the pain but I read you mention somewhere that Rajkumar Hirani was the last film-maker of reckoning FTII produced. Not so long ago, in 2009, ‘Vihir‘, a terrific Marathi film was chosen at Berlin in the competition section and it was made by an FTII alumnus. Last year, in 2014,‘Killa’, a Marathi film has won the Crystal Bear at Berlin. And you know, the director was a cinematography student here, by the way. He also shot ‘Masaan’ which won two awards at Cannes this year. Yes, two. And to talk mainstream, he has also shot the soon-to-release Ajay Devgan starrer ‘Drishyam’, and this guy is hardly in his early thirties. Another film in competition this year at Cannes was ‘Chauthi Kooth’, made by another FTII alumnus. For God’s sake our diploma films have been selected in competition at Berlin this year, ‘Kamakshi’ being a case in point. Oh by the way, ‘Chitrashala’, another short film selected at Berlin this year is made by Amit Dutta, an FTII alumnus again, and an avant-garde and important film-maker of our times.
(If you can, please note how your reference points are so mainstream that you are not even aware of the wonderful and important work FTII alumni have been doing and which have even made recent headlines.)
I can go on, Sir. But I think I have explained myself in so much detail that you must have got the point. And in case you didn’t, it proves once again why you just aren’t right for this post. Apologies but we can do little about that except protest until you step down.
Thank you
Most Sincerely
An FTII student
FTII Students’ Association’s Statement on Gajendra Chauhan’s Appointment
Posted: June 14, 2015 by moifightclub in etc, NewsTags: Film And Television Institute Of India, FTII, Gajendra Chauhan, Statement, Students’ Association
When the Finance Minister (who also happens to be the current I&B minister) announced that FTII (Film And Television Institute Of India) will be made into an ‘Institute of National Importance’, Students hoped that concrete and substantial measures will be taken to grant more autonomy to the Institute and upgrade academic and physical infrastructure. The first step in that direction would have been to appoint a Chairman of highest artistic attitude, one whose values are in sync with the vision and ethos of the Institute. Instead, bypassing all academic and Institute requirements, the ministry has appointed Mr Gajendra Chauhan who lacks academic, administrative and artistic credentials in the field of Art and Film education. He has no significant contribution/ work to even qualify as a footnote or a passing reference in the history of Indian cinema and television.
Some of the eminent personalities who have been FTII chairman in the past includes Mrinal Sen, Adoor Gopalakrishnan , Shyam Benegal, U.R Anantha Murty, Saeed Akthar Mirza and many more. These people have been either Alumni of FTII or have had experience in serious Film practice or other Art forms. Their experience in their chosen field of work has brought in a vision to the functioning of FTII. This decision of the Ministry to appoint Mr. Chauhan is not only undesired but also brings the whole process of appointment into question. FTII is a premier institute respected throughout the world for producing internationally reputed Film makers, Film Academicians and Independent Artists. We the students of FTII believe that such an appointment will not only undermine the relevance of the post but also set a wrong precedence for the future. We must never forget that FTII is a cultural hub that provides film education to students of different socioeconomic backgrounds from different parts of the country.
It is extremely sad that the government rather than enhancing the stature of many premiere institutes of the country has constantly tried to undermine the autonomy of these institutes by appointing partisan people with no merit. We see this decision in the light of continuing policies of the government to curb voices of all liberal and progressive art Institutions.
Unlike NFDC and CBFC where government has also meddled with the appointments, FTII is not going to take the bait. We strongly condemn the appointment of the new Chairman. We propose to the ministry to reconsider its appointment and also relook at the process of constituting the FTII society and its members.
Until further clarity surfaces from the I&B Ministry, we continue to standby our demands and mark our protest with a call for a strike.
We request all concerned citizens, artists, writers, performers, film makers, activists and alumnus of FTII to take notice and support our cause.
