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Warning: This post is about to meander in any which direction it desires as thoughts flow in and out. Coherence be damned.

“Life is too short, and nobody is perfect enough to make all the mistakes in their lifetime, so sometimes you just have to settle in learning from others’ errors.” – some dude

I’ve been meaning to write for a while about so many things, but when I sit down it all just disappears like a chalkboard wiped clean. Ever have that brilliant idea where you can’t wait to tell someone, but just as you see them, you forget and curse yourself for not having written it down? Kinda like that.

No brilliant ideas here though. Just a lot of nonsense talk, and hopefully some advice and tips for actors (and other film folk), struggling, established, or on the way to getting there. No, I’m no …

I don’t claim to know much about cinematography. They say when you start noticing the technical details about a film, it’s not a good film because you’re distracted from the film itself. I whole heartedly disagree. If anything, I observe the actors way more, but when a film “looks” SO DAMN GOOD, you just can’t help but wonder how they did what they did. The cat just got killed. Curiosity, thy name is the internet. Let’s surf.

The cool thing about watching Slumdog twice in one week was that the first time I watched it, I was enamored by the story and the film. The English was distracting though. Why couldn’t Danny Boyle have made it in Hindi? It’s a film I wish was made by an Indian and it’s a damn good film. But in this case the good outweighs …

FADE IN

Text on screen reads: “10 years ago”

EXT – CINEMA HALL IN SUBURBAN MUMBAI – NIGHT

Pappu and Pappi are two amongst hundreds of people trickling out of the cinema hall. They light a cigarette and lazily stroll toward their bikes.

Pappu
Picture kaisi lagi re? [What'd you think of the film?]

Pappi
Sahi thi boss… gaane achche the, acting solid thi, heroine tho kya mast item thi. Paisa vasool ho gayela, tho dil khush ho gayela. Bas, aur kya mangta hai? [Loved it... nice songs, good acting, the heroine was hot. I got my money's worth. What more can one ask for?]

Pappu
Zindagi mein ek baar Switzerland jaana mangta hai. Saala baraf mein kabhi nahi khela hai yaar. [I wanna go to Switzerland, just once. I've never played in the snow.]

Pappi
Tho honeymoon ke liye chale jaana. [Go for your honeymoon then.]

Pappu’s eyes light …

Kamal Sir,

This from a humble fan, who happens to be in the same fraternity as you, though much lower, pretty much to the point of non-existence on the rungs of the acting ladder. I sincerely hope this text finds you in the best of health and spirits. That’ll make one of us. Sir, I’m a huge, unabashed fan of yours, and with the best of intentions I write this.

You see, I just came back from watching Dasavatharam. And I have a few questions/comments/concerns, none of which I expect an answer to, but such was the film that if I didn’t get these off my chest, I fear insomnia for the next month or two, and as much as I can handle it for a few days here and there, I don’t think I can do without sleep for too too long.

Sir, I’ve been very conscious of …

4/5 With a refreshing Kajol, always-a-treat Prabhu Deva, and delightful songs, even the lame ending can’t spoil this movie.

IMDB

2/5 To call a movie as sluggish as this a thriller would be doing injustice to the genre.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0882967/

3.5/5 Not as claustrophobic and gory as The Descent, but keeps you engaged, making for a good Friday night timepass horror flick.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0449471/

It has to be a really special occasion when it’s 80 degrees outside yet you feel chills going up and down your spine. And special it was, because an event like IFFLA only comes around once a year. But the 4-5 days spent there are like no other days in your life. For it’s when the PFC gang comes together and hangs out in two courtyards, namely, the Arclights and the PFC HQ (aka Oz’s pad) and gets to be a part of something much bigger than the established filmmakers themselves: quality cinema. The quote “nothing is bigger than cinema” comes to mind.

It’s tough to recollect favorite moments from the festival because quite simply there are so many. If last year I was shaking a leg with Uma da Cunha, this year I was having drinks with the likes of Sudhir Mishra, Sriram Raghavan, …

“Holy Sardine Batman!”
“Precisely Robin.”

