Jaideep Varma | PassionforCinema

Age: 41. Location: Mumbai. Writer/ Filmmaker. Published novel: Local. Feature films - Hulla (fiction, 107 mins) and Leaving Home - the Life and Music of Indian Ocean (non fiction; 114 mins)

Jaideep Varma's Blog

27
The assault on our intelligence, no pun intended
The attacks on the Taj and Oberoi were not surprising. It has been obvious for a while that the terrorists have been looking to attack the elite because that is what the media covers hysterically. Therefore, that is what gets international attention, which ultimately is the point of it all. Can there be any doubt that this would not be half as significant an incident...
by Jaideep Varma at December 1st, 2008 at 10:12 am
20
Amu, Doshi and “the Indian Voice”
Cinema is perhaps the most commercial entertainment medium in the world. So many people make their living from it and more than a few their fortunes. And yet, there are some people who struggle to survive in this business simply because they choose to eschew the herd mentality and stick to their convictions. They make personal sacrifices in terms of time, money and energy,...
by Jaideep Varma at November 15th, 2008 at 01:11 am
83
A Hard Kick in the Solar Plexus
Given the low publicity budget of Hulla, a lot of us were not that concerned because we felt the reviews would help us overcome this. We thought that the originality of the story, the humour, the pace, the performances, and the overall tone of the piece would get us through that hurdle quite easily, especially with reviewers who keep talking about originality and script...
by Jaideep Varma at September 20th, 2008 at 01:09 am
41
Hulla – final boarding announcement
Hulla releases day after, on Friday the 19th. I request those interested in it to please see it this weekend itself as it may well be off theatres by next weekend, unless word-of-mouth builds up. Hope at least some of you will find it worthy of commenting on here and I will look forward to all observations – critical and otherwise. To make it easier for some, the...
by Jaideep Varma at September 16th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
12
Two Dollops of Hope, Too Many Sprinklings of the Unreal
Partly inspired by Medha Dutt’s piece and partly by the fact that I don’t remember the last time I saw two back-to-back “big” Hindi film productions that I enjoyed so much, I am unable to resist writing this post. Neither Mumbai Meri Jaan nor Rock On!! are great films in an overall sense (just as TZP wasn’t), but within the cinema milieu...
by Jaideep Varma at September 6th, 2008 at 02:09 am
32
The Technical vs Conceptual (FTII) Debate
In my last post to talk about my first film Hulla which is releasing next month (though now pushed to September 19th, as per the latest update), I aired my view on why people from outside the industry should come and tell their stories as trained film personnel (like those from FTII) are not the ones likely to do so. It seems to have rubbed some people the wrong way. That...
by Jaideep Varma at August 24th, 2008 at 09:08 am
51
Hulla – finally releasing on 12th Sep. Phew.
I didn’t really know how to begin this – a piece about the film I’ve tried to set up for 7 years, and finally it has got made and is now about to release. The part I’m actually looking forward to is when at least a few of the PFC readers see it and have things to say about it – so I can either defend, or elaborate, depending on what the comments...
by Jaideep Varma at August 17th, 2008 at 01:08 am
21
Life, Approximately
One of the things that is odd about the way people in our part of the world look at films is the attention they pay to hygiene factors – production values, general level of slickness, etc. It is odd because it is often at the cost of the content – the story, the characters and the general standard of story-telling. For example, not much else can explain the rather...
by Jaideep Varma at June 30th, 2008 at 01:06 am
1
Why doesn
It really is an obvious idea. To make sure that worthwhile cinema from all around the country is on an equal footing when it comes to being noticed and evaluated (and honoured), nothing can do the job better than a fair, non-agenda-led awards show. Something that the National Awards perhaps were at one time, but political interference and a diffused arbitrariness has...
by Jaideep Varma at April 23rd, 2008 at 03:04 am
27
Precedent – the curse of Indian Entertainment
India is set up to be the most creative place on earth. The diversity of its people is now being accentuated by the variety of mindsets jostling with each other for some kind of supremacy. One of the key ingredients of evolution and creativity is cross-pollination, and India is better endowed for that to happen more than any other country in the world. Our entertainment...
by Jaideep Varma at March 20th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
22
Two Films In Search Of An Audience
It is a pleasure to reach out to genuine lovers of cinema through PFC. If our cinema had the same vitality and the independence of thought that PFC displays every day, perhaps it would speak for our times much more meaningfully than it does now. My reason for writing for PFC is to interact and listen to genuine cinema viewers and enrich myself, besides sharing my experiences...
by Jaideep Varma at February 9th, 2008 at 03:02 am