An Ode to Writing
A thin black column of dazzle takes wing. As the first words form on the blank sheet of paper, I feel an incipient thrill. It’s that magical moment of realization of being in love. The beginning of every piece of writing recreates that affluent warmth, that heightened exhilaration. It’s a headlong freefall, no parachute, no safety net, just a blissful weightlessness. Heedless, uncaring of whether the feelings will be reciprocated or wrapped in the night and tossed into the air. All that matters is me, what I feel, what I can do. The other side, at this point doesn’t even exist. He loves me, he loves me not.
I trespass stupidly. Wildly hopeful. Words fall onto paper, tumbling with abandon, a cascading brook – sparkling, lacking restraint, over-enthusiastic. The rhythm of the heart echoes the tapping on the keyboard. The cardiograph scrawls in tandem with the scratch of the pen. A sentence, a thought forms that seems just right – travels from mind to screen in its complete simplicity, all inferences and semantics pitch-perfect, and there’s a quickening… of the pulse and the pen. Right now, I’m the singeless firefly, unafraid of being burnt, flying right into the candle’s mouth.
Soon, all too soon, this first flush of love fades. Slowly now, the words that were my stepping stones appear at longer intervals, sometimes sinking into the deep, playing with me, mocking me. I now need to know I’m loved too. Only giving is no longer enough. I need to get. The waiting begins. The longing. The yearning. The need for reciprocation. Maybe I lack allure. The purple prose that bruises my lips, the inky smudge that rims my eyes, maybe they’ll drag a retaliation out.
And suddenly, there’s a movement. A hand reaches out, eyes seek me through. And then there were two. It is a duet, it is a tango. Oh, the joy, the utter joy. The euphoria of working in tandem, the glory of togetherness. The characters respond, what was once a being made of water edging on nothingness gets a shape. Sometimes I’m the creator, most times, just the steerer. The writing takes a life of its own. I’m no longer in charge. It’s easier to surrender. It’s no longer just me, it’s us. The two of us. The door bells, the phone calls, the loudspeakers, the playing children’s yells – nothing penetrates the iron bubble. My hand is on the paper, my fingers round the pen, my eyes fixed on the screen, my hands over the keys. Drunk on his scent. The world ceases to matter.
When or how the struggle begins, I don’t think I can ever tell. It’s slowly now turned into a fight. For the upper hand. Complexity seeps in, insidious like a serpent. Love is not enough. The words get demanding, the characters grow difficult. The fights start. I begin to lose. There is an absence of emphasis, a sense of isolation deeper than mere loneliness. Despair, hopelessness, a thirst that seems unquenchable. I’m drained until I turn into a prodigal nothing. It seems impossible that this would ever end well.
Anger finds an outlet, misguided, misdirected. Characters are endowed with motives and machinations. They grow darker, shadowy. Resplendent in the fury I hurl at them. The whirlpool sucks me deeper and deeper into its vortex and I know I’ll never be whole again. I flail and fight the very thing I desired. But I can’t let him go, I can’t walk away and I can’t give in, I can’t surrender. We pull and stretch at the delicate fibre, the soul shift that joins us until it is certain to rip. But suddenly now, there’s lack of movement. The sun comes out and the delicate tapestry on the stretched fabric is highlighted. Like a halo around the writing. A hush falls over as words are read and re-read. Meanings that were never intended are seen, patterns that were never drawn get color. The inexplicable has happened. Love has triumphed. Words have won.
‘The End’ is written. Bold and centered. It’s all over now. The trough follows the crest. Closure after the climax. It’s time to say goodbye, time to let him fly. He’s never going to come back, because he never was mine. I hand over my words. He now belongs to the world. No longer mine alone. I watch from the sidelines as he’s loved, laughed at, hated, hurt. I can only watch and sometimes cry. I no longer occupy center-stage, I am now the heroine of the peripheral. Until I fall in love again.
(This is a story of never-ending desire, of wanting… the story of my love affair with writing.)
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Bhavana,’the writing takes a life of its own,’..its every writer’s experience..And you pinned it..Wow! And you must try your pen’s scratch racing faster than cardiograph’s scrawl to write a novel(if you are not already into it so far). You have it in you.
Bhavani, your writing, makes me speechless, its never an instant reaction, its the reread.. that’s when the real understanding happens. The ease with which you have described the love of a writer with writing and words and thoughts.. its inexpressable….
Interesting you should give writing the masculine gender.
Bhavani, I have been on PFC from day one and there have been times when I refreshed this space a zillion times, such was the high this place gave me. I love to write and have written a lot for my personal blog spaces but to post of PFC, I just always needed that extra something. So in the last 11.5 months, apart from a few reviews or interviews, there was just one post that I really thought I should add to the PFC pool and that happened to be on BLACK.
I was there on day one when you posted White and was on the site for hours to make sure that there were no unruly stuff written cos we/I desperately wanted you to be here forever
Oops Bhavani..spelling mistake..i think i was carried away after reading ur post.
firstly thanks for writing this.
reading it truly made me feek that it is written from the heart or as many would call it ” DIL SE”.
well i would just like to add that this is not the story of only your love affair with writing,
i think its the same in the case of hundreds of people around the world who pick up there pen and with the writing of their first word has the same feeling of love and closeness that you felt…
well does that in some weird way prove that love is universal…….maybe….
krysh, thanks. i have written a couple of novels, several short stories, but haven’t tried hard to get any published, beyond a very cursory round of sending it to some publishers who never got back…!
suchita, you’re my one-woman support system here. many thanks.
ravptor… the red parts are meant to be links, right? if so, they didn’t lead anywhere. regarding ‘black’, no it isn’t great cinema as some people paint it, but it isn’t as terrible as others make it out either. perhaps the truth lies somewhere in between. i don’t know if it would be easy for me to be objective about it because it was my first film, i wrote it during a rather volatile period in my life and it didn’t end up being what i’d originally thought it would. but all that aside, i am part of it and it is part of me. i know this isn’t really a very good answer, but i’ve been so often pushed on the defensive with respect to this, that i fear i’m turning immune…
ha ha Bhavani, anytime, bt am sure lot of men too support you here.
common guys!!
Bhavani, sorry about the links, they just don’t seem to be going where I am telling them too. Actually, the link on top of the comment with my name will lead you there if you go there and scroll down.
I feared you turning immune to this repeated question that’s why I hesitated to ask you for a long time. The reason probably to still dwell on it is because the general underlying theme of the film was mind-blowing. I don’t listen to symphonies but when people say something is pure music; am guessing it would have been that… but why the lack of it when I was watching it. Not talking about the guy who made it but from on the paper too; something was missing. I just wanted to find out what it was so that I can listen to that great piece of music in my ear probably the next time I watch it…
—update—
Oz is working on the links!
it’s working now
thanks oz bhai…
well, it doesn’t matter after a point.. does it?? And you should come out with a novel… am sure the booker will be yours in times to come.
ravptor, too many things that were on the paper didn’t graduate to the film. it was meant to be a story of life turning a full circle for a teacher who turns into a student at the end of his life and a student who turns into her teacher’s triumph. it was meant to be a story told from the pov of the neglected younger sister, she was the voice of the film. there were many references to helen keller’s life because the story was meant to be a tribute to helen keller. the father wanting to send the child to a mental asylum actually happens. how many of you guys know of deaf and blind kids and how even educated parents deal with them? i’ve seen these instances, as part of my research. it angers me when people peremptorily dismiss things just out of sheer superiority ‘oh, how an this happen?’ reminds me of someone commenting on onir’s post saying ‘why does juhi (in BEP) take abuse when she’s educated and intelligent? it’s unreal…’ this kind of generalisation is laughable. vis a vis lighting, the zillion frames on the walls etc, no writer has any control over that.
oz, got the link. ravptor, i read it. brutal! but guess immunity has its perks. and no offense taken. it’s what you feel, and totally respect that.
And a few bits of truth trickle out. POV of the neglected sister… makes sense. “Like in fountain head”, someone once said, ” the only one you can ever be is peter keating”, not having gone through a situation in life dealing with blind/deaf/dumb people around me, the sister did make some sense to me. So did the father; and for some reason I felt he was justified, typical human fallacies I guess…
Honestly, I have no problem in the story being based on helen keller. I really don’t believe in extra-ordinary originality everywhere and taking off on a concept is so all right…
About high-handed dismissal of certain surreal realities, I guess all of us have gone through them. Sacrificing that little bit for another, compromising on better things in life for holding onto the future security… and juhi’s actions are in reality a commonplace in a lot of households; but visualizing the same with the high proportions was a little tough… anyways, I rest it here.
Thanks for the time bhavani, still have to learn the ropes of immunity. Keep em coming…
Bhavani,what went into Black that makes everyones grey cells go into an overdrive only you (as a writer) and the director knows..what was on paper and what was left out..what could have been!All in the realm of speculation..More so with the audience that does not have a brief on the inside story..Behind the scenes machinations..All said and done Black is your Citizen Kane..Your glory and nemesis both..Take it in your stride as you are already doing it..One advantage of having strong immunity is that one becomes self-sufficient and no aids required(on offense meant)!
And about the pile of novels and short stories,i think you better renew the efforts to get them on the shelves.(i am suggesting you though i am dilly dallying with my own poetry in Hindi and English and a collection of short stories to be published–either traditionally or through the net)..Let the write-ups keep appearing at regular intervals.
