Posts Tagged ‘Jahnu Barua’

Jahnu Barua’s Baandhon : A little more than love

Posted: July 9, 2013 by moifightclub in cinema, film, film review, Regional, reviews
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Baandhon is the first Jahnu Barua film to get a multi-city release outside Assam. Thanks to PVR Directors Rare. For cities and show timings, do check the poster below. And here’s Pradeep Menon on the film.

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The media, social and otherwise, has been abuzz with the latest Hindi release; an exciting, talented director’s sophomore feature, one that is making critics and audiences alike gush over gorgeous frames, celebrate the coming of clean cinematic craft, and most importantly, reminisce about romances of the days of old.

Indeed, sometimes one can’t help but feel that, in this day and age, we’ve all forgotten how to fall in love. We’ve forgotten what it is like to drown oneself in that heady rush of a new romance, embrace unbridled passion today like there isn’t a tomorrow and push the limits of rational behaviour in the pursuit of real life moments that make us feel like we’re living a movie.

But here’s the thing about romance – it always dies away. No question about it. So what remains then? What happens when you spend years, or even decades, with a person? Hopefully, once the romance, the passion and the giddy joy of the other’s company gradually ebb away, what you’re left with is respect, stability, comfort, and, if you’re extremely lucky, a lifelong friendship.

That, precisely, is what Jahnu Barua’s ‘Baandhon’ (“Waves of Silence”) is about. On the surface, it appears to be about the complex relationship shared by a married couple; a man and a woman who’ve spent nearly their entire life together. But if you really pause to think about it, it is quite simple. Their love has evaporated perhaps, but they are left with the next best thing – companionship.

Baandhon spends more than half its run-time soaking itself in a single fight between an aged husband and wife; a couple that has already been bereaved of its offspring, and is now solely alive for their grandson, who studies in IIT Mumbai. However, right from the outset, we know that this fight isn’t for real. They’ve done it to death umpteen times before, and it is perhaps the only thing that keeps them going on a daily basis. One ticks because the other is.

But, before we even see the couple for the first time, we are told the date of the fight. 26th of November 2008; a day that sent waves of silence of its own, all around the country. And immediately, you know that this is a story that is always going to end in some sort of a tragedy.

Barua, then, with his decades of filmmaking experience and multiple National Awards, chooses to douse his narrative in such minimalism and sparseness that not only is there never a twist, but there also isn’t even the anticipation of one. The terse inevitability of the path the film traverses is always writ large over the goings-on, and yet, Baandhon gently attempts to reaffirm faith in humanity while admitting that somewhere along the way, humanity has failed.

Reminiscent more than once of Mahesh Bhatt’s ‘Saaransh’, yet largely steering clear of some of the harsh questions and issues that Bhatt’s film raises, ‘Baandhon’ roots itself in economy of craft and storytelling. Even the background score of the film tries its best to camouflage itself behind the visuals; so rare for Indian cinema today, which nearly always attempts to elevate every emotion with over-the-top mood music embellishment.

There isn’t an overt attempt at displaying craft or technique here. Baandhon could easily have been a play. It is set mostly in Guwahati, before the climax, if I can call it that, shifts to Mumbai. Yet, there is no attempt to give the film a texture that sets it in a particular time or place. It could be happening anywhere, at any time. The 26/11 backdrop gives it a real world context perhaps, but even that could just as easily have been a fictional human tragedy that only needed Mumbai to be the place it occurs in. This of course, is clearly intentional on Barua’s part. If you’ve watched ‘Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara’, you know that he’s fully capable of creating a perceptible flavour of place and time.

Baandhon also has no solutions on offer. In fact, it hardly asks any questions. All the film does is give us a brief window of a few days, into the life of a man and woman who, after 73 years of their life, have only each other, even if their journey brings in their path a few kind souls who unselfishly look out for them. It is in these side characters, the ones that attempt to show you that humanity has hope after all, where the film really falters. Our cynical selves will find it hard to swallow the genuine goodness that the peripheral characters go out of their way to shower on our protagonists.

It doesn’t help that most of these side characters aren’t particularly well performed either. Even Bina Patangia, who plays one half of our couple, has an adorable character to fall back on, but her performance itself is mostly functional. Only Bishnu Kharghoria, who plays the husband, truly manages to turn in a memorable performance.

Despite some almost naïve writing and characterization, it is in its silences and pauses that Baandhon’s honesty shines through. This honesty draws you in and makes you want to sit right next to the couple as they deal with loss. Yet, just before your hand reaches out to caress them, you realize that they still have each other. And as you draw your hand back and walk away from them, all you really tell yourself is that perhaps that is all one needs – another person to fall back on, forever.

( To read more posts by Pradeep, you can check out his blog here)

Baandhon: Making of the Poster

Posted: July 4, 2013 by moifightclub in cinema, film, Making, Poster, Posters
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So Jahan Singh Bakshi gets to design his first film poster. And that too for a well know filmmaker – Jahnu Barua. His film Baandhon is getting a multi-city release this friday. Do watch the film if you can. And over to Jahan on “making of the poster”. Or should we say when Jahan met Jahnu 🙂 Anyway, go ahead and read this very interesting post.