Okay, so it’s not the stuff that might get everyone twisted up in a Siamese human knot but to me, it is. You see, as a South Asian actor in the US, when I see the brown man being cast in mainstream roles, it is fucking inspiring. So inspiring in fact, that it deserved an earlier post. So as I squirmed into the line for a preview screening of Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, the smile on my face was akin to that of a girl scout who just sold her 800th cookie box and won the grand prize. The girl scout within me was beaming ear to ear.

That it’s a stoner movie was well known from the first movie and could well make Mainak’s Movies to Watch When Stoned list. That it would get even more mindless, raunchy, vulgar, …

I had the opportunity to interview Sudhir Mishra a few months back. Unfortunately, I couldn’t publish the interview right away since all of what’s in this account was from memory, and I needed to verify a few things before I could publish them. There are still a couple of unverified points which I have tried not to disclose. Here’s hoping Sudhirji doesn’t twist my ear at IFFLA for publishing the rest of it….

how is tera kya hoga johnny coming along?

tera kya hoga johnny is coming along well…. there are 4 shoot dates remaining, which we’ll be resuming when i get back. we couldn’t finish it off in december because some 5-star hotel scenes needed to be shot, and all the 5-stars are booked in december (due to peak tourist season), so they’ve asked us to come back in january when they will be more free to …

Two years ago, it was Napoleon Dynamite. Last year, it was Little Miss Sunshine. No prizes for guessing “the li’l film that could” for this year. With Juno in the running for 4 Oscars this year (Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Direction, and Best Original Screenplay), no wonder there’s so much hype around the little film. And believe you me, I’m happy for them. Really happy. After all, it’s an indie, and the brother- and sisterhood of the indie industry must support one another. And Ellen Page, you go girl. Way to bag that nomination. So of course, with all the buzz around the film, I had to go watch it.

Whether or not Juno is as great a film as it’s being made out to be is always debatable, since you can’t please everyone. Whether or not “I” think it’s …

It was 1992 when I first heard Gham ka Khazana on Jagjit Singh’s Sajda album, a tape that would play infinitely during my father’s shaam-e-ghazals with his ghazal-loving friends. I was only 13 then, but my father, a brilliant ghazal singer in his own right, had established ours as a musical household from my very early years, and I have only him to thank for having a voice as powerful enough in my vicinity to draw me to his late evening harmonium sessions. When Sajda was going strong on the household cassette player, I remember walking around the house humming the tune to Gham ka… in my head as I worked on random chores, and wouldn’t notice how I got them done. Jagjit Singh’s voice had had its first effect on me, and I hadn’t realized. I had probably heard his voice even before, but for …

Continued from Part 1…

Having bagged the role, it was now time for me to flesh out the character. The producers and the director had already decided on the look for Ravichandran – they wanted the quintessential elements of a Kollywood hero: the big hair, the mustache, the paunch, the south yindian yenglish accent. If Mohanlal had been in their budget, he would’ve been my first recommendation, since Srinivasan from Company was the first thing to come to my mind. Then again, if Vasan, Kartik, or even Vijay had been here, I would’ve suggested them instead of myself. I remain wondering to this day if they’re disappointed I couldn’t bring in the paunch.

Knowing further that my character would be the main comedic element in the script, I was determined, and pretty adamant about not making Ravichandran a caricature. Sure, he …

I’m not a huge fan of auditions, but when you’re past the point of remembering how many you’ve been to, you learn how to deal with them. Usually, the character description within the casting notices help me get into the right mindset for the role, but one too many times, I’ve fallen into the trap of over-preparing and end up losing the spontaneity and improvisation needed so badly at auditions. But when I saw a casting notice that PFC’s very own Shripriya had sent me, advertising a trailer shoot for Browntown, my eyes lit up!

Brownscape Productions, a small independent production company based in NYC, is seeking a Male Actor for the leading role for an upcoming feature film. We are currently casting for the trailer of the film; if you are the perfect choice, you may be chosen as the lead in the feature film as well. …

If you’re in the entertainment industry, sooner or later you’ll find yourself to be a door-to-door salesman, albeit in various forms. And unlike most 9-to-5ers you may not have the technical qualifications on a resume to back you up, which is when it becomes even more necessary to realize the power of words. The power of conversation can hold the power to intrigue, to sell your talent and your ideas to an audience whom you may be meeting for the very first time.