Harishankar Nachimuthu
President
Students’ Association, FTII
ftiistudentsbody@gmail.com,
http://ftiistudentsbody.blogspot.com
Celluloid Man – 100 years of losses and gains
Posted: May 10, 2013 by moifightclub in cinema, Documentary, Movie ReccoTags: Cannes Film Festival, Celluloid Man, FTII, National Awards, NFAI, P.K. Nair, Shivendra Singh Dungarpur
“Pain is temporary, film is forever” – Michael J. Fox
Unfortunately, it is not. And neither are memories, both die, if not carefully preserved. Without memories, the past is a blank slate, existing in a space where we cannot touch it. Without a past we are a blank slate, forever trapped in a present that makes little sense. Films, like all our art, keeps our past safe, for us to delve into and understand how we came this far and, more importantly, where to go from here.
P.K. Nair understood this and scraped together our largely dissipated past, bit by bit, literally from across the country’s landscape and even beyond. What I felt when I heard that was sheer awe. And awe-inspiring is everything about Shivendra Singh Dungarpur’s documentary, “Celluloid Man”.
The film is the centre of attention right now, thanks to a much-deserved release (a shout out to the rare PVR Rare!), the National Awards, the Cannes selection and especially the centenary of our much-maligned yet much-beloved Hindi Film Industry. Much has been written about it so I’d like to simply share what the film did to me instead.
I like watching documentaries in the theatre. Especially our Indian docus which, by default, generally have a rusty appeal that somehow get an exotic aura in the hall. I also like everything old and forgotten; its romance and nostalgia, and the bitter-sweet pain that memories always bring with them. Celluloid Man, smelling of museums and ruins, was tailor-made for me. I walked in with the same excitement, same anticipation I had while watching Hugo, except that this was a bit more personal. This was about history that was specifically ‘mine’.
I settled down and there was this old, decrepit man detailing first-hand, his journey of collecting films and teaching a stubborn India the importance of preserving its history. How he salvaged the print of Dadasaheb Phalke’s ‘Kaliya Mardan’ and put the film together with little besides Phalke’s small notebook and his own diligence. How he travelled to remote corners of the country to collect film negatives, even bits. How Ardeshir Irani’s son confessed to having sold his father’s negatives for silver extraction. How he made prints of films that came to FTII for screening without bothering about permission. How he bargained and bartered copies of Indian films for foreign ones. His meeting with Langlois of Paris’ Cinematheque (I particularly loved how unimpressed he was about the meeting with what seemed-like a rather stuffy Langlois purely from the way Nair saab relates the meeting). And how much he now misses being close to what was probably the only love of his life, films.
But that was not all. The legendary man has a legendary memory of the location of every scene in every film he has archived. The NFAI under him collected 12,000 films, 8000 Indian and 4000 foreign. The mind boggles, yes. But that is not all, as he walked around FTII he also recollected memories of the old Prabhat Studios effortlessly. Of a certain make-up room at the then Prabhat Studios and now FTII campus that was Madhubala’s favourite. Of a certain wooden floor having a tank underneath to convert it for outdoor water sequences. Of the sturdy equipment still in use. Of Prabhat Studios being modelled on the best of Hollywood indoor studios. His memory and appetite for trivia seemed as marvellous as his legacy.
Even more marvellous was to watch the number of lives he touched. Lives of the very people who have created our celluloid history. It was immensely humbling to watch each one of them speak ever-so-warmly about their association with him. Of Girish Kasavaralli recalling how his thoroughly neglected Ghattashraddha was restored and archived. Of Jahnua Barua talking of how Nair saab helped him out by giving him a much-need job which he suspects was an unofficial arrangement. Of an aged Jaya Bachchan recalling with the pride of a young student how she was the only girl allowed for night screenings because Nair saab vouched for her dedication. Of Naseeruddin Shah gleefully talking of surreptitious screenings of censored cuts. Of Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s awe at being handed the print of Godard’s Breathless to study for as long as he wished. He came across as this strict Guru, dedicated to authentic instruction and learning, willing to go to any lengths to open up a student’s horizons if he sensed the hunger. And of Gulzar saab warmly (rightly) placing him next to Dadasaheb Phalke in importance to our film history.
