GULAAL
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It was 2001 and censor had refused certification for Paanch. I was angry and pissed off and I wanted to say a lot. On november 9th 2000 there was a new state of Uttaranchal and six days later on november 15th Jharkhand was formed. The 27th and 28th state. I was upset about everything, as to why these new states were being formed to why can’t i release my film to why do people fall in love to what is the point of anything. At that time my actor of Paanch, Pankaj Saraswat(now the creator of The Great Indian Laughter Challenge) introduced me to a part time model. His name was Raja Chaudhary. I never took him seriously. He had written a story on college politics, which was a nice story but nothing more and I told him so. I told him this story needs a milieu, where it is set and why is it happening. He did not know what to say. I asked him where is he from, and he said Jaipur. I said take me there. I was depressed, i needed to go away. We, him, me and Rahul mahariya, the co-writer of the story. d the in jaipur I met a lot of royalty, and heard there stories. They all had there own version of history but at the same time they had a grouse with the government. The grouse was common, based on history. That gave me a milieu for Raja’s story. I started writing. I researched, Aparna Malhotra, my researcher and assistant in Black Friday helped me. I read history from Sharda Dwivedi to Romila Thapar and others and found about how the republic of India was founded and the roles of the Rajputs in it. I read the Patiala report. A lot came to the surface for me and i rewrote and rewrote and Gulaal was born.
It was and is my most angry film. It was influenced a lot by the songs from Pyaasa. That is the music that i use to hear at that time. Particularly “yeh duniya agar mil bhi jaaye to kya hai”. At the time I was writing the film, I had a visitor, Piyush Mishra. He was sitting in my office when i was writing the film. A music director came to meet me and started to p[lay his Nadeem Shravan kind of songs. I wanted to get rid of him, but Piyush borrowed his harmonium and started to play it and started to sing the songs he had written and composed for his various plays. Songs from “Suno Re Kissa” and “Jab Shahar Hamara Sota Hai” and various others. Those songs were provocative, inspiring and I realised that is the kind of music the film needs. I convinced him to stay back in Bombay, we bought him a harmonium and I asked him to do the music of Gulaal. The film changed again. This was before Black Friday, before he wrote “Bandey”.
Michael Arrakal, who use to work for USL was trying to produce the film. He couldn’t because Paanch had not released and i was labeled untouchable. We did a small schedule and after that the film was shelved. I got to do Black Friday after that. Jhamu Sughand was a partner in Black Friday. after the court stopped the release of that film I sank into further depression. At that time Jhamu read the script of Gulaal and based on the confidence he had on BF he said he wants to do Gulaal. We started preproduction, we started shooting and 20 days into shooting, new problems cropped up for Jhamu Sugandh. Gulaal was stopped midway along with Johnny Gaddar and Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. the two other films of Jhamu. The former was picked up by Ad labs and the Latter by Aamir Khan. Nobody picked up Gulaal because it had nobody that was saleable. I made No Smoking, Return Of Hanuman and Dev.D. Now finally it was Zee Motion Pictures that bought the project and decided to complete and release it. Now finally we have finished shooting and we are hopeful. Now finally my dream project has completed shooting. It has taken seven years since i wrote it to find takers for it, and hopefully we will put it out in the theatres too with the same cast barring one, and the same way it was intended to. And I am ecstatic about it.
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
Lady luck is finally smiling on you! Cheers!
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Anurag,
They always say that courage could fight with any system and you are prime example for that.. You been a role model for many.. You remind me of RGV of 90s when he used to work on streets and work on theatre actors.. hopefully RGV ego doesn’t bite you.. I am one of your great fan.. Haven’t seen Paanch.. Loved Black Friday and recent Aamir.. Can’t wait to see your next ones..
Good luck to your films.. Keep working.. You are blessing to indian cinema..
Nik
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And.. thanks for sharing background story of Gulal.. I understand the pain you went through and anger on the system.. hopefully anger on the system makes this movie darkest of all.. Is it dark and grim?
Nik
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Best wishes to you Anurag. Good to know your dreams are coming alive…
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All the best A.k!God knows we need some good movies.
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Anurag, I am still waiting to see Paanch. woh subah kabhi toh aaegi.
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Congratulations! A couple of questions –
With such a long gap, how are you ensuring the people and backgrounds etc. all match?
Why is Gulaal saleable now? b/c you’ve had successes since then?
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SirG,
My concern will be as an Aspiring producer will be how to reach to the audiences. How to bring audiences to the theatre. Not many make a choice to view a film of such genre. I am sure Zee motion Pictures have the machinery to promote it.
The promotion of a seven year struggle can’t be common to a LOVE STORY. A pre release campaign of about 2 months or more should be run as a contest. A programme like Lead India need to be designed.
A real life mock casting of the characters who have gone through such emotions and situations be called upon and presented as a real life story of today. These real life people should be directly identified with the characters in the movie. A news channel slot where people can call and identify themselves with the outline of the characters. These people can later come to the studio and narrate their story.
A book in print or ebook about the story be published to create awareness.
A passionate movie needs an equated effort to promote it.
Vinod Agarwal – (Aspiring Assistant Producer First Batch Whistling woods)
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Best of lucks. Gawd bless.
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I am waiting for it.
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Best wishes…waiting for it to be spellbound again….
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Anurag the last sentence, ‘the same way it was intended to’ bought a smile to my face. All the Very best with the release Anurag.
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good luck with the film..
u know wat…i wrote a post today,without giving much thought to each word ..n i won’t go through it…i was in a foul mood…
take care
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hopefully now that gulaal is shot, we will get more posts from you……please dont leave blogging all together
btw i saw a news in zoom that you are going to direct some film called “big bazar” what is that about?
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Your fighting spirit, your stubbornness to get these films made and not give up on them, is worth every once of respect you’re getting today. Congrats on the completion of another film that’s dear to you. Keep making the films you want to make and in the process keep inspiring all of us who need to keep fighting ourselves to stay motivated and persevere to make our own cinematic dreams come true.
All the best for Gulal and Dev D. Looking forward to both films. And I mean it 200% when I say I hope they both do well. .. we need such heartfelt efforts to get their due and the end of the day too..
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hi anuarg,
did your read RGV’s latest post on his blog? is there any ’satya’ to it? what is your gut feeling about his forthcoming release ‘contract’? do you see him recreating the ’satya’ & ‘company’ magic?
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“KOI AADMI BURA NAHI HOTA,USKA WAQT BURA HOTA HAI”,but our industry thinks the other way round that is “agar iska waqt accha hai toh to woh aadmi bhi accha hai” which is totally WRONG. Make Art Make Art AK, Long live Art,Long live Cinema !!!
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@PFC,
please check the advertisement, it’s porn material. please if possible get rid of such stuff.
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hmmm…we are in mid of 2008, and not a single enjoyable movie till now. Looking forward to Contract and of course The Dark Knight. When is Gulal expected to release?
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Anurag, are you going to show a divided India in Gulal? It seems so from your post. Interesting..
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I like the way the browser title bar reads “Gulaal | Passion for Cinema” … Best wishes for Gulaal, Anurag!
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Did I read… ‘the most angry film’… whoooh! Takes me to a new high… I wish you kill everybody in the end… every fucking sentient being!
Apologies (ahem!) … best wishes!
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ricky….
so u dont believe RGV and what he writes on his blog and so u wanna confirm it from AK……strange..
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thank god anurag you are back and started writing here.
few days ago i came here in mumbai leaving behind everything to struggle…. i feel very low when i dont see any known face in the passing day…
but reading you is like meeting you… its inspiring….
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“…we’re very thankful to all of you out there for letting us continue to play in our corner of the sandbox..”.
Coen brothers, oscar speech 2008.
Same to you Anurag. Its your corner. And you are the king. Congratulations.
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ricky rgv is correct
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Dear Anurag,
Impressed and inspired by your experience in making the movies you make. Congratulations on completing Gulaal. I am now eagerly waiting to see it now that you have given some information about it.
Wishing you the best!!
Sarang-
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Atlast..:)
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congratulations..mr anurag kashyap….even if u dont read this comment..i’ll still post it coz im really glad reading this news abt gulal…u know abt four yrs back..(when i ws 17-18) i had come to know abt paanch..and it being banned..and i had heard ur name for the first time…and i got so curious that i searched abt u,,and man i discovered later that you’ve written “KAUN” and the dialogs of “Shool”……i was so damn angry and frustated with the sensor board abt banning the directorial debut of a man who’s written two of my most fav movies….i have no words to describe you how much i had always wanted to watch “paanch” ever since…and esply after watching the TV promo..with the song “kya din kya raat…”…and then when i watched “No smoking”…i knew i had loved the movie..and waited for the last scene where K would “succumb”!!!..coz that was so crucial..to be exactly contradicting!!!…and i knew it then n there..we’ve got to watch more of anurag kashyap……..im really glad for you and for evryone who would be watching gulal….thanks….
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“the same cast barring one” – who is it? :p
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Anurag,
Is it possible to release Paanch on Google video or on any online medium? Because I see it as becoming an instant cult hit, and that in turn can inspire the censor board to pass it. It might even work if you release it underground and people are able to watch it.
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anurag,
thanks for reply..will you be watching “contract’..remember reading an interview of yours where you had said that RGV will do a good job of this movie which was then titled ‘dheye’..
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All the best Anurag. Waiting for that one big hit from your baton.
Btw, dunno if u’v seen Abbas’s debut film. Will be interesting to hear from you on that
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7 years? I guess your saade satti!
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Thank you for sharing with us this background Anurag. I don’t relate to all that you have undergone in the manner of experiencing them but reading this write-up gave me gooseflesh.
Keep making the films you want to make Anurag. There will always be an audience for them. Always.
All the best.
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Hey thats great news Man. Good luck for GULAL. Any Chance of US catching PAANCH in theaters or at least at a private screening ?I am a big lover of the music of the film and those tracks still haunt me . Please do let me know if could at least get a viewing of it in mumbai
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@Anurag wrt Paanch – F**k the censor boards man – be innovative – release the project though nepal / cyaman islands / bahamas or something – use the internet to distribute streaming / download – charge us money $1, $2, $3…$10 anything. At this point of time, you have generated enough curiosity, hype and respect – that there is a niche audience eagerly waiting for it (myself included). Do something different – let it be the first “open-source film”. If this cannot be done due to legal reasons – then find a loophole man.
