Can it get better than this? Out on itunes apparently!

WRITTEN ORIGINALLY FOR AND PUBLISHED AT PASSIONFORCINEMA.COM

If you look back at cinema from its inception, one of the most workable justifications for playing out something totally outrageous and uncanny was to just make the protagonist DREAM. In the case of Indian Cinema, due to the lack of breath taking vista’s in the vicinity of the slums that our protagonist lives, and due to the inability of our maker’s to dream the least, the scenario plays out very well to justify dancing in the woods of Europe and we are left with staring at the botany showcase of the region’s flora. But to make a point – DREAM’s actually give the writers some of the most exciting prospects to put their creativity to best use and come-up with something that totally knock’s the wind out of the viewer. 

I was recently listening to Charlie Kauffman on National Public Radio (like All India Radio), who happens to be in my top three scriptwriter’s that I have read (the other’s being Aaron Sorkin & Woody Allen – in that order) where he takes on the subject of dreams and justifies/attributes it some of the most incredible idea’s of his over the past decade of his work. In Adaptation – the concept of writing a writer who is trying to write a script about a writer trying to write – so simple yet so tremendously difficult, Charlie says, is a product of his dreams. How otherwise would you think up of stuff? Ok, you go to bed with some half formed thoughts but deep in sub-conscious state, the churnings of the brain take those half-baked idea’s and take then through a ride – a ride that you so often wish you can capture, but you just can’t. Well, if your Charlie Kauffman maybe! 

One example I would like to give here – How many of you regular PFC author’s or to that matter cine-buff’s who after catching a late show the night before – wake up with a start the next day morning with some concrete idea on how to say what you feel on that white screen in front of you? You know what you are going to say because your sub-conscious mind has digested the cinema and it all becomes so clear to you as to what it all meant but try putting it down on a piece of paper and you hit a dead wall! 

Going back to Charlie, another example is Eternal Sunshine of Spotless Mind that he so brilliantly wrote. The basic premise there again is to successfully get rid of Clementine’s (Kate Winslet) thought’s, Joel (Jim Carrey – wasn’t he SUPERB!) has to erase everything belonging to her physically from his surroundings so that the deep-subconscious does not get triggered due to it’s association – again – the physician’s explained there was that dreams could still trigger deep emotional feelings that the normal conscious would not. 

So, what’s the deal with dreams? Why are they so vivid at times, yet so bizarre that on some days you just think about how could such a thing be? My friend tells me she has recurring dreams of her floating in the air like that shot from “The Big Lebowlski” where when he get’s knocked out, he just floats in the sunshine. The fact still remains that some of the most creative ideas that you would probably have had in one’s life have had their metamorphosis in one’s dreams as total abstractions that initially make one question the very plausibility of such incidents – but in the end, it makes, so much sense! Or at least for me it does. 

As someone who has been struggling for the past 6 month’s to complete my first story, there are day’s when I just fall asleep on the ride back from work where a part that I am struck unravels in front of my eyes, with such congruence to what I am thinking that it seems so right but when I try to interpret them, they just don’t make no sense. It’s like a constant battle between Angels and Demon’s in my head where the Angels rule the world of sleep and the demon’s, possibly influenced by everything materialistic, just overpower the Angles to rule what I write. Is it due to my incapability to draw what my brain could come-up with, or should these just be inner personal thoughts – like inner entertainment for those 6-8hrs of sleep. 

An argument that could be made here is story-telling is nothing but a much emancipated form of putting words to fantasies that one has to enchant the audience. Yes, great fantasies are amazing stories and I for one digg anything that is supremely fantasized but from Comic Books to absolute goblin thrillers, there is a certain baseline to imagination – they are made believable, like the way Roy Walker (Lee Pace) tells Alexandria (Catinca Untaru) the story of the 5 hero’s in “The Fall” to extract his own revenge on the Star who steals his Girl. Brilliant Visuals and absolute classic interweaving of time-period’s, but at some level believable. But take Donnie Darko, the man with the bunny costume, the jet engine crashing, the prophecy – that’s interpretation of dreams very well told.

