In the beginning there was Chaos….
In the beginning there was chaos, and nothing but chaos… and I stepped into the chaos looking for an answer….
I remember from the time I was in school in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan Kashmir was the place my mother always wanted to come to… a place of romance and beauty…. Years passed by… we never made it to Kashmir … and then the unrest… but now the dream that lay dormant in her was a living dream in me. I was looking for an excuse to visit this place… .
Couple of month’s back I read the story of a successful Kashmiri Model in Bangladesh. One fine day he was arrested as a suspect RAW agent. After 40 days in prison he was deported to India. On arrival at the Delhi airport he was arrested as an ISI agent and kept in Tihar for three months. He was released because of lack of evidence, but not given a clean chit. The contradiction in the whole episode excited me…. The man is question Tariq Dar.
Tariq flew down to Mumbai to meet me. There was the man - once a model, now a suspect, a man with a broken nose, a limp and a few scars standing in front of me. Over the next few days we spoke and I realised that his story is not what I wanted to make a film on, but it started the process of another story in me. His conversations with me raised many questions in me. These were fragmented thoughts, scattered images and half spoken words.
A few weeks back I decided that I had to go…. On the 14th of October 2007 I was driving out of Shrinagar airport-“WELCOME TO PARADISE” the sign board read… and all around it were bunkers, armoured vehicles, barbered wires and army men. I heaved a sigh -Paradise indeed! This was the paradox that was to become a part of my sight and sound over the next few days.
We drove straight to Saleem’s( my friend and guide) house. This would be my abode for the next few days as the family absolutely refused to let me stay in a hotel. I am glad that I did not insist. This was the first time I was living with a Muslim family. And the experience was most enriching. So many misconceptions, so many apprehensions – all destroyed over the next days as I ate, slept, chatted, and discovered Shrinagar with Saleem and his family.
Now back in my Versova flat I try and give shape to my story but I realise that now it is perhaps more fragmented, scattered because that is what I feel about Kashmir… The shape is shapeless. 
Images , images…. The magnificent Chinar trees, the cold fresh air, the extremely polluted and dirty Dal lake, the piercing looks of the army Jawans, PTV blaring everywhere, Café Arabica, Boulevard road, The posh new cottages, the burnt Habakadal with its memories of migrant Hindus, the beautiful woodwork that adorned ceilings, doors windows etc, the magnificent Dastgir sahab, the absolutely adorable kids( what was striking is how kids seem to roam around so freely in groups without any fear), the pony tailed today’s fashionable kashmiri boys, the colourfully dressed beautiful confident kashmiri women, the nun chai(salt tea), the food( I was eating all the time), The lonely army jawan, the wandering shepherds…. 
The day I was supposed to return back home I took a long walk up the mountain road… and at one point where it overlooked the whole city I sat down.
I felt immensely sad - sad for the valley caught in this coflict of two nations, sad for this valley where trees were disappearing, heritage structures falling apart and ugly new malls coming up. Sad for the jawan whom I was trying to photograph when he stopped me ‘ mera naukri jayega( I will loose my job)… paanch minute baitkar bath hi karloh( why don’t you chat with me for five minutes)”. I sat with him as he spoke about his home in the far west, about being unloved and unwanted by the local people, about being on the brink of death all the time, about a desire to speak to someone other than his colleagues. 
I smiled as I thought of the young Kashmiri girls who refused to believe that I was a director, and thought that they were far better looking than the Bollywood actresses.
At the same time I felt uneasy when I saw the look many of them had when a group of pretty kashmiri women passed them. I thought how I would feel if I had to pass by a man with a gun every ten minutes….
I would not be happy. I know it is much more complex, but this is definitely not it! They were not complaining because things are much better now, and they have accepted this as a part of their lives…. Would I be able to do that- I am afraid not, because they also represent memories of torture, abduction, rape and death.
I remembered my walk through Habakalal, trying hard to control my tears as I stood before the house of a Hindu friend who had to migrate after the militants murdered a family member. I remembered all the stories he had told me about the house, about the chinar outside his house, about the bridge across the river on the way to his school, about the loud speaker blaring in the night asking the kafir’s( Hindu’s) to leave…. About the house with eighteen rooms… so many memories.
