DVANDVA – Duality of an Independent Filmmaker
My upcoming and First Feature Film
During second year of my PG, I was quite aware that I made wrong career choice. Not only grades, attendance and most importantly my interest was “land low”. I just could not see myself as a Manger working for some multinational company. I was deep in Identity crisis. And that point of time filmmaking was definitely not the choice.
MBA is very analytical, and it is not that I can’t analyze but some other things overpower my analytical mind. It is feelings. I like to feel people, places and emotions. So naturally I was suffocated in very analytical world. Creativity in management does exist but I just couldn’t feel it. Sadly I was unable to indentify my needs and source of motivation, so I was highly depressed and started watching lots of films. To be very frank, films never excited me before, because I mostly saw so called commercial Indian films. Thanks to P2P, (I was unaware about its harms, now I am a legal viewer of copyrighted material) I was able to access, lots of unknown films from world over and I was awestruck by the stories and characters. I never imagined films to be so meaningful medium of expressions, expressions of thoughts and emotions. I came across the stories which moved me and during a short span of time made me feel, travel, amaze and wonder.
One fine day, one of my professor, suggested that I should visit a psychologist. He might have had the point. Because I started to relate so closely to those fictitious characters, sometimes I was felt like lead actor and even sometimes as an actress. Many times I started thinking and behaving like one, sometimes I was villain of the film, sometimes I was just a passerby, or person standing in the crowd. No wonder my attendance was record low, grades were god gift. But for the first time, I tried to manage time so as to devote maximum amount for watching films. I used to watch 5-6 films a day, any film which can hold me, was good enough. I might have watched thousand films. I never counted, it went on for two years, and it was films which kept me alive in the jungle of budding and talented mangers.
There were lots of student who used to download films and distribute among others. Trick was to beat, log at the computer center which used monitor the internet traffic. And I was one of them. But I wanted to differentiate. So I started making trailers for the films, I used to download. People liked it, and I made more and more.
And then there was a advertising course, when my study group was busy making advertising plan, I was making Visual ads, without thinking about any management bullshit that should precede making of an AD, using all Jackie Chan film as a footage. There was somebody from a top advertising agency who was visiting faculty, he told me that making advertisement is a work of common man and you should better make advertising plans and not worry about its visual execution. In simpler words, please don’t.
I somehow completed the course. It took me 3 years and 3 months to complete 2 year PG course. But it was inevitable, but being a type 2 error and suffering from cinematic fever, I think I did great just to complete it. That day I received the call from chairperson of the institute and he told me that I was worst student ever. I felt bad.
I still had option for a job. After all it was Well Known Institute of Management in Western India. But I did not sit for placements, packed my bag and came home, absolutely no idea as what to do, most importantly why do it? One day I was drinking with my best friend, a childhood buddy, I told him that I wanted become a filmmaker. He encouraged me a lot. It was real moral booster. I barrowed a camera, placed an order for filmmaking books on my credit card (bank recovery guys still looking out for me), made a small editing setup at home. And I started shooting and editing. After few days I came to know that my best buddy was already an alcoholic and caught red handed encouraging a dog to share some. But then accident happens in Filmmaking.
So I was reading filmmaking books and trying few things with the camera and then editing the material and showing it to people. My father called a holy “baba” to make me sane, but I bribed him and then obviously he predicted that I will become great filmmaker. He was cheap, I overpaid him. But apart from that “baba” nobody was sure, because I was making crap after crap. I then shot a short film; I was the only actor and only crew. It was horror in genre (for me) and experience (for people). But still I never wanted to give up. I kept trying to make short films. But somehow I could not complete any. But then I was working with untrained actors and crew, anybody who has any kind of filmmaking experience can feel my mental state.
Friends Mom-“What you do?”
Friend-“He is photographer?”
What the Fuck! I am filmmaker.
Brother-“He is my bro, he make documentaries”
What the Fuck! I am interested in Fiction
Unknown smart ass-“Filmmaking in Nagpur … come on, you should go to Bombay”
I-“Uncle, during my engineering days we used to have super-duper seniors, on wholly sponsored educational trip by their FIL’s, are you game?”
His daughter was sex bomb though, anyway.
Fathers Friend-“What he do?”
Father-“He is scientist. He is committed to turn himself into an ass”
Speechless
After making lots incomplete short film, I suddenly had the idea. I decided to shift to Mumbai and start a production house and make corporate films and cross subsidize that money for making short films. We did make one. Yes I had a partner in crime. We did it for few bucks. It might have been good. Because lots of people became interested, but we never managed convert anybody. My partner left, went back to become assistant director in a Marathi Film. I tried hard but could not find any takers. Later one friend of mine, who owes a production house, told me I was under quoting. Probably it gave the impression of a bad production values. God is great.
Then finally it happened I completed my first short film And I again wrote, directed ,acted ,edited, even composed Music and also tried some VFX too. Really I didn’t have the choice. To be very frank it was badly directed, but it was a good learning and most importantly a complete thing.
Then I decided to make my next short film in Nagpur. Mostly because short filmmaking in Mumbai is costly, I was relatively new to the city and also I was planning a short film based on a local global issue.
Here is Link of “A Cheque of Death”, filmed in December 07
http://www.filmaka.in/premiumshorts.asp?ContestID=&id=1847&Keyword=
It was won award at Filmaka India. That time I worked very good actors and some young and smart crew and concentrated my efforts on direction and little bit of cinematography … and then did editing also. You know … I just could not find any better person in those departments.
The award money was my only food before hibernation, I hibernate and I think every filmmaker should hibernate and let his mind and body shut down for a while, because during certain days food is scarce and especially in the land of oranges and suicides, Filmmaking food is very scarce. Once I also considered farming. But on second thought; I preferred to remain a nomad.
