LOOKING BACK
As I look back now two years later at the process of realizing my first film…. There are so many thoughts that surface.
Year 1999 was when I met Sanjay Suri(actor) on the sets of Daman. In the remote jungles of Assam, the only occupation after pack up was to discuss ideas and concepts. That was the beginning of my getting down to actually writing scripts that we wanted to make. Every few months I would come up with a new script. The next few months would go in producer/financer hunting…. A new director, no big stars, an unconventional story, not a comedy, not a thriller and not much of sex… the moneybags saw red.
Finally tired of being turned down Sanjay suggested that I write something that we could produce ourselves. That was the beginning of MBN. I remembered having edited some documentary material on Dominique De Souza (He was the first known HIV positive case in India) and remembered his face. A face that moved me that haunted me. I decided that this would be the starting point of my film. But I did not want to tell Dominique’s story. Nikhil was born out of Dominique but became a different personality. I wrote fervently… smiling… crying… as over ten days I completed the first draft of the script. That was May 2004.
I remember how I was afraid if Sanjay would want to do this… afraid when I handed him the first draft. I had already told him that Nikhil turned out to be Gay, and he was prepared but as an actor actually doing that role is different.
He read it and then we met… and as we spoke of Nikhil, both of us choked… we realized that Nikhil was no longer a fictions character for us , but someone we knew and loved and wanted to give life to. He said “ I do not know, friends are telling me this is professional suicide…. But I want to do this “.
Every actor that I imagined while writing the film – Juhi, Victor , Lilette and Purab agreed to do the film… money came in from friends and family. Crew came in only on the basic of the script… all wanting to make this film happen.
August 2004 we were shooting in Goa…. Was I nervous on the first day of shoot? No… there was no time to be nervous; there were too many things to do….
I remember my DOP, Arvind … coming up to me during the shoot and saying that we need a round trolley. But we did not have the extra 15000 rupee. He turned around and said “don’t worry I will pay for it”; My assistants wanting to contribute so that we can have more junior artists for a sequence, Anita Dongre who did the styling send me a cheque of ten lacs to complete the film saying “I want this film to be complete’…. Somehow work never stopped despite so much constrain. I suppose when so many people want something so badly it has to happen.
I remember Arvind telling someone “ we are not working 18 hours every day because we are trying to save money… we are doing this because we do not have the money.”
After the film was ready we did our rounds of distributors… Shringar suggested we release 4 prints and go from one city to another, the then UTV creative team while watching the rough cut asked me whether I was showing them the rushes… finally Adi Chopra saw the film and loved… and without having to make any changes Yash Raj agreed to release the film.
I remember my fear, anxiety and excitement the day the film got released. It had been a long journey to reach here. It was important for me to realize if the journey was worth making? Would my labor of love be accepted? Was this my mission in life? The response (critics and viewers who saw it) was overwhelming…. and I am still traveling the world with my film.
Today and I know for always MBN will remain to me the most special film, the most important event that changed my life.
DreamSellers, Exclusive
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Onir,very emotional and touching article.
^:)^^:)^^:)^^:)^^:)^^:)^
Dear Onir,
In retrospective, it is most often the journey that is more special than the landmark, because the journey is what sets the context for the landmark to hold its meaning.
Great to read your post.
Goodluck with the next, do let me know if you’re looking for assistants.
Regards
Onir!
Great post on the evolution of MBN.
Please also write about your thoughts on AIDS and gays . There is too much of misconception about these topics and as a writer how do you approach these subjects? How are you able to empathize (I mean visualize oneself as the subject and express) such tricky and grossly marginalized characters? I am sure you must have gone and spoken to and interacted with such people to write and perfect the character writing. Please share your experiences regarding that as well.
Onir — after reading your article, I flashed back to our random afternoon together in Kuala Lumpur (during GIFA), where we ended up in Chinatown getting awesome foot massages from ancient Chinese men. Your complete nervousness when they started painfully pressing your feet, seems so not in character, and yet so perfectly in synch, with the man who transcended external and internal barriers to make MBN. I am very happy for you, and think that you have very good reasons to feel proud of MBN. Arvind (who also shot LOINS OF PUNJAB PRESENTS) used to tell me about how you guys pulled off certain shots without adequate resources or adequate lighting. And it’s awesome that you are sharing these experiences. PFC seems to have many readers who want to direct there own films some day, and I can’t help but think that quite a few may find the courage to go for it, after “Looking Back” with you. Love reading your posts. — Manish
hey Onir, finally your next post… and it was worth waiting.
Well MBN is a spl piece & will always remain… more so for you…
but we are eagerly waiting for your next… i guess your mission has actually started with MBN…….