The film packed in bytes with so many important film personalities, right from Sitara Devi, that it felt like some sort of a masterclass in itself. Maybe it is to accommodate their presence then, it has a loose structure. It pans out as a long-winded stroll down memory lane piecing together the painstaking effort of Nair saab’s work with the sole purpose of celebrating the man and his achievements through his and other’s eyes. I didn’t mind the rather meandering and sometimes repetitive narrative solely because this is one film that proves Roger Ebert wrong. The ‘what’ matters more than the ‘how’. Besides, where do you ever get to listen to the likes of Adoor Gopalkrishnan, Kumar Shahani, Gulzar saab, Saeed Mirza and Shyam Benegal at length, at one place?
The film is an unabashed ode, yet, Shivendra Singh Dungarpur takes care to include controversies surrounding the exclusion of Nair saab post his retirement. Neither does he shy away from asking him a tough question, framing his habit of making copies without permission as ‘stealing’. And keeping the camera rolling through an uncomfortable silence and a louder repetition of the question. It could have been edited out but it wasn’t.
He also goes beyond the purview of Nair saab’s work, into his personal life to give us a better glimpse of the man. Unacknowledged, but I was dreading this part. When have men with a singular passion ever had happy personal lives? What followed were long and touchingly forthcoming interviews with Beena Nair, his daughter who confessed how father was never available during her and her brother’s childhood. But now things had changed as she had accepted that it wasn’t lack of love for them but too much love for films that kept him away. I didn’t want to look at her face closely or read her emotions because it seemed like a preciously personal part of her past she was sharing, who am I to peek into someone’s pain? It touched a raw nerve nevertheless. Having an emotionally unavailable parent isn’t easy, I have one. Besides, there is this incident from childhood sharply imprinted on my memory that it sruck. My father is a huge fan of the Gujarati shayar/poet Mareez. He quotes him off-handedly at any point with a look of pure bliss. Once, he had the opportunity to meet him, that too at his home. My gushing dad asked Mareez to recite a few lines for him and Mareez saab obliged. After the recital, his daughter came forward and thanked my father and said something like, ‘Thanks to you we heard father’s poetry today. He never shares anything with us, ever. He is in his own world, it’s like we don’t exist.’ As a child I understood the girl, as an older person with a few insistent passions of her own, I understand Mareez and Nair saab too today. Passion does that. Separates you from everything. You are alone in it, because there you are already with that one thing you love, you don’t need anyone else.
In more than two hours, what I saw unfold onscreen was a meta experience. A while into the film and it became difficult for me to distinguish between Nair’s passion for films and Dungarpur’s for Nair saab’s work. Because, passion, after all has only one language and if you speak it you understand it and Shivendra Singh Dungarpur clearly does. It made me emotional to see that kind of drive for something considered unimportant and a mere commodity. Because, in my eyes, what the two men had done was save me a chunk of my history, not only as culture but as art via the very medium I love so much. How can I thank them enough for that?
I am leaving you with some of the quotes from the film that stayed with me. (might not be verbatim)
“You can see a hundred years from now; you can see a certain aspect of life which was there only at the time, on that day. It means a lot. It means more than Greek Tragedy where everything is heightened beyond compare. But those very small things get so beautifully manifest (on film). It is the very, I think, soul of art of any kind.” -Kumar Shahani
(It is important for us to preserve our past because) “We have a rich past but a very poor history, whereas the West has a significant past. (Perhaps) Not a rich past, but a very significant history.” – U. R. Ananthamurthy
“Before P.K.Nair, there was no one else. After P.K. Nair there is no one else.” – Shyam Benegal
“As an archivist I cannot accept that we have lost forever the print of Raja Harishchandra”. – P.K. Nair
As a film lover, I cannot accept that either. But at least we had Nair saab.
I don’t remember the last time I felt so raw while watching a film.
