Apna Sapna Filmi Filmi…
Today, right here on PFC, I bear to you all my soul.
Ok, that definitely was a tad dramatic. More or less I haven’t written a post on PFC in the last a few months mostly because I’ve been super busy with work and life and lots of writing. Or should I say re-writing (read on to see what that’s all about).
Seriously though through this post I’d like to share some of my work, and thoughts on the projects I’m working/have worked on (ah so that’s what all that soul-bearing rhetoric’s all about). I’ll also post a link to a short film we made a few years back, so please do check that out.
Back in Aug of 2007 I had written a post about our comedy short, Cash on Delivery, which at the time had just been accepted into the Dixie International Film Festival (Atlanta, Georgia, USA) and the Edmonton International Film Festival (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada).
Well, you can now catch the film online, right at IMDB.com.
Can’t say much more about that film which I haven’t already written. Still wish we had more time to write another draft and refine some of the rougher edges of the character & dialogues. I suppose in retrospect there will always be room to improve things. That being said your honest comments will be greatly appreciated 
Since then we’ve been developing a few different projects whenever we get time from work & life.
There’s a Canadian film, with a significant Indian backdrop/backstory, titled “The Golden Road“. Again I’ve written plenty about it in that post so won’t write much more now.
Then again, maybe I will. We’re now working on the 3rd draft. It continues to evolve, much like a creature attempting to engulf its very creator. Ok, not so much, but it really has evolved quite a bit from the original concept. Did you know at the entire first draft was a linear narrative in chronological order? Alright, so now you know that and you can deduce that the current draft has a lot of cut & paste work… err, I mean we’ve played around with our narrative structure and rearranged scenes so to make the overall film more engaging and entrancing. It’s funny how as characters keep developing, they start to get out of your control and change the plot around. Crazy kids. The lady lawyer character.. what was her name… Jasmine, yeah she’s now been dropped from the film altogether. That whole angle was deleted and replaced with a sympathetic, straight-and-narrow (not a reference to her look) girlfriend character ala Tabu from Takshak. Also overhauled Harman’s whole “career graph”; We had to take him out of the “corrupt consultant” business (as it really started to get convoluted, honestly) and gave him a real job. And whatta you know, he became corrupt there too! One day I hope to share this film with all of you just so you get into the heart and soul of what I’m rambling on about.
There’s also a Punjabi film entitled “Aavangi Hawa Banke” (“I’ll Come To You Like the Wind“… doesn’t translate as well to English I suppose). Can’t say its a new project, as I had originally written the story and treatment for this one back in late 2006 as part of a proposal to B.A.G. Films Ltd. (same guys who produced “Zindaggi Rocks” and Punjabi film “Mannat” (starring Jimmy Shergill). Actually, Mannat has a lot to do with this script (even though the two stories are nothing alike). See, I hadn’t seen a really good quality Punjabi film in a while. I mean, fine Manmohan Singh regularly makes some fairly decent movies (the filmmaker, not the Prime Minister… although I guess if you did think of the PM possibly moonlighting as a Punjabi filmmaker the theory wouldn’t be all that far fetched…).
Anyways where was I? Oh yeah, so then after seeing Mannat in theaters I of course thought to myself “Gee, these films are so simple even I can write a Punjabi film!” (I’m sure many of you have had similar thoughts plenty of times!). So I gave it a shot and even went back and forth emailing with the then creative head of B.A.G. Films (special agent Gulab Makhija…long story…). He said he loved the story and treatment, but because Mannat didn’t do great business at the box office he couldn’t justify investing in regional cinema… or any film I guess since they haven’t done much. Or maybe they did and now I have lost interest in them. Eh-hem.
The point is that I truly loved the story for Aavangi… a story about true love. Not really, it’s actually based on a father/daughter relationship. Here’s an excerpt from the original proposal:
“When Channi’s father Dharamjot Singh disapproves of his daughter’s choice for a life partner, she becomes distance, almost depressed. To cheer her up, the doting father takes her out for a nice dinner, where he offers her a unique alternative solution: He asks her to meet the man he sees as the ideal husband for her. After spending one month getting to know this guy, she can opt to marry the man of her own choosing or her father’s choice, and either way he will give her his blessings and full support. Channi reluctantly agrees, and goes down a path of self-discovery leading her to realize what she is actually looking for in the man she will ultimately spend the rest of her life with.”
Cut to 2 months ago, the cinema strike’s happening in India, and Punjabi films really blew up! I mean, I can’t remember another time when there were 4 of them playing in a mainstream Hollywood multiplex over a 2 week period (including 2 big Jimmy Shergill blockbusters “Tera Mera Ki Rishta” & “Munde UK De”). So naturally interest was rejuvenated, and Manny asked me to revisit that concept (yes, while I was still waist-deep in the 3rd draft of Golden Road… he’s got the makings of a fine producer… ;p ). Since then I’ve been re-working that film, trying to give it a very dignified, classy treatment.