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Jahnu Barua’s Baandhon (Waves of Silence) will be releasing in select theaters across the nation this week, and thanks to Shiladitya Bora I had the great opportunity to design a poster for the film. I haven’t seen any of Jahnu Da’s work apart from his only (released) feature in Hindi- Maine Gandhi Ko Nahi Maara- which is something I hope to change soon. But I happened to meet the soft-spoken filmmaker once before during college in Calcutta and then recently in Bombay before getting to work on the poster and it was a pleasure on both occasions- even though he speaks so gently that one often has to strain to even hear what he is saying! Moreover, I spent much of my growing years in Assam and it is an honour to have an Assamese film from one of the most esteemed filmmakers from the region as my feature poster debut, especially since this is a first-of-its-kind Pan-India release for an Assamese film.

Anyway, back to the poster. Baandhon is a disarmingly sweet film  which beautifully shows the relationship between an old couple superbly played by Bishnu Kharghoria and Bina Patangia. The first half of the film plays out like a genteel comedy, with the old man and woman constantly bickering and then making up. It reminded me of so many old couples including my grandparents- they can’t live with or without each other. The second half of the film, where their grandson goes missing during the 26/11 attacks in Bombay is a comment on how it is the common man who bears the impact of the large scale politics and terror.

For me, one dialogue from the film pretty much summed it all up:

“We are common people. The world is too big for us. We have no choice but to trust in it.” 

Two simple people who live in their own small world oblivious to the harshness and the cruelty that lies outside.

Since the film’s look is pretty simple and basic, I wanted to reinterpret the film a little differently while maintaining this essence. I saw the film in two halves. When I am making a poster the first thing I look out for is an image from the film that stays with me. In the first half I would say this was the image that defined the film for me.

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The first thought was to use this image with the two on the rickshaw with the two holding hands in between. I loved the charming and hilarious first half of the film- I have to admit that I wished that the terror angle never came into the picture; I could watch these two quarrel endlessly!) However, I realized that the comment on terror and violence is an important part of the film and the Jahnu Da’s intent behind making it.

After watching the second half, I found what is easily one of the most haunting and defining visuals from the film:

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So this was it. The old couple on a bench with the alien city of Bombay in the backdrop which could perhaps have a hint of violence or destruction. I deliberated on how I would depict Bombay in the backdrop and suggest violence without it becoming  loud or overwhelming. Ultimately I zeroed in on Victoria Terminus (you’ll see why when you watch the film).

The shot in question is from behind the bench, and Deepshikha Mondal (who did the title design and was to initially do the artwork) asked why can’t we use the exact shot from the film as seen above. It is a powerful visual, no doubt. But I insisted on sticking to a front-on view. Movie Posters are after all, commercial art and it always helps to have a face on a poster, especially when a lot of the audience know nothing about the film or its characters, and especially since we were going to have only one poster, it’s essential to make that connect. And it needs to stand out.

Besides, I have a soft spot for what I like to call the ‘dollhouse’ aesthetic, with a flat symmetrical design- reminiscent as many have pointed out- of Wes Anderson films. I wouldn’t say it is inspired by him- in fact my love for this kind of frame is what drew me to Wes Anderson’s films in the first place- but yeah, they do serve as a great reference point. Also I was keen to have a caricature style for the character design- to lend the poster freshness as well as capture the innocence and droll humour of the film.

Clients, as any designer will tell you, can be a nightmare to work with. At the very least, you need to show them exactly what you have in mind for the final design, or they can’t visualize it. (And I can tell you that even after they are executed completely, the best designs often lie unused and unseen.) And I have to really hand it to Shiladitya for not even asking a single question regarding what the poster would really look like. This is the sketch I first sent him, to give him a basic idea- and it really  is BASIC in the truest sense.

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Sketch by Deepshikha Mondal

Anyway, I don’t know whether he really got the idea or just trusted me highly, but I really have to thank him for giving me a go ahead on the basis of this. It’s a big risk to take on someone who has done almost no independent posters before. Now the next step was to make the title logo and flesh out the character design and drawing style.

TITLE DESIGN

For the title design, Deepshikha suggested we create/use a font that is a fusion of the Roman and Assamese script and I was totally on board with the idea. Shiladitya didn’t like the initial title design (seen in the second image from top)- and I agreed that readablility could be an issue. However I was a bit stubborn here and managed to convince him that with bolder glyphs and minus some lines and curves it would be perfectly readable. I wanted this particularly because I wanted an Assamese touch to the poster, in the title, even if not in the image.

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Final Title Logo by Deepshikha Mondal

ILLUSTRATION/CHARACTER DESIGN:

We had already decided on a clean, caricature style for the characters- droll, but still serious. I wanted the feeling of two simpletons sitting on a bench a la Forrest Gump, looking straight ahead at the audience. Deepshikha made the first sketch- which didn’t quite turn out as I imagined it. We tried to rework the design as Deepshikha had seen the film and I thought she could give a nice, North-East Indian aesthetic to it. Unfortunately, she was piled with other work and we were way past deadline and running out of time.

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First illustration by Deepshikha Mondal

That’s when Mrinal Roy came into the picture. I love Mrinal’s illustration work and I was working with him on another poster that should be out soon. I couldn’t give him a copy of Baandhon, which is why I didn’t approach him for this poster. However, now being short on time I got in touch with him and he agreed to do it at incredibly short notice. Mrinal is one of those guys who- unlike me- doesn’t speak a lot- so I never really know whether he’s getting my vision. Anyway, I sent him as many stills and promos off the net that I could find online along with references.