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God bless your producer !!! ;)
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Sirji ek sawal – naam Gulaal hee kyon??
And if I can read your mind (being an ardent lover of your work)- did you get Seema Rahmani as replacement after wtaching her brilliant performance in Loins of Punjab Presents?? teer nishaane pe laga ki nahin zarur batayen
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Naren, Seema was doing the film earlier, now is replaced by Mahi Gill.
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first of all congratulations….,
nw waiting for its release
n do write a post about DEV D, want to hear more about it…,
n also plz become active again on myspace…,
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Anurag, I don’t know if you’ve already read my mention of this elsewhere, but I was one of the lucky ones who saw Paanch in Siri Fort Auditorium when you, KK and Tejaswini were there. I really loved the dialogues, the sets, the atmosphere, and without doubt the performances, but I wasn’t too sure about the final twists.
This post of yours has been very inspiring. I’m really happy that things are coming together for someone like you who dares to make the movies that you’ve made. I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again – Black Friday is among my favourite films ever, I enjoyed No Smoking (although I don’t pretend to have understood it fully) and I nearly choked with laughter while watching Hanuman Returns. Hope to meet you someday soon.
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Hi anurag
all the best.
i hope gulaal had more colour and joy than the stark blak and white emotional imagery of No smoking and Aamir.
if you look around the world, you will notice that there is a lot of joy and colour. Its your state of mind that has not allowed you to tap into it
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Am reposting minus the typos
Hi Anurag,
This is in context to your post -Aamir is not Cavite. Since my comment was not getting posted there I am doing it here
Okay-we beleive you-Aamir is not a copy of Cavite.
Whatever.
we also accept that your lack of knowlegde and ignorance allowed Raj Kumar Gupta to pass of his script to you as an original (Cavite DVD was released in early 2005 btw)
which you in turn passed on to UTV.
Now please beleive me, for what i am saying is true also. Its only your ignorance that makes me doubt you
The world is NOT ROUND
IT IS SQUARE-I have proof and have conducted 5 years research on it.
I also have a letter from Chistopher Columbus dated 1492 where he admits that my discovery that the world is sqaure is correct
and that he was wrong and he had no proof that the world was round anyway but at that point of time he was desperate for a breakthrough in his career.
SO he lied and the world eager for a breaktrough discovery beleived him.
Just like you guys supposedly got a letter from the makers of Cavite wishing you good luck on ur coincidentally identical script.
Good luck
But please remember
BULLSHIT kee bhi koi hadd hoti hai
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All the best for Gulal.Hope it turns out to be a good movie like BF.I am not gonna watch it if it is again a NS, which was made by u, for u.
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Hey Anurag !! Upset about formation of Jharkhand and Uttaranchal?? I guess they have been the best thinh to have hapened to Bihar and UP. Ditto with Chhatisgarh.. Eagerly waiting for Paanch though. Oh and one honest admission. Though I hated No Smoking the first time I saw it, it just grows on you after the repeated viewing. Just like that classic rock track..
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Thanks for correcting me Anurag.
While watching LOPP, thought she performing for you must be divine. anyway yeh nahin to koi aur film sahi.. par aapke dierection mein unka performance dekhne ki badi ichcha hai…
Is the whole movies based in Rajasthan?? if yes, am curious to see your treatment of the place. I hope ki woh run of the mill treatment nahin hai.. gaaon ki auraten, sar pe ghadaa, ret ke tilon pe dhalte suraj ke saamne se untho ki naal thaame jaate hue kisaan…
Most of he films show this kind of rajasthan.. except a few like MANORAMA SFU.
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The most angry film .. thts should be the tag line for GULAAL.. release it sooooooooooon.
@Anurag: if you dont mind , may i ask for your personal email ID ?
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Ramblings
Looking for Paanch since long… i ave seen black fri n No Smokin, though both being completely differnt i guess no smokin was a much more polished well made movie… n even u know tht it wasnt completely trashed… there is a counter view which exists.. other than the elitist views comin out of ftii etc who claim to understand and becme the self proclaimed flagbearers of the movie.. Bt i guess you mst ave heard both sides very well by now.
I guess paanch is wht i am really lookin forward too… care to spare a dvd of paanch tht is if u ave one…
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As usual ….your courage never ceases to amaze me.
Hope and pray that u continue to make YOUR films YOUR way.
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Great,
lets hope it relseases as soon as possible.
akki
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Sirjee, Aapke write up mai kahi ye jhalak raha hai ki you are not so confident about the film now..
Bhaiya ye bhi bata do who was saleable in Johnny Gaddar at that time for adlabs to pick the film?
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Anurag: apologies for cross-posting a question from Gajendra Shrotriya’s post: In the short article/interview attached to that post, you talk about a film called “Disaster” that you directed. I’d love to know more about this film. I don’t think I’ve read about this elsewhere before.
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Hi Anurag
I saw Sicko a few days back by Michael Moore and ever since i’ve seen that movie, i have been thinking about it and am trying to imagine, what effect would such a documentary have on the people in the country. Its amazing how real life stories, if nicely shown, can beat any blockbuster writing or screenplay.
And then i thought, India needs such documentaries; India needs filmmakers who can awaken the people. RDB was fine but at the end of the day, it was a story and people do not take much from a story. I suppose, if you take it upon yourself to do such a documentary, coz. you’re the only director today who tries different things with a clean conscience.
No smoking was not very watchable but the impact of the message was definite. I’m sure a lot of people after watching it would’ve thought twice before lighting up another cigarrette.
But now, i guess, it is time to make a documentary like Michael Moore. Distort a few facts like him, if you wish, but at least get the bigger message across with great impact using real people and real life instances rather than actors and a story.
There are such a number of issues facing India like
- the rut politics is in: How a leader elected by the public, forgets about them and goes on to exploit his position for only his financial gains;
How members of the parliament loose countless productive hours in staging walkouts, protesting a comment made by some other party member, discussing about petty stuff and forgetting about the real problems to be solved;
- the rut police department is in: An average Indian is scared from the police than thinking of them as security;
- and loads of other pertinent issues which need tackling.
I know you’re a busy man but please please see SICKO once and you’ll know what I mean. I BEG OF YOU – I GUESS YOU’RE THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN DO THIS TODAY. AND MORE THAN ANYTHING, OUR COUNTRY NEEDS IT.
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all the best with everything, release it soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooon…
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Ship it, Will wait for Gulaal.
Loved the return of Hanuman – notch above other attempts of folks who made ganesha etc(no offence). The material, story was as good if not better than the h movies. The script was pretty nicely stripped off unwanted elements and the spoofs were awesome.
Paanch – we talked about it, thought about it but it never shipped. May be just like software you have the option of releasing patches to the original movies
, release it backwards as small 1 hr editions to specialized tv/net?
Saw 16 blocks – cuts(is that the right technical term?), color/light arrangements, sounds were done neatly in the movie and kept a very tight grip. Supposedly it was big hit on the dvd rental too.
What’s up? what follows is a rant –
If Abbas can do frothy JTJN – what about lighter movie on heavy subject from you and when.
Real marketable idea
A true growing up movie(RDB/Lakshya were not the one), most of the others are dumb caricatures of people(boys which comes closest by shankar was more of commercial effort and was panned by audience ).
As somebody else said – please show rajasthan, heat, the sand in different way – just as subtly done in Manorama SFU. (that was one of the many fav movies) in gulaal, too many expectations ?
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Pramodbhai, 23: No matter how much expectations I may have from you, no matter how scared I may get that you may fail one day to live up to them, no matter how many people may praise you and make you into something that you yourself are against, no matter what…you surpass my expectations effortlessly.
Of all the 11 stories, it got the max applause…people were hooting…laughing out loud…you name it.
Which made my friend say what he says all the time, “Anurag Kashyap jab chahe tab ek BLOCKBUSTER bana sakta hai!”
But guess thats not what drives you and it never should.
Cheers!!!
“WHY SO SERIOUS?”
The Joker
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Yaar….I am the biggest fan u can get …..seriously….
and I am a very reasonable person and I completely agree with what you try to show in your movies. Just keep the good work and remember….its the world which is timid and lacks guts to accept the truth about the world….:)
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all the best. sir
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Hi Anurag,
Stumbled upon this blog…you seem excited, so am I…. I’ll wait the release.
All the best man!
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watched “pramod bhai …23″
:)
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hello sir,
i watched aamir.its well photographed according to the subject and also very well excuted.best of luck to ram kumar gupta.songs are well composed by amit trivadi . at least some one has guts to change the main stream cinma. wating for your next release.
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Hello A.K,
Black Friday was one movie which make feel like to get out of the corporate world and get into concepts which are associated to reality.Black Friday apart from Hazaron Qwaishein Aisi are two movies which are real hard-hitters and influenced a lot movie makers who intend to make real genre films.Thanks a lot Sir, for making me to sit in the theatre with an intensified background watching Black Friday and not to forget,’Bandeh’ song at the end of the movie really makes me high and attaches me to the reality whenever I listen the song.Satya was awesome piece of work of yours.K’s addiction to smoking was the bottomline in No Smoking as I felt was your’s intention to show to people the addiction to smoke.So after a long time, reading the blogs on PFC on Gulaal,eagerly waiting to get it released. Thanks a lot Sir for making my dreams to still be alive by the kinda movies your making.defintely will catch you Sir with the same intensified concept.All the Best for the new releases Sir.Dev D and Gulaal.
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way to go AK…..eagerly waiting for Gulaal… I’ll catch it first day first show
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Anurag Sir,
I m eagerly waiting for both for ur forthcoming movies…specially Gulaal..as Kay Kay is one of my fav’s…In Black Friday…u got the best out of him….and i heard that in Gulaal also..Kay Kay’s work is superb….waiting for Dev.d also…best wishes…
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Hi Anurag,
I recently watched mumbai cutting(in cinefan festival)..and I loved your story(and also kundan’s part)…I really liked the text and crispy dialogues…
I would like to know..how did this idea come to your mind?
