Oops its been more than a month since I updated my blog or visited any of your blogs. Extremely sorry...there was too much of work and some restlessness in mind and the reason behind not updating the blog lies in that restlessness more rather than the 'too much work' I am talking about.
Good News - I have Broadband Connection at home now.Bad News - Its Reliance Broadband+ the so called Fastest Internet on the move which boasts of 3.1 Mbps Speed which it has never achieved till date. Speed is OK but there are so many terms and conditions levied by Reliance that its really hard to use this device. They charge you some insane amount every month end even if you have applied for the Unlimited Broadband Plan. They call it Unlimited and then the fine print says - Unlimited Plan User gets a fair usage of 10 GB per month, if the usage exceeds 10GB you'll be charged Rs.2 per MB. Since when did 10GB become Fair Unlimited Usage? & Rs.2/MB is INSANE!!!!
So if anybody wants to buy this device, please try some other option (there are so many in the market for the IMPATIENT Generation) or be ready to pay some insane bills every month to make Mr.Ambani even richer!
Meanwhile my good ol' DVD player refused to play movies, which kept me upset for a longtime as I wasn't able to see movies and unable to find a single good model of DVD Player with some basic features I was looking for. So finally after three days of endless search for a new player and living almost a week of DVD Less life, I decided to get my DVD Player fixed but sadly by the time it was fixed, I'd to come down to Mumbai for some office related work. Can't wait to go back home and watch some movies on DVD back to back.
I am going to be in Mumbai till this month end and thanks to the dispute between Multiplex Owners & Producers' Guild there is not a single good movie to watch. Saw some real horrible films like Dashavtaaram & My Mom's New Boyfriend. Saw Monsters Vs. Aliens 3D twice and if it wasn't for the 3D Experience I think the movie's storyline (if there was any) was pretty average with some real cool 3D Shots. PVR was having Spielberg Film Festival and finally I got to see one of my most
favorite Spielberg Films - Munich which IMHO one of the most aesthetically shot film by Janusz Kaminski.
Another good news - After hunting for years I finally got The Lion King Platinum Edition 2 DVD Set. Second Hand Hi Sahi...Black Mein Hi Sahi...but finally I have the DVD set !
Was feeling a bit lazy this afternoon, browsing aimlessly I came across some real cool blogs, one of them deserves a special mention. It’s called Eastern Eye, dedicated to Bollywood Music, Sitars, Jazz & Ragas. This is a blog where you can find some real kick ass Kalyan Ji Anand Ji Instrumental pieces from movies like Professor Pyarelaal & Don, real rare stuff like a Rag Todi in Jazz- a track from one of the rarest albums Raga Jazz Style by Shankar-Jaikishan,et al. This blog is a must visit for you if you love the Guns, Cars & Sitars from the 70s Cinema.
Will visit all your blogs soon :)
PS. Finally I am getting back to drawing. Have started sketching again, hope am able to draw something decent enough someday to share on my blog. Now have to get little organised and start writing too...