Film Recco : Shivendra Singh Dungarpur’s Celluloid Man
Posted: April 16, 2013 by moifightclub in cinema, film, Indie, Movie ReccoTags: Celluloid Man, Film Recco, FTII, NFAI, P.K. Nair, Shivendra Singh Dungarpur
We don’t have a culture of documenting our history.
We don’t have a history of making great documentaries.
We don’t have documentaries on our “real heroes”.
And this is why Shivendra Singh Dungarpur’s Celluloid Man is such an important film, which stands tall on those three parameters. It’s about a real hero who has documented our cinematic history, and it’s a documentary on his life and passion.
I had missed the screening few times in the past and finally managed to catch it recently. The name is P.K.Nair. His designation sounds even boring – Archivist. Sounds almost clerical – someone who archives stuff. What separates Mister Nair from his designation and the rest is just one thing – passion. And this film does complete justice to that man and his undying passion for cinema.
Chances are you might not have heard his name if you have not been to FTII or not friends with FTII graduates. He is the man responsible for National Film Archive Of India, popularly known as NFAI. Starting literally from scratch, P K Nair built it up slowly – reel by reel, can by can, film by film. No wonder that you ask him about a scene and he can tell you which reel and which can has it. Celluloid Man is his story – how he built NFAI, the way he travelled to various places in search of those rare films which most didn’t care about.
The film runs on two tracks. One traces Nair’s personal story – starting from Nair’s childhood in Kerala to how he wanted to become filmmaker and how he landed up at FTII and started NFAI. Some of the well known faces from FTII recount their younger days at the Institute and talk about Nair saab. And then you realise that his contribution is much more than just being an archivist. It’s about shaping up those young bright minds.
The other one is about building NFAI – this has intersecting anecdotes about collecting those precious films by travelling to remote places, and sometimes even opting for illegal routes for a greater cause. Dungarpur balances it well by scratching the uncomfortable surface too – was it one-upmanship, why NFAI is hostile to Nair now and such.
It feels bit long at the running duration of more than 2 hours (2:24 exactly i think, not sure which version is releasing), and the director’s sudden voice-over feels odd which doesn’t gel well with the film as the rest of it is through Nair saab’s words. But those are just minor issues in this mammoth task of documenting this important part of our cultural history so beautifully. If you are film lover, WATCH IT. If you are not, watch it just to know how to define Passion and Commitment.
The initial portions of the film is shot gorgeously, almost like a dream, feels some kind of daze. And then there’s a heartbreaking surreal sequence of silver being extracted from film reels by those who understand only commerce. The horror! Horror! i shouted in my head.
And this film could not have come at a better time. If there’s one person who needs to be celebrated at the occasion of 100 years of cinema, it’s Nair saab. If nothing else, at least this documentary serves that purpose. Thanks, Shivendra.
– The film is being released by PVR Directors Rare on May 3rd. Don’t Miss this one.
– To know more about the film, click here.
– DearCinema has a detailed review of the film from IFFLA. Click here to read.
(PS – My fav quote is about gym in FTII. I guess that says a lot about our current cinema too)
VOTD : Bonga – Kundan Shah’s FTII Diploma Film
Posted: August 12, 2011 by moifightclub in cinema, VOTDTags: Bonga, Diplmoa Film, FTII, Kundan Shah, VOTD
The madness was always there. Click on the play button to watch Bonga – the FTII Diploma film of Kundan Shah. It’s no surprise that he went on to make the cult film Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron.
FWA Seminar on the Uniqueness of Indian Script – All the details
Posted: August 22, 2010 by moifightclub in bollywood, cinema, News, writingTags: FTII, FWA, Screenwriting, Seminar
Its an annual event organised by FWA (Film Writers Association). A forum that gets some of the best and well known filmmakers and writers to discuss and dissect Indian cinema and screenwriting. Read on to know all the details.
WHERE – National Film Archives of India (NFAI). Its on Law College Road, Pune. Close to FTII, which was the venue earlier.
DATES – 28th & 29th August (Sat & Sun)
ENTRY – Free. There is no registration fee.