Please let us know the “background story” of CHAND!!!
-KM-
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@Anurag
Look back in anger(1956)…A play by John Osborne…I hope that you have pent up yours in ‘Gulaal’.It is quite Dostoevskian way to create.In fact your post can be a sensible and serious point of departure for another angry film.Censorship,democracy,hegemony,nonsenses of state-power holders and an individual with his sense of right,wrong,society,duty,ideologies,frustration,anger,systemetc etc can clash to form a solid core.It can be a non-narrative and set in the background of big studio(mechanical,often disturbningly harmonic and bloodless like a joker’s wry smile to earn bread and butter and then to curse all the viewers of circus in solitude with a bottle of cheap rum, may be country liquer….Well,congrats and a wait for the release…
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Hi Anurag
good luck… im eagerly waiting 4 it…
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now u r playing safe?
gr8! good luck!!
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well I hope you have learned some lesson from all these years that as a filmmaker your first responsibility is towards your producer. He is putting money and trust in you and wants neither of it cheated. And your second responsibility is towards the audience who you have somehow convinced to spend money and time and come see your film. You can’t cheat them either.
Yes all your wanting to do your kind of cinema is good if only you want to appreciate your own work, like you did with No Smoking, and you let your producer down there as well. Let me know of a single person who came out of the theater knowing exactly what happened in that film. It would have taken just a simple effort from you to make the story more decipherable and much more worthwhile. But you chose not to, and who lost in the bargain? Everyone, including you.
Films need to make money for more films to be made.
As a filmmaker you need to find a balance between what you want to do and what audience will appreciate. It’s not a difficult thing to do, as long as you have your objectivity in place and creative stubbornness out the window.
Amir R Jaffar
amirjaffar@yahoo.com
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Well guess what, Mr. Jaffar. I walked out of the theater knowing exactly what happened in the film.
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@AMIR R JAFFAR
I dont know if you know calculus and simple arithmatic both.If you then you are welcome to the philosophy of mathematics.But if you do not know both please be careful.You can get a slip (and may be slip-disk too)to understand calculus without guidance and training.
I do not know Mr.Kashyap personaly and I even have not have time to see his No-Smoking.But if it is your points that had struck me hard.What do you mean?If you viewers are only worth licking lollypop at a park bench and at the age of 4 yrs always, people will not make a mature film!Is this your point?
And while talking about producers do you think that they are only here to make money and suck honey (when most of other people working in film are not getting worth of their salts) and they will never lose a single paise?Sorry friend,if producers are in this game (as far as so-called commercials are concerned) one may once or more time make astronomical profit and let others doom with less pay and no share of profits, but one day table may turn and it’s producer’s turn to swallow loss.No cursing is acceptable.
I think you have a poor knowledge of cinema business too.Some of the greatest hits were been rejected at the first place by some simply worthless producers in all over the world, on account of creative stubbornness of the maker (remember troubles with CITIZEN KEN?), and finally they had to curse their stupidity when that film had hit the box-office.That also proves that there are a few producers who know film business and a bit creative like directors too.They do not complain for a loss.No one in sanity can tell what exactly audience/viewers like.It is en-mass and individual too that has a role as audience/viewers.Do you know that?Do you or any other have a formula (like in scientific theories) to calculate what these great faceless theatre hall visitors want?None you have.Yet you are posing as allmighty for nothing!
If you are a maker (which I doubt gravely) or even a cheated( in your words) producer please try to understand that film is not a promotion of housings or roads or bridges, that one after another has to be made religiously.A thousand years of lull is better than a thousand so-called stupid films in industrial process.
And finally maker, producer and all others have to have only one priority in their persuit of film and that is the film itself.Producers, directors even viewers are at the bottom of that list. One to hundred is occupied by only cinema and cinema only.
P.S—I AM A PRODUCER MYSELF AND PRODUCING MY OWN FILM. THANK YOU.
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Dear Suddha,
Thanks for sparing me the trouble of reading your post in it’s entirety by highlighting CITIZEN KEN in CAPS which caught my attention immediately. Irony of ironies that is – a person points out alleged ignorance of others when he himself does not know that there has never been a film in the history of cinema with the title Citizen Ken (as far as I know). And I doubt you have ever seen the film in question either or you’d not have made the error you did, which btw I doubt you are aware of even as you read this.
I am scared for you turning a producer but I wish you all the best none the less. Please learn and understand the craft before you jump into it. Just a friendly advice.
regards
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Tushar,
Congratulations, you deserve the only award that can be attributed to that film.
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@Jaffar
Yes you are right.That is CITIZEN KANE (1941).A mistake in spelling had done it and definitely it is a sin.But as you are troubled to read an entire post I think you are a busy bee and you do not waste your time to listen to others(how wonderfully intelligent!).I remember a line now–
”What trade art thou?” (Julius caesar)
If you are in the film trade itself and you are so pompous in your attitude then you maust have some mastary in it.Any way, may I know in what department exactly?In counting viewers at the gateway? Otherwise you could have understood without much difficulty that this not anything like promoting some mindless and artless scrappers.
Well Mr.Pompei, please learn one thing atleast, that if you are out there to count non-sensitive mistakes then do not write ‘BTW’ within a sentence.Otherwise someone much wiser than you can conclude that you do not know english( inspite of writing in it in your post).
And thanks for your advice sir. I truely am learning cinema each and every day and will do till I die.But unlike you I do not miss aesthetics, by learning crafts only.
Hope to see you in next Oscar (through television,as I am not as great as you sir).
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Suddha sir,
You are right, I do not know English. I do not have any ‘mastary’ over the language as you ‘muast’ be having.
And btw (since you know what it stands for) learning a craft is actually appreciating its aesthetics; just one of the things I learned at film school.
Regards.
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Anurag your ‘black friday’ was a bold attempt, that’s how a docu movie should be made. and u did a wonderful job with ‘no smoking’ it is india’s answer to Kieslowski’s movies.
keep up the good work, looking fw to Gulal. tell me how can i obtain a copy of Paanch, i guess it was banned in india but was it released anywhere in the world? where wd it be available?
best regards…
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Eagerly waiting for Gulal (and Dev.D), Anurag. I still smile with pleasure at the mention of Pramodbhai 23.
And thought I’d also pass on a link that I found inspiring, and may be something other filmmakers and film lovers would like to read as well …
http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/08/diy-filmmaker-w.html
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Dear Suddha:
You have made your exchange with Amir, needlessly personal. He has a view and he has expressed it. Play the ball not the person. In any case, I find your argument of “cinema solely for cinema’s sake” too idealistic and impractical. If that is the case then why get all gloomy and sulk when viewers/ reviews don’t take to it?
I seriously hope Gulaal lives up to the hype and is not just another all intellectual hype pre-release and myriad interpretations later.
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Ram thanks for your support
And Manish, very inspiring report indeed. That kind of stuff is always welcome. It’s so exciting to think it could be you.
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yeah …whats with all this senseless fighting Mr Suddha. I dont think Mr Amir R Jafar could have expressed his point more clearly as he did…it makes perfect sense. well written sir..
totally agree with you. The first responsibility is always to the producer and then to the paying audience and shouldering both these responsibilities does not in anyway come in the way of great filmmaking…especially for the capable and talented.
and those who snub the financial aspects of filmmaking.
and if you are going to be making comments like these….
Sorry friend,if producers are in this game (as far as so-called commercials are concerned) one may once or more time make astronomical profit and let others doom with less pay and no share of profits, but one day table may turn and it’s producer’s turn to swallow loss.No cursing is acceptable.
pls think twice about producing because it shows how irrational your thoughts about money are how less you respect it
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kunal,
You’ve sucked the gist out of my post with “shouldering both these responsibilities does not in anyway come in the way of great film making…especially for the capable and talented”
Exactly the point I was making. Thanks for making it sound better.
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I guess I am pretty late in asking this but when will i get to see Paanch? I mean a movie that has been banned from indian viewing is a Two Thumbs Up by default.
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hello Anurag,
this is Abijith from bangalore.
i really want to assist you plz plz plz give me one chance
Abijith14@gmail.com
this is my id
plz plz plz give me a chance
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Dear Anurag Kashyap ji,
Hi, I am Nimit Kathuria. Seeing that many people are using (abusing?) this space to get in touch with you, I thought maybe I will do the same. I hope you don’t mind.
I am one of those (less objective) people who judge a book by its covers, a movie by its trailers and make up their minds entirely based on other people’s opinions, and so I have decided that you are a genius (I haven’t seen any of your films… yet, you see)(actually, well, I did… “Black Friday” on a pirated VCD but that’s a different story).
Anyway, coming to the point… being a genius that you are can you please help me (it’s urgent)? I am in my second year at the CBS, Delhi and a part of the Dramatics Society, and we are having a hard time choosing any script for our annual production this year. Last year, we did “Accidental Death of an Anarchist”, by Dario Fo but ended up cutting it so short (45 minute time limit), that it lost its essence, besides being in English (which many people were enthu to do, but sucked at improvs, so it kind of ruined it). Therefore, this time we wanted to do something which is shorter (originally) and in Hindi (though that is not a prerequisite), besides preferably having at least 8-9 characters (again, that is not a prerequisite). Can you please please please (I somehow believe that profusion proves desperation) help us out? ASAP.
Please suggest a powerful script (any genre) that we can adapt.
Thanks,
Nimit Kathuria
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CBS is a college btw, if you are wondering… being a Mumbaikar and all.
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Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, may i add.
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people r fighting again…….gets make a script
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Hey anurag all the best,
really loved ‘no smoking’ and now you say you have something better than that! Can’t wait.
But what i have been hearing quite a lot about is paanch. I remember seeing the promos before it got released some eons ago. I know it’s piracy but you could muster up and cult following by ‘leaking’ it out in the net and letting it reach the people you intended.
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best of luck sir…go ahead…
loved black friday but havent been able to see no smoking yet…keep rocking sir
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The poster and first look of Gulaal is out.
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movies/fstills/12999/index.html
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sahi!!!
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Hi Anuraag,
How bout sending all of us here a copy of PAANCH!!!