But then I met another nomad in this very unusual place. Anurag K … Kulkarni, who also happened to be music director of the “A Cheque of Death”, asked me if I had any feature length script in Mind. I narrated the idea. He liked it. So he and another friend Adil, decided to produce an experimental feature Film called as “Dvandva” which I co-wrote and directed. It is a Crime/Drama film and Non-Linear in structure and time. You can say it is an experiment in storytelling, especially screenwriting. I tell how and why, but once you watch. Don’t worry guys “Dvandva” coming soon, if not theater, in a place near you.
Dvandva, is the continuous duality of right & wrong that engulfs the daily lives of everyone. Five seemingly unimportant events weave a fabric… And this fabric unveils the story. In other words, the film is a mesh of interleaved stories & inter-related characters. And it revolves around the search of a mysterious contract killer. Dagadoo leads a gang of street-dacoits… Anand supports his wife to recover from the trauma…, Roy, owner of an NGO, is trying correct his problematic account books … Vijay is a lonesome druggist hallucinated by his troubled past… Rahul & Prashant are spoilt brats planning a big theft… Pandey is a corrupt cop, pressurized by seniors and the media to resolve infamous contract killing case… 116 mins devoted exclusively to life of all these characters, almost everybody is engulfed in duality of action, thoughts and ultimately duality of life. It was actually duality of my own life. It was duality I face trying to live as a independent filmmaker.
Making “Dvandva”, was the biggest challenge till date. Since we are a low budget Film, we had resource constraints. But then budget is not the criteria we would like to be judged upon. I assure all my viewers, a different experience, a great story, a kind noir, non linear crime/drama and definitely an intelligent film. You can “pen” me to death if you don’t like it. And everybody is invited at the funeral and to make donations for independent filmmaker’s fund.
But it was very challenging working under constraint, duality of aspiration and reality of cost. And sometimes it was very frustrating. You have to think some out of box solutions. We built our own car rig, jimmy jib, even for that matter $14 steady cam. All DIY things, directly copied from all the independent filmmakers on the internet.
I got very less time for pre-production as we were facing problems with casting. All good actresses here in Nagpur, just didn’t want any “gali galoch” even if it is not directed towards their character. So we imported one from Mumbai. But that is another story. So at the end of the day I threw all my 3D storyboards, and improvised on the sets. Good things sometimes just happen.
Good things sometimes just happens
Another One
We shot the film, in 22 days in Nagpur, May-June 2008. It was hot Nagpur summer, and though most of the film was night shoot, Short summer shooting nights were tough on the schedule and hence on our tight resources. Most of our crew was first-timers, and this was the first time that I was communicating with 48 actors and at the same time keeping an eye on the technical things. Though we screwed sound a little bit but later we dubbed. I could find just one person as an assistant director, who did more production work because lack of resources and experience. But at the end day, it was completed and now we will start to screening at the end of this Month. Today I read in the newspaper that video as a will is acceptable evidence. Also “Anyway” is one of the most annoying words. Anyway It was a great experience making this film, which I confident people will appreciate, and I am also very confident that we will able our differentiated targeted. Come on I wasn’t that bad a student. And I promise you unique film watching experience on the better side of the extreme. And … please say “Amen”)
Tags: Chhatrapal, debut, Dvandva, Filmaking, Independent Filmmaking, Struggle
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
Good luck !!!!!
Thanx Zady, Btw film is in Hindi, with little central Indian touch. Somebody please remove Marathi Tag!
Wow! Here’s wishing your movie is as honest as this post of yours.
Yes Tanul It is! They say films represent their makers emotions, like babies try to behave like their moms, so it is very high chance that your expereince of watching “Dvandva” will be “honest”:)).
best of luck…… any plans of uploading the movie on the net?
Thanx Vineeth … As of now, We will do small screenings and explore all possible opportunities for the film. Film Festivals is next target. And Internet is last option. And binge erstwhile p2p user, it is risky. And 116 mins is not good for streaming. But once we explore all commercial possibilities we might to do. I will keep you updated.
I liked your short film. Interesting concept. Welcome to corporate burnout at PFC! We’re all on the same bus Chattrapal. Which b-school did you go? Let me guess SP Jain or JB or Symbie?
PS: I noticed you had a memento mori in your poster. Nice!
Apologies for spelling your name incorrectly
Thanx Neeraj! I went to WIMWI(Well Known Institute of Management in Western India), Gujrat. But as i was worst ever student, so obviously i don’t want to identified as alumini
). Spelling not a issue. My English is not that good anyway. i told you i was type 2 error. Memento Mori is Latin Phase meaning “Remember you will die” or “Remember that you are mortal”, it is theme of the film, i could not find any better hindi substitute
I knew what Memento mori is and I liked the fact that you used it in your film. BTW, I figured which inst and this is our secret
I laughed out loud on your “type 2″ error. I was more of the type 1 error kinds. Heard the calling from within, which was true, but rejected it for some 5 odd years and continued to burn in corporate hell.
“Isharo ko agar samazo, raaz ko raaz rahane do”
Btw when grizzlies come out from their hibernation, they are very aggressive and hungry.
Hey Chattarpal
its good to know more about u thru this article.
…and building the trolleys, jibs, steadicam….well thats something even m doin now cos of budget constrains for an upcoming short.
Best of luck for ur film. Hope to see it soon.
Ankur
oh sorry
i made a typo with ur name too 
Come On! It happens man, if bill gates hadn’t made Microsoft words, my post would have been unreadable.
Thanx Ankur.We kind of know each other a lot through short films and Internet. Someday i will catch you. Steadycam is easy, Jib is most difficult. Our assistant DOP made Jib for 5000/-, when the cost of renting it to Nagpur was excess of 12000/-. Of course lots of hi tech features are not possible within that budget.
awesome..so tumne bhi shaayad Ahmedabad ka paani piya hain :-)
( i am from ahmedabad too).
Loved your write up, i wish you all the very best for Dwandva.
Looking forward to it.
Pray, I can also make up full-length feature film some day.