An actor may try to convince a producer or director to use their talent. A writer/director may try to convince a producer that their screenplay is the best thing since sliced bread. A producer may try to do the same with his film to a distributor. Straddling the line between …

June 16th, 2007, 3pm

I arrived at the venue where the biggest Indian film release of the weekend… no wait, not weekend.. biggest Indian film release of the year, had attracted a crowd of 500+ fanatics of all ages, caste, and believe it or not, colour (yes, there were Americans!). The organizers of this film screening tried hard to keep people inside the ropes, as if trying to keep the bulls well-cornered at El Encierro before the stampede let loose. It was an amusing sight to watch, no doubt, but what amused me even more as I was being involuntarily moved along in this mosh pit was the thought of rewinding myself back to the experience of watching a film only a couple of hours before…

January 16th, 2007, 12:30pm

A crowd of one. I’m sitting in my room, happy to have just received my password to watch …

A bit of a delayed continuation of the first set of Monday Monologues, but essentially I tape myself doing monologues from time to time just for fun. Especially when I watch a monologue that really strikes my fancy, I just can’t resist the urge to replay the scene over and over until I transcribe the whole thing so I can just practice and try my hand at delivering the monologue. I usually take a lengthy break between when I first watch the original scene and when I perform the monologue — this is basically to erase the scene from my memory, so my version of the monologue doesn’t try to imitate the original, and I start with a clean slate.

Notes for you, the viewer:
1. As with anyone creative, feedback is what keeps us going. So feel free to trash me, as long as you can give me …

If ever I were to make an award speech for a role in one of my films, the first name I would take after thanking my parents and my first (and only, so far) acting teacher, Gregory Justice (who introduced me to acting), would be John Johnson. Then, I’d thank Danny Leiner (Harold & Kumar). Then I’d thank Bryan Singer (Superman Returns). And finally, I’d thank Bruce Leddy.

Why would I want to thank the director of Harold & Kumar of all movies? And Bruce Leddy who?

There’s been a lot of discussion on PFC about the refreshing “new wave” that’s taking Indian cinema by storm. So far, the take on this “new wave” has been up and coming filmmakers who dare to think out of the box with respect to writing kickass stories and screenplays, stylizing the art of storytelling, and taking on the mammoth …

Received from Worldwide Film Distribution yahoogroup… Please spread the word!

Let me take this opportunity to introduce you about me and social activities of our organization. …

I am working with a government organization, one of the most important & entertainment department called “NATIONAL FILM CIRCLE” is given to me and I am looking for your help to expand the membership.

What is “NATIONAL FILM CIRCLE” ?

The National Film Development Corporation Limited (NFDC) is a Government of India Enterprise set up with the objective of fostering excellence in Indian Cinema. It provides film enthusiasts in Mumbai an opportunity to see good meaningful World-Class Films throughout the year through the “NATIONAL FILM CIRCLE”.

For the past twenty-five years, National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) has produced/co- produced more than 200 films in 15 languages, including English. Amongst these all several internationally acclaimed films like Gandhi, The Making of Mahatma, Mirch-Masala, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, Sardar, Parinda and …

Well, not quite… but close. For those who are not familiar with it, Netflix is the largest online DVD rental service in the United States, which started up in the late 90s. Has India caught on the trend? Check out Catchflix.com – India’s answer to Netflix.

According to their website….

* There is no membership fee, monthly subscription, security deposit, or any other charge.
* Shipping (delivery and pickup) is free both ways. Home or office, either is fine.
* We offer next day delivery if you order before 4:00 PM (unless the next days is a Sunday or a national holiday).
* You can also choose a Preferred Delivery Date. For example, order on a Tuesday and ask for a Friday delivery to enjoy the movies over the weekend.
…

For any artist (actor, musician, filmmaker, or anyone for that matter) in the film industry, one of the most important things for them is to recognize the industry they work in, and to have a basic understanding of the demographic they cater to. Those that understand this simple fact, do go a long way – one of the few reasons I admire Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan as true professionals and experts in their field, who truly know how to tap the nerve of their awaiting audiences and recognize their pulses. This basic understanding should not change with independent artists of any kind either. Which is why I like to mix up my Netflix queue with independent films from time to time. But one I had heard way too much about and didn’t get a chance to watch until very recently finally got the best of …

continued from Part 1…

but not to worry, John said.. another actress had been signed at the last minute, but because her dates did not match the schedule already in place, there would be some rearranging to do. in fact, i’d meet this new actress within the hour because the two scenes we’re shooting tonight involve only the two of us.. that’s when it hit me. less than an hour to go and i hadn’t learnt my lines yet.. not that i learn my lines well ahead of time anyway. once bitten, twice shy, as they say. i’ve had experiences working with theater and film projects alike, where in my eagerness and want for perfection i would always be the first actor to memorize all my lines as soon as i get the script.. then i get too used to them, and when it’s time to …