Later in the night in the privacy of my room I wept… wept for all those people who lost their homes, live lives in refugee camps and who have the right to this “paradise”. I remembered my home- in Bhutan, remembered how we had to leave because of political unrest, how it affected my mothers health for good, remember our car pulling away from the house of my childhood, remember the students from my dad’s school standing on both the sides of the road and throwing rose petals on our car… and my dad’s face, unflinching, strong, trying hard to control his tears waving to the kids says a good bye to the school and house he built 25 years ago.
Memories jumble, emotions erupt, images intermingle…. And I know the script is beginning, the film that I have to make- a film set in kashmir, about the loss of identity, loss of home, of history, of fear, of hope and despair….
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One of the biggest ironies. You have a place which is beautiful enough to be described as a paradise and people do their best to make it the opposite.
…. and the loss of paradise.It was touching, the jawan’s side of the story. We all encounter similar incidents by large everyday , it does strike a chord or two somewhere but they feelings pass away as quickly as they come.To actually remember those palpable moments and to reflect upon it much later…. that just makes you stand out. Simply awesome!!!!!!!!=d>=d>=d>=d>
It interests me Sir, what does Tariq do these days??
@doremi… unfortunately power corrupts , and today though a lot of funds flow into the valley for development, perhaps one tenth of the funds actually get used…. and heritage slowly dies
@Sulakshana… thanks. he is trying to get back to business in Delhi. looking at possibilities for modelling/acting… its tough
Do you think? is there any solution for this malfunctioning of our intelligence or to say politics.
y do you worry about that model…when you have so many victims being abused ruthlessly.
Nithari kiilings is appaling depicture of manking..y not movie on that..
the other day..i saw trailer of movie “Anara”
see watching movies on current issues is boring.
You know something/…
ITS WISE TO SAY HOW YOU CAN ERADICATE POVERTY THAN PRPOGATE THAT INDIA IS POOR..
thats my point..solution must be the story base,,,let be any issues..
Work on it ONIR.
@Srikant… i do not think i have solutions… and neither do they necessarily form the base for any film…for me raising questions is the first step towards finding an answer. I am sure there are hundreds of subjects which are more poignant… but this is a story that interests me, something else might interest someone… anyway I think you did not get what i was trying to say in the post… i am not making a film about the model. His story started the desire to work on a certain subject…. and the ultimate result might be very far from his story
I wish everyone thought and felt like you. In north India, most Kashmiri Muslims are still looked upon with suspicion, this includes some friends of mine…Please ensure that the film is not too pessimistic… the least we can do is hope for better times for all the beautiful people who make up such a beautiful place on this earth!! All the best to you…
excellent article……
BUT ONIR DA,
the only thing is, i think we all are aware of the loss and despair, the tragic incidents all we seem to remember about kashmir is theese the wars,gunshots, dead people, death….
i would be looking forward to a film maker who would be able to capture the beauty that still shows between the occasional gun shots, the school kid who lost a leg in blasts, the unknown blue flower that blooms beside the dacying body of an unknown man….
I hope to see a man one day who will capture the KASHMIR, behind the KASHMIR
every few 100 kms in ne direction from ne point in india and u are a stranger … its amazing to see how much there is to discover about india… This place is fascinating indeed!!! one thing common would be a “tear”
may peace win over !!!
loved your blog Onir !!!
Onir
nice article. writing a script on the premise that it should not be pessimistic is nothing but but a load of bollocks. Always remember that you are a storyteller and not a reformist. Tell it like it is. There is only truth about filmaking that is it has to be entertaining. And whoever said that films on contemporary issues are boring. I dont know about the rest of yous but I dig the realistic genre. Give me BF anyday over candy floss bullshit.
Onir…….. all the best on your venture…… you can do it.
Great article, lovely piece and wish u all the best with ur script:)
“The shape is shapeless”… wow.. very well written Onir.. would love to see your story come alive! best of luck
Hi Onir - Best of luck with your script
Among all the people, the lonely jawan’s was the most poignant, for me. If his case is bad, think of the guys in Siachen!
Have to admire those guys…
Hi Onir,
best of luck with you film. I was wondering do you tend to hold auditions for your films? or prefer to cast a known face?
all the best ONIR looking forward to a film as heart felt as this post….