-Vishesh
Amen! Haan ji pani bhi piya aur khoon bhi piya hai. Thanx for Wishes
Cool, so what did you edit the movie on?
as sumeet asked, what was the medium on which the movie was shot…
and also if you can share those internet sites thru which you learned to improvise,
it may come handy for all of us.
We edited Film on Adobe CS3,We Shot in HD and will transfered it to Film. I share all online links, i surfed, through a Orkut Community named as “Filmmaking”. I can also mail you all the Links,then there is stumbleupon-firefox plugin-which gives you very good links.I finds books more better learning tool. There are many video tutorials as well.But you know it is like 10th class chemistry. When you read properties of any gas. It mentions about a STP(Standard Temperature and Pressure). So all this theory of Filmmaking only works at STP, which really never exists. But if you have ability to measure temperature and pressure, and correctly observe the properties, it is better learning. Btw No harm reading theories. I will write more blogs about learnings from this Film and my philosophy about Filmmaking. So keep reading Passionforcinema.
Dear Chhatrapal,
Indeed a gr8 effort and insipiration to indie film makers.Please tell abt the make of the camera is it 1k or 2k (HD) have u gone for reverse telecine or restricted to digital projection only. If it is 1k wat are the possibilities of getting it reverse telecine and is it worth doing it. Wat r the possibilities of thetrical release of the films shot on HD and how u r managing all india release or u r planning to move in phases.I think lot of questions………….
Anyway( even if it is annoying)best wishes to u once again…
Hope your next film will be about a certain chaiwallah and the maska-bun wallah in front of your Well Known Institute
ohh no way ,i have to sell my bike to pay back his “Udhari”,those days were really difficult and also i think i have better concepts and stories.
Congrats Chhatrapal.
On which medium have shot the movie, Film or HD?
Thanx Sumeet! HD and then transfered it to the Film
Poster really looks awesome..how about cutting a trailer and uploading on youtube or something?
My Producers are working on the Trailer right now! I will keep you updated
Hey chhatrapal,
First of all i like to say that it is very inspirational post for me and secondly i will like to congratulate you for making Dvandva.The plot looks intriguing and m lukin forward to see ur film.
I saw your first short film “a cheque of death” in filmaka and i think it was one of the best films of filmaka till now.It was very substantial and technically sound as well.From the poster of Dvandva,i can see sum faces which were there in cheque of death as well.
It’s always great to see that people like you are actually coming in front and telling ur own unique stories differently.I think anybody who is passionate about good cinema in India should definately watch this film and encourage more & more people to come forward and deliver world class films.All the very best from my side.
Thanx Samresh. That was very inspirational comment! Thanx once again.
hi i’m an actor and i must say u’ll rock our industry needs people like u at this point of time and also every time good luck wish u all the success..(i’m doing “utv” show as main lead “sun yaar chill maar”) also my film is releasing in dec. “admissions open” all the best for u bro…
Thanx for wishes and All the best for your films and show, Sandeep!
hey hi brother i must say u’ll rock our industry needs people like u at this point of time an also every time m also an actor struggeled alot now doing “utv” show as main lead “sun yaar chill maar” also my film is releasing in dec. “admissions open” all the success for u god bless…”amen”
holy fucking shit! i just cant believe what i just read. so much dil se and almost my situation. “Father- He is scientist. He is committed to turn himself into an ass”. i have heard many variants of this myself. had it not been for the filmi keeda within, i would have happily died a copywriter. not just yours, i can also empathise with the situation your family & frnds must have been through as well. just like i say amen to your filmi journey, do wish me luck too! just about to start off on mine starting jan 2010. here’s wishing you all the luck for your debut & the others that follow. this is sheer passionforcinema. BTW, did you involve radio mirchi (nagpur) rj pritam pyaare in this projekt. just curious, none of my business. may Lord CineIndra bestow upon you all the ticket sales possible.
Actually i think Pritam was interested, i was also interested. But he never came for auditions. And Magik I wish you all the luck for your venture. First pregnancy is always troublesome but i guess like me,lots indie like Sarthak, Shivajee are there out to help you. Please let me know i can be of any help to you, in whatsoever manner. Friend of mine,Rupesh,who was my only AD for Dvandva, do experimental theater in Nagpur, sometimes i roll curtains before his play, and sometimes he became light man for short films:))
“i roll curtains before his play, and sometimes he became light man for short films”
.
wow!!! if thats not passion, then what is? so amazing & inspiring. will touch base with you & share notes once i m in bbay oops mumbai. jai maharashtra.
.
P.S.: pritam really needs a kick to wake him up. well its his loss anyways.
Hey Congrats!
In between what HD camera you shot it on?
Thanx Anup! we Shot on Sony HDR-FZ1
Chhatrapal,
You are not the only crazy WIMWIan here
Would like to hear more from you. Mail me on sudipsharma at yahoo dot com or pass me your email id.
Thanx Sudip! I will keep you updated,sent you mail!
Chhatrapal bhaiya, all d bst 4 ur debut feature n d career ahead. These kind a bold step wht all we need to make our dreams come true..
Btw, which camcorder u used? wht abt d budget n no. of shooting days..if u kindly share with us..
U can contact with ufo, for digital release in multiplexes..u never know whts in store for u..ufo takes about 7 k per screen in a week..so, u can release close to 10 prints within 1 lac or so..after 1 week u can decide whether u will continue with it or not..if u do, then 5600 per week per screen..after 2nd week no charges..u can add more prints always..after 2nd week if u add prints u will have to pay only 750 bucks..per print fixed..no weekly rate..
My Producer will get in touch with UFO and in fact I think he already know about their rate structure. They are working out plan to rich audience.
Would suggest that you get to speak with both UFO and Qube and choose either one or both of them depending upon the economics of the same.
Parthas why prints? I had heard that UFO transfers movie content through satellite, albeit to a limited number of theatres
Great write-up (Chatra)Pal….In the world of full of talks, u did!