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Hi Anurag,
I liked DEV D veryyyy much and eagerly waiting for gulal. Thanks for such a nice movies.
-M
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hi anuraag jee…
today was da 3rd consecutive day i watched dev.d
and today i waz way too lucky, i got to see da teasor of gulaal…
jack nd jill went up da hill to fetch a …….
oh man….ur juss too good…now am a die hard fan of urs……
Keep up da good work……
KUDOS ANURAG KASHYAP
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While I was waiting to see Dev D at the cinema lounge, I saw Gulaal’s poster. Nice one! Don’t know why but the helmet on Gulaal’s poster and also the helmet in Dev D reminded me of Full Metal Jacket ;)
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Never waited for friday 13th like this in my life time.
@Anurag
When you planning to release paanch.
Heard you are going to revive Allwyn Kalicharan.
When is your tv series on Sony coming?
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All of us live to see our share of bad times… and it is the choices we make in these times that define us. I eagerly wait for films by Anurag Kasyhap and Vishal Bhardwaj.
Strangely, I didn’t know Piyush Mishra was into music – I’ve known him since Firdaus, and wondered why such a wonderful actor is seen so rarely.
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sir,you are going to rock again after DEV D.yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.BEST OF LUCK
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“Gulaal | Passion for Cinema”
that’s sth i liked here
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Hi anurag, who worte the song “Ranaji” it is an interesting song and i like it very much, but pls ask the writer why only Bush? ;)
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Jack and jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of BHOASADIKAA!!
This movie is gonna rock!!!!
May the force be with you… :D
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13th March, Night 9:45, PVR bangalore…
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Hi Anurag
I loved Dev D. its different and thats what i had gone to see. Its not conventional one would say that but then bold and strong.
But, I am waiting for Gulaal. I have wanted to see an angry movie for a long time and when you say its your most angry movie, i hope to see some fireworks in the screenplay and dialogues
All the best
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really eager to watch Gulaal…. n wanted to see PAANCH.. isnt there any way we can see it?
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———————————————
Aarambh Hai Prachand
The best war song I’ve heard ever…
Aisa Josh aa jaata hai ki, Abhi yuddha me kud pade…
Piyush and AK rocks….
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Hey Anurag!
I loved your previous films like: Black Friday, No Smoking and the recent DevD. Your style of film making simply rocks and you are here to conquer. Way to go sir!
Have booked the tickets for today evening. Eager to watch the film and miss myself in the visuals that you present. Dev was completely a straight from the heart film. Kudos for making it!
Sri
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just watched gulaal. very entertaining. crisp dialogues. the editing was skewed though . probably because of the sensors. can’t wait to see the uncut version on a dvd.kudos to anurag.
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hi anurag,
just coming after watching ur GULAAL.
Was sitting and waiting for something to happen and the movie ended.
Movie was interesting.
And lot to understand in politics and life.
Women are the spoiler and the maker of the show.u really showed it well..will try to write a review on the film..just trying my hands in reviews with you being the first….i saw ur interview on youtube at Indian habitat Centre,delhi on No Smoking . Loved ur style of speaking. You r true to ur self. thats it. u dont care about things outside ur limit. but i think u r caring for things these days..by making some soft movies…not exactly soft..but still trying to make something which is appreciated and not banned.
great work…keep it up…would like to see more of you and your films..
harish lunani
http://twitter.com/BusyGod
Try www.twitter.com
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gulaal rocks…its awesome.. a must watch.. its like a cross between nosmoking and black friday… deals with ground realities yet gets metaphorical at times…..
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I posted on some thread before how I liked gulaal, but didn’t think it was as mindblowing as I thot it’d be. That’s what happens with people like me who wait n wait n raise expectations beyond everything.
Over my 2nd friday night drink. I’m having flashbacks of the film n I’d like to say it was a superb film alright. I may expect pulp fiction everytime I go see a film, but that’s stupid. Gulaal roclks like no indian film can. So my head didn’t want to think of it as an indian film anymore.
That’s ur fault mr kashyap.
Congrats!
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hi, finally the wait is over, i watched gulal today, great movie but then not his greatest one which i still feel was no smoking, may be i had a vey different expectation of the movie from the songs and some how i felt it dragged and another thing cudnt connect to the conclusion i mean it was as personal a reason as external the movie i thought it was, but any day its better than any good bollywood movie ,i mean i never thought that i would hear ramdhari singh dinkar’s poem in a hindi movie,kudos to anurag kashyap and i just hope he keeps on making movies like gulal.
p.s if anybody has not seen the movie please do so its simply stunning.
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Hi anurag,
Bravo! Well done, again! Superb movie. The scene where Anuja’s (Jesse) hair slide down with water was smotheringly pleasant to watch. I never thought that few second scene would tell Anuja’s entire story.
Few places I felt the volume is too loud to make out what is being said.
Aur suno, next time, when you feel the music has come out well, release music in abundance so that store have stocks when people feel that the music is worth to buy.
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Anurag, I have a question for you.
Are you only interested in making dark films? I haven’t seen Gulaal yet but rest of them were all pretty dark. I do not hold anything against dark movies. In fact I admire the way in which you make darkness a part of your films. I think Indian Cinema needs a lot more darkness and realism. Still, interest-wise, are you interested in making something rather innocent. Realism should be a theme without doubt but what I am talking about is the finer aspects of human existence i.e. films less political and more artistic.
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Hi Anurag, first of all heartiest thanks for bringing up Gulaal and all my best wishes for your future endeavors.
Coming back after the show we were discussing whether Gulaal will be commercially hit. We all doubted about its mass appeal, then my friend suggested why doesn’t Anurag bring into his films little bit of mass appeal. But I seriously am against it and I think so are you. For me you are like Howard Roark, the thing is you are doing a brilliant work and which gives you lot of satisfaction and that is what we all are looking for. Well you know better than me. But I want to draw a point over here you are just like Howard Roark to me and please be like that.
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watched gulaal and loved it… the pointlessness of it all..i am a big fan after watching devd and gulaal.. for me both are amazing films..and close to heart
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saw ‘Gulaal’, loved it and despite the pointlessness of it all makes you wonder…definitely among ur best with BF (havent seen Paanch)…cant wait for Doga…I thought Randeep Hooda would have looked good in it or even Abhimanyu Singh…would love to see an out & out comedy made by you…i believe the most difficult thing to do is to make someone laugh and it would really be interesting how you’d go about it…we have seen glimpses of what’s in store…cheers and all the very best!
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Dear Anurag,
I have been a great fan of RGV and Vishal Bhardwaj. Even Seen films like contract and Aag but after seeing Dev D and now Gulal i belive your movies are none less than Maqbool , Omkara , Staya , and Shiva. These movies i rate the best in Indian Cinema. Dev D and Gulal Adds to this list. Gulal and Dev d are nothing but cinema at its best.
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take a bow – anurag kashyap.
take a bow – piyush mishra.
take a bow – kay kay.
take a bow – aditya srivastav.
take a bow – abhimanyu singh.
take a bow – raj singh chouwdhry.
take a bow – deepak dobriyal.
take a bow – ayesha mohan
take a bow – mahie gill
take a bow – pavan jha
sorry if i missed anyone more deserving .. but thanks a ton for making my weekend.
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@anurag kashyap .. everyone is curious about that ardha-narishwar ki aulad – character. please enlighten us.
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@saurshaz: Want to hear Anurag’s version too but here’s my interpretation :
the ardh nari character is definitely played by the guy who plays the hotel owner in Jab we met, who says “ekdum kadak maal hai” or something like that in JWM. I think he represents the hypocrisy and the double standards everyone is playing. He represents a juxtaposition of power ( half hanuman) and deceit ( half courtesan)that had eventually led to the nemesis of Dileep. Power of Dukey, Ransa, Karan and the deceit of love faced by almost all women, Kiran deceives Dileep & Dukey, Mahi and Dukey’s wife both are deceived by Dukey.
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I havent seen Gulaal…hope its not as dissappointing as the very well marketed product DEV d.which only when you enter the theatre you realise its another one of those hyped up..movies..which is not that good enough for me…high hopes from GULAAL……..howzzit..anyone
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Watched both DevD and Gulaal. You’re making me bankrupt by making such movies that I feel compelled to watch. Both the films were hard-hitting and extremely depressing too. They kind of sink into your being, bringing to the fore all the thoughts and perceptions one would like to keep buried. Commendable work.
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The ardhnaari was played by Yash Tonk– however i feel the interpretation makes sense. The movie rocks!!! the lyrics of songs rock even more… HAve heard it innumerable times and still cant get enough of it.
@ Yash tonk— u were simply amazing!!
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Superb
You are Morden Guru Dutt.
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First of all, well done.just saw the movie. i thought the movie was brilliant. i just love these kind of movies. all the actors have done an exceptional job. i mean everyone.wow.in the movie the character kiran, i so thought she wud have died. in the end, sitting there in the theatre, you would want someone who betrays someone to be brought to justice. i liked that dileep(so so stupid) didnt change. he was a dharpook ,remained a dharpook in the sense he cud not kill kiran. his anger drove him to kill everyone that didnt matter to him(dukey and co), but he cudnt find the courage to kill the person who acctually caused the anger.
in the end , i as a viewer wanted justice to be done to kiran and karan, hoping that it wud have been done.
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Please somebody explain me the ANuja’s story.
I didn’t get any part of it.
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i think,kashyap’s brilliance was not ardhanari..the brilliance was how everyone in that household ,and in the surrounding easily accepting the existence of something so unrealistic,something which is so hard to belive,so easily,without any doubts or questions..
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ardhanari reminds me of kk’s belief in rajputana.it also reminds me of prithwi’s lyrics and mad loneliness.(and funny-it also reminds me of complete failure of no-smoking,we put our so-much energy in tryng to solve abstract,..tht we forgot that puzzle lies in simplicity,surrounding that abstract.)