Hi Bhavani
On your previous post I had requested you to post about your writing process so it could help people here who are looking to write a script/screenplay as well…
Not sure if this post is a coincidence but thanks anyways. Believe me, you have more admirers here than you want!
I think this post of yours should be converted into a dance with ballet dancers and a full blown orchestra on stage…:)
You can you hear the violins and the oboe now, can’t you?
Bhavani,
My question is stylistic and I mean it with the utmost respect. So I hope you don’t take offense.
Would it be possible to see an excerpt of your script for Black? The reason I ask is that while you have a way with words in your posts here, it always feels like someone screaming “see how well I write?” I find your prose too purple and many metaphors forced. While I see occassionally brilliant flashes or a turn of phrase, for the most part I see an inability to evoke. I have never been able to finish a post of yours in one sitting because I get distracted and lose track of your story or the point you are trying to make. With the exception of “Unbelonging”.
Screenwriting is very different stylistically from most other forms and I am wondering how you are adapting from novels, short stories and journalism.
As a screenwriter (I am not any other kind of writer), I can tell all on this site that I absolutely hate it. Not in the way some people dislike bananas, but the way people hate brinjals. I hate it with every pore of my being. I hate writing and am infinitely envious of people that enjoy writing.
Novels are written for people who love to read and screenplays are written for those that hate reading.
Hi Dabba
Your comment here was very interesting. I am really a novice at screenwriting (still trying to complete my first one) but I don’t understand why you say that you hate writing. Maybe I didn’t understand you correctly.
Also you say that ’screenplays are written for those who hate reading’- are you referring to actors or ’stars’ and such in the industry?
I can understand that a screenplay is not a pure form of art when it comes to writing and the writer here is trying to convey a story in pictures so what you are reading is what can be shown on screen so it’s pretty limited in scope in that sense…Am I with you?
Brilliant!^:)^I’m a semi-professional writer, but, it has never indulged me as it does to you. In fact the prospect of writing is something that scares the shit out of me :( I delay the process as long as I can, thinking that it will make me vulnerable when it goes into the public domain. And, after I’ve finished I feel what was the big deal in it? I’ve done good job
using best of my abilities & if people find fault in it let them go to hell :d
You know something, I wished to abuse you royally when your 1st post appeared here as the writer of Black because the film propagated the stereotype that violence & sternness will make disabled ok & they’ll grow up as normal human beings (a kind of attitude ‘Scare the shit out of them & they’ll start running like Carl Lewis or P. T. Usha, remember the climax of Satte Pe Satta?) I’ve suffered a lot because films show that such treatment has benefits (in reality people just use it as an excuse to vent out their frustration of dealing with disabled children). Being an owner of a crippled body with just couple of fingers of my right hand responding to the commands from my brain & needing help for even the most basic things that people take for granted, it was a horrible experience to sit through Black in the theater on the first day of its release & making my mother cry in the interval with she saying that We never treated you like that. Whatever we tried was for your own good.
Sorry for this personal rant. If anyone problem with this comment, Oz bhai you’re free to delete it.
Hi Bhavani,
I’ve been reading PFC for quite a long time, never commenting, just reading through, a bit like staring in through a window where great kings and queens are dining…coz i have absolutely nothing to do with the “filmy” world…i’m not sure whether its the way you write or what you write about, or both, but makes me feel like you are some old forgotten friend, maybe an imaginary pal in the begining of my childhood. Keep them coming. BTW, is there anyway we , your fans, could ever have a look at the script of Black, so that we could have a glimpse of your vision, unfiltered?
Devayon, I second that… yeah Bhavani… can we have the script of Black put up on PFC?
@ 18 D&C
I hate writing because I can’t hide. It is the one time when I have to be true to myself to be true to the characters and it creates some intense self-loathing. Plus I am very critical of my work so I am afraid to read something I have written after a coupla days because I know I will rip it apart and tear myself down. I never read what I write until I finish the whole script. Then I re-write it till I get tired of it and can’t take the humiliation anymore or find something more interesting to write. Then I look back after a few months and say grudgingly that it was ok but I know how to make my next story better and feel happy to have written it.
I know that a lot of actors (not just stars), directors and agents just hate reading a screenplay because there are a lot of them out there and 95% of them are crap and have stage directions in the description like -
He turns slowly and shakes his head, unable to believe what he is seeing. The blood orange sun dips into the clouds on the horizon just as a flock of gulls perch on the rocks. One of the birds casually picks at a bauble, the same one that he had in his childhood, his favorite possession in the world. His grandfather had given it to him when they left Ridgevale, never to return again.
This will be followed by trite exposition masquerading as dialogue like –
Steve –
well, you see that trinket.
Dave –
The one that the gulls are picking at. Come on.
Dave gives Steve a good natured jab in his ribs.
Steve –
I had one just like that. My grandpa gave it to me.
Dave (softens slowly then smiles)
I know he meant a lot to you. But you can’t keep thinking about how you couldn’t save him from the fire that you accidentally set to the purple velvet couch in his room.
And so on and so on. This is shite writing of the worst kind and it puts off ppl in the biz from reading actually well written screenplays.
Economy is the key. Use one word instead of two. Avoid adjectives and adverbs. It will make your screenplay read faster and move faster. For example, don’t say he ran fast. He sprinted. Instead of He entered the room quietly, try he tiptoed into the room. If you do this with every sentence and over the course of your screenplay, it will be more reflective of the 1 pg = 1 minute on screen rule in the right format.
And if Bhavani is reading this, I in no way am implying that the appalling example that I used above is reflective of your writing. That should be obvious but I just wanted to put the disclaimer out there.
@19 Gattu –
Everyone fears the blank page. You have to evolve your own strategies to overcome it. I find that if I sit to write, I can never write. I write in odd places. I have to trick myself. Like I will think about a scene or a character and visualize it and use keywords to pen it down on a piece of paper. It takes all of 2 sentences to describe a scene and another half page of dialogue. Easily written on the margins of a notebook or a little pad is what i use. When I have about 5-8 scenes, i transcribe them in the proper format so that although I am “writing”, I’m only copying and when I am actually writing, I’m only thinking and scribbling. Good luck with your writing.
Dabba: Thanks for the suggestion, but as I have mentioned in my comment that 90% of my body is utterly useless so the scribbling pad & notebook theory don’t work for me. I’ve sit with my laptop in front of me on the assigned table & I on my wheelchair. Sometimes I wish I’d secretary like Sidney Sheldon used to have & I’d just dictate whatever I wanted to write but it is not a feasible idea as my voice is also affected, as they say Bhagvan Jab Deta Hai Toh Pura Chhapper Phad Ke Deta Hai. :p
Gattu, the feeling of vulnerability when your writing goes into public domain is terribly painful, I couldn’t agree with you more… But the joy of putting into words something that you feel deep inside, something that’s crying out to be said, something that would be criminal to let die — I guess that’s what makes us all come back and face it. I think I have the courage of the foolhardy, I don’t think about how terrible it can get. Like I said in the post, writing is like falling in love. I just jump headlong. To paraphrase Alexander Pope, ‘How happy is the blameless vestal’s lot; the world forgetting by the the world forgot.’
Speaking of ‘Black’, it was never meant trivialise the physically challeneged or assume that all they need is a rah-rah cheer and they’ll sprint to victory. It was, like I have said many times, a film meant to be about Helen Keller. I am deeply sorry if you felt in any way offended, but I understand illness and handicap much deeper and with far greater empathy than you would know. All I can say is, I am not the outsider because I live with a handicap of my own that I fight every day. It may not be visible to the world but exists nonetheless. And I know how much I hate the patronising, probably more than the pitiless.
Thank you for writing in. And I hope to read your post soon enough. We all need something inspirational every moment to go through our days, so do write on.
Dabba, I get it, you don’t care much for my writing. It’s all right, I guess. Contrary to what you presume, I don’t think ‘look how well I write’, I just write. I am a very selfish writer, I write first and foremost for myself. I write what I feel at that point in time, I try to say things the way I feel best. You may think it’s shite, your point of view. This is a blog for cinema lovers, who love movies more than they love words. So whom would I try to impress? And where would that get me? I think you greatly undermine my mind, which is again fine. You need not like my writing. Like dazed and confused said, maybe you need a visual to be evoked by the words, and I fail at that.
I don’t hate writing, I love writing. If I hated it, I have no business calling myself a writer. I don’t subscribe to your cynicism about screenwriters. You’re a writer, so you know how difficult that blank page is. Maybe you find it easier to fill it with wonderful words, not all are as blessed. It is, I believe, rather sad to be so disdainful.
But thanks anyway, for reading my post, even if you only reach halfway, if that. Maybe someday I might surprise you… And lastly, no offense taken. For this, oz, I have you to thank.
Dazed&confused — yeah, I recall you did. Maybe that was a catalyst. Inw hich case, all the brickbats are yours, along with the bouquets!
Thanks for the words.
Devayon, thanks. You’ve made my day. It’s around nine am here and I think I’m going to be smiling for the rest of it! About ‘Black’, the copyright belongs to SLB Films, so I don’t think I can share it, much as I would’ve loved to — so everyone can once and for all delcare me an imbecile!