Slumdog Millionaire के ऑस्कर जीतने के बाद हाल ही में किसी समाचार पत्र में मैंने एक सवाल देखा कि हमारे देश में स्वदेसी फ़िल्म मेकर्स ऐसी फिल्में क्यों नहीं बनाते? फिर पता चला कि दरअसल Johnny Gaddar वाले श्रीराम राघवन को इस उपन्यास पर फ़िल्म बनाने का मन था पर तब तक Q & A के अधिकार चैनल 4 ने खरीद लिए थे। वरना राघवन ने ये फ़िल्म बनाई होती और चाहे जितनी भी बेहतरीन बनाई होती ऑस्कर की छोडिये उन्हें एक चिंदी सा फ़िल्मफेयर अवार्ड भी नसीब न होता। खैर ये एक बहस का मुद्दा है और मैं बहस के मूड में नहीं। मैं सोच रहा हूँ Q & A बॉलीवुड में ना भी बनी हो तो भी अपने यहाँ ज्वलंत मुद्दों पर प्रश्न उठाती फिल्मों की कोई कमी नहीं, और फिल्मों में ज्वलंत प्रश्न पूछने वाले चरित्रों की कोई कमी नहीं। आज बैठे बैठे मैंने सोचा तो पाया कि प्रश्नचिन्ह या अंग्रेज़ी में कहें तो Question Mark वाली ढेर सारी फिल्में बनी हैं अपने यहाँ - ये आग कब बुझेगी? , आख़िर क्यों?, जाने होगा क्या?, वो कौन थी? (बाकी के नाम काफ़ी सी ग्रेड हैं, और मेरा ब्लॉग बाल-बच्चेदार लोगों के अलावा बाल बच्चे भी पढ़ते हैं सो उनके नाम यहाँ ना ही लिखे जाएँ तो बेहतर है) । खैर हम बात कर रहे थे प्रश्नों की तो IMHO गब्बर सिंह का स्थान बाकी चरित्रों से कहीं ऊंचा होगा। ज़रा सोच कर देखिये कितने चरित्रों का Intro Dialogue एक प्रश्न से शुरू हुआ है-'कितने आदमी थे?' और उसके बाद तो गब्बर ने प्रश्नों की बौछार ही कर दी - कितना इनाम रक्खे है सरकार हम पर? क्या सोचा था सरदार खुस होगा? साब्बासी देगा...क्यों? इस बन्दूक में कितनी गोलियाँ हैं? तेरा क्या होगा कालिया? होली कब है ? कब है होली? ये रामगढ वाले अपनी छोकरियों को किस चक्की का आटा खिलाते हैं रे? 'कालिया तो कहता था दो हैं? कहाँ है रे फौजी नम्बर दो?
हिन्दी फ़िल्म इतिहास में शायद ही किसी विलन ने एक ही फ़िल्म में इतने सवाल किए होंगे। मगर शोले में सिर्फ़ विलन ने सवाल किए हों ऐसा नहीं। हमारे हीरो लोगो ने भी काफ़ी सवाल किए थे - 'क्या बोलता है पार्टनर?' 'तुम्हारा नाम क्या है बसंती?' वगैरह। चरित्र कलाकार मेरा मतलब कैरेक्टर आर्टिस्ट्स भी क्यों पीछे रहते सो A.K.हंगल साहब ने अपनी कांपती आवाज़ में सवाल किया - इतना सन्नाटा क्यों है भाई? अगला सवाल जो मैं नहीं भूल पाता वो पूछा था एंथनी भाई ने फ़िल्म अमर, अकबर एंथनी में - "ऐसे तो आदमी लाइफ में दोइच टाइम भागता है, या तो ओलिम्पिक का रेस हो या पुलिस का केस हो, तुम किस लिए भागता है भाई?" भाई शब्द से मुझे याद आ जाती है फ़िल्म दीवार, जिसमें सलीम-जावेद कि जोड़ी ने कुछ बड़े ही बेहतरीन सवाल लिखे मगर इस बार सवाल दो भाइयों के बीच थे - 'भाई तुम साइन करते हो या नहीं?' 'आज मेरे पास बिल्डिंगें हैं, Property है, बैंक बैलेंस है, बंगला है, गाड़ी है, क्या है तुम्हारे पास?'