Being an avid film geek (courtesy P2P and an ever incresasing 2nd hand DVD collection) I totally admire that you took your passion for cinema to the next level: create it.
I am ‘right’ now “minting money” in UK, saving for my indie venture next year….Your post comes at the right time (just when family pressure intensified with intention to drill sanity into me) …
Keep up the good work and blog about ur learnings. You know “Baatne se pyaar badtha hai aur gyaan bhi”. Filhaal, lets concentrate on the gyaan part :P
Regards,
Santo
Thanx Santoshmohan! One of my Producer and co-writer Adil, was minting money in UK, and he put all his saved money in the Film “Dvandva”. If i am able to make this film, so early in my filmmaking career is only becuase of Adil and Anurag. I was lucky to find producers who were willing to produce such an experimental film and that without any idea about its commercial output.The credit of “Dvandva” goes to them as well.
The poster looks very well-done. All new actors…eh? Loads of good luck….ummeed hai itne saalon mein p2p par dekhi films ka karz achha utaara hoga.
Thanx Varun! As far actors goes, only Satyakam Anand was bit experienced,precisely ten Actors had done short films and lots of them came directly from theater and facing camera for the first time. And I think Acting is one of the best thing of about Dvandva.Credit goes to Aadil and Anurag, producers of the Film, for doing so and also for a very good poster. Magar … Nahi koi karz utaaraneka prayas kiya hai … nahi karana chahta hoon … chahata ye hoon ki apani awaz ko dhoondh sakoo aur apane tarikese katha kathan kar sakoo:))
@Chatrapal
Congratulations!!! and a very nice writeup, at the right time just like for many others… its a kinda dejavu feeling when I read something I’d been planning to write for sometime, I mean my first labour….but still in pre-production phase…like Magik…
Hey buddy if you are planning to screen or release the film in Bangalore, do let me know, I would more than glad to help you with anything I can. I can help you screen the film in many film societies here so that your film gets a well deserved viewing and also if you are also planning a digital release we have digital projectors in Bangalore & Chennai now… as I said I can share my 2 cents if it helps you..
Wish you all the luck
P.S. shoot me an email at arvind_81@hotmail.com
Best Luck for your Venture Arvind! As of Now, we will try to explore all possible opportunities, my producers working towards it, film festivals are first priority though.
wht abt d budget..if u share..another queries mate, what about the guild factor i mean were all those artists and technicians from guild or film association card holder members? if they aren’t, does it make any prblm for commercial release or just they say casually that if u dont use them we wont allow u to release..if u plz clear this doubt for us..thnx n regards
We did Film in Nagpur with local technicians and first timers. So Guild thing should not be a problem … and i won’t talking about the budget because it is prerogative of the producers of the Film … i hope you understand parthas!
Lets see a trailer of the movie.
Yes it is coming Soon! Right now working towards it!
can u upload a promo or a song or something? are there any songs in the film?
Ram, Yes i will soon upload a trailer and Website about the film, give me couple of days … there are no songs,no nachgana. At the end there is one as background Music of the Film
I wish you all the best.
Btw what HD camera did you use to shoot your movie?
Thanx Maximus! We used Sony HDR FZ1, and we are going to stun makers of the Camera, but it is kind of noir, so don’t expect beauty portrayed by romantic fantasies, but still we already surprising people with the results.
Chhatrapal what a write up. It looks like your trailers for the downloaded movies (back at college) must be really cool. Yaar your write up is interspersed with so much humour, I now have no other opinion than favourable about Dvandva. Because I believe in the 5-minute rule about movies. That is every 5 minutes of reel time has to be followed by an “event”. This event could be a comedy sequence, action sequence or a song. Your write up hints that all your movie-watching days have not gone to waste
By the way what are the plans for promotion/advertising. And which storyboarding software did you use? Frameforge3d? Actually I know of only this one which also provides animatics. Others include Celtx, sketchup(google), gettyimages, etc, but these are pure still images/comic book storyboarding. Moviestorm and FPScreator are purely for war movies or war video games. Which one do you prefer and apart from frameforge3d which are the other animatics previs software?
Self Promotion is really tough! I was trying to write this write up for long time, but just could not. Finally i decided to make myself totally nude. It was more confessional than promotional. My producers will start working to promoting the film soon. I used Frameforge 3d for storyboarding.Final Draft for screenwriting. And Celtix for pre-production and production breakdown. We later did scheduling in Microsoft Excel, because that version of celtix was poor in that count. I never had the opportunity to use other previz softwares, so really can’t compare. The great thing Frameforge was teamwork. I mean i taught software to my AD’s and then art director came in with his inputs, directly making virtual sets. Good thing about 3D software was moving camera in the virtual sets.But somehow process took lot of time and as monsoon was fast approaching,I have to wind up. So end of the day i have to improvised on the sets, i was forced to as there was lots of difference between STP and Actual temperature and Pressure
) . But improvising on the sets made the hell lot of difference.
Being a part of the film and having working with chattrapal on Dvandva, I know I speak for all the people who were a part of this project that the guy has finally found his calling and has worked with utmost sincerity.
As for me… I am an aspirin actor who was lookin for concrete work to do and came across Chattrapal one day over a cuppa tea. Wat excited me the most about the project was its well knit script and layered characterization…..His style of expression was something I associated with almost immediately it was contemporary and intriguing….dark and intelligent. The film conveys a different perspective of human mindset and intricacies of human nature when confronted with the grey areas of Life.
The makin of the film was equally fun. His people management and money management techniques are surely worth mentioning (he is soooo not convincing when he says he didn’t learn much from his B-school)
Lastly I know all the hardwork put in by everyone will see the light of the day soon.(keeping my fingers crossed as its my first tooooooo)
PS: I play the character of Rahul in the movie the guy with the specs and really wishing the movie does super or else I’ll have to be ready to shell out some money to donate for independent filmmaker’s fund
Jayant … “he is soooo not convincing when he says he didn’t learn much from his B-school” , I learned it before i went B-School.
hey…great to see ur first assigement…really cool pics bro..Best of luck!…do well in ur life.