When I saw the first line-drawing, I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief. He had got it down pat  and pretty much nailed it perfectly.. I remember telling him that he could place the ‘kalash’ anywhere he wanted- in the center or the side (even though I preferred it  in the center). He sent me this, saying: ‘I put the kalash in the center because it belongs to both of them.’ That made me smile.

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First cut- Character line-art by Mrinal Roy

The man’s face looked a little too angry, and the woman was a little too roly-poly and North-Indian. So the man’s eyes were to be made softer and sadder and the lady was to be put on a bit of a diet. That was fixed. Then came the background. I hadn’t asked Mrinal to put a lot of detail in the background- there was very little time and it wasn’t necessary. However, he absolutely floored me with the detailing he put into the Victoria Terminus sketch and the poster is all the better for it. My idea was to have a busy background and a clean foreground with gentle waves ending the picture. I think he got that right. The last thing to do was to add the smoke rising from the building which was my little contribution to the artwork.

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The Final Poster

There are a few things I would have liked to change, if I had more time. Mainly the colours and the textures. Maybe a little more detail to say, the lady’s saree, etc. But I’m largely satisfied with the result and this was a great learning experience. Most of the credit for this however goes to Mrinal. Like I said before (the night I was sent the artwork):Screen shot 2013-07-04 at 12.05.06 PM

A thank you to a few more people:

Malvika Asher who suggested the font for the poster- Bariol was just the kind of clean, slightly rounded typeface I was looking for (it’s been used in the trailer too). Sidharth who painstakingly put it all together on Illustrator. Shiladitya and Jahnu Da for the opportunity. for And to everyone who has had kind and encouraging words to say about the poster .

Do watch the film, it releases in cinemas this Friday.

PS: Confession. I purposely didn’t send Shiladitya the line drawing and the in-progress pictures from the poster. Wanted him to see it in entirety before making any suggestions or changes. Thankfully, there were none. 🙂

Jahnu Barua’s Baandhon to get multi-city release on 5th July (poster, synopsis, trailer out)

Posted: June 27, 2013 by moifightclub in cast & crew, cinema, film, first look, News, Poster, Regional, Story / Plot / Synopsis, Trailer
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Jahnu Barua has won 11 National Awards. And there’s high chance that you might not have seen a single film of his, even if you are a die-hard film buff. The reasons and excuses can be many. So here’s your chance to change it. His latest film Baandhon is going to be released in 7 cities across the country, and with English subs. The film is being released under PVR Directors Rare banner and will have shows in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai  (special screening on Saturday/Sunday), Bangalore, Pune and Ahmedabad.

– Baandhon (Waves of Silence) is the first Assamese film to be released outside the state. It is produced by the Assam State Film (Finance & Development) Corporation ltd. (ASFFDC) and has won the award for Best Assamese Feature Film at the 60th National Film Awards in 2012.  It opened the feature film section of Indian Panorama at the 43rd International Film Festival of India and was also screened at the International Film Festival of Kerala.

– The film is 96 minutes long and features Bishnu Kharghoria, Jatin Bora, Bina Patangia, Zerifa Wahid, Abastosh Bhuyan & Anshuman Bhuyan.

– Synopsis : Baandhon is a story of an elderly couple – Dandeswar and Hkawni whose lives are deeply impacted when their grandson goes missing in the attacks of 26/11 in Mumbai. The film captures the turmoil and the upheavals the couple goes through in trying to come to terms with the void that has been created in their lives forever.

And here’s the trailer of the film (with subs)

Mumbai Film Festival 2011 – Day 3, 4 and 5 (recco & reviews)

Posted: October 19, 2011 by moifightclub in cinema, Film Festival, film review, Indie, Movie Recco, movie reviews
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Here’s continuing from our Mumbai Film Festival. The recco list is here, click here for Day 1 & 2 report and here is the post on Dimensions Mumbai.

Moving on –

Day 3

1. Jesus Henry Christ – A super non filmy yet subversive (you-dont-know-where-it-is-headed) film, my little miss sunshine of this year. Eccentric & weird american family-comedy. Trippy and funny all the way. Recco for everyone and especially for aspiring screenwriters

2. Toast – Stanley ka dabba meets Udaan. At first felt like a food porn film but slowly goes onto becoming a coming of age film set in UK 60s-70s. Very good film based on the life of a famous british chef. Also stars Helen Bonham Carter (and she’s not the only reason to watch the film)! Dont watch it on a hungry stomach !

3. Monster’s Dinner – ok clearly the most bizzare film of the day inviting maximum different opinions. Two couples have dinner in a dystopian turkey urban town. Smoking banned, painting banned, child abuse allowed and become a buisness, social norms are abnormal, satire on everyone under the sun. Clearly set up like a “play” with a single house setting (read low budget and limited resources so maximum innovation). Dark and creepy without showing a single violent act but puke-inducing. Many felt the film doesn’t move after the first 30 min (and may be even after the first 60 min), but personally felt it was very well directed. Very interesting film to watch it for sure – depending on if you decide to hate/love it later

4. First time for everything – Another russian Udaan father-son bonding story. Walked out after 70 min since it was taking way tooo much time to make a point.