 I am sure most of you who are reading this have had numerous dreams that just defied every societal demon in your head. Extreme danger, wild rides, grossly exaggerated behavior of one’s self – these are just a few scenarios’ in the whole web of imaginative trip that your mind takes you every time you close your eyes, which just leaves with this one belief that every individual only needs to posses the power to interpret one’s dreams – if one chooses to become a creative fiction writer – as only a sleeping mind can take you to places that waking life would just not comprehend.

Cute! Real Indie.

WRITTEN FOR AND PUBLISHED AT PASSION FOR CINEMA

A city that tells thousands of stories each day, a city that weaves the magic for a million people everyday and a city that creates as much as it destroys each day – it was logical that something would pay tribute to its various layers and shades in typical Bollywood fashion but with a hint of betrayal – replace the glitz and the pseudonyms with gleams of passion and realism.

Sitting in Arch lights for the closing gala, I had but one apprehension – will the collective genius of al those makers fail the intelligent and glamor seeking audience in the congregation – c’on, the pick of junta there was either uber rich or over eager in their own endeavors…

Promod Bhai…23: Anurag Kashyap

What a find! The kid playing the protagonist is a true find. If Darsheel floored you with his dreamy look, watch one sequence in this short where the boy’s classmate mocks him for lying excessively – that one log shot from the POV of Promod Bhai… continuous taunts… glaring look… the subtle yet powerful stance of defiance to hold himself… what a shot!

The short did not work for me… Knowing Anurag, I guess I have too much of expectation but brilliant is a lesser word… The problem with great scripts, especially when a lot of mathematics is involved and you know the string puller is a genius is you work out the math… A random character does not quite make sense and for someone who is adept and understanding the common game of “inserting randomness”, the plot is crystal clear. And you are talking about Anurag… Fabulous timing to end the shot… I shall dare to speak again after the release.

Mumbai Bombay Same Shit: Rahul Dolakhia

For me, this short stood out. It’s brazen, arrogant and in your face. It will make you say all that you ever wanted to about the city but hold on… this short says it all. Jimmy’s talent as an actor was never questioned… especially when he plays a rich spoilt brat that he should actually be but is not. The conflict and intervening of lust among all the classes is a subject so well depicted that for 10mins you feel – dyamm, is it Indian Cinema. For all the naysayers who cower in front of 21^st century take on Bombay, eat this!

The Ball: Sudhir Mishra

Sudhir is an intimidating persona. A sound bite to make it interesting, when said this to his face by PFC’s OM on his appearance, he replies “It is your insecurity young man!”. So actually not discussing his short helped because what may have been is making me remember the short very vividly. A small boy’s quest to nab a ball from the hands of a murdered man. Simple premise… a guy on the bike whirls on the screen and the next whirls you too…

Who is Soha? Lover perhaps? Who knows… but the memory of a dead man is till he is in front of you – atleast in Mumbai he is…

Parcel: Revathy

The only preachy short. Suited to Mumbai – not really, it talks about any other city too. I could relate it to Hyderabad a lot… human trafficking… brilliant ending though… the urge to give up is too tempting in the face of adversary… Vinay Pathak’s dialogues looked forced to me but Revathy smiled and we spoke for a while so I care less now… I was star-struck by her simplicity… Take a bow maam!

Anjaane Dost: Jahnu barua

His short spoke of age and experience. He choose a subject that is so true and the antagonist was me, word for word. Conflict of the young and old told through the 70’s cinema line of tender being missed by an aged employee only to be fired when makes a comeback with vengeance. Simple, effective, common man’s anxiety and dilemma explored with finesse… Jahnu Barua, try watching his work. As Sudhir Mishra put it, Indian Cinema is incomplete without him.

Rituparno Ghosh: Urge – My fav short

101 to short film making. Brilliant pauses, crisp transition, regulated repeats and coherent story telling. Four stories of people begging for last chance. Remember that last math problem that you need to pass the exam and when you said” please god, just this one and I will study like hell, only that you din’t. Remember the first time you wanted to be kissed and when you prayed that you will never want it again(at least to the girl that’s what you said)… dud! 4 realistic stories… Ranvir - Brilliant as ever.