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have you seen prithvi after ardhanari dies?his dumb dead expressions in later part..he is finished..his creativity is killed..and why just ardhanari?..
i didnt find a single character in gulaal which is just a character in itself..they are all such hard hitting symbols..when i see prithvi,the only intellectuall person in the gulaal..,i see artists,they cant fight without their art,and their art is consider ethr insane,stupid madness, or simply as a form of entrtnmnt,-and they have their own drawbacks,they are not able to take a firm stand,they cant get out of past ‘oxfard days’,and when unble to take it anymore,considers ‘running away’ as a freedom.,,i saw dilip,i saw common man,cant think much,cant act much,even his reactions to the actions has limitations,whoever comes in front of him,he simply trusts,..and even he can finally turn wild,..(i remember riots.)and even in that situation-bleeding kk in front of him,he simply trusts him,without any questions..i dont think any common man really cares for answers.but they all have their own kiran’s thats for sure.
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[ Editor Note: Sayan, please follow the comment policy of PFC and dont use offensive language against anyone. Your comment is partially deleted]
Honestly ecstatic. Breathtaking performances(a-z). Wonderful storytelling. Marvellous music with awesome lyrics. I respect you Anurag for giving us such a brilliant movie.:grin: Keep them coming.
Gone are the days of big banners and iamgonnagetawaywithwhateverido crap.:evil: ………….They should be BRAINWASHED.:mrgreen: Period
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Gulaal is very good movie.I think its basically on the line of MACBETH/MAqbool as to how a women can make u or break u or the whole system.
The only aspect i was disappointed and not expecting from a director of ur calibre was the aping of POSTERS which u copied from hollywood.
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Anurag, I have watched this movie day before yesterday. I believe it is so full of symbols and various elements that I need to watch it again about four to five times.
Regards
Swapnil
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As an Indian movie in indian theatre, this is the first of my life. And I am very happy that it is not and usual ordinary love story with lot of unwanted music, dances, sexual inspiration. Gulaal is some sort of super natural in a sense that is shows the natural truth like the Dilip’s abnormality of killikng even the most powerfull person of the group but not Kiran,as her presence was more powerfull then the presence of anyone. And obviously the sound effect and music was superb. I liked every moment of it….
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Good Job Anurag. I think the film wont have been the same without Sudhir Mishra’s music and the witty and more contemporary politically satirical lyrics. Dipak Dobriyal and Sudhir Mishra specially should be noted for their performances. Abhimanyu’s performance seemed he was actually pissed being a royal heir. Though second half was far less gripping than the first and the end could have been more real and less obvious, still nothing to take away from the Movie. The irony of the plot was the highlight on John Lennon ( and the need of someone like him in today’s world of hostile political ideologies )and not someone like Che Guevara even though the very essence of Gulaal is – Revolution.
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Thanks AK for changing the face of Hindi cinema and showcasing the talents of genius like Piyush Mishra.
Gulaal is a milestone. I wish you could read my observations on the details and comment upon.
I need to watch it many times to savor the movie fully.
Cheers!
~uh~
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Fantabulous movie! Its sad that you had to go through so much of pain in getting the movie(s) released. That very much tells the state of affairs in India. The system makes sure that there’s no voice against the system.
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hey,
I have been waiting for this movie but guess what it has not released in Melbourne Australia
I am so dissapointed
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Dev.D and Gulaal waked my innerself . Feels like these are bellwether of indian creative renaissance. Your direction and both movies music and lyrics just blew me over and over. hope i can see/meet u geniuses someday..
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Hi Anurag sir,
ok before i start what i wanna say , let me introduce the character “sunil” – i ‘ve born and brought up in bangalore, did my engineering here as every 2nd child in bangalore has to … i’ve written, directed and performed for amateur theatre group of my college, and i myself lead the team too, which nearly performed 100 shows (Streetplay, Mad ads, Spoofs, one act plays,etc…) Although this 4 yr experience was good enough as any other struggler, even i did not know where to start. By then i had dropped my engineering (thank god now i’m out of it) and a small turn happened, when i met Rakesh Om Prakash Mehra , who had come to bangalore for RDB shoot, they shot in my college, (u can see my college, and Me staring like a juniour artist) but that was when i decided i shall move on…. and the result of which in an year i was in AAFT, Delhi (pls dont look at aaft as one crappy institute sir , cos i say you, for an undergrad like me FTII’s door is always closed). Anyways, after completing my studies, and my Project Film “CHECKMATE” Which was critically well recieved(only by the college and few other festival ppl, who dont even bother to inform the director , that his shortfilm is being screened) Anyways , having studied in a film school doesnt guarantee a job, i first tried in kannada, luckily i got to see how a bad film is made(that doesnt mean kannada films are all bad, there are some really great films that every filmmaker shud watch). Anyways , after that i came out of that project, and somehow i got to meet a talented young director from chennai called “Mysskin(original name Raja )”(in fact Sir, you might be knowing him, when you had come to chennai once he was an asst. director to dir. Kathir then during the shooting of Youth… ). So, now i’m one film old as an Asst. Director (ah, what a relief, if i look back) Anyways, the reason why i’m mailing u is to share few things about Anurag Kashyap ,your movies and the effect of your films in my life, which i cud not share it on PFC. Black Friday effect – I’d never got an oppurtunity to see Black Friday when it released, i watched it last december, on my comp on a pirated VCD (as u know we cant afford for a DVD, but can spend lakhs for engineering, what a waste) Ok, i was suppose to meet my friend Smriti, who lives in mumbai, and now u know the reason why mumbai?? i was suppose to leave on december 30th or sometime, so the day i was suppose to book the ticket… i happened to watched Black friday, and also i watched it again 3-4 days later with my cousin. And now u know the effect of AK (not an ordinary man he is, nor was the film)… you will not believe, i went to the railway station and returned back, cos Black Friday left me with the Fear of Mumbai… and it happened twice. and later i went sometime in jan, smashed,boozed,partied i mean Dho din me aur Kya ho saktha hai sir.(mumbai rocks, i loved the place).
No Smoking -Even before joining film institutte, even before i knew that there is a ‘cut’. i had written something, a small dark tale.., and few years later…. i saw No Smoking, the i saw the co -incidence , it was abt a “man who quits smoking on his death bed “… But i was more than happy to have seen No Smoking. Another co-incidence, not with AK, but with 2 of my scripts, Once again, those scripts which i had wrote before joining an institute, one called Checkmate, which carries a reference with Ingmar bergman’s Seventh Seal, thanks to my friend who later introduced me to world cinema through Bergman’s films. And another one abt a reverse world … and that turns out to be last years Oscar winning David Fincher’s “Curious case of benjamin button”- what is common In these two is that ” a child born looks old, and grows younger and dies infant “. Now u know i’m a science student even my email id sir (sunil_blackhole@yahoo.com)…. Gulaal Effect -It was on 13th and that too Friday (triskaedophobic) i dint have a penny in my pocket, and you know asst. director’s life. But i Had this in mind khi, i have to watch it 1st day 1st show , i cought my cousin and his friends and then we watched it in one of the oldest theatres in bangalore REX (its only 3 films i’ve watched FDFS , dev d, gulaal, lakshya). Anyways by the time i came out.i decided to start working on my unfinished script , its that script which my brother considered the worst of mine, untill i narrated to him last night (just the outline, and few changes). And then i cud see in his eyes the Influence of Anurag Kashyap and his films on me, and the way it motivated me. Anurag Kashyap Effect Today – i feel Kurosawa should have been alive to see Black Friday, Gulaal.Kurosawa once said “Movies Must Move”… i say it Shaked me.
“a film should either hold the neck or the ba11s”. And thats what blackfriday & gulaal has done to the world.
Love You
Sir. Anurag Kashyap
Regards
Sunil Kumar.
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Hats off to you. You have such a great hold on your characters and you understand them so well. I watched Gulal and Dev-D in last two days and I am sure that I’ll be watching these movies again and again. There is so much in your movies that its difficult to appreciate them in one sitting. Your understanding of humans is outstanding.. I wish that you make many such great movies and keep simulating our minds. All the best.
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Dear AK(bana),
Hats off to you making films like DevD & now Gulaal….we need more films & music & lyrics like Gulaal; jo sabhi ko “jhinjhod” ke rakh de.After a long time of my school days,Gulaal is the first movie i watched twice on theater.We want to see these type of real movies,not the stars doing dancing steps @42.
I belongs to Gwalior & there’s, 1 must dialoug in ur film related to GWL & i like it.
Plz make a movie on current “ha…mi’s”(our gr8 politician),so that they can find their “AUKAAT”.
Again……hats off to u & Mishraji,kk,& all cast/crew of GULAAL.
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Hi Anurag,
I saw the movie yesterday and quiet liked it. A couple of questions I had in mind. Kuch do characters they mujhe laga woh film mein kyon they. First that short hair girl who falls in love with the hero. Aur woh Piyush Mishra ka saathi jo film mein unke saath rehta hai. Main film zaroor dubaara dekhna chaahoonga, kuch dimaagi confusions mitaane ke liye. Magar ussey pehle aapse yeh jawaab mil jaayein, toh dekhne mein aur mazaa aayega. By the way, I loved Dev D. Amazing work.
Thank you!!
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You and vishal bhardwaj are two of the finest directors we have! hats off to you both!
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anurag(bana),
GULAAL…….awesome…awesome..awesome…,it is only Gulaal ,that i was unable to stop myself & write my 1st ever comment on any film,,but i cant understand,what i write wrong that my earlier comments not published.
so i am not writing any more…..Hats off to you,Mishraji ,kk & all cast crew of “GULAAL”.Keep it up & aisi dimag ko jhakjhorne wali film banate raho.
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Hi,
I thought Gulaal was an extraordinary film. The characters, and the plot were nuanced, complex, and brilliantly executed. Keep up the great work! I would rate it right along side Hazaaron Khwahishen Aisi, except that HKA seemed a lot more ‘tighter’ in they way all the loose ends were tied up by the end. Still, Gulaal is the best hindi film I have seen in years.
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Even Oscar is not enough for this movie…..
Screw Slumdog and lets enjoy the fresh colours of “Gulaal”……
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@ Rikil, Darn. I need to find another hobby. If that is what you think it should be, its time for me to shut shop. If Gulaal needs to go beyond Oscars, I am absolutely eligible for the Nobel Prize.