5. Ides of March – Big Q for this one. Guess I know the right people. Nevertheless managed to sneak in. Must watch. Shiva the God Of Death goes corrupted. Wow. Watch it. Just felt longing for more by the end of it. Depressing film in a moral-istic way.

6. Aadukalam – national award winning tamil film. Had seen it already. But neverthless do check it out. A super film (yes made in commercial tam film format) And as a friend said – the drama is pretty “shakespearean”

Other mentions – Wrecked starring adrien brody, saamna, king of devil’s island (starring the super stellan skarsgard), armadillo. Didn’t see them since they are available (you-know-where). Will check them out. Comments welcome in case you did watch them

Day 4

1. Chinese takeaway – super stud ricardo darin (secret in their eyes, aura, 9 queens, carancho, signal) is reason enough to watch this quriky comedy film. An irritable common hardware shop owner’s life gets disturbed by a chinese man who comes into his life. Very well written and expertly directed. Recco’d

2. Tabloid – docu by Errol morris – a “simple” case gone awry thanks to the scandal-loving Brit media. Based on a true story. Highly recco’d. Offers multiple insights (pov’s) into the case – what happened, what was witnessed, what was reported.

3. Mountain – another low budget film with two characters and a “setting”. Thelma & Louise meets Kids are all right meets Rabbit Hole. But wow. And for a change great to see the dir not just relying on the lovely visuals of snow capped peaks but also wonderful drama. And someone give the leading lady an oscar for the best performance please. Was also part of an (informal) Q&A. Shot on Red. Must must “mast” watch. Silences, minimal dialogues but superb.

4. 17 girls – Based on a real life incident. 17 rebel-without (or with)-a-cause high school girls decide to get pregnant simultaneously. Liked it a lot despite the fact that pregnant women freak me out (I know I know, I’m sorry. Just have a phobia). Recco’d. And the girls are such good actors. I wondered how does one write the script of one such film.

5. Sleeping beauty – Epic fail super NG film. Everything established in the first 45 min, after that its purely one tharki budhdha after another. As Prof Saab said – “Pure mind fuck but no penetration”. Avoid. Allegedly an indian well versed “indie” director asked the dir of the film “Were you aware of what you were trying to do?”. Didnt get a satisfying response. I cursed myself for going for this and not standing in the 500 odd queue off Pina !

Other mentions – Win win by station agent, visitor dir, 36 chowringhee lane (arguably best film by aparna sen), Pina (still to be seen but have heard great things about it)

Day 5

1. Aparoopa – Finally saw a Jahnu Barua film on the big screen.. His debut film based on a real life incident which happened in assam in the 60s. A gorgeous suhasini muley and breathtaking assam visuals (DOP – Binod Pradhan), lovely music. A story and treatment which might seem a little dated today but for it’s time it was quite “progressive”. A typical HKA-ish/Charulata-ish Love triangle in which there is no bad guy (villain). And the good news is that he is trying to get all of his films released on DVD. Fingers crossed.

2. Love Wrinkle Free– A good first time effort by dir Sandeep mohan. Goa eccentric family comedy of sorts, in english. Couldve been trimmed by 20 min or so. Low budget film but which boasts of some good performances from the ensemble.

3. OR (Mon tresor) – Minimal dialogues, long takes, lovely visuals, self destructive characters, Father-son character from Aaranya Kaandam into a mom-daughter track.This is what Sleeping Beauty should have been. Highly recco’d. Last 5 min couldve been trimmed but still.

4. Almanya – Funny german family comedy. A man travels from turkey to germany to start a life. 50 yrs later family moves back on a vacation to turkey. Film cuts back and forth. Slightly meta-filmy (and hence also) super. Recco’d.

Other mentions – Salt of life, Habesu Papam (heard they were good), JBDY (need one say more?), Yellow Sea (hmmm-need repeat viewing. Some superb action sequences), Even the rain (available you-know-where), Another Earth, Melancholia (ho-hum, except super performances)

FWA Screenwriting Seminar (Day 2) – The good, the bad & the ugly

Posted: September 2, 2010 by moifightclub in bollywood, cinema, News, Special, writing
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If you liked the Day1 report of the FWA Seminar by Mr Screeny, there is more. Here is the Day 2 report – the good, the bad, the ugly and the goss. Quite long but worth it. Do read.

FWA Seminar @NFAI Pune – Day 2

9 am, usual crowd, catching hold of whatever seats that were available with many many people standing in the aisles. Day 2 was better since there were more filmmakers than pedantic film critics/scholars talking about cinema.

Session 4 – Anger and Rebellion: The New Wave Cinema (plus the Angry Young Man’s Evolution)

Govind Nihlani

The 70s was a decade of discontent with the Naxalbari movement, the Bangladesh war & eventually the JaiPrakash Narayan movement against the corruption & the failure of the state. People started feeling restless & cheated and there was a built up of discontent in the country and then the Jai Prakash Narayan movement happened which led to Emergency being declared. Every line was censored, the civil liberties were taken away, the freedom of expression was impounded.

From that environment emerged a phenomena in Indian Cinema – the angry young man – Amitabh Bachchan-Salim-Javed, Om Puri-Naseerudin shah (Aakrosh, Ardhasatya), Mirch Masala etc. Parallel cinema picked up. You can see how the then contemporary/current socio-political situations were reflected in the cinema of those times. Even at the time of partition, partition based films were not being made but now, thanks to the discontent, there were films based on partition like Garam Hawa.