सिर्फ़ संवादों में सवालों को जगह मिली हो ऐसा नहीं है। कई सुपर हिट गीत सवालिया हैं। अब नागिन के गाने तन डोले मेरा मन डोले को ही ले लो। वैजयंती माला को टेंशन है की इतनी रात गए आख़िर 'कौन बजाये रे बाँसुरिया?' । सही भी है कल को आपके घर के नीचे कोई बेसुरी बाँसुरिया बजा कर गुस्से से आपके तन-मन दोनों को डोलने पर मजबूर करनेवाला कोई पड़ोसी आ गया आप भी पूछेंगे 'कौन बजाये रे बाँसुरिया?' फिर कुछ भक्त टाइप के सवालिया गाने भी होते हैं जैसे - 'ज़रा सामने तो आओ छलिये, छुप छुप छलने में क्या राज़ है?' मगर इस तरह के सवालों में प्रायः उनके जवाब भी छिपे होते हैं, सो उन्हें स्यूडो सवालिया गाने बोलना बेहतर होगा। उसके बाद छेड़छाड़-नुमा सवालिया गाने होते हैं जिन्हें लिखने में मजरूह साहब और आनंद बक्षी बड़े एक्सपर्ट थे। मजरूह साहब के लिखे सवालिया गीतों में मेरा पसंदीदा है - "C A T CAT...Cat मानें बिल्ली, R A T RAT...Rat माने चूहा, दिल है तेरे पंजे में तो क्या हुआ?" आनंद बक्षी ने तो शायद सैकड़ों सवालिया गीत लिखे हैं - बागों में बहार है? और भी न जाने क्या क्या। मगर जब नये छोकरे नितिन ने सवालिया गीतों पर अपना हाथ ट्राई करने के लिए लिखा - 'आती क्या खंडाला' तो ये मजरूह साहब को नागवार गुज़रा और उन्होंने बेचारे नितिन पर ऐसी टिप्पणी कर दी कि दुखते दिल से नितिन ने उन्हें उस उमर में कचहरी का मुँह दिखा दिया और मजरूह साहब को उसने दुहाई भी दी तो उनके लिखे चूहे बिल्ली वाले उपरोक्त गीत की ही। मजरूह साहब को लिखित में इस नए नवेले गीतकार से माफ़ी मांगनी पड़ गई थी। इसके अलावा होपलेस सवालिया गीत भी एक ढूंढो हज़ार मिलते हैं जैसे 'अब कहाँ जाएँ हम?' या 'जाएँ तो जाएँ कहाँ' वगैरह। तो कहने का मतलब ये कि जिस देश में पहले ही इतने सवाल मौजूद हैं वहाँ अगर कोई आ कर Q&A पर एक फ़िल्म बना ही लेता है तो उसपर सवाल क्यों खड़े करना? और वैसे भी श्रीराम राघवन अगर ये फ़िल्म बनाये तो हमारे देशवासी वैसे भी फ़िल्म देखने नहीं जाने वाले, Johnny Gaddar जैसी शानदार फ़िल्म को हमारे लोगों ने नकार दिया। हाँ अगर Q&A इम्पोर्टेड माल बन कर हमारे पास पहुंचे हम उसे हाथों हाथ लेंगे ठीक उसी तरह जैसे योग वहाँ से लौट कर योगा बन जाए तो हम खुले हाथों से उसे अपनाने को तैयार हैं। अच्छे फिल्मकार हमारे यहाँ भी हैं पर क्या हम उन्हें स्वीकार करने को तैयार हैं?
अब मुझे ये सवाल सता रहा है कि मैंने ये पोस्ट आख़िर किस विचार से शुरू की थी? मैंने होली की शुभकामनायें देने को पोस्ट शुरू की थी, होली की सोची तो गब्बर का सवाल याद आया और गब्बर के सवालों की सोची तो बाकी के सवाल दिमाग में आने लगे। आदत से मजबूर हैं क्या करें। बुरा ना मानो होली है ! आप सभी को रंगों के त्यौहार की रंगभरी शुभकामनायें.....
Last weekend I met Jaidev after almost three years. We went for Dev D, which IMHO is one of the best Indian Movies I’ve seen in a longtime. Only thing I disliked in the film was the interval. Adlabs, Pune was playing Delhi-6 songs in the interval, which started another very interesting (atleast for us) conversation on music. They were playing the 8 minute 42 seconds long Arziyaan from Delhi-6 sung wonderfully by Javed Ali & Kailash Kher.
“You know there is a glitch in this song, exactly at the 2nd second of 8th minute, which wasn’t corrected and the song is being released and played with the glitch,” He told.
I played the track as soon as I reached home to find this not so prominent glitch in the song exactly at 2nd Sec. of 8th minute of Arziyaan.