Onir - good luck! The premise looks promising and I am sure you will craft an intimate story.
onir, after a long time.. this. thru your words, felt like i was right there with you.. lovely write-up. and best wishes for the film.. looking forward…
Hey Onir
bst of lck
thiz iz the rght tym fr thiz stry.
Hop it wuld nt be a stry of amonosity, lyk previous moviz on Kash.
Som 1 shud tll the stry, wht Kash ppl really wnt
without ny prejudic or malic
bst of lck
agn
Onir… love the underlying themes you talk about. What happened to your child camel jockey story…? similar underlying themes from a very different perspective.
Onir bhai….Now i understand how ideas are born…these small lil things that disturb you….excite u…excite you….
Awesome article Onir…and good luck with your script…
It’ funny that Yasin Malik, one of the first few men to pick up Gun in the 80s, the man who now preaches
@aditi
thanks aditi.As of now the script is going towards an open end…. for neither do i want to give up… and a film is a step towards saying yes i have hope… but a distinct hope/answer i do not have.
@rick… thanks. my film is not about despair/gun shots and terrorists. thats the backdrop. my film is about love, about home… the film will essentially be a love story where the protagonists realise that the destiny of their love is entangled in history.
@George. Thanks… yes the more i travel across the country… be it Shillong or Shrinagar i feel restless and helpless…. and the clich
@ridemghost… totally agree with you. That is why I replied to someone… there are issues and issues… but I want to tell some other story. And yes I hope it is entertaining.
Thanks SUPARN, BAARIShh
@Dazed and confused. You know the one thing I noticed about the Jawans is their attempt to talk to the kids. I suppose the kids are not so scared and are curious to know more about guns and the Jawans find their relief with conversation with the little ones.
@ali… thanks. yes i do hold auditions, because i cast a mix of known faces and new comers
Thanks VASAN, SUBRAT and STRIKER. :”>
@Parakh… it is not a film about animosity… it
sounds really interesting………looking forward to seeing you re-create some ” my brother nikhil magic” back…best of luck
@Shripriya.. Thanks. The film on human trafficking (child jockey) is also on the move. I am not writing it. my writers have completed the first draft and since the UN has come on board as knowledge partners to the film the script is with them as they need to analyze it and give their suggestion… so restless me was off to Kashmir in search of something new
Thank OM… for me whenever i am writing a film myself it has to be a personal experience and journey. i have to live through the journey of my protagonists…. and the beginning is always images/faces and sound. That is why unlike a lot of writers i cannot write a concept/ a one liner / a step outline and then a dialogue script. For me it is straight the dialogue script as my characters keep talking to me.
@Vinay… I know that no film can be adequate for telling the story of Kashmir, neither do i claim that mine would… but no film that way is… neither was Sophie’s chopice or Schilnlers List adequate… my story is not a complete story about Kashmir, it is about two individuals….a love story which is entangled in a fragmented history, it does not claim to be a complete picture, it is just my perspective, a small fragment of the reality that is Kashmir.
The film for me is a personal journey too… at least for me, o journey of discovery of myself through others and other experiences…. this post is fragmented impressions… never claims to be a complete picture of anything… and yes i did see the cement and brick…. hence i lament the disappearing trees, the sinking Dal and the disappearing wodden structures which are so beautiful…. but that is the story everywhere in India, even in Shillong, the beautiful old buildings are being replaced by concrete.
also this is just the beginning, and the more i talk and speak to people from Kashmir the more complex the experience becomes…
and one last thing… i am not making this film JUST for the INDIAN AUDIENCE… yes the Indian audience is important as i want them to connect and feel too… but it is for myself, and also to audiences elsewhere in the world. For me it is not a film that would only be of interest to the Indian audience.
And I will not try to connect the dots
Onir…try and make the film as objective as possible…all the best
ONIR
I dunno much about your work, except few glimses of your movie “my brother..”.
but i respect you man, for being so friendly and not offending even the ones who offend you.
you sound like connecting to all..thas aint easy man..
you got a long way to go…
i guess ur thinking n creativity has got little scope for appraisals in india cinema.
