Vijay | PassionforCinema

Vijay Venkataramanan - film editor, post-production specialist, lives and works in Chennai. Aur kuch?

Vijay's Blog

14
Don’t Blame the Censors, Blame the Greedy Filmmaker!
The Indian Censor Board has come a long way, a far cry from the group of butchers that it was in the 90s. While an idealist argument can be made that censorship has no place in a true democracy, a regulatory body is necessary in all cinema to make the audience aware of the nature of a film’s content, especially in India where movies are often a family experience. The...
by Vijay at October 27th, 2009 at 08:10 pm
35
Hindustan Times – Stop taking readers for granted!
I refer to an interview of filmmaker Bhavna Talwar published in Hindustan Times about her National Award win for her debut film “Dharm”. First of all, let us congratulate Ms. Talwar for her win. Now on to the interview, which can be read at: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/ArticleImage.aspx?article=09_09_2009_539_004&mode=undefined (You need to register...
by Vijay at September 8th, 2009 at 11:09 pm
73
The Best Camera & Post-Production Tools for the Short filmmaker
A couple of pertinent discussions took place in the authors’ club which I am bringing out here so those looking for a few answers may benefit. If you are just trying to get your feet wet in filmmaking and attempting to make your own film, you often wonder what you need in order to do so. Hopefully you will find some answers here. What camera do I use? You always...
by Vijay at August 30th, 2009 at 02:08 pm
9
Timecrimes (Los Cronocrímenes) [2007] – Suspensefully Humorous
When his wife heads out for a grocery run, Hector (Karra Elejalde), a happily married, middle-aged man explores the woods surrounding his new abode, his curiosity peaked by the image of a young girl stripping behind the trees through his binoculars. Upon reaching the spot, he finds the girl lying against a rock, naked and breathing. As he attempts to wake her, he is attacked...
by Vijay at July 19th, 2009 at 06:07 pm
12
The Hurt Locker
Imagine having to wake up every single morning knowing that today you could probably be blown into pieces so small, the only remains that would be returned to your family are those inanimate objects you have left behind at the army base. Imagine waking up every morning, going out into the streets of a country where most people don’t want you, having to diffuse IEDs...
by Vijay at July 6th, 2009 at 06:07 am
41
Film Editing in an Ideal World
Editing is an invisible art form. The less people notice it, the better it is. Unless one is specifically sitting down with a film and watching it to study the way it is cut, a good editor only allows the audience to experience his or her work on a subconscious level. When editors themselves watch a movie for the first time, it is but natural to be observing the cutting...
by Vijay at March 27th, 2009 at 01:03 am
22
Has FIRAAQ Arrived Too Late for India?
I feel I have become absolutely desensitized. Nandita Das’s award-winning, critically acclaimed directorial debut had no impact on me whatsoever. That is not to say that it isn’t a well made film. It certainly is. The command Das exhibits over direction of performances, Ravi K Chandran’s terrific camerawork, the passion behind telling the stories all...
by Vijay at March 22nd, 2009 at 11:03 pm
20
It’s Just a TV Show!
Is it just a TV show? Sajid Khan sure seems to think so. In a way he’s right. It’s what film awards in our country have been reduced to. Anyone and everyone with sufficient resources to hire a capable event management firm seems to be able to put together an awards ceremony, invite celebs, dish out an award to every recognizable name possible so nobody is pissed...
by Vijay at January 27th, 2009 at 02:01 am
5
Little Zizou – Not a review, Just reactions.
If you haven’t heard of Sooni Taraporevala, you need to watch more movies. Salaam Bombay, Monsoon Wedding…you get the idea. I just got back from watching her directorial debut “Little Zizou” at the Asian Festival of First Films in Singapore, and I really liked it. The title comes from footballer Zinedine Zidane’s nickname Zizou, and a young...
by Vijay at December 4th, 2008 at 08:12 am
8
Spirit, Safety, and Selflessness – We are to blame!