Also working on quite the intriguing documentary project on a very, very universal subject. Unfortunately I have to stay hush-hush on that for now due to certain constraints. Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned it then…
Really can’t wait to start shooting at least one of these projects. If everything goes as hoped, in 2010 we’ll be doing just that. In the meantime, would love to hear your thoughts (feel free to wish us luck as well… :D )
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
bravo! rock de phatte! very motivating!
tat made for a nice read…
good luck dude
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by the way, the excerpt u provided sounds very familiar. i have read/seen it before somewhere, just dont recall it now :(
also, plz add some synopsis to the movie ‘cash on delivery’ in the imdb page. the link is pretty bland as no one has written a review/comment yet. at least, the synopsis will push people into watching it. just a thought …
@ Tony-
Good to read your thoughts on the work.Keep plodding on dude and yeah all the best of course.
do keep us posted so that next time I’ll be also
telling you ‘mubarkan’.
Thanks Rals! PS- that last comment was partially for you..
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As for the synopsis for Cash On Delivery, if you click on the “Watch Feature” link and, well, watch the film, below it you will find this:
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Description: Jay and Randy are on a mission. They have lost what they shouldn’t have and now must get it back. Charged with adrenaline and desperation, they must now wrestle their way through the American Postal System.
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Since its only a 13 minute film, I don’t know how much more we could have written without giving away the plot. As for comments, well, we were hoping there would be more from people who saw the film…
Sethumadhavan: Thank you sir! I’ll admit I wrote this partially to keep myself motivated to earn many such “Mubarakaans” :D
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PS – If you guys watched Cash On Delivery, would love to hear your honest thoughts…
Hi Tony,
Excited about your venturing into Punjabi films…..I have been thinking the same thing, what would it take to make a well written Punjabi movie, most of the recent ones have been based on similar themes….
Will make sure to drag as many people I can when your movie releases
btw have you seen “Jag Jeyondeyan de Mele”? Would love to know what you thought about that movie….
Yes, did see JJDM.. it was actually directed by Bal Deo, who is a well known photographer here in Vancouver..very talented guy.. I thought the film was alright..Great look and all but I couldn’t make heads or tails of the story, it didn’t make a whole lot of sense, and it was a bit too melodramatic for my taste.. I guess I was expecting something different..
I haven’t seen a good punjabi film after the death of Manoj Punj. I think his death was a great loss to the Punjabi film industry. “Des hoya Pardes” made me emotional, “Shaheed-e-Mohabat Buta Singh” brought forward the harsh realities of partition & “Waris Shah-ishq the waris” gives an insight into the life of great punjabi poet Waris Shah.
At present, nearly all punjabi films deal only with the issues related to NRI’s as if there are no other issues or problems in punjab. But at least films are being made & i hope viewers will get to see good punjabi movies soon.
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The excerpt u have given sounds a bit similar to the hindi movie “hote hote pyar ho gya” (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0206020/).
Amit, I completely agree that Manoj Punj undoubtedly was in a class all his own. He made very classy films, ones that raised the level and respect of Punjabi cinema. His collaborations with Gurdas Mann I think will remain an integral part of the history of Punjabi Arts. These films were not made merely to cash in at the box office, but rather aimed to be great cinema. In fact, Shaheed-E-Mohabhat was the “inspiration” behind the blockbuster Gaddar, and I think it was actually the better film.
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As the for excerpt, I must confess that it’s not the most creative idea in the world, I understand the storyline is very simple, but it is not inspired by any other film or story. It is very much an original screenplay, and one that treads its own path.
Hey PFC, I must admit I’m quite disappointed at the lack of feedback for our short film “Cash On Delivery”. I was hoping for more comments, positive, critical, praising our hard work or ripping the film and us to shreds, trust me we can take it. If you haven’t seen the film then please do check it out.
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Here’s the link again in case it got lost with the rest of the post:
http://www.imdb.com/video/wab/vi3299082777/
Request to PFC Editors: If there’s a way to take the film from IMDB.com to post it here (like how videos are taken from youtube and posted here) then we’d love to see that happen here. I’m not all that great with these things or else I’d do it myself.
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Like any filmmakers we’re just trying to get our film out there and have as many people as possible see it and react to it. Your support with this will be greatly appreciated :D
@Tony: dude, pfc is not a monolothic object that u have referred it to as ‘hey pfc’
people like me and u have made it pfc … so, have a little patience. moreover, it was a weekend so quite a lot of our readers may not even have read this post. give it some time
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also, i was about to suggest that u rip the movie into asf or flv video format and upload it on youtube. use a video file converter and shrink the size of it
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we are a lazy bunch of ppl, we want things ready-made. so, had u embedded the video file it would have been more effective!