REGISTRATION – Starts at 9am on 28th August at the venue.
SESSIONS -There will be six sessions. Three on 28th and three on 29th August. Rest follows.
28th August – Session 1 (11am-1pm)
How it all Began: Genesis of and Influences on the Early Indian Script
Chair:Adoor Gopalkrishnan
Speakers: Shama Zaidi, Kaushik Bhaumik
Panel: Virchand Dharamsey, Suresh Chhabria, Atul Tiwari
Session 2 ( 2-4pm )
Dramatic Highs: Melodrama and our Cinematic Form
Chair: Salim Khan
Speakers: Ira Bhaskar, K. Hariharan
Panel: Christine Gledhill, Ravi Vasudevan, Kamlesh Pandey
Session 3 ( 4:30-6:30pm )
A Song and Dance About Everything : Music, Song and Lyrics in the Script
Chair: Javed Akhtar
Speaker: Vinay Shukla
Panel: Madan Gopal Singh, Swanand Kirkire
29th Aug 2010
Session 4 ( 9:30-11:15am )
Anger and Rebellion : The New Wave Cinema (plus the Angry Young Man’s evolution)
Chair: Govind Nihalani
Speakers: Rashmi Doraiswamy and Ashish Rajadhyaksha
Panel: Kundan Shah, Saeed Mirza, Jahnu Baruah
Session 5 ( 11:30am-1:30pm )
Urban Foibles and a New Individualism : Current Trends in Indian Scriptwriting 1995-2010
Chair: Ashutosh Gowariker
Speaker: Ranjani Mazumdar
Panel: Rensil D’Silva, John Mathew Matthan, Bhawana Somaayaa
Session 6 ( 2:30- 4:30pm )
The Road Ahead : Globalism, the Digital Revolution and Other Attractions (Round Table)
Chair: Shekhar Kapur/ Kamal Hassan
Panel: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Paresh Mokashi, Anuvab Pal, Rohan Sippy, Navdeep Singh, Vivek Agnihotri
Speakers – Shekhar Kapur, Kamal Hassan and Shyam Benegal will confirm after 24th August. Shankar Mahadevan/Ehsaan may come for the music session- they are also yet to confirm.
If you are on Facebook, click here to join the group for all the details.
We are going. Who else is joining us ? We just hope that the speakers do come with some kind of preparations ( presentations or something exciting) and no just blabber their way to boredom. We will try to record and put video blogs of the same.
56th National Film Awards Announced – here is the complete list!
Posted: January 23, 2010 by moifightclub in cinemaTags: A Wednesday, Altaf Mazid, Antaheen, Arjun Rampal, Aveek Mukherjee, Bala, Bollywood Melodies, Chinni, Fashion, FTII, Gandha, Ganesh Anantharaman, Gubachigalu, Hariharan, Jogva, jury, Kangana Ranaut, Little Zizou, Mumbai Meri Jaan, Nana Kadavul, National Awards, Neeraj Pandey, Neeta Lulla, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, Priyanka Chopra, R K Bidur Singh, Rekha Prakash, Roadside Romeo, Rock On, Sachin Kundalkar, Shaji N Karun, Shob Charitro Kalponik, Shreya Ghoshal, The Director's Mind, Three of Us, Umesh Kulkarni, Upendra Limaye
Before you wonder which year’s National Awards, have a look at the list first. You will be tempted to say more after checking the list.