Shashank Ghosh:

Middle Class… the class that defines India makes kids do the following: Be an engineer, slog to be a doctor or teach them to aim to be a govt servant… but all the kids want to do just two things… Be Cricket Stars or Act in films…

A sentiment as straight forward as this is approached through a family as diverse yet common place as the one assembled… a rich bahu who holds the family together, a dutiful elder son who works 6days to feed the family, a brat of a younger son with girlfriends and dreams, a mother who fusses and a father who is oblivious… All in all a family drama that reminds all of Hum Log… Perfect to the spec! Watch this… its will make the old and better Hindi / Telugu soaps alive…

Kundan Shah –The Train Journey.

There is a reason why the entire IFFLA portico stood up when the man walked in. There is a reason why people walk behind him or stand behind him, people who are worthy of their actions and not words… people at IFFLA who bow to him and behave… not Bollywood but directors of the caliber who are invited to make momentous films. Mr. Kundan Shah is one. Would it be great if he made a mind-blowing comedy… or a serious educative and punitive people’s drama… he chose the most familiar aspect of Mumbai… the trains and made a monologue that is an art that is being passed on for third rate acting! Hilarious, funny and at times introspective… its difficult to sit through it… I could see most in the theatre leaving for a break… the narrative doesn’t pause… I am a nobody to critique the man’s work but sir, using posters to tell a story and recreate scenes was such a fun to watch… Hats off!

Jo Palta Woh Rickshaw Nahin: Ruchi narin

Aah… very apt portrayal of when you say I am bindass in a city and when you don’t. A breezy short… a breezy narrative. I may have missed something in it or perhaps I am over digressing but the short speaks volumes of how a small encounter can change a city that a person loves all his/her life.

All in all the approach to the making of Mumbai Cutting works for me. A land that does not recognize anything without a Sir-name actor/director/producer/dancer/fight-master/spot boy and coffee table talk show host – this method to integrate creativity in parts does make me want to come to theaters. Most will disagree and I stayed away from talking/digressing about the films with the directors afterwards, maybe that’s what I love the film so much but what’s harm I ask? All right some shorts had shortcomings as agreed by a world-class director at the venue but who cares when such genius are back in at least small amounts to work freely when millions are poured on fakes who rape the art form of film-making with family prejudices and regional bias.

P.S: I missed the QnA ( both formal and PFC’s informal ) but then, I would not write what I did above if I would have spoken to the makers. I missed a few shorts as I don’t remember them but all in all – Watch this!

“A film is a one night stand but television is a love affair”. That’s Aaron Sorkin when quizzed why he chose to make a television series after having written brilliant movies like A Few Good Men and The American president. This coming from a man who wrote the scene of poetic outburst of Michael J. Fox in the oval office when debating how it is important for a man of immense power to do the right thing – political ramifications and international treaties be dammed!

In the last seven years, if there was one indulgence that I let on unhindered when facing a dilemma or being in a stupor over the morally correct, West Wing was a series that I turned to day in and day out. Books were a refuge but my time of growing up gave me access to much more visual form of ideological exchange that would impress and calm me down. All of us have our ways and for most it is rather cult-isc to name books. Rand was a refuge too maybe more so for the forceful characterizations that I take from it but in my limited sphere of knowledge the characters of Aaron Sorkin had impact beyond reason.

“If you are smart, surround yourself with people who disagree with you”, another quote of Sorkin that translates into every sketch of the West Wing. The principal story line for the uninitiated is as follows: A moderate intellectual Noble-prize winning democrat is elected to the White house courtesy of a team of a five all of whom had left distinguished careers and high paying jobs to get a man elected whom they barely knew. Now in the White House, they have the task of running a country based on all the democratic ideals with their moral conscious being the driving force. The series over seven years wonderfully tells the tale of how these six strong personalities clash on varied issues, coming together by first taking on each other to fight personal ideologies and then take on the world. Over the years, these relationships become an unbreakable bond when facing crisis that take immense faith to weather over – hale of bullets, embroiling with prostitutes, the president’s undisclosed illness, the imperative to abide by constitution all the time, re-election crisis, press fumbles and incumbent choices to name a few.