But this is not the first time when a glitch has passed from a music studio to the final released tracks. Swades, which is one of my most favorite A.R.Rahman Albums has one such glitch in the Shehnai Version of Ye Jo Des Hai Tera, if you have heard the track carefully the Shehnai player (if I remember correctly it’s the Great Bismillah Khan Sahab) caughs exactly at the 59th second of first minute, the cough never got edited or removed from the track (knowingly or by mistake, we don’t know). This cough is very prominent in the track.
Another song I remember with a glitch has a funny anecdote about it. The song is Piya Piya Piya Mora Jiya Pukare from 1955 Kishore Kumar film – Baap Re Baap. Music- O.P.Nayyar.Lyrics- Jaan Nisaar Akhtar (Javed Sahab’s Father). This song was recorded in 50s, the era of one track recording, when singers used to sing in a soundproof cabin and live music played by the orchestra was also recorded simultaneously. Asha ji & Kishore Kumar were recording for the song and by mistake Asha ji jumped in with an aalaap in Kishore’s lines. This was a massive mistake, O.P. Nayyar was just gonna stop the orchestra to re-record the whole song from scractch. Kishore waved from inside the recording cabin and recorded the whole song.
KK came out and laughed at restless Nayyar.
“I am the ‘Hero’ of the film and I know how I am going to cover this mistake, don’t worry,” He said.
Nayyar wasn’t convinced but the song was recorded and released with that one minor mistake on KK's insistence. This song became one of the most popular songs from Baap Re Baap. Film was released and when O.P. Nayyar saw how beautifully Kishore covered the mistake on screen, he just went to the 'Hero' and hugged him.
In the audio track the mistake comes around 20th Second of 2nd Minute. Check this video to see - Chand Usmani lip syncing Asha’s mistake around 8th second of 2nd minute and how Kishore saved the day?
Piya Piya Piya – Baap Re Baap (1955)
On a totally different note, here is Sintex Water Tank – Permanent Ho Gaya commercial, where yours truly plays a blink and miss role of the Dulha (thanks to an actor who ran away) in the begining of this commercial - My first PAID acting gig ;)
After a long long time last Sunday I spent the whole day at home. Saw four films back to back. All were great but two of them – A.I. & Oliver! touched my heart. My intention behind seeing these two films was something more than just seeing another film on a lazy Sunday afternoon. I wanted to see and learn how the character of a kid is being portrayed or explored as protagonists in such films. But once the movies started playing on my DVD Player, I forgot what I wanted to see or make a note of it and was completely lost in the fairytale-ish story telling. One was a period based story and other a Sci-fi fairy tale but both of them had the soul and innocence in place. Stories with heart I must say.
The minute detailing of the sets, the music, and wonderful cinematography, everything takes a backseat and compliment the wonderful performances of the teenage protagonists. The kids perform so well that you totally forget about the efforts of the directors, which actually propelled the performances to another level. Directing kids is fun but it takes very little to turn all the fun into a nightmarish experience.
Meri Kahani
I was fortunate enough to have an opportunity to work with a Kid’s TV Channel Network, where I got many chances to direct children. Its sheer pleasure to work with kids who are experienced, but it’s a real pain when some non-actor kid surprises you with a brilliant take and then spoils everything by looking at you within a fraction of a mili-second (which spoils the whole take) after completing his/her lines for your approval. You can’t even shout at a 5 year old looking at you with those curious eyes. Don’t even try telling them s/he has spoilt the whole thing because of that, just tell them what s/he shouldn’t repeat in the next take and get ready for a next take.
Re-takes again is a pain, most of the time they are shaken when you tell them you going to need another take, some of them get so nervous that the following takes will become a series of disasters. Keep them interested, keep them motivated, keep them cheerful and never make them realize their last take was pathetic. Long shooting hours are again a pain while working with kids, there were a couple of late night shoots, which were painful for both, us as well as the kids.
But at the end of the day its real fun and trust me the kids will teach you a lot of things which they never teach you in Film Schools. Then there are fringe benefits- listening to their (nonsense) stories, (horribly boring) jokes and have lots of fun playing with them to keep them occupied and interested.