NOTE: I shot this film about a month ago (Dec ‘06) so writing most of these accounts from memory… and though I’m not big on using profanity, this post is reflective of my thoughts, so this one is no holds barred.

Thursday, Dec 7, 2006. 7:30am
alarm on my cell phone rings.. half asleep, i tried to resist the urge to press the snooze button.. keyword, tried. next thing i know i’m back asleep with the covers over my head. not for long though. 2mins later, she calls. “WAKE UP!!!” she yells, with a cheery voice. ugh.. “heyy.. gmorn..zz..” i mumble.. “WAKE UP!!!” “hmm? zzz.. right…” “you have to get to work early today!” “hm? oh yea.. OH!” SUDDENLY i shoot up out of bed and pick out the crusties from my eyes.. “RIGHT! ok thanks bye!” i yell back …

Here’s an event for PFC-ites in Mumbai… a few months back I had given an introduction to Baiscope Entertainment, an NGO designed to benefit fledgling filmmakers and others interested in film and the industry. Now they’re back with an event in Juhu and the director of the upcoming Salaam-e-Ishq will be in attendance. Highly recommend those of you in Mumbai to check it out if possible and give a write-up on what transpires.

BAISCOPE ENTERTAINMENT

Presents

In Association with

PVR CINEMAS and IndieFocus

A workshop with Nikhil Advani

(Director – Kal Ho Na Ho, Salaam-e-Ishq)

“From the Other Side of the Fence”

The workshop will explore:
Salaam-e-Ishq: The making of the mother of all multi-starrers
Bridging the 2 worlds: Nikhil Advani’s journey from the realistic world of Sudhir Mishra to the kandyfloss of Karan Johar
Film Finance for Great Scripts in Indian Cinema: A myth or reality
Casting Blues: The Final Clincher
…And other Agonies …

I love short films. They’re perfect for when you’re in the mood to watch a film but don’t have the time. Hell, I even try to catch a couple here and there during the day at work. Sadly, the market for short films is just not there with the masses. Unless a Darna Mana Hai or Darna Zaroori Hai comes along with Ramu’s banner behind it, the audience won’t care much for it. But that’s just another reason I’m obsessed with Ramu I digress. This is not a post about Ramu.. calm down striker…

Short films can be just as challenging to make as a feature film, if not more. Feature films have a 2hr (or more) luxury time in which to captivate the audience. In some cases, even if the first half isn’t good, the second half can make up …

Here’s another idea I suggested to oz, and he suggested I post it here and check out reader reactions.

2001 marked the debut year of the 48-Hour Film Project, “a crazy idea to try to make a film in 48 hours” brought up by Mark Ruppert and his filmmaking partner Liz Langston. Basically, the producers at the 48hr Film Project have a huge meeting on a friday evening around 7pm. In attendance are numerous teams which consists of filmmakers, actors, music dirs etc. Each team is assigned a genre, and they basically have to come up with a script WITH that genre in mind, cast it, shoot it, edit it, compose the music accordingly etc.. basically MAKE A FILM.. in ONLY 48hrs. From scratch to finish. And submit it by 7pm on sunday at the filmfest office. There are further catches to this…

- the …

***Possible spoilers ahead for those who haven’t read the book***

I had the fortune of attending the red carpet premiere of “The Namesake”, directed by Mira Nair, and based on the novel by Jhumpa Lahiri this past Wednesday. It was the opening night screening of the IAAC film festival in NY, and Mira Nair and Kalpen Modi were in attendance, along with a few other people in the crew. Jhumpa herself was busy with another event down the street, and was unable to attend.