Rashmi Doraiswamy – presented a very well analyzed paper on the angry young man phenomena specifically with regard to Salim-Javed’s films. (Don’t remember anything sadly from it- because again it was almost a read-out-word-to-word-from-her-article than an impromptu/informal discourse with notes’ consultation)

Ashish Rajadhyaksha – showed clips from Albert Pinto ko Gussa kyun aata hai, Arvind Desai ki Ajeeb Daastan and stated it was a very interesting film written by two very different writers – Vijay Tendulkar & Cyrus Mistry. Albert Pinto clipping was the scene in which Naseer comes up to the gang – Satish Shah, Avtar Gill and requests them not to do ‘lafda’ with Dominique. The whole scene was apparently improvised by the actors lending a very realistic portrayal.

I went one day to Saeed Mirza’s house and saw a big board with lots of charts, papers, diagrams etc stuck – almost in an expanding spiral-esque manner. I asked Saeed what it was. He coolly replied “my script”!

Kundan Shah

I feel we’re reading too much and doing a lot of analysis of the angry young man vis-à-vis Salim-Javed’s films. Their scripts were not socially rebellious, but more parasitic. How many angry people have turned into a smuggler ala Deewar ?

We have lots of talent in India but how do we crack it ?

JBDY was made thinking it will not release. We were almost making a home video since we had the freedom to do anything. The budget of Albert Pinto was 2&1/2 lakhs. I was the assistant & the clap continuity guy and everything on Albert Pinto. During the middle of the shoot Saeed had to go meet the producers so I had to ask him how he wanted the scene (which to be shot) to be directed.

I wanted to be an assistant on a foreign production film which was being made in those days – Gandhi. The perks were tempting – 10,000 rupees salary for 6 months, plus 10,000 rupees allowance. And the job was ‘limited’ – crowd management. I got the job through some contact.

I asked Saeed what do I do ? Should I go ahead with the job or write my script? He said “Don’t be silly. Write your script!” . And I started writing JBDY.

The reference to ‘gutter’ in JBDY was intentional. I was the secretary in my society building, and there was a gutter leakage probem in my building. I used to see that every morning the gurkha would drain out the ‘gutter ka paani’ in a bucket. And he would do this everyday without fail. I always used to wonder what happened at night and I put that and many such references in my film.

Jahnu Barua

Don’t worry I only have half a page so you guys are safe from a long boring lecture.

Anger – Anger of a filmmaker – I will talk through my experience. I grew up with anger. The environment in which I grew up, gave me anger. When I came to FTII, I was an angry young man. I learnt filmmaking and when I passed out I was still an angry young man. I made many films as an angry young man. Today, I’m still an angry man – though not so young.

Anger is the catalyst for the filmmaker. If the anger isn’t there we can’t make films. I don’t know if my films will be called ‘New Wave’ or not. I try to put in 100% anyway.

I come from the North-East – at any and every moment, one can get angry easily. The things that happen there are unbelievable. Compared to them, the incidents that happen in Mumbai are nothing. I make films to not to overcome my anger, but somewhere we get to understand a few things. I just kept on making films & never tried to analyze these things. I don’t know the definition of ‘New Wave’ and never tried to analyze it either. I don’t even know how to categorize my films.

Films should come from the heart – regardless of what one wants to make. ‘Commercial’ or ‘Arty’ – films should be truthful. I feel the intention of the filmmaker becomes clear while watching it – whether it comes from the heart or whether it has been made for a different purpose.

I often quote – A screenwriter is the first to be contacted and the last to be paid – may be even not. And if you are a writer-director like me, the writing fee is almost forgotten. They say “Your writing fees is in the director fees”. I try to express my anger in my films – how do I do it ?

After Maine Gandhi Ko Nahi Maara, I feel I’ve sobered down. And I’m sad that I’ve sobered down. When I wrote it, my anger was it’s peak. Why ? I’d met militants, seen bloodshed, suffering & death at close quarters. I met a woman who was raped continuously for 2 months both by the army & the militants. When she narrated her story, I instantly wanted to make a film on her. I even wrote the script.

But I asked myself – will my film be able to resolve her problems ? NO

Will it matter to the audience and will they take an interest in solving her problems ? NO

I studied the whole problem differently and tried to get into the root cause. What is missing in our society ?

Then I wrote Maine Gandhi… not to express my anger but to resolve my anger. And I’m happy I made that film. But sadly I had sobered down after that.

I remember how people perceive the ‘art’ filmmakers. I was invited to a university seminar on Media’s Social Responsibility and one after the other there was a lot of attack on the ‘art’ films. One of the speakers kept referring to them as ‘mad off-beat filmmakers’. Every time he said that – the audience would look at me.

My first film was produced by NFDC. The ‘new wave’ films need promotion and NFDC itself may not be enough.

Oscar! Oscar! Oscar!  – Satyajit Ray made 32 films and not one of them went to the Oscars. Let us not please look at the Oscars. And let us not please concentrate only on Mumbai. India is a reservoir of stories. Every home has a story. Find them.

Open Forum – (questions from other writers/filmmakers and audience)

Govind Nihlani – Have we as a society lost anger ? Where is the anger ? Are we filmmakers writing anything in anger ? Are we even having any anger ? Do you see anger in films ?