Confession - I distinctly remember this Sardar ji kid from Delhi who was all of 5 but gave me a lecture on SMS driven contests and how we channel-wallahs rob the viewers with such contests (he himself was a contest winner). I asked him who taught him all that, my guess was right; it was his father the Senior Surd, who was also present on the sets. I made sure the production guys kept him away, while I was shooting with his son.(the excuse I made was- kids get conscious with their parents around, the actual reason- I wanted to settle scores with the guy who is bhadkaao-ing his innocent son to not to send SMSes, come on Channel Kamayega Nahin Toh…Meri Salary Kahaan Se Aayegi…huh).
Anyway I wanted to talk about something else (rather than sharing my silly stories).
While seeing all these films I realized not every director can direct kids, but the ones who have done it and done it tastefully are actually the best of the lot. It’s not about the abilities of the director but his/her sensibilities and understanding which are put on a test while doing such films. Think about the best films with kids and their directors-
Steven Spielberg and the way he directs kids is simply brilliant, E.T., Close Encounters of The Third Kind, Jurassic Park Trilogy, A.I. and many other films where even if kids are not the central character Spielberg captures them so wonderfully that his films simply become study material.
Gulzar Sahab and his films like Parichay and Kitaab. He is the man who can write Chaddi Pehen Ke Phool Khila Hai and Dil Dhoondhta Hai Phir Wahi Fursat Ke Raat Din with the same ease.
Majid Majidi - Children of heaven, Color Of Paradise and many others.
Shekhar Kapur – The way he directed kids in Maasoom, Mr.India & Bandit Queen.
I strongly feel, the way these film makers have depicted a child’s story in an adult world and have achieved it so wonderfully that it is worth studying and learning. Their understanding of kids psyche is marvelous, which proves their mastery when it comes to understand and picturise human psyche. These are the things, which make them better and greater film makers even when they are not working with kids or working on a subject which sometimes can be inappropriate for kids…
I saw glimpses of Slumdog Millionaire and was amazed to see the way Danny Boyle has used the kids in his film. The stunts, the chase, the acting...everything is just superb...waiting eagerly for it's release in India...
(Wanna write more will continue some other time...may be)
Weekends don't count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless – Calvin
When it comes to weekends, I think I am one of the biggest followers of Calvin. But this weekend wasn’t that great, as I spent it doing few things that weren’t ‘completely’ pointless.
After a long long time I spent sometime sketching, it was great to be back (after almost six months) to my otherwise ignored sketchbook and doodle. (I am planning to upload some of my recent sketches here someday despite a friend suggesting me not to do so.)
Besides sketching I saw two great movies over the weekend.
It was a pleasant surprise to find a DVD of T.P Agrawal’s 1996 Classic- ‘Return Of Jewel thief’ in Mumbai’s Landmark (they have an amazing collection of films, not so long back I bought Joginder’s Masterpiece Pyasa Shaitaan from Landmark).
The cheap looking poster on the DVD Cover made me nostalgic (as a school boy I had seen ROJT in New Basant Theater, Bhilai),this rare DVD is my prized possession now.
Return of Jewel thief, directed by Ashok Tyagi is a sequel to Dev Sahab’s film Jewel thief (1967) directed by late Vijay Anand Sahab. The story of ROJT starts exactly 27 years after its predecessor, when Jewel thief Prince Arjun comes out of the jail and we are astonished to see a well organized gang waiting for the boss after 27 years. (looking at the gang you can easily make out most of the gang members must be toddlers when Prince Arjun was sent to jail)
Evergreen Dev Sahab plays Vinay Kumar once again, Vinay is still ‘young’, ‘dashing’, ‘charismatic’ ‘energetic’ and ‘SINGLE!!!!!’ (whatever happened to Tanuja and Vyjayantimala from Jewelthief) Vinay is still one of the ‘MOST ELIGIBLE BACHELORS’ which is proved with this brilliant scene in which Rajkumari Vishakha (Anu Aashiqui Agrawal) tries to seduce him further after a seduction song, and Dev Sahab says in his inimitable style ‘Humne Ye Dil Abhi Tak Na Jaane Kitni Hasinaaon Se Bacha Kar Rakkha Hai Raajkumari, Agar Aapne Isey Churane Ki Koshish Ki To Kahin Aisa Na Ho Ki Haseenaaon Ke Beech Third World War Shuru Ho Jaaye..