BUT….someday down the line you will be counted in the lines of Manoj Knight shyamalan…i bet
Good luck..dude
Wow, so you’ve been to Shillong? I lived 4 years there, and still go back there almost every year for the pujas. And yes, the cottages are making way for ugly concrete buildings. Apartments, malls are taking their place. The streetside vendors have been given shops inside big buildings. My parents say Shillong is fast losing it’s charm. I don’t know, it’s still the same place to me, the clouds, the fog, the stars, the hills.
Lot of movies on Kashmir have been made earlier that depicts disturbance in Kashmir like Mission Kashmir. The one close to Onir’s thoughts is “Yahaan” starring Jimmy Shergil and Minissha Lamba. Such movies have to be scripted very carefully so that they do not become a cliched narration of what has been done thousand times before nor it ends up being a docudrama. I hope Onir is capable of producing something really very exciting. All the best!
Hey Onir,welcome back after a lonnnnnnnnnnnnng gap :((
very touching write up. I visited Kashmir a year back with my friends and we had similar expiriences, talking to the lonely jawan who stood in the snow from morning till night, in the same position, most to them unhappy with their work, where handcuffed terrorists were sitting and having lunch, where the fight had errupted between the locals and the police, where we all felt it was the last day of our lives.
good luck, god bless and thank you for this one.
my mother who grew up in srinagar in the 60s has brought me up on stories of how her college life in srinagar was full of fun, frolic, film shoots and cinema going.
although its a wonderful time that film makers seem to be heading to the valley to capture the beauty and sadness, it is ironic that there’s a whole generation that has grown up without watching a movie in a cinema hall with only a single cinema hall functioning now with the rest converted to hospitals and military barracks.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/cpress/20071021/ca_pr_on_en/kashmir__s_movie_life_1
onir, in fact i just begun putting up some of my random musings about kashmir onto my blog, skim through in spare time.
http://smritimuse.blogspot.com/
also, i hope you’d use locals in your film as well..kashmiris are wonderfully and naturally emotive.
wishing you the best.
Hi Onir,
what a touching post… when i was studying at jamia, as a secong year student i was a part of a group that did a film on the kashmiri pandits who were forced out of kashmir and were than living in the refugee camp behind south extension (I think part two) in new delhi…
While working on this film I realized how much love this people still had in their hearts, how loving they were and how forgiving were and inspite of what had happened with their lives they didn’t have any kind of hateredness towards any particular community…
The kashmiriyat in them was still alive… What a wonderful set of people they were… your post reminded me of Mohan who was working as an estate agent, his mom and many such lovely people who were putting up with such a difficult life.
Onir, there’s an emotional disconnect between the inhabitants of this paradise on earth and the rest of India. I hope your script addresses this issue.
hi Onir,
feeling ur feelings and that crying alone in room…
keep working. I am hoping a neverbefore film from u.
One more query…would like to give a chance (means your few moments) to a new lyricist?
Hope never dies…
All the best.
Hi,
Onir a very nice post. BTW isn’t it ironic that
some from film industry talk of peace and friendly relations with the very same country (Pak.)
which is responsible for most of the trouble and
destruction in Kashmir. How can they be so naive?
hi onir,
your truly a passionate film maker and passion for cinema is the apt website for all the passionate ones.. your take on Kashmir is awe inspiring.. all the best for your future endeavours.. just remembered u were suppose to make a film on trekking in himalayas.. is it still happening ?
Onir…a lovely heartfelt post. all the best for all those shapeless thoughts!! we all carry a lil bit of past with us,struggle with d present and look forward to the future. Nah…there is no other way out!
@Onir,
After a long silence but very interesting post.
All the best for your new efforts. Hope you make a very good and significant film.
—
Kashmir generates interest and when Muzaffar Ali had declared that he would make Zooni then we did wait for long but he could not complete the film. Later he declared that he would make a film on Roomi and we are waiting for that film.
Cant say if his boxed film, Anjuman was also related with Kashmir or not but meeting with him may be very helpful for you. or if he can be associated with your film in any manner. His kind of research is always amazing.
—
Veteran Author Ved Rahi’s book Cross Firing may also help you.
—
Hope Gulzar saab will write songs for your film. He has also written 1-2 stories dealing with border situations and above all he had Maachis.
—
You are planning a straight love story with the background of Kashmir or a film like “Before the Rain” (Milcho Manchevski)?