Best Film – Antaheen
Best Director – Bala ( Naan Kadavul )
Best Actor – Upendra Limaye ( Jogva)
Best Actress – Priyanka Chopra ( Fashion )
Best Actor in Supporting Role – Arjun Rampal (Rock On)
Best Actress in Supoorting Role – Kangana Ranaut (Fashion)
Best First Film of a Director – Neeraj Pandey (A Wednesday)
Best Film providing wholesome entertainment – Oye Lucky Lucky Oye
Best Childrens Film : Gubachigalu (Kannada)
Best Animation : Roadside Romeo
Best Playback Singer (male) : Hariharan (Jogva)
Best Playback Singer (female) : Shreya Ghoshal (Antaheen & Jogva)
Best Choreography : Chinni and Rekha Prakash (Jodha Akbar – azeem-o-shaan shenshah)
Best Costume Designer – Neeta Lulla (Jodha Akbar)
Best Cinematography – Aveek Mukherjee ( Antaheen)
Best Screenplay – Sachin Kundalkar (Gandha )
Best Music Direction – Atul & Ajay (Jogva)
Best Lyrics – Anindya Bannerjee & Chandranil Bhattacharya ( Antaheen)
Best Special Effects – Mumbai Meri Jaan
Best Make Up Artist – Moorthy V ( Naan Kadavul)
Best Audiography – Pramod J Thomas ( Gandha)
So, where are we headed ?
The JURY (read culprits) – Panel was headed by Shaji N. Karun (hmmm). Members – Roshan Taneja, H M Ramachandra, Nagma (really ?), Satyabrata Kalita, Neelakanta, Dilip Ghosh, Swapan Mullick, Sudesh Syal, S.K. Srivastava, Archana, B. Shashi Kumar, Subhash Sehgal, Santosh Desai and Sreelekha Mukherjee.
Who are all these people ? Can someone enlighten us ? Except few, not sure about others and their credentials.
Among the other awards are…
Best Film on National Integration – Aai Kot Nai ( Assamese)
Best Film on Social Issues – Jogva (Marathi)
Best Film on Environmental Conservation – Jianata Bhoota (Oriya)
Best Film on Family values – Little Zizou
Best Chilren’s Film Award – Gubbachigalu
Best Child Artist – Master Shams Patel ( Thanks Maa)
The Special Jury Award – Bioscope ( Malayalam)
Best Assamese Film – Mon Jai
Best Bengali Film – Shob Charitro Kalponik
Best Hindi Film – Rock On
Best Kannada Film- Vimukthi
Best Malayalam Film Thirakkada
Best Marathi Film – Harishchandrachi Factory
Best Tamil Film Veranam Airam
Best Telugu Film – 1940 Lookagramam.
Best English Film – Land Gold Women
Best Kokborok Film – Yarwng
Best Tulu Film – Gaggara
In the Non-Feature film category…
Best Short Fiction Film – Stations (Emmanuel Palo. Producer – FTII)
Best Direction – Umesh Kulkarni (Three of Us)
And the award for the Best Book on Cinema is for Bollywood Melodies (Ganesh Anantharaman). Also Special Mention to The Director’s Mind (Ujjal Chakraborty).
Best Film Critic – Altaf Mazid and R K Bidur Singh.
Book On Om Puri To Reveal It All. Courtesy : Wife Nandita Puri
Posted: November 11, 2009 by moifightclub in bollywood, books, gossipmongers, News, ThoughtsTags: bai, biography, book, FTII, maid, Mumbai Mirror, Nandita Puri, NSD, Om Puri, sex, Unlikely Hero, wife
First lesson : Don’t marry a journalist if you are famous and have lots of bones in closet. Because once a journalist is always a journalist.
Second lesson : And if you marry a journalist, never ask him/her to write your biography!
Jokes apart, three cheers to Nandita Puri for the tell-all biography of her husband Om Puri. Not everyone can dare to do so. And its almost impossible when you are related to your subject. The book (Unlikely Hero : Om Puri) is not yet out, and we are not sure if its really going to reveal all, but if the film is going to be anything close to what the teaser is promising, we are looking forward.
In an industry where everything is in closet and where we are all holier-than-thou you can only expect some fakeographies! And so this is going to be refrshing change.
Tehelka has published excerpts from the book. Scroll down to read or you can click here. And yes, Shiney Ahuja is not the only bai-sexual! Ask Mahesh Bhatt, he can give you few more names.