Hey Onir, so finally the story is here n thnx so much. but only one post. i thought u will write atleast 2-3 on the same
…”I suppose when so many people want something so badly it has to happen”….thats so true. n Sanjay is gutsy for sure.
Thanks Onir for sharing background story behind the making of MBN. Its always interesting and educational to know the process behind the final product and DVDs can play a great role in this with Director’s commentary, Writer’s commentary etc. Lagaan started this recording of making the film and hope others will join in this mission.
Hope your DVD of MBN will have some extra moments in it just to shed the light on ” what had happned”
According to Shekhar Kapur, Amitabh Bachchan did not respond to him when he wished to add Director’s commentary in DVD of Bandit Queen.
Anurag Kashyap has complained that he also wanted to add commentary on DVD of Black Friday but producer did not inform him when they released the DVD. Hope Indian producer understand the importance of these special commentaries. This is bit out of reference to your post but still relevant because account of making is sometimes important with some films.
Films like Lowrence of Arabia and Love Story unfold many important things before us when we go through the account of their making.
Thanks again.:)
Hey shailesh and Shatrughan… Thank You
Kartik… Yes I agree the journey is more special than the landmark… you know something the day MBN released… I was at the premiere and I was numb. I did not feel anything…. because i was so nervous and also because I had seen it too many times on the edit. I kept looking at the faults and could not experience the pleasure of watching it as a viewer. The next two years as I visited different festivals with my film I realised that I could never sit inside, I was always as nervous… smoking countless cigarettes outside. Only last year when Fun Republic had a first film fest I saw the film completely… and without stress and felt happy about it
hey VP
Let me try and answer your question. How do I as a writer approach AIDS and Homosexuality? I think what one writes reflects ones stand in life towards certain things. Yes I had to do a lot of research on AIDS so that there would be no wrong messaging. But my basic approach to both the issues was becoming the character and also becoming people who were close to the character. I decided that i would look at my character with love and see him as “normal”.
I think i basically lived the characters as I wrote them.
Hey Manish. Thanks… and believe you me I was so nervous about the massage because it was my first ever. … AND I AM WAITING FOR YOUR FILM TO RELEASE. It is a rocking film. And once again without the support of Arvind MBN would not have been possible. He even used to do all the shouting necessary for me (since I am pathetic when it comes to shouting)…. and he bought me the pack up drink after the last day of shoot.
Thanks Naren.. Hope to start my next soon.
Phoenixnu… I am trying to get into “cut the story short” mode…
Hi Onir
Great to see your post again here…Thanks for sharing this great story with us.
I am a bit amazed when you say that you wrote the script in 10 days flat. It must mean that you would have been carrying the whole story in your head for quite some time.
I am writing a screenplay as well for the past 2 weeks or so, in my spare time. Just for the pleasure of writing it. Don’t expect anything to come out of it. Finished about 30 pages and 90 odd more to go I guess.
I have a basic question- When one writes the first draft, should it have the dialogues in Hindi? Is that the industry standard? I have more questions but won’t waste your time…:)
Hey RK
I absolutely agree with you about the importance of “making of a film” to be included in the DVD. In fact the making of my brother Nikhil was directed and edited by my friend Philip who is a experimental/documentary film maker from Berlin. It was released in 2005 as a part of the DVD(Overseas). Unfortunately my Indian distributors thought it was not important to have it and to my horror never had it in the Dvd and instead had a whole lot of terrible other film promos.
Unfortunately as a director one has very little say in these decisions. I have got a lot of interesting feedback from people outside India who have the DVD with the making.
Hey Dazedandconfused.
Yes the story was in my head for sometime… the first draft happened in ten days … just poured it all out. Maybe it was also my frustrations. But after that I worked on a few drafts before reaching my shoot script.
I am not really a good person to ask about script writing. I do it all wrong…:) I mean I write the dialogue version straight without a character sketch/step outline/story. for me I let the characters speak to me… one problem is sometimes I do not know where my characters are going to take the story…. But I believe that there are no absolute rules… you write the way you feel you can be most productive and then just be open enough to bounce it off to others
hi onir,
had read somewhere that before your first film you had worked on the promos of RGV’s BHOOT..and that you never got paid for it..is it true? what’s the story? maybe it could be your next post - BRINGING THE BHOOT OUT OF RGV’s CLOSET! what say?
hi Ricky
Yes it is true … and we discussed it here on PFC… I spoke about it as a comment on Vivek’s article on Bounced cheques…. I also spoke about it on Filmfare…. Now I think it is time for me to not go out of my way to talk about it. I spoke because it was important to take a stand. but Now I feel I need to concentrate on positive things and move on…
Hi Onir!