Hey!Chhatrapal – this was certainly a delight to read and know of your journey so far.I certainly hope that Dvandva gets to explore all the possible avenues of exhibition in terms of scope and brings laurels to you & the entire team.BTW is your alumni aware of your pursuit and the efforts that have gone into the movie?
Thanx Sethu … I don’t know about alumini, i haven’t contacted anybody specially because we were in creative stuff till now,and yes my bacthmates know about it.
Great and Inspiring post, such post always keep umeemd Ki Kiran aspiring film makers.
Bow to you man
Dhanyavad Cinemausherji! I hope you will enjoy watching Dvandva
“Thanx Maximus! We used Sony HDR FZ1, and we are going to stun makers of the Camera, but it is kind of noir, so don’t expect beauty portrayed by romantic fantasies, but still we already surprising people with the results.”
Hi
Do you mean HDR-FX1? Cause, I just did a search for HDR FZI, and I was unable to find the camera you just mentioned.
Thanks
Z1 is professional Version of X1
Wow. An amazing post.
For most of the part I could relate myself to the post. A wannabe MBA, engineer & recently discovered filmmaker is probably what I want to be. I told my parents I want to join a ‘film making course’ on phone, & the tone with which they uttered ‘filmmaking?’ I pictured their expressions ->
. Anyway, this Diwali I should be crying for letting me go for the class & leaving this $#%#-ing job.
One more thing, I guess I need your help/suggestions in the whole scenario. Actually, I need help from anyone who can help me in ‘knowing filmmaking processes’. So, if you don’t mind please drop a mail to me – chaudhari.alpesh@gmail.com
All the best for your project.
Thanx Alpesh, Pick up any video and start shooting and editing, Lots of material available on the net.
Yeah. I am trying to get in touch with people with similar interests, so might join a class to understand priliminary processes & intricasies involved.
Videocam is something for which I will have to manage finances.
Anyway, looking forward to watch your movie.
Thanx Alpesh, Pick up any video camera and start shooting and editing, Lots of material available on the net.
Important aspect as mentioned in this dwandwa article is to complete whatever task you undertake. Why don’t you just edit some video and show it to your parents. Then you tell him after doing a course, imagine how well i could do in this field. The general notion about filmmaking is ‘glamour’. When you show your work they will probably get an idea what exactly you want to do.
Yeah. I guess, I will do that. In addition to ‘glamour’, I guess, parents even consider ‘risk’ factor.
Well, thanks for the support. These thing cheer a person a lot.
Alpesh, don’t jump the boat just now.
First learn filmmaking, then only think about quitting the job.
There is nothing which is stopping you from learning it while on working full time.
Once out of job, frustration would creep in. Be very sure from where you are going to earn money(if your father is in real estate then it’s okay).
No one becomes a director in a matter of days, it takes years and even as a full time film maker there won’t be many options until and unless you have grayed your hairs in this field.
p.s. Even I’m very bored with corporate life but its okay, it is paying for my bread, butter, chicken, beer etc. and off course for the cost incurred in filmmaking
Hi. Thanks.
Yes, I am thinking of other options to earn my bread-butter. I wrote it there as I needed you people’s thoughts on that.
it helps a lot to gain your family’s confidence. There enough things to rebel, spare a supportive family. When i left my software job to join an advt. agency for 1/5th salary, it was a shock for my family. I didn’t even discuss it with them. When i went home, i showed them my work, which i have been doing even as a soft engg. There was a children song. some animations etc. They liked it. If you talk with ‘i don’t care, i have to do it’, it adds a lot of pressure on you right from the beginning. Besides, parents should know about your career. Who know, they might contribute the most in you achieving your goals. As someone mentioned, don’t just jump into it.
Chetan, I am at home today & I have almost convinced my parents to let me join a class. Though I have told them it would like extra-curricular thing. As things progresses, I guess they will understand.
Just do it Alpesh, evrything will follow as soon as you start walking along.
If I had to judge the movie based on poster i would give 5/5…various emotions captured in single poster…dont know why…but the bike pic caught my attention. Should be something in the movie…
anyway all the best….would love to catch the movie in Bangalore…
Three Cheers for the makers of the Poster, Adil my co-writer and co-producer of Dvandva. Thanx Cherish
Lai Bhari!!..Ladh Mitra!
“Lai Bhari …” lai divasanantar aikala, amachyakade, mahanje nagpurla “Mahoul” Chalata
). Btw You will hear lots Nagpuri in Dvandva
sir few more questions:
1.Is it Sony HDR FX1 or FZ1, i think FX1
2. Is is compatible with prime lenses
3. How gud it is in dim light
4. Some where mentioned that its resolution is 1440*1080 (which is not true HD), does this make loss in quality when projected for 70 mm screen
5. Have u gone thru the process of DI/ color correction, if yes how did u manage in ur budget kindly suggest the appropriate place for DI
6.What more processes are required to distribute the film exclusively on UFO or other digital mode, do v need any other change in format and how costly it is.
Guys who wants to know about Tech and other issues regarding release distribution … will have to wait because i can’t answer all those questions now … i will keep posting more on Dvandva. The story and screenplay of the film matters, tech is important, but comes much later. Right now I, alongwith, my producers want to concentrate on concept and passion of filmmaking, with which Dvandva is made. But I promise to blog about all technical stuff, but i still don’t think it will be any different than all tech oriented filmmaking articles on the net.Keep Reading passionforcinema!
Cheque of Death was so awesome and moving
Somehow because of all these years of film watching i kind of guessed that gajya would kill himself. However, I didnt see the cheque bouncing thing coming.
Your shot selections are so awesome – The collage of government authorities, then gajya looking at his coughing father, mixing of poison in the milk, while his family slept… Only thing I did not understand is the seed corporation of India authority’s office. They dont have so many idols of God, nor do they have TV.