–
If you make a film dealing with Kashmir atleast it will cover some fragments of Kashmir. Not a single film can cover all the things but it will atleast represent one thread of life existing there in present times.
Its a noble thought.
Congrats and all the best again.
@SOURAV… thanks, will try to be as objective for a personal journey as possible
@Srikanth Reddy Sanagala … thanks. my effort and hope it that my work gets accepted by audiences here.
@doremi… I go to shillong nearly every year.I love the place. from next year i am working one month every year for an NGo called MAITRE, who are doing a lot of work for orphans ( from parents who have died of AIDS). it is fast loosing its charm… but places like the rain forest is so beautiful and still intact.
Gajendra S Shrotriya. I think my film will be pretty much unlike “YAHAAN”. Neither is it going to be a docudrama. and yes of course the script is important. I am looking at almost a thriller kind/or a spy story kind of atmosphere, though it is neither.
@suchita … thanks. yes was travelling and writing… but good to be back in cyber home.
@Smriti Vij. Thanks will definately read your blog… and yes I plan to cast a lot of locals in the film.
Onir, this is a great article! Just reading it made my eyes moist.. I visited Kashmir recently and God alone knows how many broken homes, shattered dreams and lost lives I saw beyond the seemingly smiling faces.. It’s sad how these beautiful and warm people have accepted violence as a part of their lives… Do they really have a choice other than either accepting this truth or fleeing? I don’t think so…
A houseboat owner told me, as I was riding on the serene Dal Lake on his Shikara, how for over 12 years, he had no means of employment.. It was only since a year that he has put his broken pieces together and thanks to some brave tourists, his home has a fireplace… I didn’t have the heart to ask him how he run his home for those 12 years…
I actually met a man who asked me, “Aap India se aaye hai?” Whatever did that mean??? I was shocked, bewildered, heartbroken.. He looked at me like I am a foreigner.. The locals dont feel at home even in their own country! It’s ridiculous!
I really hope ur film turns up great, Onir.. No matter how many stories have been told on Kashmir and it’s people, I don’t think it will ever be enough. I only hope it does not become preachy and instead, tells a heart warming story of whoever or whatever you choose to discuss.. Kashmir is one of the most beautiful parts of our country.. and I hope you can bring it us soon!
@Surya… I think it is very difficult for the pandits, they love the land, the memories, but at the same time very often they were betrayed by people they knew, by friends and neighbours…. much like the jews in Germany. But now when i interact with most of them i see more memories of love than hatred. I just wish the return of the Pandits is made into a reality and not just a political game. the valley is incomplete minus the Pandits
@arun prakash… I think that is a problem that we city inhabitants have with the rest of the country… How many of us really connect emotionally to the North east/ Andamans/Andra…. or anything that does not affect us directly. the film itself is an attempt to bridge the gap
@gaurav solanki .. Thanks. I am of course open to new lyricist.@Shantanu… i think it is not so simple- one cannot just blame Pakistan for everything. We need to figure out the malady in us first…. and any step towards peace should be welcome as long as it is honest.
@Rahul.. Thank you… I had never planned a film on trekking .@Phoenixnu … thank you. Yes every moment is yesterday, today and tomorrow mingled into one
@RK . thanks for your suggestions. I think my love story is an offspring for my fascination for the film - HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR. It is not going to be a straight narrative. Will have many layers… many unanswered questions… an element of tension, sensuality and passion.n I was planning to approach Gulzar for the lyrics
@Jaiganesh. Thank you for your suggestions. Yes I know it is not loss of home and identity an exclusive feeling to Kashmiri pundits. And yes one can make a film with multiple stories, but each of those stories also could be a separate film. For me there is so much in the story i want to tell and the film i want to make that i do not want to dilute it… or maybe i am the wrong person for that film. right now this is the want in me as a film maker, this is the image that speaks to me… i need to realize this…. and idea is that even if it set in Kashmir, it should still be significant to any other person…. displaced or otherwise/ after all its also a metaphor
Onir and what an exiting subject to work on.And its so nice of you to value peoples comments and reply them individually. thanx
@Arati… I know what you mean. I too encountered the statement ” India se”…. I hear the same even when i travel in the north east. I think somehow these states and their people have never been made a part of us. Look at our films… where do these states or people from there exists. it is sad how little youngsters in our cities know about these states. My film is not going to be preachy for sure
Hiroshima??
thats a tall order onir..
best of luck for that and waiting for ur take on it
@Suchita… yes I am very excited and nervous about it. actually I have nearly completed it… am confused about the end. my heart says an open, kind of sad end but I do not know. am conflicted… Hope is also important!!! its turning out pretty emotional and draining.
and the reason I am here is for the comments… and for the interaction … so thank you
@ Dpac… no no i do not mean it is going to be like that…. I know that’s a TALL ORDER. But I love that film and the idea of a love story entangled in history. kind of inspires me.