Saeed Mirza- Times have changed. Example – Tere Bin Laden – it’s a minor but an important film. Anger is expressed in humor. The whole concept of terror has been destroyed. To me that’s also an angry film. JBDY was also an angry film.

I have tried to mix my anger with my personal struggle. How do you make an idea to a narrative ? I start from my personal and then go to the social, and slowly the text becomes richer.

If we refuse to see the turmoil & tension in the land we will still be making bad commercial films. We turn a blind eye to the problems – North East, Naxals, MNS, Telangana, Kashmir, Tamils vs Kannadigas.

Shama Zaidi – Why in films is anger a male preserve ?

Saeed Mirza – What about Mirch Masala & Godmother ?

Govind Nihlani – How is anger handled in the ‘new wave’ tamil cinema ?

K Hariharan – In tamil cinema the representation of anger has changed & shifted from the pleasurable zone to the disgust/disturbing/’Bibhathsa’ zone

Govind Nihlani – Many a times, anger is used as an excuse to extract vengeance. It deteriorates into vengeance and from being social it degenerates to personal.

Bhavna Somaiyya – What about the anger of Sridevi in her dance scene in Lamhe or Salman’s anger at his father in Maine Pyaar Kiya- when he goes to his room and punches the sandbag ?

(I don’t know how the panelists responded to the above question since I was busy banging my head away at the nearest wall at the sheer stupidity of the aforementioned question. Apparently Saeed Mirza explained to her that they were talking about a different kind of anger – angst)

Session 5 – Urban Foibles and a New Individualism: Current Trends in Indian Scriptwriting 1995-2010

Kundan Shah

I’m trying to be a practicing filmmaker and am making a ‘sponsored’ film on the theme – Overfed Urban and Underfed Rural. If I say what we see & what the truth is, the script may get rejected. So now I’m writing a neutral/backup (not so hard hitting-real) script in the event the first (more honest) one gets rejected.

Anees Bazmee is not the beginning and ending of writing. New talents are not getting a chance. There is a lot of illiteracy in the film industry.

Ranjani Majumdar

showed clips from Dombivali Fast, Being Cyrus & No Smoking talking about the urban view that the filmmakers created in these films

John Mathew Mathan

Dictionary defines the word ‘trends’ as a popular preference or latest style/fashion.

Is storytelling about something as fleeting as fashion ?

Bheja Fry started a new trend. Similarly may be even Peepli Live might start a trend.

My initiation into cinema was through Ankur, Bhuvan Shome, Sara Aakash, Garam Hawa. By the time I wanted to make films, NFDC had stopped producing films. If you are making a film like Gandhi, you need money.

Storytelling is different from Reportage, which is a big business.

According to a fable, once in a city which had a temple with statues of gods, a theft took place – some idols were stolen. People stepped up vigilance and issued death penalties/warnings to catch the thief, but still the thefts didn’t stop.

One fine day the thief was finally caught. When asked why he committed the crime he replied “I was a nobody before I started stealing. Today the whole city knows me”

Is this the reason why people write ?

People are looking for resolutions, the answers to the things they don’t/can’t understand. And if there is no resolution then they’ll not spare us.

Frank Capra says – “Thou shall not bore thy audience” That is my most important mantra.

What do I need in a story for me to decide this is the story worth telling ?

TIME – an abbreviation for

Thought provoking,

Information,

Motivation (does it move/touch the audience),

Entertainment

If you tell a story which is believable, then the TIME capsule is complete. The best example is – Gandhi. On 15th August every year, they show Gandhi on TV. Films like Godfather, Pulp Fiction withstand the test of time.

Bhavna Somaiya

Kamal Hassan says “I take my critics very seriously so they better do their job well”

What I look for in a film ?

To me it’s like buying a sari in a sari shop. I’m paying for it and give me a fantastic sari. Don’t ask me if this border is correct or that color is good. Just give me a fantastic sari.

Astitva – The turning point in the film isn’t the scene when Tabu sleeps with Mohnish Behl. The turning point is the scene when she narrates the incident to her city friend & her husband.

Dil chahta hai – I was surprised during the Aamir proposing to Preity Zinta at her engagement scene. After the resolution, I felt Aamir should bend down and touch her foster father’s feet. But then I thought may be he won’t do it. Eventually when Aamir did bend down to touch Preity’s foster father’s feet, I was surprised since the director is from an urban upbringing and it is not a part of his culture to do the same.

When I questioned Farhan later about the same, he said the touching the feet suggestion had come from Aamir Khan.

DCH showed real parents – no gajar ka halwa, no sone ka kada – just like how I would be with my family

Rensil D’ Silva (came in wearing a cap onstage which had FBI written on it)

I wanted to make a ‘real & dark’ film about terrorists bombing metro stations in USA but the budget wasn’t enough. So I had to rope in Kareena Kapoor & Saif Ali Khan and put in songs to get the budget I wanted. These are the sort of things one has to do. (Here’s a question Mr Rensil D’Silva – why the ‘aspirational’ USA ? Aren’t there enough bomb blasts in Mumbai, Malegaon, Delhi, Ahmadabad, Pune, Bangalore and of course the punching bag state of India- Kashmir. Or would you rather make a film about the american victims of terror than us Indian victims of terror ?)