Bhavani @ 25 –
My comment @ 22 – “And if Bhavani is reading this, I am in no way implying that the appalling example that I used above is reflective of your writing. That should be obvious but I just wanted to put the disclaimer out there.”
My comment was directed at dazed and confused’s query and I was trying to clarify the difference between writing for the screen and other forms of writing. I put my disclaimer for exactly this reason, so that my comment on your writing @ 17 was not conflated with the bad fake screenplay example that I used.
I am not here to hate on your writing or anyone else for that matter. I made an observation about your writing style and asked how it compared with how you write for the screen. No answer was forthcoming. It is quite obvious that you love writing and by your own admission you write for yourself and I envy that. I write for others.
I have no cynicism towards screenwriters and neither any disdain. We are under-respected and not exactly rolling in money. We don’t have the luxury of using thoughts, mood, music, and beautiful words so that makes opur job much more difficult. All’s we got is a story. And we must tell it in the most economical way. We must use all the tricks of the audio-visual medium to tell a story and that means crafting scenes accordingly. One of my favorite examples of brilliant scenewriting is the Spanish movie Intacto, where they have a blindfolded running through the woods scene. That scene is written in three sentences, yet is so powerful. That was inspired screenwriting.
I can not tell if your screenwriting or anyone else’s for that matter is good from the finished movie. Far too often people complain about the script being bad without reading it. There are far too many things that can go wrong or be improved upon from the written word on the page. The proof is in the idli.
And lastly, I am contemptuous of my own writing, if anything. I absolutely despise going to the gym and working out. Given a choice between watching a movie or working out, I will pay to sit on my ass while someone flashes some images at me. Yet, I work out. Everyday. Because I love how I feel after I have worked out. Writing for the screen is the same for me.
Bhavani… I read this post early morning yesterday, kept me smiling and mesmerized. … and I am sure it did that to many others. Personally I agree with your comment on Black. I have also been constantly told that MBN is not a masterpiece. But when have I ever claimed that? Also I see people go on and on about Black being not a great film, etc… at the same time yes we are all going on and on about Bunty and Babli and Chack-de as if they were gods gift to Hindi cinema. I liked Chakde but do not think that it is a masterpiece. Neither is it such an original concept. And though I love Company/KKG I do not think BNB is great cinema!
Hi Dabba/Bhavani
Thanks a lot for those tips. Invaluable. I am three fourths done on my screenplay and I guess I am at a point which Bhavani talks about in the para “Anger finds an outlet, misguided, misdirected…”
I worry about my dialogues a lot. I cannot do anything about the story. If it sucks, it sucks. But dialogues can either enhance or degrade the whole experience and I worry about them. I fear they sound fake, trite or just ’shite’ like you mentioned. Also, while sometimes they just flow out in English, sometimes I catch myself thinking in Hindi and then translating the dialogue in English before putting it down. I am nervous about those ones…
Dabba, sorry about not replying to the query about writing. Guess I got too wrapped up in dealing with your rejection of my writing. I believe I am equipped with this involuntary sensor that switches modes when I am writing for screen and when I’m writing something personal. I love screenwriting immensely, despite all its limitations and complete lack of glory for the screenwriter. When I write a screenplay, I write with the blind belief that the way I see this playing in my mind is the way it will be seen on screen. That is my insulation, my armor that protects me from the devastation of what might come once I let my writing leave me.
Haven’t watched ‘Intacto’, but I love the moment you described. Yes, screenwriters are up against too many battles, too many bruises — (incidently, that was what my first post ‘White’ was about, but again I guess I failed in conveying it). It’s a constant slash and drain for us, its our blood on those pages that are tossed away, sometimes literally so.
I hope I have answered your question. I wish you wouldn’t feel that way about your own writing. I guess that’s one of the crosses that highly intelligent minds bear, nothing is ever good enough and they are hardest on themselves.
And funny you should mention the gym, just as I’m about to hit it. And oh yes, I hate it too!
Hi Bhavani,
You are truly a wordsmith, your writing kindles the heart, the soul and the mind likewise. At the same time I feel that this site is about passion for cinema and not passion for writing, though both the elements are strongly interrelated, but still at least i would be more interested in knowing your experiences with Black/Sanjay Bhansali, your future projects etc..etc
Bhavani! I told you before my feelings about BLACK. I also told you that was maybe because of too much of gimmicks in performaces, direction, setting. But everyone (including you) is forgetting that it was not only you who wrote Black! The credits also included Prakash Kapadia and SLB himself. I believe they also re-wrote DEVDAS. Those lucky folks, who have read the original novel by Sarat Chandra, surely know how the film turned to be. I won’t elaborate. I arouses a sense of………….in me! So Bhavani is not only to be blamed for the fate of Black! And Bhavani! I am not among the pseudo-intellects. Hope, my names are enough to indicate.
Okay, I got an information from an user comment in IMDb on Black. It’s interesting and maybe true. It’s here:
The story of making of Black is something like this (as against the one given by SLB that he got this idea while making Khamoshee, a film he wanted to make since he’d seen Gulzar’s Koshish): Screenwriter Prakash Kapadia (Devdas, Black) met Bhansali at the premiere of P Kapadia’s Gujarati film Dariya Chhoru (directed by Vipul Shah of Aankhen fame). Bhansali was invited to the screening by Aatish Kapadia (writer of Aankhen and the then screenwriter of Devdas). Bhansali came up to Prakash Kapadia after the screening and told him, “You are the real hero of the film.” Of course, a few days later, Aatish Kapadia was replaced by Prakash Kapadia to write Devdas for SLB. During the making of Devdas and later, Prakash Kapadia would discuss all his plays (some 20 great stories that he made in his 20 year long illustrious theatre career). Among these, were two plays: one was a story called “Aatam Vinjhe Paankh”, a Gujarati play inspired straight from “The Miracle Worker” and the other was a story of an ageing teacher suffering from the Alzheimer’s. Post Devdas, Bhansali asked PK to render the story of Bajirao and Mastani for him. While PK was busy with that, Bhansali clubbed the two stories of Miracle Worker and Alzhiemer’s, with the help of co-writer Bhavani Iyer and developed a complete English script titled “Black”. When he sent the script to PK, PK rejected most of the screenplay as dry and dull. With PK entering the scene, it was decided that SLB will make a bilingual film instead of an out-and-out English film. SLB approached the Helen Keller Institute for rights and assistance. He was denied the rights, but was offered the assistance. So the secondary level problem had now become a primary one. They had to deviate from Helen Keller’s life and The Miracle Worker as much as they could. They gave a thank you note to the institute in the film, but couldn’t mention anywhere that Black is indeed inspired from the Miracle Worker or Keller’s life. Problem 2 was they had to expand the role of Debraj’s character because it was going to be played by Amitabh Bachhan. In this confusion of events, they ended up creating a mess out of a great story. They maintained Anne Sullivan’s character of a half blind teacher (Bachhan getting the eye drops from Ms. Nayar), but added Alzhiemer’s to it for further drama and forced sensitivity. They maintained most of the other characters, but couldn’t use the real names, though they ended up using the same costume, setting and make-up. They didn’t use the same education techniques of Anne Sullivan and because of their lack of imagination, they ended up making a 60-year old frustrated compulsive brute instead of a compassionate imaginative teacher. They still used the high points in Keller’s life like the fountain “water” scene. For those who defend this kind of plagiarism by saying that remakes are made all the time, are forgetting a basic priciple – remakes are made after acquiring the rights from the original. SLB and PK didn’t research through archives and works of Keller, but instead just relied on an artiste’s rendering of her life “The Miracle Worker”. Several films are made with Gandhi in it, but they do not show a man named “McNally” getting thrown out of a train for being brown and inventing satyagraha. Get my point?
Upward downward arrogant pretentious cinema designed for awards and critical appreciation in a country which has had very little collective self analysis in the last 50 years. I think that pretty much defines Black. It makes the semi-intellectual and pseudo-sensitive life forms to feel important and profound for having the ability to identify and appreciate “great” cinema. I’ll compare this feeling to the way the English speaking Indian elite feel about themselves. Though they won’t admit it, deep down they still carry the genes of slavery, and feel proud to be on the same level as the “international” (read American) English speaking communities. That’s precisely the problem with this kind of contorted cinema. Just because a film looks like a Hollywood Oscar winning film, doesn’t mean that it’s a good film. Black is empty of substance. It doesn’t make any attempt in understanding the inner world of a person born deaf and blind, while creating an illusion that it’s in fact doing so.
Good stepping stone for just out-of-the-cocoon-self-proclaimed-film-analysts-and-intellectuals, though.
Was that true???
Hi Bhavani,
I have been one of your many silent admirers on PFC, but after this post I could not remain silent. This is simply brilliant. Have read it over and over again and lost count…mainly because I never thought of counting to begin with
The way you use words and the way your writing flows is similar to creating a symphony in music.
And the thing you said in comment #25 – “I don
I love your writing too much…
if you find time, visit my blog..
some poems, some stories nd some essays…
wud like you to visit it.if possible leave a comment as well
cheers
keep writing..you are doomed to be a writer
(if you open the blog, dont open it in mozilla, bcoz my poems are in hindi nd it wont get the font right)
Onir, thanks… It really is mentally exhausting to keep defending a film that is two years old… Shouldn’t we just move on? So many more equally bad films have been made that have received as much raves and recognition… They could do with some of this scrutiny. Yeah, if MBN, one of the most honest and loveliest films in a long time gets attacked, what hope have I?