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I just saw Gulaal last night (dammit, why wasn’t it released on the big screen in NYC?!); thank you for this film Mr. Kashyap. My take on it:
http://qalandari.blogspot.com/2009/03/gulaal-hindi-2009.html
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qalandar i follow your blog and really appreciate what you write.. i have already read your review and appreciate what you felt and your analysis is a lot spot on than most.. thanks
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For the protagonist in gulaal..
सिगरेट के छलà¥à¤²à¥‹à¤‚ से जलने की खà¥à¤µà¤¾à¤‡à¤¶,
खà¥à¤µà¤¾à¤¬à¥‹ के शीशे का बेदरà¥à¤¦ चनकना,
काले छलà¥à¤²à¥‹à¤‚ की निषà¥à¤ªà¥à¤°à¤¾à¤£ दà¥à¤¨à¤¿à¤¯à¤¾ है मेरी,
बेतà¥à¤•à¥‡ शबà¥à¤¦ बà¥à¤¦à¤¬à¥à¤¦à¤¾à¤¤à¤¾ हूठदिनà¤à¤° ।
धकà¥à¤•à¥‡ लगा कर गिरा दो मà¥à¤à¥‡,
बेइजà¥à¤œà¤¤ खà¥à¤²à¥‡ आम कर रà¥à¤à¤¾ लो मà¥à¤à¥‡,
पिछली महफ़िल मैं कीडा बना था,
इसबार कà¥à¤šà¤² के रà¥à¤²à¤¾ दो मà¥à¤à¥‡à¥¤
पनà¥à¤¨à¥‡ पलटता हूà¤, फिर बेचैन होकर,
बिसà¥à¤¤à¤° से दरवाजा, दरवाज़े से बिसà¥à¤¤à¤°,
गीली सà¥à¤¯à¤¾à¤¹à¥€ सताती है मà¥à¤à¤•à¥‹,
कà¤à¥€ आइना हà¤à¤¸à¤¤à¤¾ है दिनà¤à¤°…
उजली दीवारें ,काला सा चकà¥à¤•à¤¾,
रेशम के कपडे, गà¥à¤²à¤¾à¤¬à¥€ सी दà¥à¤¨à¤¿à¤¯à¤¾;
जलाकर फिर से बà¥à¤à¤¾à¤¤à¤¾ रहूंगा,
तà¥à¤®à¥à¤¹à¤¾à¤°à¥€ बसà¥à¤¤à¥€ मे, मेरी दोसà¥à¤¤à¥€ है;
हंसी अपनी उड़वाने जाता रहूंगा,
सिगरेट मेरी जलती है जबतक,
खà¥à¤µà¤¾à¤“ं को तब तक जलाता रहूंगा..
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सही !!!….
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nice one funtoosh.. thanks
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Thanks Anurag,
Characters of your movies are Sometimes so strong that sometimes I feel, epics of philosophy could be written on most of them.
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To,Anurag
“Prachand Sundar Film”
One of the Masterpiece of Indian Cinema.
Director with a definite political say.
I watched the movie yesterday and was one of the 13 people siting in for a late night show on Monday But believe me, I was riveted from the opening shot to the last shot. You have done such a great work.I always love the treatment you give to your characters,that’s why every single character in your film has a definite say an they became so powerful.
Just look at the brilliant thing in your cinema
Story Itself is the most powerful
Brilliant actors/actress
Excellent camera work
Use of powerful symbolism
(And to support all this without it this film is really worthless) MUSIC and Lyrics by Piyush Mishra.
and the mountain peak is your DIRECTION
Talking about Indian mainstream cinema Anurag you are the most beautiful film maker after Gurudutt.Really we very Lucky to see your films too.
Thanks & Regards
sahil kalloli
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Thanks Anurag — I didn’t know that, that’s good to know!
One other thing that I do appreciate in all the Kashyap films is the use of language: I have nothing against “Hinglish” or any other linguistic register as long as it is appropriate; but in far too many films I get the feeling that a certain register is being used because the director/writer doesn’t know any better, i.e. he is a Bandra boy and that’s his/her default/reflex (no offense to any Bandra boys, just an example). In films like Gulaal, Dev D, one gets the impression that the filmmaker/writer is not just using the only register he/she knows, but that (s)he enjoys the sounds of words, the rhythm, and so on…
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Anurag,
You wrote Satya and that changed the Indian film industry forever.
If there was no Satya, we’d be still stuck to movies like DDLJ and Hum Dil de chuke sanam or Taal.
Economy grew, the film industry grew, amd lot and lot of people were able to showcase their talent.
In the midst of this, you were forgotten by the same Indian film industry that you had just changed.
I hope you keep making such great films, and dont lose it someday. Your movies are result of your intense mind. Running at jet speed all the time.
I hope you always keep making great movies.
I enjoyed Satya, BF and Dev D.
Sorry for my poor English.
I dunno if u r the real Anurag Kashyap, but i’ll still comment, cause I enjoy Anurag Kashyap’s work.
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BTW,
are you planning to make a comedy? a funny movie?
Your characters have a great sense of humour, ex: the house broker in Gulaal, kay kay menon in BF (At Tiger’s house while searching it), etc.
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Watched Gulaal with 5 other friends, 3 of us liked it, 2 didn’t like it at all (different idea of romantic movie), 1 got lost after interval (too blunt)
It’s a movie which is tale of every civilization, power greedy people. A revolution started once for a cause now is only means for some people to achieve there personal goals/benefits.
Good research about Rajasthan.
Good that you have an excellent team working in the movie.
Please do continue telling truth Piyush Mishra’s way
Thanks
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Gulaal was an outstanding watch.. thanks Anurag for delivering such a different movie.Though the name boasts of colours,the fim essentially portrays the dark side of human beings in general.The music is also refreshingly different.Keep making more pathbreaking movies.
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Hello AK,
Greetings from Toronto, Canada. I watched Gulaal two days ago, and what can I say ? It is a GREAT movie. Very well made. The music is great, I bought the CD yesterday and have been listening to it non-stop. All the actors have done a very good job too. Keep up the good work, and if you continue making movies like this, you will have made a die-hard fan out of me.
Regards,
Ali.
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It took me 15 minutes to start this post I was out of words and in complete awe of you!!!
I saw DEV D and thought it would be extremely difficult for you to match the high standards you have set for your own self, but then I say GULAAL‚'„¶.
I have not watched a movie since and I can‚'„'´t get enough of your movie‚'„'´s tracks. Piyush Mishra is a gift. KK is obviously one of the best actors India has today & the performance by Deepak Dobriyal ‚'„'¬ Bhatti (the bit at the PAN shop with him answering questions without speaking a word) was amazing. I like to credit all the actors for a commendable performance.
And I would like to thank you for creating ART.. also I believe you will be appreciated and a lot in not so distant future.
I have heard of geniuses lost so don‚'„'´t do that to me‚'„¶ keep writing and keep making movies‚'„¶ FUCk to all those who gorge on mediocre entertainment.
I am waiting for the next masterpiece.
Mishra Ji ko Namaste bol dijiyega Maza agaya!!!
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Mr Anurag Kashyap, your movies are experiences that one hardly gets when watching Hindi cinema. We look forward to your next movie(s). We, at WM, are big fans of your work. Congratulations on the achievements of your completed work, we wish you all the best for what is to come.
My review of Gulaal:
http://wearethemovies.com/reviews/gulaal
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mat do ilzaam lakiron ko manzil ki doori ka…
pahad bade nahi honsle chote hain
mat haar dil k koi peeth nahi thapthapata…
teri jeet se jal log raat raat nahi sote hain
duniya ki aadat hai nuks dhuund dhuund k chugne ki..
arre vo khush kya honge jo paida hi rote hote hain..
these are some lines that just burst out of me after watching gulal. and mind you, these lines are for kk menon….a colossal performance…one can really feel his fire and anguish…
btw, just saw last train to mahakali today. great job anurag with what i guess was a shoestring budget….both kk and you have grown bolder and better with time and hopefully you will continue to astound us…bravo!!
P.S. — i liked Gulal more than DEV D. no kidding. DEV D was enchanting. Gulal was haunting. haunt me again Mr. Kashyap.
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Dear Ak(bana),
i want to tell you about 1 important thing,plz choose better Radio partner for ur movies,they should create a wave at the time of movie release,like we have a example of “ROCK ON”,its music was also good ,but FM Radio make it more popular & u must be agreed that it is also useful for the box office for any movie.Well my only desire is that more & more people heard Mishra’s lyrics & music,I used to travel daily around 90 minutes in Delhi Metro & half an hour in my car,but dont find Gulaals’ music compare to other new releases.You should more publicised these beautiful songs.Same happens with DEV.We just heard a little “EMOSNAL ATYACHAR”, but other songs ? They just play a little other songs,even after a long time of release,but it is even less then other C….tia movies songs.I dont know really our people are c…ia or these FM RJ”s ? anyways i hope you understand my point.
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Remember Francis Ford Coppola while he was shooting Apocalypse Now? He sank into depression twice, ran out of funds a good many times and finally made one of the greatest movies ever. I don’t know what to say, is it the movie that I should marvel at, or the people behind it? But in your case, they are the one and the same, I guess.
Oh yes, some people are screaming murder about the references to Lennon! But I say they are super- a marvellous way to show the universality in rebelliousness no matter the cause. Like Kubrick’s usage of the waltz in Space Odyssey and 9th Symphony in Clockwork Orange.
Thanks a million for this movie.