Am touched. Good that you told me to read this piece. Memories, I feel, can arouse a sense of catharsis as long as you don’t have to deal with them. All the best…
Priyanka
Abosolutely Onir, all the best and looking forward
ON hiroshima.. it comepletely blew me away! saw it by chance at a screening about 12 years back at the French Consulate screening in New Delhi.
been searching for a copy ever since. got it a few months back
and go for the most gut-wrenching end if u ask me onir. be it sad or hopeful or anything in between
Thanks, Onir, for replying to every post! This is fantastic…I really appreciate the effort you are making to reach out to ur fans!!
hi onir,
a very touching post indeed!!! I dont know how u r going to combine all these experiences of yours in to a compact script, but good luck anyways…..expecting something like MBN…..I for sure would like to see a happy ending with all the things in this post (i know it is extremely difficult though).
raaj
Hello Onir,
I am happy to see that you interact for ideas and for improvement.
You said that- …my heart says an open, kind of sad end but I do not know. am conflicted…
I would like to suggest yoy that follow your heart. hope should be there but this should not be unrealistic or uncomfortable story/ending.
I am glad to know that you are going to contact Gulzaar sahab for lyrics. He is the best definitely.
Please give me some email address (I think you gave it in last reply, but I am not getting it…) where I can contact you or Shantanu sir with some lyrics.
All the best again. I am sure, you will make a great film.
@Priyanka, Arati… thanks .@Dpac… I think i will take your advice for the end :). @Raaj Pillai,Gaurav… Happy happy end will be difficult…. almost unreal… but maybe a ray of hope… lets see… Gaurav you can write to me at anticlockfilms@gmail.com
Onir…
I agree with what you say about the betrayal that you talk about, I am glad that kashmiri’s are remembering the good times rather than the bad times… Hope sense prevails and all pandits see them returning to their beloved land and their beloved homes…
Lets just hope so….
Onir,
i was wondering is it ok if i write you an e-mail or would that be totally inappropriate?
@ali… you can write to me.
hi onir…a very happy diwali in advance…read your post…find very touchy and imaginative and fascinating…well i would like to say u best of luck for your script..and more better luck for finding a right producer who doesnt cut short or make changes in your script…i know right and sensible producer is much more needed for a person like u..and hope this time it doesnt be case of lack of money and more inportant is now a days is publicity..
since it seems your film will have some kashmiris people..give a thought on NEIL NITIN MUKESH..he have got some type of kashmiri look..and i think he acted well in JOHNNY GADDAR..keeping in mind it was his first film.
and onir what i like to about u most is that u reply to everyone …and i think that’s good way to keep in touch with your audience..:):):)
Wow. If the end result is anything like the introduction you wrote here I’ll be at the front of the queue (when the DVD is released if nothing else).
And hey! With the WGA on strike for the forseeable future, you might be able to get some backing out of Hollywood with the right timing. Hmm… that sparks a thought that I’ll keep to myself for the moment lest I speak out of turn.
I love this concept — really love it. Can’t wait to see how it turns out.
@Priyank… thank you for your comment and suggestion. Yes getting the right producer is of utmost importance. But right now my concern is to get the script right. I like Neel very much as an actor… so lets see how the script shapes up. the only problem i see is that my male protagonist as it is turning out is at least ten years older to my female protagonist… and Neel is and looks very young.