FenderBender, thank you. I don’t like using words for effect, though some may disagree. ‘Dying is an art like everything else. I do it exceptionally well. I do it so it feels like hell. I do it so it feels real. I guess you could say I have a call.’ — these words of Plath are pinned on my board and I look at them all the time and they mock me because I’m constantly trying to get to a place where I can write with this kind of ease. And, my grandpa was a writer too, a poet…
Sumit, I work on a Macintosh computer, would that hinder reading Hindi prose? I shall certainly visit your post.
Citizen Kane-Bicycle Thief… Let’s just let it go. You can assume what you wish. Maybe I didn’t write ‘Black’ at all, I’ve forgotten that too. Out of the goodness of their hearts, the filmmakers decided I would be the beneficiary of principal writing credit. How lucky am I! It’s easier to attack me with this barrage of research of yours, perhaps you’d do well to try SLB or the others. You’d then find the answers you’re looking for, about what happened and what didn’t. Kindly leave me out.
Did I really attack? And that wasn’t my point, if you care to read! This ain’t my barrage of research! I have always praised you and that was no offence meant! I am letting it go! If you look carefully, I told that the mess-ups of Black was NOT from you “ONLY”! On the contrary, I DEFENDED you out of my admiration for you. “So Bhavani is not only to be blamed for the fate of Black! And Bhavani!” – the comment stated!! I just couldn’t agree with the hatemails which tore you to a thousand parts for Black. This wasn’t for you. This was for THEM!!
With heartfelt “kindness”, I am leaving you. I know, that doesn’t bother to anyways!
I am laughing at myself. I felt “at least some” were really receptive about constructive criticism and open to a good “discussion”! This is India! None here is willing to listen to the one who is finding flaws and go to a healthy debate! Only praise is accepted! If I find even “a bit” of flaw or “maybe truth”, I am told to let go! Fine! I do! No offense meant to anyone!!
ONIR, YOUR MBN WAS REALLY ONE OF THE FINEST CINEMATIC WORKS I’VE SEEN IN YEARS! THAT WAS PROBABLY ONE OF THE BEST FILMS OF 2005. LET DETRACTORS SHOUT, MBN WAS MAGNIGFICENT! Believe me, I am not writing this to compare MBN with any film to support my point!
Thanks!
Sorry, No PROBABLY! It was a mistake!
CK-BT, guess I misunderstood. I would like to think I do take criticism well, but that’s only my belief. I don’t look for only praise, far from it. In fact, I’m the author with most hatemails — like you just remarked on observation — and need most trolling from oz and company, so my friend, I’ve gotten used to my flaws and truths magnified and presented to me. I’m all for a healthy debate, but I’m a little tired of being a soft-target for people who hate SLB or have some axe to grind with him and seem to think I’m a mask he wears or something. Nothing could be farther from the truth. So, apologies for misunderstanding your query/ comment.
Hey Gattu: Its so pleasant to see you after a long time. I know your creativity is not diminished by limitations of physical problems.
Damn all the films dealing wrongly with physical disability, when you are going to send your article for PFC?
You can write so long comment but you have been elusive to attend my request since long.
Come on. Lets have some real dose on Malyali cinema:)
Thanks! Anyways! I am a person far….faaar………faaaaaar awys from the world of Bollywood. So, I have nothing to do with SLB as a person. SLB ne kabhi bhi humara kuch nahin bigada. So, why would I hate HIM? I have no reasons to do so. Others may detest him but I don’t. So, I don’t have to find “YOUR flaws” or to find a “soft-target” or “his mask” or to “axe” anyone. That’s neither my job nor do I have the rights to do so! I have never assaulted SLB himself. Flaws in his works may have left me unsatisfied. That’s all I speak about. No offence for SLB or anyone associated with him! I don’t want to magnify the flaws either! I really don’t know how authentic the comment was at IMDb. It “may” have been true as far as the presentation is concerned. So, I wanted you to clear the air once and for all for those morons. Instead, I was told to let go. I guess, I made a mistake.
Believe me! I will never bother you with my comments as they may be irritating (quite natural) and uncomfortable for you. That’s not said with a pinch of sarcasm. Thanks! I guess, I have said everything I had to.
Oh my god, so much is written about Black here!
Cant we just talk about something else now, may be about the article bhavani has written.
I have read all the comments here and probably all that are there in this site about black and i completely agree with what bhavani has written that shes becoming the soft target for those who dont like bhansali.
I seriously think that Black was not at all so badly written as it has been made out to be and certainly it was a very well researched one, which is really a surprise for a mainstream hindi film. the best part about the script was that it tackled the handicap and the disease without forcing their details by spending too much time (and hence make it boring banal and verbose) on talking about them. Mostly their condition is shown and not told- which is the most important thing for any screenplay. And i think when you are dealing with issues like these its little difficult to show and not just talk about them.
As I have written in my other comment also, for me the problems were more with the way shots were composed, lit and the strange and unknown time zone it was set in.
I think we should leave black now. because if you think its so useless, then why bother talking about it?
Dear Bhavani, I feared that you’ll become Chandika after reading my harsh comment. thanks for your composed response.My worse fear while watching the film was that how many disabled children will get such treatment if their parents or relatives watch it.
Dear RK, you’re the 1st friend i got from PFC. I do remember the invite, will write something when i get an interesting topic.
@ 29 D&C
Dialogues are the hardest to write and when done well seem terribly easy. Try speaking it out. A lot of stilted dialogue can be checked when you speak it out loud.
Some times it is not the dialogue that needs fixing. It is the scene. Hitchcock used to say that once the screenplay is finished, they add the dialogue. If you write a scene where two people are talking over coffee, you better have killer dialogue or else don’t write that scene.
Set it somewhere else and have things move. Keep your actors active, doing something. And if any words you are putting down sounds like something you have seen before in a movie or heard as a joke somewhere else, AVOID.
For me the biggest problem with Pyaar Ke Side Effects was that there was probably not one original dialogue, line or fresh thought. Everything was from somewhere else (not just other movies).
There are very few that can write great dialogue consistently on the first go. Don’t have such high expectations. Dialogue crackles in the re-writes. You will have to work on it, polish, trim, move words around until it sounds just right.
Read more screenplays. I would suggest everyone that wants to write for the screen do that. Read as many screenplays as you can. Read a Tarantino script, read Shyamalan’s script, read Collateral (atleast first 2/3rds of the script). Read comedies, see how they write horror and most of all read scripts in the genre you are writing.
For starters go to simplyscripts.com
It is free and they put out a lot of scriipts. Compare the scripts of your favorite movies with the way you write. If you are a good student, you will know where you fall short and can find ways to improve your writing.
That will be Rs.1000. Thank you very much.
ha ha Dabba, I think everyone who is a writer would be doing that.. but yeah good tip
Dabba you should try writing scripts..
writing is a process and everyone has their own ..
My process is how you describe it, not that other’s process can be deemed negligible..
this exactly is the argument and fight me and abbas tyrewala have been having for years and i don’t think either of us are not writers..
Writing according to me has no method, it’s what you bring to it..
I really think you should write scripts because you can, however much time it takes, however slow it is or excruciating it becomes, having read all your counterarguments, i think you should write and i will back you up on that..
having said that , and having had the pleasure to read Bhavani’s unpublished novel.. i think she is a fine writer, a good one.. yes sometimes her writing is about words and metaphors, but that is a writer in love with writing, not seeking anything outside..
the other times she does write for an audience and does it well..
Hi Dabba @43
Thanks a ton. I read the screenplay of ‘Sideways’ recently and had as much fun reading it as I had watching the movie. I guess that’s the hallmark of a great screenplay.
But what I really want to do is to read screenplays of Hindi Movies which are written in English, if there are any which are written like that; the first draft maybe? Dialogues which could sound natural in Hindi can end up sounding stupid if read aloud in English, don’t you think so? But unfortunately, there don’t seem to be any such resources available.
Anurag, there are times when I can’t return to a script for months… I dread going to the page where I left but at other times would dream of finishing it… What should be the motivation? How do I come back?
Dabba, just to add to your notes about learning screenwriting. Here is what I found useful. Read Plays also – playwriting is much harder because of the limitations on the space/time paradigms, has to be much stronger on the dialogue front.
For budding directors, read your favorite script, watch the movie on DVD as a whole, then watch it scene by scene looking at the script and then watch the scenes with sound turned off.
Anurag — thanks. And yes, I am of the belief too that writing can’t be a method, it needs surrender and sublimation of self, and there is no one-size-fits-all way out of any corners that one sometimes tends to write oneself into. Every writer needs to find a way that’s his/ her own, a process that’s as unique as a fingerprint. Words and metaphors – I’m not aware I am full of them. Unfortunately I don’t know any other way to write.
Dabba, I’d listen to Anurag. You should write. He is responsible for my getting into screenwriting. I know that doesn’t sound very heartening!!! But I’m Anurag’s creation, his Frankenstein.
Bhavani/Anurag – I think Dabba IS a writer/filmmaker – maybe waiting in the wings – have an inkling, a good one.