We’ve been hit. And we’ve been hit hard. Physically, emotionally, mentally. The news channels run tag lines like “Mumbai Liberated” and “Mumbai Fights Back”. But have we really liberated ourselves yet? Are we fighting back? Will we dine again at a cafe or 5-star hotel without shuddering at the slightest noise of a door shutting? “Spirit...
by Vijay at November 29th, 2008 at 07:11 pm
5
The Sound of Indian Cinema
This is kind of a continuation of my last post about film projection in Indian theatres (http://passionforcinema.com/film-exhibition-in-india/). Sound in Indian cinema has come a long way. Today we have sound designers like Resul Pookutty, Nakul Kamte, Kunal Sharma, Dwarak Warrier, Sanjay Maurya, Baylon Fonseca, A. Lakshminarayan and the trendsetting H. Sridhar all doing...
by Vijay at September 26th, 2008 at 03:09 am
3
The Chaser
(4 out of 5) – Throw it into the same genre as Memories of Murder, this is one fucking taut, engaging, and masterfully acted and crafter Korean psycho thriller, with some splendid dark, twisted humor, and brilliant editing. IMDB Link for The Chaser
by Vijay at September 25th, 2008 at 03:09 am
16
Film Exhibition in India
Sometimes I look back at the late 1980s as cable TV first crept into India. Or at least that was when we got a connection at our home. From 1988 to early 1994, I can’t remember watching a single film in a theatre. Every Sunday afternoon, the cablewallah would show the latest release without fail. Imagine watching Khuda Gawah and Hum on a 21-inch TV set. The biggest...
by Vijay at September 25th, 2008 at 01:09 am
19
Kingfishing Smokes (Whatever that means)
WARNING: INCOHESIVE RANT ALERT For PFC newbies, let me enlighten you about a revolutionary indicator formulated by your’s truly and my buddy Oz. It’s called the Kingfisher Litmus Test and is perhaps one of the most reliable indicators of good cinema versus bad cinema. No critiques here, and sure as hell no intellectual readings into the filmmaker’s mind....
by Vijay at October 27th, 2007 at 03:10 am
2
Rome 2007 Line-Up Announced
The second Rome Film Fest, which runs Oct 18-27, has announced its full programme. World premieres in the Cinema 2007 programme include: * La Recta Provincia (Raul Ruiz) * Youth Without Youth (Francis Ford Coppola) * August Rush (Kirsten Sheridan) * Hafez (Abolfazl Jalili) * L’Abbuffata (Mimmo Calopresti) * And The Spring Comes (Chang Wei...
by Vijay at September 27th, 2007 at 09:09 am
7
Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles 2008 Call for Entries
IFFLA 2008 Announces Call for Entries The Sixth Annual Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) seeks narrative, documentary, music videos, experimental, children’s and animated films of any length and format. IFFLA will run April 22-27, 2008 at ArcLight Hollywood, a state-of-the-art facility located in the heart of Los Angeles. Jury and Audience Choice Prizes...
by Vijay at September 17th, 2007 at 11:09 pm
63
Villains
There is a special place for villains in Indian cinema. Especially in the 70’s, 80’s and early 90’s before the Hum Apke Hain Kaun phenomenon, our writers created iconic bad guys. Amitabh Bachchan would have never succeeded as the Angry Young Man if he didn’t have equally dynamic enemies to defeat. Personally, I always found villains to be way more...
by Vijay at September 12th, 2007 at 04:09 pm
8
The Taste of Tea
I enjoy slow movies on lazy Sunday afternoons. It’s that time of the weekend when the partying or other tiring activities of Friday evening and Saturday have just left you craving for some quiet, slow time. You wake up late, shower, eat a full lunch, and stretch out on the couch around 2:30 pm, and turn on the TV, and turn the volume down to a calm level. Next Sunday,...
by Vijay at July 16th, 2007 at 12:07 pm
16
The DO-NOT Do List for Guerilla Filmmakers
Through my brief journey over the past 7 years from a film student to a struggling assistant to an editing instructor to an advertising professional, I have had the fortune (misfortune in some cases) of having worked with a wide variety of filmmakers. Award winners, first-timers, born geniuses, born duffers, struggling actors directing to solely showcase their faces, students,...
by Vijay at July 7th, 2007 at 06:07 pm
57
Sivaji-The Boss: Experience of a Fan
I am a Rajinikanth fan. My buddy Krishna and I purchased $21 tickets to watch the first day, first show of Sivaji in Los Angeles. We made a solid 30 mile drive to West Hills from Venice Beach, and as we planned, got there a good hour early so we could stand ahead in line and hog the best seats in the house. As we parked and walked towards the Laemmle multiplex, we saw...