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I have lot to say, may be this is not the right place anyways, i dont care the outcome of it
Hi Anurag sir,
ok before i start what i wanna say , let me introduce the character “sunil” – i ‘ve born and brought up in bangalore, did my engineering here as every 2nd child in bangalore has to … i’ve written, directed and performed for amateur theatre group of my college, and i myself lead the team too, which nearly performed 100 shows (Streetplay, Mad ads, Spoofs, one act plays,etc…) Although this 4 yr experience was good enough as any other struggler, even i did not know where to start. By then i had dropped my engineering (thank god now i’m out of it) and a small turn happened, when i met Rakesh Om Prakash Mehra , who had come to bangalore for RDB shoot, they shot in my college, (u can see my college, and Me staring like a juniour artist) but that was when i decided i shall move on…. and the result of which in an year i was in AAFT, Delhi (pls dont look at aaft as one crappy institute sir , cos i say you, for an undergrad like me FTII’s door is always closed). Anyways, after completing my studies, and my Project Film “CHECKMATE” Which was critically well recieved(only by the college and few other festival ppl, who dont even bother to inform the director , that his shortfilm is being screened) Anyways , having studied in a film school doesnt guarantee a job, i first tried in kannada, luckily i got to see how a bad film is made(that doesnt mean kannada films are all bad, there are some really great films that every filmmaker shud watch). Anyways , after that i came out of that project, and somehow i got to meet a talented young director from chennai called “Mysskin(original name Raja )”(in fact Sir, you might be knowing him, when you had come to chennai once he was an asst. director to dir. Kathir then during the shooting of Youth… ). So, now i’m one film old as an Asst. Director (ah, what a relief, if i look back) Anyways, the reason why i’m mailing u is to share few things about Anurag Kashyap ,your movies and the effect of your films in my life, which i cud not share it on PFC. Black Friday effect – I’d never got an oppurtunity to see Black Friday when it released, i watched it last december, on my comp on a pirated VCD (as u know we cant afford for a DVD, but can spend lakhs for engineering, what a waste) Ok, i was suppose to meet my friend Smriti, who lives in mumbai, and now u know the reason why mumbai?? i was suppose to leave on december 30th or sometime, so the day i was suppose to book the ticket… i happened to watched Black friday, and also i watched it again 3-4 days later with my cousin. And now u know the effect of AK (not an ordinary man he is, nor was the film)… you will not believe, i went to the railway station and returned back, cos Black Friday left me with the Fear of Mumbai… and it happened twice. and later i went sometime in jan, smashed,boozed,partied i mean Dho din me aur Kya ho saktha hai sir.(mumbai rocks, i loved the place).
No Smoking -Even before joining film institutte, even before i knew that there is a ‘cut’. i had written something, a small dark tale.., and few years later…. i saw No Smoking, the i saw the co -incidence , it was abt a “man who quits smoking on his death bed “… But i was more than happy to have seen No Smoking. Another co-incidence, not with AK, but with 2 of my scripts, Once again, those scripts which i had wrote before joining an institute, one called Checkmate, which carries a reference with Ingmar bergman’s Seventh Seal, thanks to my friend who later introduced me to world cinema through Bergman’s films. And another one abt a reverse world … and that turns out to be last years Oscar winning David Fincher’s “Curious case of benjamin button”- what is common In these two is that ” a child born looks old, and grows younger and dies infant “. Now u know i’m a science student even my email id sir (sunil_blackhole@yahoo.com)…. Gulaal Effect -It was on 13th and that too Friday (triskaedophobic) i dint have a penny in my pocket, and you know asst. director’s life. But i Had this in mind khi, i have to watch it 1st day 1st show , i cought my cousin and his friends and then we watched it in one of the oldest theatres in bangalore REX (its only 3 films i’ve watched FDFS , dev d, gulaal, lakshya). Anyways by the time i came out.i decided to start working on my unfinished script , its that script which my brother considered the worst of mine, untill i narrated to him last night (just the outline, and few changes). And then i cud see in his eyes the Influence of Anurag Kashyap and his films on me, and the way it motivated me. Anurag Kashyap Effect Today – i feel Kurosawa should have been alive to see Black Friday, Gulaal.Kurosawa once said “Movies Must Move”… i say it Shaked me.
“a film should either hold the neck or the ba11s”. And thats what blackfriday & gulaal has done to the world.
Love You
Sir. Anurag Kashyap
Regards
Sunil Kumar.
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Anand: there is no doubt this is the real Anurag Kashyap (although, as I say it that sounds so funny; I’m sure a psychologist might have a field day with that one…)
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What’s ur problem with creating new states Anurag? Uttarakhand is a new state free from Mayawati because Uttarakhand is no longer part of Uttar Pradesh. Same with Jharkhand…no longer under the violent Lalu Prasad Yadav!!!!
America has 50 sates!!! BJP always supports creating more states and will create 2 new states when it wins the 2009 election. Those people will no longer live under the Communists of India!!!!
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More than anything else
I like AK’S Non-Hypocritical approach to cinema.
Did someone say art imitates life?
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Anurag,
Can you tell me about the status of ‘Allwyn Kalicharan’ and ‘Always Kalicharan’? I know you have not made the second one yet but read in a 2004 INDIA TODAY article that you have written it? I was so kicked about it? A neo-noir thriller about rotten and corrupt cops…..Anil Kapoor…….dark denizens……? But whatever happened to it? Do reply.
P.S. Do watch Scorsese’s teaser poster for ‘Shutter Island’.
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Saw Gulaal…Loved every bit of it. Till date, Haasil used be the movie which would be on top of mind..when we would talk of college politics…from now onwards…and am sure till a long long time..it will be Gulaal. Just amazing. Really like me there are many more who appreciate your cinema, and would definitely like to see more of you. I hope producers/production houses are listening…
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did you by any chance watched Thigmanshu Dhulia’s directed Haasil, First Half of the movie reminds me of Dhulia’s Haasil.
Waise would love to see your take on Haasil, the movie I love the most.
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Hi Anurag,
I saw “Gulaal” with interest. Another of the kind of movies which one may not like, but cannot ignore. Naked, disgusting truths, and damned lies. To be called an intellectual audience with a critical eye on cinema, many people (including me) prefer to lie and applaud something which they did not really understand.
I strongly feel there could have been better ways of depiction, without using the abusive dialogues (and many other things that could be avoided safely), making it difficult for family audience. But since a typical Indian family would always vote for the Karan Johar kind when it comes to a outing, its a safe trick to get to another extreme, and make a purely indecent stuff to the “A” class audience. A nice recipe for a critical acclaim!
I loved the musical scores, very different and very elegant. Kay Kay as always does just the perfect job. Awaiting more of this kind of cinema.
Prateek
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Anurag Kashyap, take a bow. I dare say this – Gulaal is light years ahead of its time. It must rank alongside the greatest films made in history of cinema. How I wish the Scorceses and Herzogs watch this movie! I was reminded of Aguirre, the Wrath of God, of Z, of The Battle of Algiers. I do not think Indian audience will ever realize what they had missed. I do not know if you will get any promoters, but this movie is a sure bet at the Oscars. After all, if Slumdog Millionaire can garner Oscars, we can imagine how much we have degraded. I got tears in my eyes after watching Gulaal, tears of joy. Indian cinema has finally arrived. And your chemistry with Kay Kay. Man, could Scorsese/ De Niro or Herzog/ Kinsky have been any better? The music, I had never heard of this man, Piyush Mishra. And I curse myself for that. I dare pen the word talented here. This is outrageous, Hindi film music has cut across all the boundaries of music. The cast, how could it be so perfect? And where on earth did you find Abhimanyu Singh. I hear from my friends that he does some television serials. Such rage, such charisma – you can die for it. Piyush Mishra, again – a powerhouse. Deepak Dobriyal – God bestowed on him something special and he is aware of that. Finally the scene that would be etched in memory forever. The scene in which the cop is shot. I dare say, teh KJos, Chopras, Bhansalis, Barjatyas are not educated enough to understand the ethos of that scene. You are a giant Mr Kashyap. Hope you get recognized in your lifetime.
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Hi Anurag,
Two thumbs up for making Gulaal. It has the artist’s touch and you have to identify and appreciate each brush stroke.
A doubt though. Why did you call it Gulaal and why not something like “Rajneeti”? I haven’t quite been able to relate the title to the story.
Rgds
Ashutosh
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Hello Anurag
After having seen both Gulaal and Dev D,I observed characters in both the movies which have a small role to play but are not of any significance.What was the idea behind involving the Two Dancers in Dev D and the Ardhanaari in Gulaal?Are they metaphorical characters or just random?
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Hi AK SIR
You are a man with an ultimate sense of expressing watsoever you want to express to people.waiting deadly for your next movie.
Rgds,
Rajat
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Hi Anurag,
In Calcutta times (a supplementary of TOI’s Kolkata edition, it is published that the One of the poster of GULAL is a copy from the poster of The Shield (police drama aired in AXN). I searched for the poster in Google images. They indeed look similar. Any comment?
Manas
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Hi Anurag..
I watched GULAAL…3 times in the theatre..2 days in a row on a weekend…I just loved..infact I am still in LOVE with it the best movie of this year (I have seen) and loved evry nunance of it but I was left with some questions. Hope you answer them…
1. What is the purpose of Ardhnareeshwar, what does he indicate?
2. When Anu enters the classroom as a teacher there is NIHILISM written on the board. I am wondering how such a word come out from such guys in such a place? I suppose a student would have done that.
3. Prithvi Bana is having the locket of John Lennon and calls himself His Highness Imagine Singh. Hope this was i reference to John LEnno’s Imagie song. Well why was he having an affinity towards John Lennon?
Hope you answer these when you get time…
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bad movie. unnecessary glorification of abusive language and violence. Relesae Paanch. I have been waiting for that movie for so long.
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Paanch is the same.. unnecessary glorification of abusive language and violence.. as bad a movie.. i would suggest watch TZP, Lagaan and all good clean movies.. i don’t know how to make them..
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Hi Anurag,
I have watched and loved ‘Dev D’ as well, but this one’s about ‘Gulaal’.
My husband and I loved it.
However, I am a bit confused-what was the setting of the movie-I mean which years-I thought it was early 1970s-as explained in the beginning of the movie.And as supported by the ohn Lennon-worshipping elder ‘Bana’.
If thats right, how come the song’Ranaji gusse main’ refers to ‘Jaise door desh ke tower main aeroplane ghus jaye’-that happened in 2001.Ditto for references to US in Afghanistan-earliest US presence was in the 1980s,during Soviet invasion.There was also a bit about US in Iraq-the first Gulf war was again in 1991.
I have afeeling you will call it poetic license-or a premonition pof future events.Thats fine, just want to know your viewpoint.
Also ,I wish you had explained how Anuja came to be humiliated in that manner.Were there ever any incidents of ragging of girls by men in hostels?Why had she been singled out for this treament.I guess you did this deliberately.Well, I had a sleepless night trying to figure it out and would love to know your response:)
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You won’t know. you can’t make movies that one can explain.