Vasu, how have you been?! I think you’re right… And if that Rs.1000 charge is taken into account, there’s a latent producer within too!
pratim put it aside and one day it will call you back.. it exactly is like bhavani describes it.. till you write “the end”.. it’s your love that will always lurk within you.. it is you..
Anurag and Bhavani,
Thanks. Sincerely. And if I may lay this to rest about Bhavani’s writing, my comment was based on her posts here and my judgemental tone was uncalled for. I have never doubted her facility with words, but am still curious about how she adapts to screenwriting.
I was in Mumbai in 2004 with my first finished screenplay (it was only a rough draft at the time) that I showed to a Producer who had one credit and was looking at making non-run of the mill movies. My movie was called KALYUG and it was your average Ichadari Nag as a super hero caught in a celestial battle between Devas and Asuras with Yamraj as a hitman on his tail kinda movie set in the cowbelt (although written in English and needed to be translated). The voiceover filling in my own myth was ofcourse by SAMAY.
The producer insisted that it be a Hinglish movie set in Mumbai and the UK or US and I said it had to be in Hindi in UP-Bihar.
He gave me Abbas’ and your cell numbers, to get in touch with (saying that the way my dialogues were written, you guys would be the best to bring it to hindi and give it that edge). He also gave me Sudhir Mishra’s number.
I didn’t call any of you because it wasn’t ready. I had just completed a rough draft and there were a lot of flaws. Plus, I thought he was just blowing me off and didn’t think any of you would entertain me. Anyways, I was in Mumbai for 7 months torn between trying to move there for good and try and make it in Mumbai or move back to the US and try and make it here. For reasons that are mindnumbing in their insignificance to this story, I decided to come back to the US and my screenwriting has grown stronger in the years. Back then I was a fresh faced kid thinking I was awesome. Now I’m a very handsome grown up man knowing that I am average at best.
I realized that I could not straddle both worlds and decided to focus on Hollywood. I wrote one Hollywood screenplay and after my 2nd draft, I read in the trades that another movie with the same title and a similar concept (WitLess Protection) went on the floors. I dumped it and was looking for my next film idea when I was compelled to write a zombie movie based on a news article I read. I made an exception and wrote it as a Hindi/Tamil Zombie movie set in a village.
I am currently writing a sports comedy (do we really need another one? I think I have a different angle but that’s what they all say) and another horror. I recently directed a children’s short film – noir/comedy.
Would it be possible to see a script or atleast an excerpt of Black Friday? I would imagine Anurag, you own the rights to it.
Once again, thanks for the support. But as they say, one can die from encouragement here.
Bhavani – I am good. Juggling with the office work that I hate on one terminal and doing what I love – sharing ideas about filmmaking with you guys on the other. Will be there end of September for three months. Hope I can meet you.
@46 D&C –
I had the same experience when I was in Mumbai in 2004. I was trying to find samples of screenplays for hindi movies written in English, then translated but I could find none. Let me know if you lay your hands on one.
@50 Vasu -
I wrote and directed a play called Vishkanya and learnt immensely from the experience. But I don’t know how much of what I learned helps me in screenwriting today. The analogy I would use is, if you are good at tennis, you may be able to play table tennis, but a different set of skills are necessary to be really good at TT. And thanks for the compliment.
I guess I have some kind of romantic notion of making my mistakes in obscurity and then appearing on the world stage fully formed. I would be a very old wunderkind, yet an overnight success after long years of toil in unknown dystopia.
Dabba – agree that there are differences but what I want to emphasize is that screenwriting evolved from the basis of “dramatics” (”playable actions”) – applied over centuries in the theatre. Playwriting is harder – has to be done with more constraints. For a successful screenwriter, it is very important to understand actions as different from ‘emotions” which are abstract and not playable. Especially in India, I see that the reason quality of writing sucks is for this exact reason – people focus on ‘emotions” and assume that if the emotions are “explained” to the audience, they are touched.
This is where the western writers are better. They get to the emotions through the “active” actions of the character. Those techniques are redily recognizable in Plays but form an integral part of the very basis of dramatic writing – screenwriting is a form of dramatic writing.
Vasu,
No contention here. Agree with all you said.
Anurag Sir, waiting for your reply regarding my short film script……
bhavani..mackintosh shudnt be problem..besides most of it is in english
Mr.Anurag Kashyap
I am a movie buff.I watch all kind of Cinema & any language whether I understand or not, there are few directors/ writers i admire most, you are one of them.Keep on writing good scripts and directing the films..I am looking forward for NO SMOKING and wht is position of PAANCH?..
Arun P. Rao
Gattu Anna you rock…and an inspiration to many..and me..having briefly met you at chennai [Anand Cinema Hall, 2005] made a definite impression…a big one…I remember we talking about a short film which garnered great applause from the audience but when we were discussing you asked me….do I even raise a finger at anyone and ask him/her can you do this and that….I’ll never do that….Thats the sprit you live by and thats indestructible….your opinion matters most…you know what the film conveyed more than anyone else at the film fest…and I agreed though I remember others went ahead and gave it a consolation prize…Blaze away Gattu anna…your comments are most welcome on PFC and please don’t ever be apologetic about it.
[GATTU – “Sorry for this personal rant. If anyone problem with this comment, Oz bhai you
Hey Bhavani, I just read all your posts and have to say, that your writing is amazing! I havent come across people expressing themselves as beautifully as you do. This post was so true!
Now really looking forward to read your next post, see your next written film and read your novel(Hope, its published soon!).
Bhavani… You are absolutely right… I think its time to move on to something new. It is our first works and will always be special for us. But I think enough has been said. Its nice to be able to talk, take criticism about ones work… Yes it means growth, but that should not be the only thing coming up from every discussion. There is so much more to your posts than a need to keep going back to Black. Lets talks about the novel in waiting, those blank white pages that are waiting to be written by you:)
@Charles Foster Kane…
:d
Onir!:d I can’t really understand what are you trying to mean with :d. If it’s for my praise for MBN, I take that wholeheartedly.
If you mean otherwise, you should see earlier posts where I praised the writing skills of the concerned person. I have nothing personal with anyone. I am not the one to start all over again on that film. In this post, there have been many negative criticisms of that film. On the contrary, I was trying to defend the concerned person from these hatemails which allege the same person for the whatever fate of of the concerned film. I DID NOT criticise the concerned person, nor do I wish to. On the contrary, I was accused of express my loathsome “assumptions” and taking away credits from other people. As I said before, I wanted the person to clear the air for the concerned people. I just wanted to shed light on the subject I found which just “seemed” authentic. That’s where I sinned:).On the contrary, I was accused of express my loathsome “assumptions” and taking away credits from other people. Were I in a mood to criticise the concerned person/ film, I would have written an iView on it dismissing it off as a copy, dry, dull or whatever other people love to say. But, I have never said that nor will I do so. Yes, one does need to have a strong bond with first or any work. I have nothing against that. I guess, people are getting back to those films as they haven’t seen anything else from the concerned person. I praise whatever I like. No bias on that!
I don’t wanna drag this matter on and on. So, I guess, the following interactions between us should not include the mentioned topics. So, I am putting an end here. I believe, you think the same.
I possess tremendous respect for you, Onir. Probably because, you and I are from the same location. MBN was a film that stirred my soul. It will always be a special film for me notwithstanding any kind of interaction with you here on PFC. Eagerly waiting for MBB.
Cheers! :d. No offence meant to anyone! Good luck to everyone! I respect everyone!
Thanks!
P.S.: What’s the latest development of My Brother’s Bride? I’d love to know.
P.S.S: Pardon any spelling/ grammatical mistake. I wrote it in a flow and I am in hurry!
Bhavani…Loved your writing..”Ah! to look at my printed words..then to smile at their quirks..to soar when language proposes..to relapse when language disposes..the scratch of my nibbed pen..the treasure that it unravels..of memories forgotten..of an age lived up..of blooms that have withered away..of shells that lay undisturbed..Ah! the printed words..better than the piano and the sitar..my words..my creations!!”
Felt bold enough to have taken these lines from one of my bad poems. I know the love that one would always have for one’s writing. So, go on and conquer the world with that pen of yours. And as Onir says, treat your next work with all the determination and creativity that you could ever possess.
The doers just go on and do it. The pretenders and the critics pounce on others’ work and that is a fact. (No offence to anyone). Looking forward to your novel, manuscript, screenplay, poem, script or just about anything (including the Hema Malini bit that you do)!!!!
Indraneel, that is beautiful… ‘…to soar when language proposes…’ Exquisite. The Hema Malini act, hehehe! Sure thing!
One of these days one of you needs to start a sub division here…about writing only..in all languages…some of the film makers shall then log in everyday and get their next great script from this forum itself.
I am serious..such is the dearth of good writers..so we see the trash thrown at us week after week..in film after film..
A crow..flies far and wide -
then knows better..
and comes back to the windowsill
where shade awaits it!
BTW, I changed three creative agencies for my company because of faulty English Grammar..believe that!!!!!
That’s my pet peeve, bad grammar! That and SMS lingo. Cn u bliv dat in dis de n age?!!! Where good writing/ writers are concerned, all a matter of opinion; one man’s meat and all that… I used to be a trainee copywriter while i was still in college, and it’s funny how most of them don’t even know whether a comma comes after closed-paranthesis or before…!