I’d like to first say that I haven’t read the book… but everyone I’ve talked to who has (minus one, who resides here on PFC as well), has loved it. So what do I have to go on, really? Buzz. Hype. Kalpen’s blog was a curiosity factor for me, as I had been following it from …

I discussed this idea with oz, and he was all up for it, so I figured what better outlet?

I got into acting during my final semester at Virginia Tech in 2001, where I took an intro course as an elective to satisfy my requirements for graduation. I had no desire to get into acting before this, and I looked at this class as an easy A. I finished the class with a B. But it was probably the most significant B I’ve ever gotten in my life, because it made me realize I really needed to pursue this bug and see where it leads. So after graduating, along with signing up with an agency and going on auditions, one of the ways I would hone my own skills is by practicing monologues from various movies and taping myself on camera. I was very adamant on …

get your brickbats ready. i’m ready to take the beating. bring it on! but you won’t change my mind. i’m coming out of the closet (but not in that way). i’m obsessed with ramgopal varma, and i’m letting the world know about it. ok, so the “world” here is a bunch of cinema franatics (freak+fanatics) just like me whom i’ve never met, but that’s fine. note that these views are accurate before he introduced mohit and nisha. i now find myself at a point where i’ve started wondering what’s wrong with him. this is not a disclaimer though… i’m still a huge fan.

is it because we’re both engineers by education? is it because i just connect with the type of cinema he makes, and the way he makes them? maybe it’s his “bindaas, i don’t give a rat’s ass …

here’s one for all the readers at PFC… watch the following trailer for Titanic 2 and send in your comments..

in case the video doesn’t show (i’m still trying to get used to this), you can watch it here

so the biggest filmi debate right now seems to be “jaaneman or don?”… with both big releases coming up next week, the question on everyone’s mind seems to be which one to watch first.  Rediff already seems to be setting the stage with its special column a week ahead of d-day..
my say… neither.  (in the theater, anyway).  by now i’m wise enough to know that just as two wrongs don’t make a right, hype and SRK in a remake of one of Hindi’s cinema’s most iconic characters ever don’t make a right film.  and neither does a pedestrian-running, black-buck shooting Sallu with a tired-looking Preity, geeky-looking Akshay (as awesome of an actor as he is), and a dwarf-sized Anupamji (and yes, I do have a tremendous amount of respect for this man).  for those who might think i’m shying away from Jaaneman for Sallu’s wrongdoings (since I did point …

aktors, phillummakers, producers, writers, bhaiyon, behnon, bachhe, boodhe aur jawaan… mujhe apne kaan udhaar mein do (lend me your ears)!!

has anyone heard of livemansion.com? i believe it’s an online community like any other (myspace, friendster) etc…

well, here’s a contest to feast your eyes upon… LiveMansion will cast and produce its first feature film entirely online. and i think anyone can take part. check out the details here and participate! good luck to all!

for anyone in mumbai, i wanted to pass this out.. a friend of mine, manas malhotra, started up a nonprofit organization called baiscope entertainment. in essence, it’s similar to SAAFA. a little intro..

Baiscope Entertainment – a window of opportunities to the world of cinema.

Its Your Cinema Forum. Where you talk, breathe, feel, watch and grasp cinema. It’s a forum to perpetuate interaction between film technicians and cineastes. Its designed to be the world wide web for the cineaste to log on to for data, insight and information.

Baiscope opens up a spectrum of films and film related issues and offers you a forum to grasp them and to express yourself.

so far they’ve already conducted the following workshops…

Sessions already conducted by
Anurag Kashyap (The maker of Black Friday and Gulala and scriiptwriter of Satya)
Sudhir Mishra (Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin, Hazaron Khwishein Aisi, Dharavi, Yeh Woh Manzil To Nahin)
Mehool Parikh …

yup. netflix claims another victim. i haven’t gotten butterflies in my stomach like this since the day i shot for my first movie, or played in my first varsity soccer game in college, or asked a cute gori girl to the homecoming dance during my sophomore year in high school (sure, she said no, but seriously, what the hell was i expecting?). i felt like a kid in a candy store with an unlimited gift certificate as i browsed their movies. i’m all set to make the most of my one-month free rental. signed up for 4 movies at a time, with the intent of catching up on all the movies i’d missed during my 6-month stay in india, and also all the movies i’d been telling myself for a long time that i’d get around to watching some day.
i lost my netflix virginity to …