It was a treat seeing three “self-proclaimed” evergreen superstars, (who have refused to age eons ago)- Late Evergreen Star Ashok Kumar, Everyoung Dharam Paaji, and Main Solah Baras Ka Dev Sahab together on screen and then there were Shilpa Shirodkar (looking at her in the film one can make out what blown out of proportion actually means) and Main Nashe Mein Hoon Jaggu Dada dancing to ‘Hum RD Burman Banna Chahte Hain’ Jatin-Lalit songs like – Aye Meri Jaanam Pyaar Karein Hum..Mausam Bada Hai Chulbula…Gulgula Gulgula Gulgula..
As the film is called Return Of Jewel thief, there are gems scattered all over, whether its the performances by the legends or the music or the dialogues, they all are gems… classic in every sense.
Some dialogues deserve a special mention so here they are-
Drunk Dev Sahab to a drunk Dharam Paaji – ‘Main Ab Se Tumhe Tuffy Bulaunga Tuffy…’
Dharam gives him a confused look…
Dev clarifies himself further – ‘TOUGHHH….Tum Toughhh ho Isliye Tuffy…’
Ashok Kumar (His men have abducted Jackie’s Girl Friend)to Jackie – Agar Tum Chahte Ho Ki Tumhari Ladki (??) Sahi Salamat Rahe Toh…..Chup Chap Baith Jaao…Waise Naam Kya Hai Uska…
Jackie – Soni
Ashok – Aur Tumhara Naam Mahiwal?
Jackie – Nahin Mera Naam Johnny Hai..Johny Mera Naam……(He plays Johnny ALA Dev Sahab’s Johny in Johny Mera Naam)
I was really impressed when Villain Jukasso (Sadashiv Amrapurkar) is introduced in the Adalat as a jewel thief ‘Jiski Talaash 34 Mulkon Ki Police Kar Rahi Hai’ (Don se poore 23 Mulk Zyada, its an achievement)
His Waqil knocked me for six again by giving a daleel in the Adalat that his Muwaqqil Jukasso can’t be put up in the jail as he is suffering from…Hold your breath - LYMPHOSARCOMA of the INTESTINE (the most trendiest disease in Bollywood since its debut in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s 1970 classic Anand).
Ashok Tyagi deserves a round applause for making this multi starrer unforgettable by casting Ram Sethi (he has a page dedicated to him on wikipedia), as the sleeping Bar Manager in Gulgula song. Sethi sahab (commonly called Pyare Laal ji) was one of the most glorified extras from 70s & 80s Amitabh Bachchan Films. Remember him singing Kaun Kisi Ko Bandh Saka in Kaalia..Kaalia..Kaalia (1981).
I’ll highly recommend this film to all you TRUE Bollywood Fans out there. Do watch ROJT and trust me Gulgula song is gonna top the play count on your iTunes and iPods like it has topped mine. Click here for THE song.
Second Film I saw was Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid (1969) – After seeing Return Of Jewel thief..I find nothing worth mentioning or remarkable in this Paul Newman, Robert Redford starrer. The film has won 4 Oscars (including one for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Based on Material Not Previously Published or Produced)..It has wonderful cinematography, brilliant performances, great dialogues, amazing editing...and Ranks 147 in IMDB’s Top 250...so what?? Can it beat the Bollywood classic ROJT?
NO...Never!!! LONG LIVE BOLLYWOOD!!!LONG LIVE DEV SAHAB
Anyway by the time I finished watching Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the Sunday was over.