I am now reading a book, “An Alchemy of Desire” by Tarun Tejpal (of Tehelka and that bhoot pret channel – India TV). I see a oft seen problem here that is he is trying to pour all the flair with the written word in the first book itself. Lots of three letter ’s’ words/acts unnecessarily. Also, a huge Gabriel Garcia influence..but don’t know whether it is intentional or the flair is just an original style that has similarities with the master!! Told you this as you too are facing similar comments from friends here!!!!
@Indraneel, to me An Alchemy Of Desire seemed forced and as you put it the author comes across trying to tell-it-all in one go..Except for Chandigarh and Delhi milieu and few of incidents, especially truck’s gear stuck on ring road..nothing sticks..The cuss words and ‘f’words are too many unlike a sprinkling of salt to spoil the entire flavor..i was disappointed reading the book.
hi moderators,
my comment has been removed. could you please explain why.
i am sick of seeing people forcing Bhavani to defend Black. whatever the subject of her post, Black invariably creeps in. Is it right to put a writer in such a position.
Why am I the culprit here? Am I wrong in thinking we should move on and leave Bhavani alone. I hold no brief for her, but the attacks on her are sickening. Don’t you think so. Please read all her posts and see how people have used Black as a stick to beat her with.
she herself writes “it is mentally exhausting to defend a film that is 2 yrs old…”
why am i being penalised for speaking the truth?
thank you
[admin note - Dude .... Move on .... are u not fed up of criticising a film that's "more than 2 years old" ???
Your previous comment was a personal attack on bhavani and not a "healthy criticism" ... it deserved to be trolled....
Move on .... there are so many films to be criticised other than Black. ]
Vinay, thanks. Perhaps we could initate a discussion on my post… That could be a diversionary tactic! Appreciate your support, but am more amused now than hurt. Perhaps once I write something better, the focus would shift. My posts don’t seem to make much impression, I’ll try harder!!!
hi moderators,
it really pains me when you call me a troll. will you please re-read my ‘deleted’ comment. you missed the sarcasm, didn’t you. why, i even signed off as ‘holier-than-thou’. oh,how could you miss that. I also said “bhavani, i think you have a way with words and i hate your confidence, self-assuredness…”. how could you construe it to be a personal attack on bhavani. i am dismayed.
I am a frequent visitor to PFC and abslolutely love its independent spirit.
i am not a troll, sir.
thank you
Vinay…actually all of us are also bored of this anti n not so anti-black thing. we have discussed it thousand times here. can we plz all close the chapter now n forever…atleast here on pfc.
hi bhavani,
“words have won.” or have they? they can’t if you choose to remain the “heroine of the periphery.” and therein lies the problem with screenwriters. i think writers need be more warrior-like. ok…ok…so sensitive souls can’t move around with a sword in one hand and a conch shell in the other. but one can try. so many scripts have been ruined because the writer refuses to confront or gives in easily to the actor, director, producer. a whole lot of hindi films start going wrong once the bound script passes on to the director and the writer martyr-like decides: my job is done, what more can i do. tragedy takes over. little do writers realise that once the movie hits the screens, it’s too late. and then the knives are out. how many times have we heard this comment: the direction was good but the script was bad. Wow, really. anyways, those are my two bits. lovely writing, though. in that sense, yes, the word has triumphed. keep fighting.
Vinay, you wouldn’t believe where writers figure in the Hindi film food chain. I’d like to fight, I resist greatly when I feel a mutilation coming, I never ever give up easily but at the end of it all, I’m as powerless as a bald Samson once I hand the script over. Forget commissioned work, even stuff that I write for friends who aspire to make films are mangled to fit their magnified egoes because film-making is entirely a director’s medium and they want to stir the cauldron and add a couple more pinches of salt and seasoning to prove they were involved in making the soup. Never mind the fact that the broth is likely to turn inedible. Every director — big, small, good, bad — wants to put his ’stamp’ on the writing, never mind the fact that every original thought and word on those 120-odd pages belong to a poor sod called the writer. In my opinion, only when the egotism of being ‘captain of the ship’ and ‘auteur’ drains to some degree from their being and they totally comprehend how much of a collaborative medium film-making really is, will writers or any other ‘technician’ in the movies will get their due. Until then, most writers — me included — will try to get into the only chair that matters, the director’s.
“In my opinion, only when the egotism of being
Bhavani, it is all musical chairs and whosoever occupies it calls the shots..No doubt in this food chain, producer is on the top then comes the director and there are times when megalomania of both these two is dented by onslaught of writers–the most famous and i think one of its kind is duo of Salim-Javed..How I wish to be in their shoes, where not only the script was stamped by them but they had a great say in casting et al…(But then they did not have DVDs to compete with)!
I think we all need to be a bit more tolerant to people
Onir What you just said to Bhavani is double standards. On one hand you guys go around the world with your film for years after it has released & talk about it. But if people are ccritical about it than you don’t wanna talk about it?? Time to move on? Would you say fuck you to a very good award just because it came 2 years later? Because its time to move on? Once you have decided to make films then you should be open to criticism & praise equally for the rest of your life. People are discussing so much about your 1st film. Its been 2 years. Why are you spending so much time in answering everyone’s blogs? But i must admit You respond to negative comments also, that too very positively. So why are you trying to defend Bhavani? Just because you guys know each other personally.
“Bhavani
huh you are absolutely right… the way I read Onir’s quote is that Bhavani has been bombarded with the same accusations and plastered with the same criticisms ever since she came on board and no matter whatever she has written here, the subject has always swung back to Black… which is quite unfair really… there is a separate post by her on Black… anyone can rave or rant there…
Suchita, usually a producer is a the money-man. He is staking millions, therefore would want to have a say in everything. Also his forte is numbers, if he doesn’t get nuances of writing and understands only broadstrokes (read item numbers and comedy tracks), it doesn’t rankle much. I wouldn’t know distribution figures and marketing lingo either. But the director is meant to be on your side. The gash is deeper only due to that. But yeah, you’re right — that one is another struggle altogether.
Krysh, I wish that too… ‘DVDs to compete with…’ ha, ha, ha. Well said.
SR — couldn’t agree with you more.
Pratim — thanks for the support… And the directions to another place to rant and rave!!!
Huh — the reason Onir and I and most other authors on PFC respond to everyone who comments is so that we can offer our points of view and continue a passionate discussion. The reason Onir commented and I complained about the onslaught is purely because ‘Black’ has been flogged to death here. I have no issues with criticism, whether you believe it or not. But would anyone apart from Anurag Kashyap have the balls to say all that they say to me to Sanjay Bhansali or Amitabh Bachchan? Perhaps even in an open letter? It’s easier to take shots at me because I’m a nobody. So come one, come all. Also, no one speaks about the writing of the film, everyone talks about how the shots were copied or the way Rani walked or Mr Bachchan acted or the Charlie Chaplin poster or the way the scenes were lit or the gargantuan sets or the way the little girl looked more possessed than handicapped and such things. Anyone who has even a remote idea of the movie biz would know how much of all that has to do with a writer.
I reckon, as someone else rightly pointed out, maybe the lack of a similar high-profile release from me prompts everyone to go back to the one thing I’m associated with. Hopefully that should change soon.
Yes, Onir is a dear friend and therefore takes up for me. Which is quite a wondeful thing in this day and age when everyone is out to gun down everyone, don’t you think? Wouldn’t you do that if your friend was being subjected to unwarranted hate-mails? So, why question Onir’s standards? And why shouldn’t he go around with his film until the end of his life, he’s made the film. Would you give up your baby after a year when the next one comes along?
As for awards, it would interest you to know that though I have won some, I haven’t attended a single awards function or picked up my trophies for any because I would like to wait for a film that I feel unified with and that I feel is a true representation of what I wrote to accept an accolade for it. So, sorry, that doesn’t apply, I did say ‘fuck you’ even the first time around and oh, how happy am I to tell you that!
I speak for Onir and myself when I say we’ve responded to both compliments and criticism. True, compliments are much easier to take and make you feel wonderful while the criticism and harsh words hurt and hurt deeply. I’m sure you agree with that too, else why would you use a pseudonym? Nonetheless, thanks for your remarks. And I hope I’ll someday write/ make something that would be liked more.
Good response Bhavani (the last part in defense of Onir and your stand). I have come into this discussion just now and can totally relate to what you just said.
Firstly I have not seen Black nor Devdas, and that has nothing to do with Public Opinion. Devdas because I have seen the original and once I know the story then don’t feel the need to repeat. Black for more personal reasons, I had a physically challenged sister and her loss took a long time for me to recover over, in fact is the single reason why I left India ..to get out of that environment …and whatever I have heard of Black…brilliant things by the way….just tell me that seeing Rani’s character might bring back memories of a time which I have tried to leave behind…hence the reluctance to see it…..but going back to your point…well said…nothing wrong in supporting your supporters….go Onir. I know in my own case….one of the champions of my project and also a positive force….is writer Shibani Bhatija who has been urging me on in my script and also being very positive…..and of course Sharmistha….so like Onir, I am at all times going to stand up for them…world and blog opinion nothwithstanding….and like you said the f word, my attitude is if you want to do something…do, but if you want to crib and bring me down…here is the index finger and let’s get on with it…again that is not against criticism, cause that is healthy, it is against a constant and incessant negativity….