Of a pump and a bed
Om grew up in an environment almost devoid of women. His mother, Tara Devi was the only woman he knew for years until he reached his Mamaji’s place in Sanaur. [T]here were no girls of his age and the only women he knew were his maternal aunts and the maids. So it was but natural for Om to take a liking to older women. He must have been around fourteen when he was ‘deflowered’. A fifty-five-year-old woman, Santi, used to provide general help in his maternal uncle’s house. Twice a day, water was drawn into the house with a hand pump and Om was asked to assist Santi in the job. Days went by and Om kept pressing the pump backwards and forwards, till one day he realized that Santi would first touch, then caress and finally fondle him during the task. The young boy began to get turned on without knowing what was happening to him.
One day there was a power failure and in the dark, Santi grabbed Om, who was by then totally aroused. They slept together and the fourteen-yearold felt really great having ‘come of age’. Dark, greying, with a toothless grin, always dressed in half-torn salwars, Santi was Om’s first lover.
The fourteen-year-old’s lust for Santi spilled over into a kind of attraction towards another older woman. This was his badi maami or older maternal aunt, Gomti Devi. It was perhaps this infatuation that led Om to caress the exposed navel of his other aunt, Satya Devi, one summer night on the family terrace under a moonlit sky. Though it was the younger aunt he was physically caressing, it was actually the aura of his older aunt that had overwhelmed him…
Whatever the reason, his naïve act led to his shame and expulsion from the Kapoor household and Om was left to fend for himself.
The maid he almost married
[In 1986, when his girlfriend Mala left him, Om was living in an apartment in a complex called Trishul where his] staff consisted of a mother and daughter duo from Andhra Pradesh, Amma and her daughter Lakshmi. When they first came to Trishul, they stank a lot as they used to work in the local Versova fish market. It took a lot of coaxing on Om’s part and several rounds of scrubbing with soap on their part to get rid of the stink.
Initially, Lakshmi and Amma used to serve part-time but seeing Om’s hapless predicament with his nephews after Mala’s departure, they stayed on to work full-time. Between them, they did all the housework and Lakshmi took pains to manage things well. Also, whenever Om was at home, she made an extra effort to cook special food for him and walked around the house coyly. She even flirted with him playfully. Om did not fail to notice all this.
Lakshmi had a dark and voluptuous matronly appearance and Om found her suitably attractive. Thus, their short-term physical relationship began. A few months later, Om realized that Lakshmi was getting quite attached to him. And since he was feeling grateful to her, on the spur of the moment, he decided to marry her… Om thought he too could set an example for society. Or maybe he felt his reel life, where he acted out socially meaningful roles, should spill over into his real life.
‘Thank God I woke up quickly from my idealistic stupor and did not commit to Lakshmi. We had nothing, absolutely nothing in common,’ Om says. Lakshmi soon began to get very possessive about him… Om did not like this and decided to terminate their short affair. Lakshmi, however, was not one to take it lying down. [She] tried to climb onto the terrace rail and announced she was going to jump seven storeys down. When Om pulled her back, she yelled hysterically, ‘Nahin, mujhe marne do! (No, let me die!)’ Om could not have asked for a more melodramatic scene of a break-up than this!
First smell of money
On a holiday to Delhi, Naseer prodded him to go to Pune, but funds were the main hindrance that kept Om away. He applied for a Punjab government scholarship which did not come immediately. In the meantime, a friend from NSD, Neelam Mansingh asked her friend, a businessman, Jugnu Singh to sponsor Om. Jugnu agreed and on that assurance Om joined FTII. But Jugnu’sfunds never materialized…
Om got in and was able to manage the two years’ acting course in Pune due to the kindness of some friends and teachers. One such person was Girish Karnad. During the interview, students were asked to recite two passages, one of their choice and one that had been sent by the institute. Om’s passage was Mark Anthony’s speech from Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar. Om was good. But the interview board wondered why they should take Om as a student. ‘He doesn’t look like a hero, nor like a villain, nor a comedian. What use will he be of to the industry?’ they chorused.