Edit: Paul Newman passed away on 26th Sep. RIP Mr.Newman
As promised earlier, here is our first attempt at film making. Though we wanted to re-edit it, add some deleted scenes and do lots of touch ups before putting it on a blog or youtube, but I think we can show you the cut submitted for the competition. So here it is...
A quick update, for a while I was thinking of sharing some Bollywood Trivia and thoughts, but felt it will be better if I'll do it in a separate Blog Dedicated to Bollywood.
To Tamam Gavaahon Ke Bayanaat Aur Sabooton Ko Maddenazar Rakhte Huye Adaalat Is Faisle Par Pahuchi Hai Ki Mulzim Yayawar Ko Ek Dedicated Bollywood Blog Banane Ki Saza Di Jaaye.
I have started a parallel blog on bollywood called Filmy Very Filmy. Will request you guys to visit it and let me know if you liked it.
PS: Having a new Bollywood Centric Blog doesn't mean this blog will be deprived of Bollywood Masala, so keep visiting both the blogs, I'll be waiting for your feedbacks.
[*The CanMan is a short film (approx. 6.55 minutes long) made by us for India’s First 48HFP Competition. The story was inspired by a real life serial killer called The Beer Man. Made on a shoestring budget by first time filmmakers, film was adjudged The Best Film of Mumbai 48HFP and is now India’s entry for International 48HFP.]
Here is a post, reminiscing the adventure called The CanMan.
The CanMan was made between 2nd & 4th May 2008, but actual story starts almost a month back when I was bedridden, thanks to an uninvited Chicken Pox attack. There are three bad things about this highly contagious disease:
One cannot go too close to other people (esp. who don't have it yet).
All one can do is sulk and worry if s/he will start looking like Om Puri.
I don’t know.
Thankfully a chicken-pox mareez can go online because online jaaney se chicken pox nahi failta..aise to pyaar failta hai. I had no intention of spreading love online, but had nothing to do so went online, where I stumbled upon something that had something to do with my first love Films/Film Making. There was this info about a Film Competition called 48 Hour Film Project, where you have to write, shoot, post produce a film within 48 Hours. The best part was, this competition was supposed to be held during a weekend.
“48 Hours – A Weekend.. Sounds cool” I thought and called up my partner in crime the ever busy Saumin The Kickass Patel. “Kya Bolta Hai Partner..” I said.
“Making a short film in 2 Days sounds cool re…I think we should participate..”
“Soch Lo Thakur…”
“Sochna Kya Hai..Loha Garam Hai Maar Dete Hain Hathoda…”
“But we need to have a name for the team…”
“Hmmmm…Kuchh Desi Naam Hona Chahiye…”
Beep Beep Beep…Bad Network…Call Disconnected
He calls back.. with a name for our production.
“What about LIMBOO MIRCHI PRODUCTIONS…???” “Tumhe Yahaan Bula Kar Maine Koi Galati Nahin Ki…”
So we registered for the competition and by now I was more or less bhala changa with some 4-5 minor spots on my face. We started meeting and discussing the way we gonna approach our film. First time filmmakers, we wanted to leave no stone unturned and once all the stones were turned upside down, we realized we still don’t have a cast-crew, a location and post-production setup.
48HFP was an International Competition, and unlike Indian Competitions, here the participants were supposed to fill some hundred forms for location release, talent release and what not and had to get them signed by the team members. To go thru ‘Bhai Tum Sign Karte Ho Ya Nahin…’process, one needs a Bhai, in our case we didn’t had a Bhai i.e. the team members. This is when we realized we have to assemble a team.
The rules said cast & crew should be unpaid. This was a huge problem for us as professionals in Mumbai religiously follow the thumb rule advocated by The Joker - If you're good at something, never do it for free.
Anyway singing Mitwa song from Lagaan, we started meeting and convincing people. Dhirendra, our music director was the first one to join the team (and last to deliver the music). Some friends (who turned out to be fiends later in the story) promised to help us with Editing/post production.