But keep writing and again am not saying I will like all your scripts…that is my prerogative…I might, I might not…but as they say in the US of A…..YOU GO GIRL!!!!! and ditto to you too Onir…:)>-:)>-
Agree with Bhavani here when she says that everybody’s been criticising ‘Black’ the movie, which has not stood loyally by her script, according to her. She has also mentioned a couple of times how her original script differed (from the viewpoint of the sister, based on Helen Keller, etc.) She can’t share her script due to copywright issues and that’s that. So let’s move on.
Bhavani, you should give SLB’s email id for the benefit of the movie’s critics here, there are many!
Bhavani:
Sorry to bring in some anti-views.
Everybody knows but its not irrelevant to repeat it one more time that Lucky are those whose works are discussed and then it does not matter if they get criticism or admiration as long as people are noticing their works. Being associated with a successful film has many benefits. It provides necessary fuel to progress the career.
SLB and AB dont write a blog and hence people can criticise their works but cant get their response to their criticism. But this is not true that people are not criticising them.
Right from the begining when “Black” was released and Anurag Kashyap had written his criticism in Tehalaka.com, SLB and AB have been the centre of criticism. Even AK did not touch lackings in the script of Black. As you wrote, that films are basically Directors medium so its but natural that most of the time, criticism and praise both are showered over directors and though writers get benefit when a film becomes superhit and people start noticing that who has written this wonderful film? It has happened that a flop film has destroyed the entire career of director but writer of that film survived. If share is less in success then its also less in failure also.
and then credits given in the Black says:
Screen Play – SLB, Bhavai Iyer and Prakash Kapadia
English Dialogues- Bhavani Iyer
Dialogues – Prakash Kapadia
That means hindi dialogues are written by PK. so in such team work, whatever criticism or praise is given to the film should be seen as given to all the three writers. because you all three may know who has written which part of the film, but audience and readers cant know.
And people may genuinely want to know facts behind the script of Black and everything is not simply criticism.
As mentioned above, SLB and AB or PK dont write blogs and you are consciously present on a live blog so people may try to enjoy your presence here and may ask questions about script of Black.
Criticism of “Black” is not criticism of SLB/yours or of PK in the same way as criticism of Black Friday is not criticism of Anurag Kashyap and criticism offred to Bas Ek Pal is not criticism of Onir.
Though creation is very personal thing and it depends on the persnal talent of the creators but in medium like film making creators try to influnece hundreds of thousands of people and hence somewhere for them the collective understanding of the audience of present time is somewhere important else they shd be ready to fall in to depression because audience may not understand their high profile work which they make with self absorbance.
Writing Blog itself is a proof that creators are demanding reactions from the readers else for self satisfaction, people have been writing personal diaries since ages which they dont show to anyone or some write diaries to publish later.
You are known to the people because of your writing in the films and hence people will naturally discuss about films you have done in the past. If you observe carefully then you will find that maximum number of comments are devoted to the Black and other films you have written. This is basically a place where readers are belonging to cine lover categories. As long as something related with films is published readers give proper attention.
Everybody is almost NOBODY in the starting of the career and its not unusual situation and it takes time before someone becomes SOMEBODY and and then LUCK is the very strong factor and its not necessary that only talented people get success and only talent is sufficient to have success in the life.
You are in lucky situation as people recognise you as writer of Black. Some might have liked the film and some might have hated the film but it hapopens with every film.
Bheja Fry is one of the big hit of this year, do people care who has written the film? and rest assured once anybody associated with the film starts writing on a blog, he cant stop himself coming across the question that – Is BF scene to scene Copy of Dinner Game?
Now it depends on team of Bheja Fry , how to handle such questions but once through this question, people may go to other questions also associated with the film. Perhaps its not scene to scene copy of DG and even if it is, it has its own good and bad moments which shd/can be discussed. Its very natural curiosity to ask such question and nobody is spared from this tendancy. Daily we see on PFC also that some films are trashed in one blink because its understood that they are blatant copy of some previously made films.
“Black” is not discussed properly. Either its praised or its criticised heavily and you could have started a good discussion about the film.
You are associated with a successful film then why not to enjoy this aspect?
You have mentioned that Black was your first film as a screen play writer then its very much possible that there can be some lackings in the script also. People who have been involved in film making since 20-25 years they also make mistakes in their screen plays. People who know deeply world cinema they also cant spare themselves from making mistakes in their own films and is it wrong if other people can point out these lackings?
Once HK Institute denied to give permission and it was clear that film should/would/could not be based strictly on the HK’s life, questions arise, were there ways to make a different kind of script and characterizations?
I had commented on your very first post also and I repeat it again.
Like when gender of teacher was changed, was it not feasible to change gender of deaf and blind character also? or SLB was adament on showing infatuation of girl victim on her teacher and hence gender was not changed.
There is so much to discuss about characterization itself.
Believe me people may genuinely want to dicuss about Black and its not merely criticism about your writing of the film.
and then you are not going to stop writing in films, so perhaps somewhere reactions from audience may help you also. Some may try to criticise you personally also but they will be less in number. First reaction comes from knowledge of one’s past work and once a relationship is happened then same critic may ask questions relevant to the topic also.
Till you feel offended with the criticism of Black others cant move on.
Onir had pointed towards a habit of people but his effort has been sidelined under the emotional support and friendship factor. I hope he did not mean it. He hinted towards partial criticism or partial admiration. and this point shd be discussed.
thanx bhavani
RK,now where do you get this patience to write such insightful and all-encompassing stuff!
Krysh:
(1) Love towards PFC (here and actual)
(2) Frustration generated seeing such a powerful writer like Bhavani does not wish to take resort of her most powerful armament.i.e writing to say her POV abt her previously done work. Writers play with words and one has to show belief on past work or if one feels work was not up to the mark, simply accept it.
(3) Confusing stand of Bhavani on Black:
If today she believes that Black was not a good film and she had written a far better script but Sanjay Bhansali as director simply spoiled the film by his directorial vision then just say it and trash the film and show regret that she was associated with such mediocre film but if she has liked the film then she should take firm stand and should be willin to discuss merits and demerits of the film.
(4) Her quoating Anurag Kashyap. I fear either she has not read piece AK had written for Tehalaka.com or by now she has forgotten his criticism. He simply had trashed the second half of the film and Black basically goes away from The Miracle Worker in second half only. He had trashed excessive use of English in the film.
He had trashed the focus of the story.He objected on using the poetry of Robert Frost.
and where these all pointers are going? in whose areas?
I am unable to understand how Bhavani can take resort of Anurag Kashyap’s criticism of Sanjay Bhansali and Amitabh Bachchan?
Did she care to answer or will she care to answer Anurag’s criticism in the role of author of Black who wrote english dialogues for the film and supposedly who might have provided that Frost’s poetry to Sanjay Bhansali?
Because Sanjay Bhansali does not write a blog so we dont know what was his stand against Anurag Kashyap’s criticism but Bhavani writes here and if she takes a stand for her product and responds towards Anurag’s objections then perhaps we may get a healthy debate and perhaps a better scene can be generated in hindi cinema. as when two intelligent minds will discuss then film will be dissected in the proper manner.
(5) Onir’s remark. People who trash one film, by accusing it as mere copy of some other film dont follow same pattern when film is made by their friends or familiar people. and its so bogus attitude and those care for quality in hindi cinema they shd have unbiased attitude.
(6)Discussing on net does not kill a film but it certainly can send some understanding in film maker, if s/he cares to do introspection and s/he is flexible and liberal enough to welcome others good suggestions. else world is full or arrogants who are educated but are closed because of their own impression about themselves and their skills.
and in last for all those who feel offended with slightly opposite views
“The ultimate test of a relationship is to disagree but to hold hands”:)
RK, I am sorry but you seem to have totally misunderstood what I said. Anurag is someone extremely close to me. I have said this time and time again to every media that cares to talk to me that he is the reason I am a screenwriter. My words were ‘Would anyone APART FROM Anurag have the guts to say these words…’ Meaning ONLY he had the courage to say the same words to Sanjay that he would to me, and if Anurag wishes to indulge in a debate with me regarding ‘Black’ I shall gladly enter into one. However several people are just using me as a soft-target to get some reaction and that is what I object. Please do read what I’ve said again, where is the insult or slur on Anurag’s good name? Vis a vis his Tehelka article, he messaged me about it and asked me to read it and said I shouldn’t be offended. You don’t need to believe me, I am like I said a nobody, you could check with Anurag. Lastly, even if I had said something against Anurag (which I HAVEN’T), he knows me, loves me and understands me too well to take offense. Just like I did with his article. I don’t think either of us need anyone else to fight our battles for us.
Regarding responding to Anurag’s objections or criticism or what-have-you, he has never said anything to me. So why should I speak when not spoken to?! And why should I write about Sanjay Bhansali’s reactions to Anurag Kashyap’s criticism? Is that why I am here? A cats’ paw to a higher war?
Secondly, I have reacted and responded to everyone who has queried about ‘Black’. But credit me with some intelligence to differentiate those who really wish to discuss the film with an intent towards constructive analysis (ravptor, dabba) and others in not just this but other posts of mine who just wish to kindle a reaction out and watch the fun.