It was symbolic, wasnt it, when the forest dept guy is worried about tigers and kills mosquitos.
I have seen a TV in a government office and people do keep Idols, and do no work. The Board of farmers committee thing is actual and real footage i used. It is still there and two years after making “Cheque of Death” no building yet. Yes forest department thing is symbolic, but i agree that it is little one sided, because lots of farmers also encroach forest lands. But i think they driven to desperation. Btw “Cheque of Death” was a kind of docudrama, Dvandva is altogether different, crime-noir, no social issue or message of any kind, just little introspection of dark side which might give some message, but film is very open ended, different viewers might make different interpretations. At least we tried to do so.
By the way, these short movies- do they earn any revenue? or shown somewhere?
“Cheque of Death” won award at Filmaka India, which was very good platform for short Filmmakers. The award money was very helpful surviving. Apart from that no real revenue source as of now
very inspiring post sir,could identify with it at once,i am an aspiring screen writer sir(also a 2nd year btech student) and have penned down a few stories,but when it comes to shoot a film on cam ,just don’t know where to start from,can u suggest a few readings about the technical aspects of film making.where can i start from?best of luck with u’r baby sir
try to draw your stories on paper, don’t worry about quality of drawings, Ridilly Scot makes storyboards which nobody other than him can decipher, and then just shoot , start wherever you want and feel. Slowly you will understand what is working and what is not. Try to search net for production breakdown, shooting script and shot division, storyboard. Lots of material out there, but don’t think too much, keep shooting and editing, keep observing and learning from mistakes
best of luck bhai!!
Dhanyavad Raza Bhai!
God bless you dude, hope ur film is successful!
PS: great poster:)
Thanx Uddhav, It is already successful because so many like you blessing it,
Hey Chhatrapal…All the very best to you…will there be a theatrical release…I’m eagerly waiting for this now. I’m also from Nagpur(though I’m in bangalore now)..can you(if it is allowed) let me know which place(s) in nagpur have you shot the film
saw your shortfilm “A Cheque of Death”….simply awesome
Thanx Sudip … We shot everywhere-you just name it- T point, Jaitala, Khamala, Civil Lines, DP, Gorewada (Cheque of Death shot entirely in Gorewada), Bardi Flyover, on farmhouse in Hingani, and lot more places. We even took a hidden camera to District Court, but sala bag thoda tilt ho gaya, we could get only two good Visuals
magar Hidden camarase we shot CID office, commissioner office,Bardi Police station,Police headquarters … some Mama’s even posed for camera, without knowing what they getting into.And some simply ran away. They fear camera like anything. In one situation when we were shooting High Court, scene few Mama’s came and everybody,including us,just ran away. We told them it is interview/doc for local channel.(Btw I am underground this days)Except One office scene, we went directly on real locations. It was hell lot of expereince. You know what! Hollywood is in California, and California is known for oranges and so is Vidarbha. I think there is some link between oranges and Films.Only thing bad about it, is “Nollywood”, definitely not a good name:))
chhatrapal sir,
all the best for ur film. plz share your all expereinces in film making process with us.. u r very lucky infact to make a feature n get d producer..god bless..one of ur post suggested u dint bother about guild members of western cine association or any association as such..didn’t it make any problems for release in censor? whenever we guys try to make a feature on our own, guilds come into play..n we stop d making..m very happy u have done it without them..n d tech part ufo askin for 1080 p true hd, so, keep us updated on that..as ur film wasnt made on 1080p. we all hope u beat bheja fry khosla ka ghosla n all others..d way to go..thnx very much,.
Thanx Anurag … Yes i was lucky … but i was prepared for it and opportunity came knocking , i never looked back … association should not be problem for censor … i don’t know about UFO yet … but even if it is not true HD, we believe we will able convince people on the basis of story and screenplay … and we test some footage with digital projector in Nagpur, it was coming out fine … i already told you may not as beautiful as Film , impressive enough for storytelling … “Lets talk” was made on DV and i think it was released in Multiplexes, And i think Z1 footage after color correction is as good as 16mm … Looks like we went against every norm … In worst case scenario we would look at it is an investment … an opportunity to show what can be done and with better resource, can be done ever better!!
dear, friend, i want to know how the multiplexes are working nowdays means do they work as fixed rental for a film release like the single screens are booked for a fixed rental per week then the ticket sales foes to d producer..or multiplexes are working as profit sharing basis, on which theres no rental booking, no minimum guarantee..few months earlier there was a raw between d producers n plexes..about sharing at 50%..it would be very helpful for an indie to be released in plexes if theres no fixed rental..n only profit sharing..any body any idea plz share n help,.
Rent seeking is Classic Feature of Indian Economy … I hope i am correct … But bahut sari cheeze pahili baar hoti hai … aur hum “convince” karane pai tule hai … If Dvandva’s creative stuff gets approval … we might initiate few things for the first time! And i think which will pave way for more indie filmmakers to follow … please say “Amen”
hey chhatrapal, wow im lookin fwd to seein ur film, i guess u were very active on a short films, india grp on orkut n had recmnd me a lot of books …u maynt rembr me, but i rembr the words memento mori n city of god in ur post n sum cats dunt like water photos….all the best for ur film. its amazin tht we hav robert rodriguez kinda film makers here in india too.
amazin to make a jimmy jib n other tech stuff by urself, garage film making at its best. congrats. kunal.
Robert Rodriguez was big inspiration, but there lots of filmmakers in India who inspired me with their struggle and passion tell stories. Also i think there are lots of indie like me, i mean we, independent filmmakers, somehow don’t connect through.Btw I just copied design for jib from the net and our assistant DOP Sameer made it.