There is no reason for angst anymore. This is the best time to be making films. Mainstream cinema is making ‘different’ films. The fact that personal, individualistic, quirky films like No Smoking & Being Cyrus get made is very assuring. These films would not be possible otherwise. The trends are what we make behind the camera. It really is an optimistic time.

Open Forum – (questions from other writer/filmmakers and audience)

Q) Why are so many comedies being made ?

Kundan Shah – People come to the multiplexes to seek an instant gratification – hence the comedies.

Q) Film length ? How much is too much?

John Mathew Mathan – If you are saying something interesting then there is no time limit. If you don’t have anything interesting then even 30 min is too much.

Q) The films not addressing ‘real’ issues ? I come from a small town where people have stopped going to cinema halls since the quality of films are so bad.

Rensil D’Silva – It’s all about ‘aspirational’. My driver aspires to wear jeans like me and a T shirt like the one I’m wearing. He is not interested in seeing films on problems. Why would anybody be interested in seeing films on their problems when they aspire to be someone better/for something better. Hence people do not watch films on real issues/problems. Even my maid only watches ‘happy’ films.

(Needless to say the above swooping statement was met with a furor from the audience)

Abhishek Sharma ( Tere Bin Laden) – There is a difference between someone living in a small town and someone who has come to Mumbai to work. The former are happy living where they are and the latter have come to the metro looking for work and wanting to be someone in life. Hence somebody like say your driver working in Mumbai may not like watching ‘multiplex films’.

Q) Where have all the writers gone ? Why aren’t there any more writers ?

Manish Gupta – They’ve all become directors ! Me, Anurag Kashyap, Abbas Tyrewala, Abhishek Sharma, Anees Bazmee, Rumi Jafry…

Session 6 – The Road Ahead: Globalism, the Digital Revolution and Other Attractions

This was more or less an open session with discussions involving questions posed from the audience. The panellists were – Rakesh Om Prakash Mehra, Paresh Mokashi, Rohan Sippy, Navdeep Singh, Satish Manwar, Abhishek Sharma, Vikramaditya Motwane, Vivek Agnihotri & chaired/moderated by the very polite and all accommodating Anubhav Pal.

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra – Let us flash-forward to 2025. Will America successfully ‘entertainise’ (invade the film industry) India like they have done Europe already ? A film like Avatar today grossed a lot in India– not just in the English version but even the subtitled & regional language dubbed versions were lapped up all over the country.

West has already invaded all over the world with media, books, movies, TV etc. Will we be watching ‘Americanised’ entertainment in India or will they be watching ‘Indianised’ entertainment ?

Vikramaditya Motwane – Roger Ebert said in his review of Udaan that the film could have been set anywhere. This year has been a watershed for Indian film industry since we have a film in every important film festival all over the world. What’s more – these films are showing India in a non regressive, non tourist manner.

Rohan Sippy – The commercial film industry is also failing. We need to decide if we will follow the Hollywood model of Indianization or should we be telling ‘Indian stories’.

ROM – The more Indian our films are, the more global they will be. The story has to originate from our soil, our ideas. However, one grouse that I have is with characters singing songs. Regardless of whether he/she is a doctor, gangster, cop, engineer, businessman – he/she still lip-syncs to a song. As a result of which audiences abroad do not take us seriously.

Anubhav Pal – When you are telling a ‘local’ story, do people abroad identify ?

Satish Manwar- Yes. eg: Pather Panchali is so rich in the sense of its aesthetics. It is not a difference of urban/rural. It’s the sense of aesthetics which matters. People from Vidharbha like the film (Gabhricha Paus), people from LA like it too. The issue from your side needs to be genuine & we need to be honest to the creative process, and the aesthetics of the process of filmmaking.

Paresh Mokashi – That is the way to go ahead. We need to know the usage of cinematic language in our films, regardless of our subject. We’re discussing-focussing more on content but not on the technique. Two films based on the same subject are different. Why ? It’s the filmmaking material. Deewar, Sholay both were popular films with Amitabh Bachchan but similar films with the same actor have flopped. There are some ‘art’ films which are attention holding. Similarly there are some ‘art’ films which are boring. Just having a good subject doesn’t guarantee a good film.

RS – We have to appeal to ourselves culturally, and make it work in our own market, and then work it in a market that is not ours. eg: Stephen Chow’s films are set in Hong Kong but have a universal appeal.

Abhishek Sharma – Tere Bin Laden wasn’t about Osama. It was about a journalist from a 3rd world country wanting to live the ‘American dream’. The journalist could not have been an Afghani since their lingo is too different. An Indian journalist would’ve been too unbelievable. Pakistani culture & lingo is very much like ours. Hence it had to be a Pakistani journalist. People ask ‘then how come it is an Indian film?’ Because, it is a film told by an Indian storyteller with his roots.

Just because the audience liked Udaan, Tere Bin Laden, Peepli Live doesn’t mean suddenly the audience has become mature. The audience was always there. We need to mature. The writers, producers, directors all of us.

Sometimes people from marketing asked me ‘What is your Target Audience?’ How can a writer say what his script’s target audience is ? Tere Bin Laden ran not just in India but also in Dubai – among the Indians, Pakistanis & the Dubai sheikhs!