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sorry if i spoke out of turn and on behalf of a lot of ppl, hope u r not offended
@Amit, completely agree with you…..Manoj Punj and Gurdas Maan duo gave the best Punjabi movies…..tragic how such a talented director passed away at a young age……
Punjabi movies seem to have completely lost the plot, with similar stories being repackaged and shown every now and then. Only “Chakde Phatte” by Jaspal Bhatti and “Hashar” by Babbu Maan had something different, and were suitably rewarded by the audience.
Tony, yes JJDM had a really good look….I think an intent to show a different theme was there, but could not translate on the screen properly…btw sorry abt not being able to comment on your short film. Like me, many access the net at workplace, and cant view videos due to bandwidth constraints :(
Crazyrals: LOL, I wasn’t trying to objectify “PFC”, rather I was referring to “Hey PFC-waalon”, yah phir “Guys & Gals of PFC”… perhaps I should have said “Hey everyone here reading on PFC”… kuch ziadi hi chota short-form use kiya… lol… As for embedding the video, I would agar mujhe yeh sab karna aata… try marta hoon on my next day off to figure it out…
AVN- Haven’t seen “Hashar”.. what’s it about?
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Agreed with you on JJDM’s look… also thought it was well directed (shabash Bal), but poorly written. I dunno about attempting a different theme… it was a bit all over the place.. I am looking forward to see what Bal can do with his next film…
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Oh, and good point about net/PFC at work, didn’t think of that… they have most blogging sites, including PFC, banned at my office…
@Tony: was watching ur movie….’inner karma’ … nice
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the website has no buffering, wat a pain. will watch the entire thing and then give a f/b
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i dont have ur mail id, wanted to drop u a mail.
I dont like to give negative f/b generally.
Sorry sir your short doesn’t click with me, I will confess i couldn’t go beyond 7 mins but for 13 odd minute short.
I believe the concept has already been used and greased in a lot of comedies. So kindof am bored of it. But thats just me.
Hey Tony,,, what’s the long story with Gulab makhija man !!??
@ tony
loved ur post. have thought many times the same thing about punj. movies being too simplistic. Whay did u think of TMKR? I thot it was HAHK+MPK+DDLJ remade in a colorful but not too intelligent manner. still gets the money back n more!! very vry intresting scenario indeed!!
y r u calling ‘avangi hawa banke’? its a gr8 title but does it suit the story? ur plotline seems to bea happy one but avangi… seems like she will die n come back.! in gist i think its a ’sad’ title.
could not see the short coz it works too slowly on my comp. — do put it on youtube n put a link here will b the first to see it::)
@ avn
chak de phatte was not ‘by’ Jaspal Bhatti but by Smeep Kang. yes it was diffrent from the staple NRI stuff but was ripped from ‘thers smthing abt mary’
sorry guys for the sms language but too short of time n too eager to talk.. apologies.
fgot. all the best tony bhaaji.
rab rakha!!
@Tony….well Hashar didn’t have much of a story either….but it is set in contemporary Punjab, with a love story set against the backdrop of student politics. It’s realism clicked with the audience and it became a huge hit in Punjab.
Found it to be a good Punjabi comedy movie, one that has come a long time after the classic “Mahaul Theek Hai”……
@rofl….my bad, didn’t know “Chak De Phatte” was by someone else. Now that you mentioned, it indeed is a copy of TSAM, but a decent copy nevertheless, IMO
TMKR was a decent watch, but frankly, how different is it from the umpteen other flicks that have been released in the past 3-4 years?
It would be fun to make a Punjabi movie inspired from the terrible (some good)”Jatt…..” movies that ruled the 80’s, with a Tarantino like treatment….hehe ;)
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@avn
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i like your expression ‘decent copy’!! its a classic oxymoron; yes agree it was a ‘decent copy’ indeed, just like Bheja Fry, Dhoom, Murder, Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin et al
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the guy (smeep kang) who made it was the one who got the girl in the end!! i very much liked his role and the way he breaks into a dance on seeing mahi many times (mahi gill did a good job too)
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i cant see mahaul theek hai as a classic, i tought i was an ordinary film. my ultimate favorite punjabi movie is ‘JEE AYA NU’ it was simply amazing.
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if u have not seen it, i recommend strongly to you JIJAJI ; a DVD film by Jaspal Bhatti; very very funny film
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‘badla jatta da’ types were i a league of their own just like tarantino is in a league of his own!! nice idea!!
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@rofl,
Thanks for the recco, will definitely check it out.
Well gotta agree with you on your ‘decent copy’ point, the problem is we are so starved for good Punjabi movies that anything decent enough that comes, is lapped up by the viewers…….lets hope Tony gives us some reason to cheer with his project