by Vijay at June 15th, 2007 at 01:06 am
5
Turtles Can Fly – Unforgettable Cinema
Iranian filmmakers for long have thrived on their unmatched ability to reflect upon their times through the eyes of their children. Majidi is perhaps the finest examples of exploring the issue through the viewpoint of the children who live it, because they are perhaps the only ones who see the world for what it is. They don’t judge, they observe. They see it, and...
by Vijay at June 11th, 2007 at 03:06 pm
5
Amu: Heart, Anger, and a Mirror
Orwell’s prediction of the horrors of 1984 would seem mellow compared to what humanity really saw. In Delhi at least, thousands were massacred, families destroyed forever, the scum of humanity exposed, as justice still remains to be served. It’s a disgusting piece of our history that our government, which still employs many of those directly responsible, chooses...
by Vijay at June 6th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
45
Odoru Maharaja
The countdown begins. 14 days to go till Rajinikanth strikes back with Sivaji – The Boss. What on earth is it that makes him so popular? I remember when I lived in Kobe, Japan. It had been a couple of years since Muthu had released in India. I opened the Japan Times one Sunday morning on the breakfast table, and as I flipped the pages, I froze seeing huge picture...
by Vijay at June 1st, 2007 at 02:06 pm
34
Great Flops
Good films always flop. No I don’t really believe that. But every now and then, when the trades trash a really likeable film and declare it a flop, frustration gives way to the pessimistic feeling that in India, good films won’t make money. Today the audience has diversified and so have distribution and exhibition platforms, so each film and producer has his/her...
by Vijay at May 24th, 2007 at 10:05 am
44
Life…In A Metro
“Will this survive the Kingfisher litmus test?” asked Oz as we inebriated ourselves while hogging on some butter chicken at Ambala Dhaba. I was hesitant to respond because Vijay Mallya’s concoction has a tendency to strip your tolerance levels considerably. The last film we saw under the influence (Nishabd) had us running to save our tender brains from...
by Vijay at May 12th, 2007 at 03:05 am
7
Spiderman 3 – Fultoo Timepass
Bhidu (Buddy): Thank god it’s over! I had such high expectations from this film. Apun (Me): Eh dimaag ka dahi mat kar. Subhe ka teen bajela hain. (Don’t make brain into yogurt. It is 3 in mornings) Bhidu: It just went on and on. Apun: More fillum. More timepass. Bhidu: But I wasn’t feeling the punch. Apun: Bak bak mat kar nahi tho Spiderman 4D mein parde...
by Vijay at May 4th, 2007 at 10:05 am
13
Valley of Flowers – Rescheduled
For those of you who attended the screening of Pan Nalin’s Valley Of Flowers, we apologize for the cancellation which took place due to an unforseen projector malfunction. Please note that the screening has been rescheduled now, in the same large theater #10 (no glitches this time!) as follows: Saturday, April 21 – 3:30 p.m. Please make sure you bring your...
by Vijay at April 19th, 2007 at 10:04 am
3
IFFLA 2007 – Updates & Filmmaker Interviews
In our tribute to Deepti Naval, the screening of Mirch Masala on Saturday, April 21 @ 8:00 pm has been REPLACED by the stunning Main Zinda Hoon directed by Sudhir Mishra. This is a rare film that is not available on DVD, VHS, or VCD, and NFDC has been kind enough to strike a brand new subtitled print for us, specially for the tribute. Don’t miss one of Sudhir Mishra’s...
by Vijay at April 11th, 2007 at 03:04 pm
6
The Pool – An American Movie?
Amidst all the wonderful discussions about indie movies, we haven’t quite had the opportunity to talk about what is in my opinion, one of the best indie films this year – The Pool. If the credits were deleted, one would never in the wildest of their imagination believe that this is an American movie. Independent documentary filmmaker Chris Smith, famous for...
by Vijay at April 10th, 2007 at 11:04 am
3
Arohan (1982) – Benegal’s Exemplary Dedication
When a movie doesn’t sell, my local desi DVD retailer places it on the FOR SALE shelf letting it go often for as low as $4. That’s often where I do most of my Indian DVD shopping, because ironically enough, that’s where one tends to find some of the most important films. I had never heard of Arohan (The Ascent), because for some odd reason, it is one...
by Vijay at April 9th, 2007 at 10:04 am