Vivek Agnihotri – Somewhere the NRI market has also accepted Hindi films. During the making of any film the oft asked question is ‘How will the NRI audience react to this film ?’ And we started catering to them gradually in our films. Soon the common man got lost from our films. It is very sad. I think it is the best time to write Indian stories. There are problems all over India. 70% of Indians live in villages, average income is less than 1$. We’re celebrating throughout the year with festivals all along. We should emerge as a country making films about us – the real us. The minute we say ‘small town’ – we think of Bihar/Jharkhand. All this is thanks to the Indian media. Literature is another area which we’ve ignored for long.

AP – Was it a conscious decision to set Manorama in a small town with the protagonist being a cop who is a drunkard ? (Mr Pal – next time please watch the film before asking an intelligent looking question on it.)

Navdeep Singh – It was not a conscious decision to set in a small town. Every story has its time & space and yes we have been not seeing the rural India/small town India in our Hindi films, unlike the tamil films where they have been exploring that territory a lot authentically.

AP – How come the protagonists in your films are outsiders ?

ROM- Story ki requirement hi waisi thi. Ek mein gori aa gayi aur ek mein apna hi aa gaya. Otherwise the kind of requirements I have to cater to are weird. Sometimes I’m asked “Interval daal do, interval mein samose bikte hain”. Why should I put an interval so that samosas can sell ? My 3 ACT structure has to become a 2 ACT structure now.

Do your personal cinema, tell the story you tell best. Why put someone else’s story ?

Writing is scary, it is terrible & I say please don’t make me a writer. I’m not a true writer.

A screenplay is a story told in pictures. It’s not on stage (play), it’s not in the mind (novel).

If we’re only deliberately making social films, we should be making documentaries.

Bottom line – make what you feel.

Open Forum – (questions from other writer/filmmakers and audience)

Q) What is the difference between an ‘art’ film & a ‘commercial’ film ?

VA – It all depends on budgets. In my mind every film is a commercial film.

VM– Sadly it’s the stars. Without AB Jr, Dilli 6 is a non commercial film.

Q) Would you have taken SRK as Dada Saheb Phalke in your film ?

PM- SRK as Dada Sahib Phalke ? ………………. I’m still thinking

AS – Even Asoka ?

PM – As far as the ‘cross-over’ is concerned, Jan Aranya, Pather panchali crossed over 40 yrs ago. If it is a good film, it will cross over.

ROM – The South American films have done it – Ya tu Mama Tambien, City of God, Pan’s Labyrinth all have crossed over to become big hits. I remember the director of Pan’s Labyrinth’s previous film wasn’t that big a hit – because it was too ‘local’. He corrected it in his next and the cinematic idiom was more appropriate in the next. We need to remember – more pictures, less words.

Q)You say your film was to be a realistic depiction of the struggle of the football players to save their club. Then why was Billo Rani there in the promos ?

VA – Why was Billo Rani there in the film itself ??? There is a lot of pressure while making a film and we all succumb to it.

Q) Why are there workshops for the writers when it is the producers who need to be ‘educated’ ?

ROM – Write a good script. Pehle likho toh sahi yaar!

AS – As far as tips on pitching/summarizing a script is concerned, I can tell you from personal experience working in adlabs for 4 yrs as an executive, you need to sell yourself – the one liner, the idea, the USP. Most of the scripts don’t have an act – write damn good scripts. Executives do not read beyond 15 pages if the script doesn’t interest them. And if it does, then they finish it and forward it to their seniors – and the same 15 page rule applies to them too. Never ever say/compare it with other films in your pitch – like ‘this script is Pretty Woman meets Chandni Bar’. Write great original scripts and original one liners.

Q) Would you continue making regional films ?

PM – Yes I want to make more Marathi films.

SM – No. There is no money recovery. I’m a filmmaker and I want to explore every genre. My film was shown everywhere abroad and people all over the world enjoyed it. However at a screening in PVR Mumbai, only 15-20 people were there. I want to reach to more people.

Q) Can you make a film not in your language/culture ?

ROM – Write a script yaar pehle. Murgi ne anda diya nahi aur butter chicken khaane ki baat kar rahe ho.

AS– I just made one about Pakistan, and I’ve never been there before.

Q) Does it have to be set in Mumbai or Jamshedpur or Rajasthan ?

ROM – Yaar ek script toh likho yaar. Woh sab baad mein kar dena.

VM – If you have a story to tell you can set it anywhere in any language. Stories do not need to be rooted. They’re local but the impact needs to be global.

And that was it more or less. Quite a few irrelevant & stupid questions and quite some standard responses. Apparently Rakesh Omprakash Mehra wasn’t so arrogant as before.

Was quite a decent 2nd day – more so since there were more filmmakers than scholars. Not that scholars cant be fun but pedantic ones – Nooo. May be the next time it should be paid because the discussions were quite digressing at times, and the bad questions asked by the audience members hurt man, really hurt.

First Look : Preity Zinta-Shiney Ahuja starrer Har Pal

Posted: July 12, 2009 by moifightclub in bollywood, cast & crew, first look, News, pics
Tags: , , , , ,
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The first look of Jahnu Barua’s new film Har Pal is out. It seems like a strange film now as all the three leads of the film are missing in action. Preity Zinta in hiding after mess with Ness, Shiney Ahuja in not so shiny jail and Isha Koppikar has almost vanished. Jahnu Barua’s last hindi film was Maine Gandhi Ko Nahi Mara.

Har Pal

Har Pal2