‘‘That is not our problem,’ Karnad, who was then the director of FTII, insisted… During his first summer vacation, Karnad recommended Om to B.V. Karanth to play the lead in his hour-long children’s film, Chor Chor Chhup Jaaye. That was Om Puri’s first film and he played a vagabond. His first co-actor was a monkey called Ramu. He made friends with Ramu and sported an unkempt look to go with his character in the film. When the payment was handed to him, Om did not know how to react. He had never seen so much money together – all of three thousand rupees! But he ensured that the money saw him through the entire FTII course.
Tehelka has also done an interview with Nandita, and when asked if she had to hold back anything, she said “Yes, I guess so. I’m used to profiling people, but it’s different as a wife. Even though I did reveal a lot, I did have to hold a little back. At first, he was very apprehensive. He was not very keen that I do the biography. He had asked me to do it in the beginning when I was a young journalist interviewing him. He was just conspiring to spend more time with me. Once I became his wife, he didn’t need such ploys. Later on, it was my decision. Om is constantly talking, so in a way it is more like an autobiography than a biography. I’m saying all the things Om has been meaning to say all these years.
You can read the full interview here.
In today’s Mumbai Mirror, Om Puri has given an interview to SKJha and reacted to his wife’s book and all the stories of his sexual adventures. But since its by SKJha, we take everything with a pinch bowl of salt. To quote Om Puri…
I don’t care if she’s my wife. I won’t let her get away with it. My wife has reduced a very important and sacred part of my life to cheap and lurid gossip. I had shared these dark secrets with my wife as all husbands do. If she chose to make them public at least she should’ve made sure to maintain a dignity about experiences that are a valuable part of my life. Has she forgotten that I have a standing in society and I’ve worked hard to achieve all that I have today? I won’t allow her to throw it all away for the sake of sensationalism.
You can read the full interview here. This all seems like great publicity and buzz for the book just before its release. We are booking our copy for sure. Because Om Puri still remains one of our all time favourite actors!
Special mention to Amit Dutta’s AKAAAK@Venice film Festival!
Posted: September 13, 2009 by moifightclub in cast & crew, cinema, Film Festival, News, Story / Plot / Synopsis, ThoughtsTags: Aadmi Ki Aurat Aur Anya Kahaniyaan, Ajit Singh Rathore, Amit Dutta, FTII, Kra Ma Sha, Ma Pa, Orizzonti, Savita Singh, Sha Tra Gya, synopsis, The Man's Woman and Other Stories, Venice Film Festival
AKAAAK ? It’s Aadmi Ki Aurat Aur Anya Kahaniyaan! In english, its The Man’s Woman and Other Stories.
Amit Datta ? Yes, the same FTII graduate who has directed films like Kra Ma Sha, Sha Tra Gya and Ma Pa. Has a distinct quirky visual signature style. If you havent seen his films, do watch. Available on FTII’s Lensight DVDs. Can get it from FTII or Rudra Media. Google, you will get it.
Kra Ma Sha also bagged two National Awards this year. One for cinematography (Savita Singh) and audiography (Ajit Singh Rathore).
His new film AKAAAK was given a special mention in the Orizzonti (New Horzons) category at the just concluded Venice Film festival. The Orizzonti Prize was given to Pepe Diokno (Philippines) for Engkwentro. And the Orizzonti Prize for Best documentary to DU Haibin (China) for 1428.
Havent seen the film but from the synopsis it looks like Amit is moving in similar domain again….
The film is a series of three episodes which explore the relationship between men, women and the physical and mental spaces they inhabit. A man lives in a rented room with tree branches by his window. He fears that birds and snakes may enter in his room through the window, but would like the squirrels to visit him. In a story narrated within ruins, a man wants to erase the name of his wife, which is tattooed on her own forearm, and in his anxiety to erase it, he even considers going so far as to cut off the arm of his wife; but his friend has better suggestions. In the dark suburbs, a woman sleeping under a glowering bulb is forcefully hired off to a young man waiting for his friend. While the young man wants to know her story, she only wishes to sleep.
F.i.g.h.t C.l.u.b 