@ James… thanks. and I will keep trying to guess what is that “thought”- though i think I know
Hmm… you might, but if you’re going in the direction I think you are then no. Actually I met a guy recently that worked in the film business here for about 20 years and is now teaching at one of our community colleges. He’s also still doing some small-scale indie documentaries. He recently took a trip to northern India (UP and Rajasthan I think) and screened a raw version of his footage for those of us in my office who were interested. Anyway, I wanted his thoughts on how the writer’s strike in the US might affect offshore projects. The answer he sent me was kind of vague, but he didn’t torpedo the idea out of hand. I’ll email you with more of the details, but the short version is that there COULD be an opportunity there if you were to approach the right people.
@ James… thanks for sharing the information.
“my male protagonist as it is turning out is at least ten years older to my female protagonist”
Hmm… I’m at least 10 years older than Urmila (more like 13 or 14 years older). It’s perfect!
Oh, and a very happy Diwali to you and yours in case I forget.
@James thank you. wish u a Happy Diwali too… unfortunately urmila does not feature in the scheme of things :);)
Well you knew I had to try anyway, hai na?
Onir..State and its people were/are not captured very intelligently on film in India for a long time now. I remember very few different instances like Mrigayaa, a film by Jahnnu Barua in Assamese..can’t remember the name!! and Roja. I really feel that as a social organ in understanding society at large Indian movies have to delve into movies/stories on social disconnect and look at the prism from the layman’s side. Yes, the state may raise objections from time to time but a certain maturity also may come about with regards to social stories.
I cannot even begin to imagine the scale of the social disconnect in India. People are not aware about the malaise that afflicts the NE in the form of terrorism businesses, AIDS, governmental incompetence, unemployment, parallel taxes, refugee movements, Army corruption and the likes.
The Naxalites have halved our country controlling great span of land area from Nepal to AP. The government is woefully short of answers to this more social and less violent disorder.
Police corruption is well documented but does anybody realise that the common man really has nowhere to go for justice.
All this needs to be documented on film. I don’t know if all of this will make money for its producers. I know you are travelling in a new direction with Anticlock Films. All power to you. I wish I could resign my job, come across and help you put together these important films, market them to an understanding world forum. Demand voice and get it. But, I don’t know whether I can do that. I am the malaise. I know the problems but want to earn my goody goody big bucks each month by being a part of a Corporate that practices something else.
So, my respect for you goes higher up. You are there doing it and I am writing this comment after which I shall clutch the straws of my seemingly perfect world and go to sleep!!
@Indraneel. hey Thank you. appreciate your comment a lot. To be honest there is a lot that one feels passionately about and want to do something. I do not know finally how much I will manage to do with Anticlockfilms. There is always the same old problem of finance and distribution. Trying to figure Make films which are not perceived as “issue based”(hate the term) for every so called “issue based” film one makes. Have to escape the stereotype and get people in.
I appreciate your sentiments about wanting to do something… the support and encouragement itself means a lot. At the end of the day i suppose each of us have our callings:)… and maybe one day you will find a way to combine both… till then thanks for the encouraging words :”>
hi….what to say onir…as i m too speechless…as there r 2 things going on my mind…one is related to that model…who have been facing all the stigma..n still trying to cope up with his life..n another related to kashmir…but i think i feel more related to model’s plight….because on somewhat grounds i too have been facing the similar situations in my life..where i hv been targeted by the Indian police for a totally fake case…very much publicised by media n different chennals…the woond n burnt of that is still on my mind n my soul….that is y i say that i m quite ashamed of this fact that i am a part of this corrupt system..who can destroy a person’s life without any reason…just to get some publicity they can really pull you down…to any extent…but as they say that there is always a silver lining after a dark night…so i am happy that i believed in myself and the the gift god has given me…things r looking much brighter to me…but still i would suggest that plz if u could do something 4 that model, than i would be more pleased…as at the time of crisis..these things really matter….may god bless u .
@Pankaj… thank you for your comment. I am sorry to hear about your experience…. there is nothing much one can say. It is something that you have lived thru and I can only imagine the trauma. I am glad that thinks are finally looking up. Best wishes
Onir, I hope you get to shoot in kashmir. An authentic backdrop will help the viewers relate easily to the story.In recent films on kashmir we saw foriegn locations masquerading as kashmir.
Did’nt connect,somehow.
Its been interesting reading your responses to the comments on your post.I suppose this
this feedback will add ,in some small way to your script and consequently to the movie.