Hi Chattarpal,
I’m very happy to know about Dvandva.. I’m Deepak from banagalore.. even I used to participate in filmaka contests
(DON 3, Friendhsip, kaalpanik Satya ).. i’v done a commercial film titled “35/100″ (passing marks) in kannada.. waiting for the release…
I’m starting my next project in HD.. and I have seen the results of Z1.. its really good.. when the script is tight, i guess the medium hardly matters like you said about “lets talk”..
Regarding “dvandva”, I liked the title, and the storyline/concept is really interesting..
You guys need not worry about guild for hindi films as far as i understand.. also i’m not sure if you are planning to release the film all over india at a time.. if thats the case then there might be some problem.. else if you are planning to start with your state and then show the results and sell it to distributors then you need not worry at all i guess.. i’m sure you guys would have already thought of all these things..
I wish you and your team a very very grand success!!
I know you very well through your Short Films. We are planning to send it film festivals around the globe and when the film is doing rounds, we will try to explore every possible commercial aspect. We are open to all possibilities and opportunities.
Hey Chhatrapal,
)
I had met you in WIMWI, when I was your immediate junior. Great reading your blog. A lot of us admired your resolve when you ‘oops’ed out. All the best for your ‘crazy’ ventures. BTW there were more crazier guys in my batch also. I am fwding ur page’s url to them, lest they feel inspired.
All the best dude!
Four Fingers ho kya? Anyway thanx for support … great to hear from you
Best of Luck man. I hate you though for raising the level/standards once again !!! lol ….. btw how old are you ?(this might help me in some manner)
I am 29,male, single
) But my film age is one indie feature and two short films. I am confident that, sooner or later you will stop hating me and start loving “Dvandva”
loving ‘dvandva’ is out of question man …… there is no doubt about that …… with ‘cheque of death’ u proved ur mettle to me
….. as far as not hating u is concerned, u can only pray (thats if u care). lol
I love you Shatik and i want you hate me more and more! Guys atleast we are assured of another indie Film:))
Extremely entertaining post! Very good short film! Am sure your film would rock! All the very best!
Thanx Shilpa!!!
Awesome dude! Very proud of you for completing your first feature, being an Engineering reject, dabbling in shorts at the moment and finishing up a first feature script myself. Very uplifting. I think the honesty burned through the blog post. Good luck with the film and the next hibernation and the future.
Thanx ArSeNik, i just woke up from hibernation and wrote this stuff. i am hungry
)
@ Chhatrapal
Hello very good post
Very Inspirational
I want to know that did u assist any director?
if no then how come producer gave u chance?
and yeah waiting for ur film cheers \\m//
awesome poster liked it thumbs up to graphics team
Thanx Gaurav! I went to films directly, no course, no assist, a self taught filmmaker. Frankly i never seen film shooting/production other than my own. Producer gave me chance, because of “cheque of Death”, Anurag infact was the music director of the short Film. He liked my passion and the way i worked. This what he told me. And i narrated him the story, which he was interested in. I think i will ask my producers to blog about it.
@ Chhatrapal
wow den i must say u r lucky
yeah plz ask ur producer to blog it
I hope i will also get chance like u one day
best of luck for ur film
I m gonna watch it for sure
Yes I am lucky ,but Luck always compensate,luck is a kind related to probability, so if you throw coin, there equal chance, getting what you want. But real world, there not only heads and tails, but unknown number of outcomes, so just pray for luck and keep trying, and when good opportunity comes, just grab it with both hands and do your best, this is what i believe and practice.
Hey Dude…
all the very best and i hope i can watch this film sometime… let me know if i can ever buy the DVD…
Awesome to see your dreams starting to come true…
cheers
you can email me at ashleydsouza27 at gmail dot com
Thanx Ashley! I will keep you posted about all the developments regarding the “Dvandva”
Hmm…. I exactly understand ur situation, believe me, being from NYFA myself its really difficult to start. and yeah i really loved what u said abt bread and butter it is really tough as i am going through the same patch. And even i support Indie film makking and I am going to Make an short on canon HV20 one step lower than u as i have no producer, but have the cam. “anyways” ur an inspiration to others, and i would to help u out in any of the technical stuff u require. Cheers
I made short “Cheque of Death” on panasonic DVX100, and after that i think, medium is actually a tool and should not be constraint. I won’t feel bad if i never able to make film on 35mm, as long as i am making it. I was producer of cheque of Death, and it was made for Rs 5000, including food and “motivating drinks”,specially for acting. Btw i am self taught technician, and always looking for people better than me, i would love to yell a cry for help,when i am stuck. You can join otherwise too …
sure i would love to join you. and give u info. by the way kick ass poster. and being a filmmaker i hope u are ready for criticism. i myself got a script for a short/demo reel and looking for a producer, as at NYFA we were told not be ur own producer so i am just following their rule. two question what is ur next assignment? and How do u survive? do u do a job or….?
yeah … good producers are as important as directors, they bring in lot of things, so NYFA might be right. But film is baby, director is like a mom, producers like father. But then there are things like test tube baby and cloning,which some may treat unethical, but at the end of the day it is what that baby do, when it grow up. Right now i am adapting a marathi novel. I told you i did one corporate AV,one political propaganda documentary (abhi pura paisa nahi mila), even two marriage shootings, and then “Cheque of Death” won award, something like 56,000 in hand, i survived for one and half year. I have few basic needs, like food and travel.I mean i minimized my lifestyle,kept hibernating:)), dude just don’t worry about money, just think about making things, money will come sooner or later and you don’t gonna die lack of it. That is one more reason doing all the things in hometown.
yeah man i really dig ur way of saying hibernating, and i completely agree with u on the part of experimenting (test tube baby). sooner or later i will make a short for festival and also i am trying a new genre which never had been tried before i call it “motion novel” so let see what is the out come. and how did u manage to get DVX100 did u rent it or purchased it, cool cam, lots of manual function pity no HD, and also about the sound i am having a lot of difficult recording sound, did u do sync sound or dubbed later! sorry for being pile on!