A movie is not always about feeling good, I agree. However, Anurag Kashyap seems to think that he should capture just anything that is worth his camera, and people should appreciate it.
Let’s take Gullal for example: Gulaal is a series of scenes that Anurag Kashyap has been exposed to, and that he thinks are cool. I waited to watch that movie (the music gave me an impression this was a well thought out project: yes I know, I fall into those traps).
But here, look at this: Anurag Kashyap is unable to crack one decent joke. “do ghate to bache kya”, “isme kanoon ka haath hai”, and “mere paas maa hai”: all these tickle only the asslicks of the character. Nobody else laughs.
Now, perhaps Anurag Kashyap will say “Why should anyone laugh?” and it only showed that they were asslicks and they would laugh at anything”
In the movie anybody does anything that he feels like doing. A guy who is later identified as a key ’senapati” runs behind just anybody new who is coming into town, as if he were a saabun bechnewaala. Anuraag Kashyap thinks politics among students is like that, and we are supposed to believe it. Important people run about people on bicycles and say “Remember my name is Ghaati”, or whatever. Now, Sir here will say “Ya, life is like that; everybody does irrational things”.
Which maybe true. That does not tell a story is equally true.
Ya, I know, different people have different management styles, and that Ghaati guy was like that.
There is Piyush Mishra, and John Lennon in a ghost apopearnace. There is that ardhanaari.
Nobody is supposed to explain any of it. It’s an Anuraag Kashyap movie, so you are supposed to be ready for everything. It’s a fucking Hemingway in the making. Childbirth after childbirth, you are neversupposed to know the significance of it. You are only supposed to know this is an important event because the director is supposed to be signalling towards it. So long as the artist says something might be happening, you are supposed to nod your head in agreement.
My poor, humble opinon: if you were to follow any poor bugger’s life, and capture a fair amount of ‘interesting’ moments that happen in his dull existence, it says a bit about India. It even says a bit about the world. It does not necessarrilly make good cinema.
I appreciate Anurag Kashyap for the idea that he perhaps does what he wants to do. I wish I were in his situation. That does no say what he does makes sense. That does not make him a good director, or a good storyteller. People like this think they are not supposed to tell stories.
Sir here can be the leader of a hippy movement, but I don’t think he can tell anyone what he means to say when he makes “Gulaal”.
It’s not about the language. People target him wrong when they say it’s about the language. An Omkara is made with bad language. Even a Dev D is made with bad language. Dev D has its moments (like Mahie taking her mattress on the bicycle). The difference is this: perhaps because of the burden of Devdaas that the director carries when he says Dev D, he has a story to tell.
Most of the other times, he does not. This guy does not have it in him to tell a story. You are supposed to make one up.
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“that Ghaati guy”
Your sensitivity about life, being, art and cinema is mindblowing (sarcasm… sorry). We have another Nazi on our comments boards, is what some may say to you, while some may stop reading your thoughts, and some will pass over to the next comment. When you have a different point of view you don’t have to punch people around to say it. People, there still exist, including me, who will listen to you, when you say it, even with your palms facing the beautiful sky.
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Oz: A real nice one!!
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My reply to Oz and Mr. Venkitachalam, and Nirupama:
Ya, that fellow is Bhatti. I acnowledge the error. And it would be correct to say that I am not abusing Anuraag. Apologies to Oz above, whose I seem to have hurt with some violent prose in the process of saying what I should have simply said, without bad words like ‘asslicks’, (which Sir interprets as punching people around, I think), like I am going to try below.
I am not angry with Gulaal. I just happen to think this: If one is making a movie or writing a book or a story, one likely has an audience in mind – someone who will buy the ticket, buy the book – someone is paying for the interaction you wish to have (if at all your cinema is an object of interaction; else, in my opinion, you should have private screenings: something I think Paanch has been having for a while, and something Gulaal deserved and was deprived of prematurely and deeply).
I understand that the nature of media (and perhaps most interactions) is such that whenever you express an opinion, there would be people with different views of it. That, however, should not stop you from stating a view, a story, and whatever else – specially when a large mass is paying for it. I think there is nothing wrong in stating views well and clearly. I disagree with the idea that total anarchy always makes beautiful art.
My view on Gulaal is that the director (assuming he has had a role in developing the script) has not ‘pushed the envelope’. One can summarize the movie (as one can with JFK assassination and many other things), as does Mr. Venkitachalam above, as if he is writing the DVD blurb, in this strong narrative: “A naive student in a harsh environment, sucked into the labyrinth of politics he doesn’t understand, goes through a series of events that shatter his value system, moving him to act beyond his conscience. ”
I thought of the plot somewhat more expansively (even as I think the movie is a lazy piece of work). I thought the movie could have been a commentary on the way the world is. I thought it could also have been a movie about the rise of the usurper – about the confusion in minor minds opposed to the focussed approach of the power grabber ; about the evolution of power systems, from the US to Raj Thakrey. I think the broad plot had the potential to carry the thought all the way for a very broad and beautiful allegory.
Unfortunately, Anuraag Kashyap does not give the plot the wings of a strong and well-stated story.
It may be a lack of “sensitivity about life, being, art and cinema ” on my part to understand the potential of the movie and yet deny the movie the credit it deserves. This lack maybe mindblowing too, for some or most of the human race. Facts following the watching of the movie, however, are as follows: Mr. Venkitachalam , taking pity on my poor viewing comprehension, has a pithy, simple take on the movie that is quoted above. Mr. Vekitachalam could summarize “Haasil” in the same words, give or take a few.
I don’t know if it was Anuraag Kashyap’s intention to make a Haasil. To another simple-minded fellow like me, it does not appear so. Therefore the complain, and apologies for disturbing the beautiful, “Vanilla Sky” world of college/university that Anuraag has made and I have raised my objections against. Please continue with reconstructed nostalgia, and do not let a fascist ignoramus like me come in the way of the happiness you derive from the movie. However, just like you, I watch some movies and have some opinions. That nobody might care to listen is irrelevant. To rub it in: if Anuraag should not care about who watches the movie and what he makes of them, why should I make such a fuss about who reads some comments (which cost nothing to the producer of the blog and the margin cost of reading them is nil, for most people) I make while I am drinking (like Anuraag makes movies)?
My view on the style of the movie: I have said enough on my previous post. The fellow (Anuraag Kashyap) doesn’t care if the audience laughs or weeps at those poor attempts at humor. The movie has a larger objective,which too has been ignored in Anuraag Kashyap’s hurry to convey a multitide of ideas, any of which the audience may catch and go home with. I suspect the fellow thinks like this: “I have all the ideas in the world, because I have expanded my mind with stuff, which many others in India are yet to do. Why shouldn’t they watch three hours of my stuff and take one or two of them home, and reconstruct their life and shit?”
I know this is the twitter generation, where ideas count for much and conveying them well nobody has time for; perhaps Anuraag Kashyap caters to the school of thought that says I will blabber what I have to and you catch what you can. Perhaps he is one of those Zen masters that say cool stuff like “Listen to the sound of one hand clapping”. Perhaps it is okay with everybody that a person may say one thing as an allegory and people appreciate the fairy tale.
I had written in to say that in some way you are failing as a director when people (even your die-hard supporters) fail to understand how you thought of the movie. I had written in to say that it is important people laugh at the jokes you crack, and I had written in to say that creating a world that does not exist (an Animal Farm) is alright, but creating a parallel universe of Indian universities (where toughshots beg for two pennies of support) politics is stupid, because it chases away your viewer : you are reminding them of a world that is left behind and one that they want to remember and talk about, and you fail to reconstruct it well.
In any case: goodbye all. I did my bit in civilization and culture by saying what I had to say to myself in a language perhaps only I knew. Like Ramanujan in Math, and Anuraag Kashyap in movies (sarcasm… sorry), I write some stuff you don’t understand but generations to come will appreciate, along with Oz’s which I couldn’t understand, but which, I am sure, was full of meaning and stuff.
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A naive student in a harsh environment, sucked into the labyrinth of politics he doesn’t understand, goes through a series of events that shatter his value system, moving him to act beyond his conscience. There’s your 35 word story.
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I guess guys like Gaurav need suave guys and tame violence like those seen in Bond movies.
Gulaal was one of the best movies I have seen this year.
Wish I would get to see what had to be kept out to appease the censors.
I have nearly given up hope to see Paanch. Been waiting for it ever since I had heard the songs.
Anurag, you keep on promising us that Paanch will release every year
Wish there was an alternate distribution channel; a web based pay per view like jaman.com where you could release it.
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duniya ko iss tarah dikhane ka shukriya..usse iss tarah pehchane ka shukriya…mujhe GULAAL pasand hai..
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Hi Anurag. Just watched No Smoking. Wanted to ask a question, didn’t know where else to post. Its about NS, Dev.D and Gulaal.
The Helmet worn by Dilip in Gulaal.
The Helmet worn by Chanda in Dev.D
And noticed the same helmet on a kid’s head that K. taps on his first visit to the Prayogshala.
Co-incidence?
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BTW, forgot to add… this is the first time I watched No Smoking, with a lot of apprehension based on the Public Reviews.
I FELL IN LOVE WITH THE MOVIE !
Brilliantly done, Sir!
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That was a good synopsis,Sriram.
I like the discussion on this blog, coz most of the people here are obviously passionate about movies.But lets not shoot the messenger,please.If someone is angry with Anuraag for not making Gulaal up to his expectations, its perhaps good if Anuraag and his team members read this blog.Constructive criticism does help.Its not as if this guy Sunny is abusing Anuraag or something[I Do correct me if I am wrong].After all, film makers cant afford to make films purely for their own satisfaction-they do have to sell the movie to an audience.Look what happened with ‘Sawariya’.
By the way Sunny, the guy was called ‘Bhatti’ and not ‘Ghaati’
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Hi Anurag,
I have seen this movie and I am highly impressed, thank you. I would request you to please let me know where can I find the PATIALA report mentioned in the movie and the blog? Is it available on the internet?
Regards
Vinod Wadhwani
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