Not going too much into the issues that are tackled by the series which truly is a fodder for debates on innumerable issues, digressing Sorkin for being a Screen-Writer par excellence is truly personifying the intensity that each of his characterizations had from the word go and how he wrote each of them to absolute perfection. That’s what puts Sorkin way above the rest. Every character of his incorporates a sublime feeling of passion towards their work, constitution, their party, the president for the most part, their country. Each scene has been designed to exemplify these qualities and watching each episode unfold their hidden qualities, their fancy’s and fallacies with their idiosyncratic ideologies is like watching something so real that you can mirror most of your feelings through the stand taken by each of the men in the sitcom.

John Spencer, who plays the role of Leo McGarry – the Chief of Staff – died in real life during the last season once remarked that there was just one thing that made him come to work even when he knew that he was about to die – Golden Writing. “I was given gold in every single sketch”, he said and that’s some tribute coming from a man who has more than 50yrs of working experience in Hollywood. His character of someone who runs the country from the background was written to suit somebody whom you would vision in a place of such capacity and power. All through the series, he moderates the arguments placed by his staff in front of the president, rarely opinionating but ultimately advising the president to do what’s best. He dies after being elected the Vice-president in the last season and his exit was so skillfully written that for anyone who has not followed the series would just feel that’s how the storyline was, such was the care taken to write every single episode that changes could be made even when the worst was to happen.

Allison Janney who plays CJ Cregg, the White Press Secretary & the Chief of Staff is a character who excels as somebody who brings the feminine perspective to the table very well. As the only female member of the senior staff, the sexism is very well handled by Sorkin who in the whole seven years has never discriminated or wrote something derogatory for her. Martin Sheen again makes for a great President throughout the show, figuring as the head of a team that always lays down great challenges for him. He makes the role of a president look so easy at times and at other times, brings out the magnitude of the post so well that you would ultimately get convinced of the course that he steers the nation too. As somebody who got elected without declaring an Multiple Sclerosis story to the world and who takes the blame head on and fights to win another election, what Sorkin has achieved is to set a benchmark to politicians everywhere that the quality of honesty is the highest code.

But if there are two characters that set the tone for the show for seven long years, it’s Toby Ziegler and Josh Lyman played by Richard Schiff & Bradley Whitford respectively. I dig them like anything especially Josh. Both are fanatics for policy and constitution, zealous in love with their job more so that it is done in principle than word and both absolutely love each other and trust till the end. Even when Toby is fired and when Josh was running a campaign for the next president, the way they talk throughout plotting is pure camaraderie of the highest order.

I understand that this article would be Greek and Latin to most not residing in the US or who have never heard of the west wing or not familiar with Aaron Sorkin. But the reason I felt to put it on PFC was simple – imagine this. The last two seasons of the show was 2005&2006 when I was still in India and it used to be aired at 9PM EST. The torrent would be up at around 11:30PM EST that would roughly be about 1PM IST. I would put it up then and thanks to Indian download speeds, it would take a day but I would wake up at 4AM in the mornings to watch, and that’s something I did for two yrs in India. I may have been crazy but I loved the writing, pure and simple. I have watched each episode like a zillion times and I can bravely state I know each episode like the back of my hand. And if you were ever to meet a critic of American Sitcom’s, West Wing rates very highly up there as one of the most intelligent shows ever written.

If you ever get a chance, catch a show… you will be hooked, I promise!

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For me the song by Buffalo Springfield sums up west wing perfectly:

There’s something happening here

What it is ain’t exactly clear
There’s a man with a gun over there
Telling me I got to beware
I think it’s time we stop, children, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down
There’s battle lines being drawn
Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong
Young people speaking their minds
Getting so much resistance from behind
I think it’s time we stop, hey, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down
What a field-day for the heat
A thousand people in the street
Singing songs and carrying signs
Mostly say, hooray for our side
It’s time we stop, hey, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down
Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you’re always afraid
You step out of line, the man come and take you away
We better stop, hey, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down
Stop, hey, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down
Stop, now, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down
Stop, children, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down