Your response to new talent has been encouraging and gives hope to someone like me who has a few script ideas but does’nt know how to proceed further.
But I suppose there are many like me at PFC:)>-
@Arun….I plan to shoot the Kashmir bits in Kashmir.My film also travels to Mumbai and Delhi . But nearly 50% is in Kashmir and I do not plan to shoot in Manali or abroad and pretend that it is Kashmir…. and about ur sript ideas…. start writing the full script… once u start i am sure it will find a way to the screen if you work on it with conviction.
Onir,
I’m really glad you’re going for the authentic Kashmiri location. Too many have tried to pass off “fake” locations on us in the past and it simply doesn’t work. Deepa Metha managed it in “Water”, but only because (a) she didn’t have a choice and (b) the location wasn’t really central to the story. In the case of your project, the location is EVERYthing and the people of Kashmir deserve the “real deal”. Good on ya!
It’s great (and necessary) that you got affected by what you saw and experienced. Its a beautiful place with beautiful people, living through a geopolitical nightmare that doesn’t seem to be even close to ending. And like all such conflicts around the world, it is the common people on the street that gets screwed. I hope you write a great script and make a great film. Our film-watching citizen needs to be shaken up once in a while.
@ ORI Thanks for your comments. and am working towards a script that moves… it is a difficult script but i am happy the way its shaping up.
@James, actually one of the things I do not like about water is the setting. looks totally unreal and I think it would have been nicer if it was closer to beneras it terms of the look.
If she’d had it her way, Deepa-ji would’ve shot Water in Banares. But the violence perpetrated against her and her crew when they tried shooting there made it unsafe for them to continue. So she opted for an “unnamed” city that they literally built from scratch in Sri Lanka. (When people are tossing your sets into the river and sending you death threats, you either scrap the project or improvise. You probably know better than anyone what THAT could do to a budget.) In her interviews, she said they weren’t trying to pass off the set as Banares or any other specific city because they couldn’t build an exact duplicate within the time and budget constraints they had to work with. And the city that wasn’t central to the story, which is why I say she got away with it.
The REAL find in that movie was the girl (can’t recall her name at the moment) who played the kid. She did her lines in both Hindi and English (an English version was shot alongside the Hindi version for the 2-disc DVD set) even though she speaks neither language.
But I’ve seen films where the director tried to pass off … I think it was Delhi… as New York. Which he MIGHT have gotten away with if he’d stuck to very tight shots and/or only interior shots. But when you go for a wide exterior shot of a city with a skyline as recognizable as New York’s, you’d better bring the real deal. Besides, here in the US we drive on the RIGHT side of the road — a fact that seemed to escape that director. Kind of hard to make people believe that even New York drivers don’t know right from left. (He might’ve made that work in Boston but not NYC.)
Anyway, I’m glad you’re going for the real deal. It’ll make all the difference.
Aah Kashmir. The other day a cousin asked me “If you were dying and you got to visit just one place, what would that be?” Predictaly enough, my answer was Kashmir, possibly a hangover from all those stories Papa used to tell me about Paradise back from when he was growing up. Dadu used to work for the Railways you see. I think I represent the average Wanderlusting Indian - frustrated at not able to visit what is ours (in a worldly sort of way; tired of all the dispute anyway; sometimes I want to give up Kashmir to Pakistan on the condition that Indians should be able to visit anytime; anything to get the military out of there). Your posts makes me envy you, but it also gives me hope. Maybe, some day…
@Arsenik
Maybe we should say “anything to get the military AND THE MILITANTS out…”. after all all those people who have lost their home land do deserve to go back home…. but thats another story… you should anyway go ahead and make the trip….. let those stories come alive
Onir,
I just finished watching Ashok Pandit’s “Sheen” which deals with the 1990 jihad and resulting exodus. Not a bad effort in my admittedly uneducated opinion, though Subhash K. Jha disagrees with me on that. Anyway, right or wrong or in between, his thoughts on that film (http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/hindi/review/7083.html)
might help you in your efforts. One aspect I hope you’ll at least touch on is the alleged “staged” police encounters of the last year or so. I can’t speak to the truth of those allegations, but if the stories are correct that can’t be helping to stabilize the region.
You’ve found a(nother) story that needs to be told… if anyone can give it the treatment it deserves I know you can.