I’m sorry but somehow I totally overlooked your question about changing the gender of the student in my first post. Guess I was getting used to the site, I’m not very net-savvy. Your query was towards a constructive debate, sadly yours is one of the very few. Please read the remarks once again and tell me if I’m overreacting. How in the world do I react to a clip that shows s scene from ‘The Miracle Worker’ and says ain’t it just the way ‘Black’ was shot. Or ‘your contriution to ‘Black’ was pointing to a DVD of TMW. Or ‘I read another script of yours without knowing it was the writer of ‘Black’ and I said, ‘who the fuck wrote this?’ Is any of this constructive, RK? Say it is, and I’ll respond to every one of them even if it takes me all night to do so. So, on the heels of all this, am I not entitled to feel tired of being badgered without needing to explain myself?
I NEVER said that I believe ‘Black’ is not a good film. I have consistently and right through all my posts and responses maintained that I stand by the film entirely. I NEVER said I wrote a better script than Sanjay Bhansali eventually made. I have always and shall continue to have the greatest regard for him because he believed in me and entrusted the job of writing the film to me. I NEVER said that it was a mediocre film. Please direct me to the mythical place where all these statements appeared from me. Please explain how or where or when or how I seemed confused abou my stand. I am three-films old. Three very bad scripts old. I have no delusions about my own talent or place in this business. Kindly do not put words where none exist.
I spoke about the awards because I was pushed to. I spoke about the POV of the sister because I was asked to. Guess I made a big mistake, I should’ve just been quiet and taken all the shit doled out, that would’ve made everyone happy.
I don’t understand why people have a problem with Onir’s support? What did he say that was so wrong? Or is he not entitled to his opinion but everyone else is? Or just because he disagrees with what you believe, his attitude becomes ‘bogus’? Now where does your sense of fairness leave this little issue? And going by your own belief that people shouldn’t stand up for friends, aren’t you doing just that for Anurag, whom you think I’ve attacked?
Lastly, writing for films doesn’t necessitate that I open myself up for ridicule or humiliation. I can choose the safe route that most wise people in showbiz do, and resort to looking at only the happy picture, so I can create and work at peace. True, Sanjay Bhansali and Amitabh Bachchan don’t write blogs and now I’m beginning to think, maybe they’re right in staying away and not subjecting themselves to this kind of flogging. Time can be put to so much better use than these attacks and counter-attacks.
Baand karo bhai….RK itna pad-padke meri aankhe gotiyaan bankar sockets se gir padengi….Meri zindagi bhi ABCD se nahi balki….BLACK se shooru aur khatam hojayegi….BLACK per se prashna chinha hatakar…FULL ISSTOP lagado bhai!!!
i do not entirely understand your articles, but it gives me an impression that your each articles…has… got a hint of the film ‘Black’…. and hence, that gives people an opportunity… people still keep coming back to you with…
i don’t think you are a soft target; you just gotta write something different… imo
:-?
Bhavani: Thanks for so long reply.
I have repeated so many times and I repeat it again that readers(I when you write and I read and vice versa) dont read exactly the same stuff as its written by writer so small misunderstanding is possible and we have to give that advantage of doubt to each other.
and thats why we all have to produce secondary comments when previous comment is misunderstood. we shd curse limitations of written language for that lacking.
But before I start writing I may request you to read very last line of my comment 89.
I repeat it here again.
Hi Bhavani, I had promised myself that I would never comment on ‘Black’ ever again, simply because I have already said so much about the film in the past.
But I see it’s still around in conversation, and I just want to say that I actually happened to love it!
I was blown by it, and I forced everyone I know to go to the cinema as I felt ‘that’ passionate about it.
I personaly feel there is a difference to remaking a film which has recently released, and remaking a film which was released 30 odd years ago.
Yes I have seen T.M.W and found it to be powerful, raw and gripping.
But then, I found ‘Black’ to be polished, beautiful, and important.
Important because, whether people feel it was a good film or not, whether people saw it as a wonderful art form or S.L.B just being self indulgent, films that tackle disability should be shown in big budget films and not ignored.
That aside, I loved Ravi K. Chandran’s and Monty’s work too.
This reminds me of Revathi’s ‘Phir Milenge’.
Which was obviously inspired by ‘Philladelphia’ but was an important film nonetheless.
How often are films on H.I.V and A.I.D.s made??
So, i’m in favour of this kind of cinema. But yes, not many are going to share my viewpoint, but that’s ok.
Afterall, it’s just a view.
And we’re all entitled…
here is the link for tehelka article
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main10.asp?filename=hub022605Color_of.asp
I am more keen to know what the hell is 1!! Is there a link to that!!
Sorry didn;t mean to digress from the topic of discussion, but this is slightly going over the board and out of hand:(
suchita b, … you will know about it in good time; it won’t take 1 year to really know what ‘1′ is all about.. :-d
please dont attack bhavani ..its very difficult to be a writer in bollywood and that too when you are a woman ….and credit her, she has written three films(i am only aware of two)…and she is here discussing her work and answering questions …and to bhavani please do not be so sensitive to all these comments . as for your writing , i dont know , i liked and did not like black ..i just read the tehelka article by anurag (and i just dont believe what i read , exactly the same questions came n my mind ..and exactly the same reasons i didnt like black)…lets face it guys , writers have it toughest here , a bad movie noone blames the director everyone blames the writer . a good film no one applauds the writer .also when they say the director is good techinically but the script let him down(like they say about anubhav sinha and sanjay gupta ) do they even know that the director is responsible for every department , he has to finally approve the script..and what is shot in the end and what was given to the director as a script can be two diferent things . please be kind to writers . and my request to bhavani continue blogging if you wish to but dont discontinue because some people are trying to make a soft target out of you .
it’s very sad that people like RK hijack the discussion into the ‘black’ realm again and again. and sadder still when bhavani bites the bait.
‘an ode to writing’ has been conveniently ignored. which, incidentally, is a wonderful piece of writing.
why don’t all those who hate black meet bhavani in the real world and talk about it and finish the matter once and for all. or may be mail each other and spare us the agony.
how is all this nonstop chatter on black constructive criticsm? it is an attack on the writer and a diversionary tactic.
RK says”lucky are those whose work is noticed, it does not matter whether it is liked or criticised.” Oh really. can we stop this patronising attitude, dude. “till you feel offended with criticism of black others can’t move on.” ok, so now we have a lesson in pop psychology.
RK and all those who want to discuss black. why don’t one of you write a different post and invite bhavani to answer your queries, if she wants to. why mess up this board where the topic under discussion is something else.
is that so difficult to understand.
and by the way what RK said was very revealing. he wants you to “trash the film and SLB for messing up a film with his directorial vision and regret she was associated with film” or “if she thinks film is good then she should discuss merits and demerits.” So, if bhavani says it’s a bad film you are ok with it and she is spared further criticism. Wow, revealing. And this is hilarious: he calls Bhavani a powerful writer. But sir, everything she writes is conveniently ignored.
Krysh: when i defended bhavani you said we should move on and that there’s been enough of black. when RK brings black into the discussion you congratulate him for providing insights. make up your mind, dude. the only insights he provides are the ones that point to his own mind.
grow up guys, stop crucifying bhavani. it’s a sad sight. and bhavani, please don’t bite the bait.
Thanks Varun for link of tehelka article….
Thanx Varun for the link of the tehelka article. i was searching for it for a long long time. pata nahi that ki tehelka mein chapa tha.
Hey Bhavani! Having devoured each n every one of your posts, commenting for the first time
There
103 comments, now 104…
isnt that some sort of PFC record? Or have we had better in the past?
It’s number 9 on the most commented list… check this out http://passionforcinema.com/popular/
OZ….shit ya…m missing that feature…number of views…so much….we r addicted to numbers i think…
thanx, for visiting
I have replied back, please check the one you commented from
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was just playing spot the idiot…and then changed it to spot the bigger idiot … Bhawani whose stylistically barren writing makes me want to throw up or the self proclaimed martyr of indian cinema Anurag Kashyap who cannot live upto his own crap …god ! and all you idiots in PFC who know no better ….do u guys even belive in what you say ? … fucking wannabes who will neverbes ..each licking the king for a moments ass ….
@Charles Foster Kane. sorry for responding so late. My comp had crashed and had not logged on. I think you are over reading into what I was trying to say. I am not making any observation to what your comment was…. but generally realizing that discussions arising from every article that Bhavani write ends up with Black. Perhaps one wants to talk about something else too. I agree that there are people who want to ask/comment on Black. But how will one grow if you are not given a chance to be seen as something else too. And honestly you are welcome to criticize/comment
@Huh. I think you did not get the point. Myself and I are sure Bhavani too has no problems in our works being criticized . Nor are we saying we do not want to talk about our works. I know it is in public domain and we will be answering questions about it all our lives. And that is beautiful. What I mean is at times maybe we want to talk about something else and a post demands some other reaction or comment. looking back is important
@RK
How does a black column, thin or otherwise dazzle?
WOW. This was INCREDIBLE.
I am currently applying for a Journalism program and for my application I have to find a piece of writing that has inspired me to write for a living.
I have found it–this blog entry. Brilliant in every sense of the word, it encompasses the very heart of what writing means to me as well, only I could never have expressed it as well.
Blown away,
-Aly