DVX 100, i barrowed and yet to pay the money, i am trying. Again for sound i again barrowed a good boom, and we didn’t have to dub for the short Film. Sound is tricky, It is better if cam have XLR connectors and you use either good lavalieres or good boom. And again Wind and placement of Mike, but then i think dubbing should not be problem for you, NYFA mai dubbing ke bare batate hai ki nahi!!!! ki woh fir just technical course ka part hai, and as director just supposed to hire. In Indie filmmaking you have to do lots things yourself. You won get good technicians … you have to learn and teach others to do stuff.
Yeah true we need to teach lot of stuff to newbies, i am just running my head around how to get proper sound, and NYFA was just a luck i won an mobile filmmaking competition when i was in uae, so courtesy of that i got a chance to do 12 weeks digital film making stint at NYFA, and the way they produce sound and everything is top notch, booms, wind cover, XLR input. so that’s out of my budget. and i am sure u have heard of 35mm adapter?
Yeah i know about 35mm adapter, we did consider the option for “Dvandva”. Anyway i will do separate post about typical indie problems and solutions, Btw lots of material available on net and few really good ones. Sound for digital films, with very less budget,is really tricky. But one expensive boom is better than few cheap ones,if you don’t want to invest, you have to dub, variable cost is rent of recording studio and recordist … make the choice … Have you seen “Following”-Christopher Nolan’s First Film? Catch it asap-it has poor sound but still it was appreciated for its storytelling.
thanks for the film advise i will surely download it courtesy Torrent and watch it, before NYFA i was also learning through varios sources, never got any film books, but yeah ebooks and internet. and like i said i m experimenting with a new genre so planning to make it like musical murder mystery, ALA Swenney Todd, Dir: Tim Burton
Best Luck Taushif!
thanks
And did u buy the Z1 cam or rented it.
we rented z1:))
ur next project will again be in Marathi
“Dvandva” is a hindi Film, and next project will also probably Hindi
you give me hope chhatrapal.
the writing was great.
Thanx Ashbuzz! Keep reading passionforcinema:))
sir, i have done my diploma in film making from one of the film institutes of bangalore, but for a person like me who hardy watch movies until i joined my film making course,but i had a passion for film making,one of the directors even closed my script and gave it back ,when he heard me saying i wont watch films. He said you cant become a film maker without watching films..you too beleive in this sir.
and it is really inspiring to read about your journey..iam confident you will be a successful film maker.and hope you will continue to inspire people like us after your success.ALL THE BEST
ASHOK SHETTY
Ashok, the most important thing is finding your own voice, own independent thinking and creative passion. But i really don’t know the rules of commercial films. Actually watching films is opens your mind. We see how filmmakers have expressed thier emotions through visual medidum and it is not important to watch films, but feel it.It is easy to criticize and difficult to feel things. Becuase you need to surrender to feel. something like love. But on ther side, films are powerful medium expression, so it is very easy to loose your own identity, kurosawa’s, Felini’s and Hitchock’s and Kubrick’s of this world can easily overshadow your own voice. So we need to feel films and at the same time not to loose our style of storytelling. I also like to obersve people hours, at railways stations and park’s and i notice their styles and steal their dialouges:))
Nice article …i really enjoyed reading it. I personally am looking forward to seeing your films …best of luck for the future.
Also what does your dad say of you now ?
Thanx Vivek … When he was watching short film “Cheque of Death” (link above) there is a dialog at the start of the short “Kill your father and shout …” and i could see him getting little tense, and when Gajya was mixing poison in milk, he was very disturbed and after seeing the end he was relived. And He is yet see/hear anything about “Dvandva”, but situation is much better.
Hi Chhatrapal,
Sandy here from WIMWI – Sec A. Very nice article. What’s your contact info?
Cheers.
Thanx Sandy, Sent you mail
I saw your short and it was simply great , u have a good sense of structure and loved its ironic ending.
I am also from nagpur and almost chose the same path , ordering film making books and watching tons of movies .
thought of going to an institute ,but soon overcame that urge .
I believe to be a filmmaker is to pick up a camera and make films,and you learn in the process.
I am working on my script right now and hoping to start my project in dec. “when you are pushed to the extreme,how even the weakest transforms in a deadly killer to survive” is the theme of my story.
I really want to see your movie dvandva ,love to see my city in a movie. can you you inform me where can i watch your movie.
Though i have few questions , first i wanted to ask
Out of your film making books which would u rate the top three that helped you the most?
What was your budget for dvandva?
And how do you plan to sell it ,and get back the production cost or even make a profit,or do you have other plans.
It would be very generous of you if you replied.
it was a huge surprise to know nagpur got filmmakers too.
Thankyou
Books i like are 1) Techniques of Film Editing 2) VIsual Story 3) 5 C’s of Cinematography 4) Painting with Lights. I will keep you updated about seeliing things through blogs, you can contact me on chhhatrapal@gmail.com or facebook.
Hey Chhatrapal,
How good is the output from the camera you used (Sony Z1) on the theater screen.
Is sharp enuf or is it looking out of focus?
Do reply here!
Sumeet Z1 is impressive enough for storytelling.I am not sure about sharpness but definately not out of focus
All the Best…!!
Thanx Alok …!!
Hey,
Good u took the initiative to follow ur heart’s calling. I stubled on this post while i was searching for independent film makers. I hav a few scripts for short films. I want someone with a vision to recreat the script cinematically. I want someone without blocks. Could you help me in any way? Mail me at maria.bilkis@gmail.com and do let me know. All the very best.
Thanx Maria for supporting the initiative … sent mail!
Superb…I dont know how I missed ur post…its great that you followed ur heart beat and took the way where you wana go…kaash mujh mein bhi aisi himmat aajaye…any how best of luck for your venture and I have some good stories, ideas and script to be made in short film… If you want or anybody else you know want then please mail me at akashkaushik_25@yahoo.co.in and keep going…
Thanx Akash … mai apake liye bhi dua mangta hoon!