So with a team more or less in place now, all we had to worry about was the genres. There are 14 genres and its kind of a (un)lucky draw every team has to go through, one member from each team has to pick a chit from a hat & have to make a film in the genre mentioned in the chit.
“Dude..what if they give us Romance as the genre and we have to make a romantic film??”
“Oye…That means we have to have a girl/heroine/actress in our team.”
Tumhara Naam Kya Hai Basanti AKA Actress / Heroine Hunt! It was an adventure to meet girls in shopping malls and convince them to work in our film. In a ‘Paisa Phenko Tamasha Dekho’ Mumbai, we were looking for a classy girl who can say “Main Aaj Bhi Phenke Huye Paise Nahin Uthati” and work in our film for free.
[A lesson that we learn in our 2 days long Heroine-Hunt : 90% of the girls can’t act, out of 10% who can act 90% are working with Ekta Kapoor, that means we are left with 1% and they wont entertain anybody who isn’t going to pay them.]
Anyway thanks to Aman Uppal, a close friend, who himself is an actor, we met Smiling Shweta and finalized her. This is when Raj messaged asking if we need any help. Going by the Ek Se Bhale Do…formula I told him we are looking for an actress for our film. Next morning he sent some contact no.s.
Called up the 1st no. It was Girija. Told her our problem and she was ready to work with us..
“Can you please mail me your portfolio Girija…”
“Haven’t you seen me??”
“Ummm…Actually I rarely go for plays..so… ”
“Hmmm…Have you seen Taare Zameen Par??” She asked.
“Haan Haan…Do Baar Dekhi Hai..”
“I am the girl with Aamir in Tulip School..”
“Ohh that's you!!"
“Yup..that's me…”
Girija is in team Limboo Mirchi.
Saumin calls up to confirm one of his Dad’s friends Bedi Uncle has a SONY DSR PD 170 Camera and we have a DOP in team now.
2nd May 2008
10:00am :We have a team and two female actors with us. This is when our post production friends ditched us. The competition is gonna start at 7:00 pm and we are yet to finalize a location and now we don’t even have an editing set up.
2:00pmA friend Devang helped us by introcing us to The Great Kanu Bhai who has a FCP set up in Andheri. Kanu Bhai agreed to help us. Meanwhile Saumin also discovered two beautiful locations (now you know why I call him Saumin The Kickass Patel).
5:00pmWe are ready to go to PVR, Juhu & get the Genre, Line of Dialogue, Characters & Props for our film. (The give a Genre, a line of dialogue, character/s & a prop that one has to incorporate in the story of the film).
7:00pmWe got Detective/Cop genre.
7:30pmWe cracked a scratch story.
Click here to read a badly written account of next 48 Hours/How we made the film. 3rd May 2008 Saumin working on Graphics for the film
4th May 2008
7:00pmThe CanMan is submitted on time, with all the forms duly signed. (Thankfully nobody in our team had a tattoo on his/her arm & everybody signed the forms without recreating that legendary Jaao Pehle Us Aadmi Ka Sign Le Kar Aao...scene)
16th May 2008:The Award Function The CanMan bagged 7 out of 10 awards and was adjudged the best in categories including, Acting, Direction, Writing, Editing, Use of Line of Dialogue, Use of Prop and Overall Best Film.Jury included, Shabana Aazmi, Ashutosh Govarikar, Vinay Shukla (National Award Winning Writer & Director- The Godmother), Sudhir Mishra, Baba Aazmi and Soha Ali Khan.
Award Function Chitrahaar: Thakur sahab, Shayad hi koi aisa jail...I mean Award ho jis me ye dono naa gaye ho. ye Veeru hai aur ye Jaydev. dono ke dono pakke badmaash. ek number ke chor .Chhate huye gunde hain Dono. Kitna Inaam Rakkhe Hai Sarkaar Hum Par
Mujhe Toh Saare Awards Ki Shaqalein Ek Jaisi Lagti Hain
Iski Toh Aadat Hai Bakbak Karne Ki
The Media : Tum Dono Ye Kaam Dhandhe Kab Se Kar Rahe Ho?