That was great way of putting across the philosophy of story writing. Bhavani was mentioning in her post of “detach”. When did you start detaching from the characters of MBN? Are they still with you?
Hi Onir,
Great Post!! It really gives us cinephiles a peek into the psychology of a writer/director. MBN was indeed a landmark movie.
Enough has been written about it, so i wont be writing/asking anything on it. I am always interested with the evolution of a movie maker. So, when i look at you and your progress, i look at ‘Bas Ek Pal’. For starters it had a great star cast, amazing music and you at the helm(post MBN
Hey V.P
That is why I say I am not a script writer…. am still attached… could never detach from my principle characters. I just form new attachments with new characters. Of course the intensity of attachment varies
hi Perfectmisfit
That is a difficult question. Will try to honestly answer. I think a lot of things went wrong for BEP. Let me start from the beginning.
The idea came to me much before I wrote MBN. I had seen a film by Almodovar called “Live Flesh” and I loved the idea. By then two of my other scripts had been put into cold storage already. I wanted to see what happens to the dynamics between the characters with same idea. So I think my beginning was a mistake. But I just was too attached to my writing and after MBN wanted to revisit it.
In terms of the film, I feel I failed in the execution of the climax. There are reasons but that
Thanks Onir,
That pretty much answers my question.I liked BEP too, including the climax..but it was nowhere near MBN in terms of impact. Anyways keep the posts coming and thanks for the long and fair clarification.
Hi Onir…
I saw M.B.N a while back, and I still remember how surprised I was that an Indian filmaker had chosen a gay character as the main protagonist in his film.
In a film industry where homosexuals are normally used to poke fun at or in some cases, we see a man dressed in loud pink clothes who is trying to be a women, it was indeed a fresh and actually, realistic look at gay characters.
That was a very brave effort Onir.
And it was a huge challenge for Sanjay to agree and pull off, which he did very well.
Its always a relief to see sterotypes broken, and you should feel proud at the fact that you are probably one of the only directors who initially projected that in a hindi film.
Also, Juhi was outstanding in the film, and I hope you continue to use this wonderful performer who truely shines in every role.
But, I have to be honest, I didnt enjoy B.E.P.
It started off very well…and the first hour was gripping, but the film, for me, lost momentum, and I really felt a bit let down by the second half of the film.
That said, I am looking forward to see what you do next, as I feel that you will attempt something off-beat, and that’s always a welcome change.
What are you planning next by the way??
Thanks Steve for your thoughts. I am working on a couple of scripts. am not sure which starts first. Each belongs to a different genre. I think in another week or so I will finalise.
Onir, Hi..Thanx for the good movies you have churned out till now..I’ve figured that you do not indulge in shot gimmickry at all and allow the story to take precedence above everything..thats commendable..after all tech is there to make the story unfold better..not any other way..I figure you can make a Premchand or Sarat Chandra classic very well on screen..what do you have to say to this?
In fact, sensitive directors like you understanding emotions and then putting it to the celluloid need to try some of these yesteryear classics or adapt them tothe present day in some form or the other..makes great movies for viewing!
Just a thought…you can throw it away..if u want!!
Hi Indraneel
Being a student of Comparative literature I have studied both Prem Chand and Sarat Chandra. I enjoyed reading them. In terms of Sarat Chandra I feel that so much has already done, also I would rather make a Bengali film or film set in Bengal set today then go back to Tagore and Sarat Chandra. Also the reinterpretation is very important … especially in the way women are portrayed.
Actually I would love to do a Tara Shankar Bandyopadhya some day. I Like Prem Chand but despite that I feel I am a little Alien to that Milieu and am not sure if I would do justice to it.
I am working on the remake of ChasmeBadoor and very often question myself: is the justification that the younger generation needs to see these film a good enough reason to re set them to today
wow thats quite sweet..theres are still good people in the world who work for something they beleive in and they helped you out financially..evne people who have money dont do it all the time..
I loved MBN..not only becuase it was different but it touched on subjects and showed different perspectives on how people react (like the parents kicking him out instead of supporting him) ..it was a good movie..
Thank jabina… yes the movie was only possible because of all those wonderful people
@ Onir i want to ask a question,on one scene of MBN in which sanjay suri was talking to juhi and juhi told that our parent is pround on you and sanjay suri replied “you also qualified NET/GATE (not sure),our parents also feeling pround on you” but at this scene juhi reply was just like “haa ye to hai(she was not sure) but they are surly pround on you”. it was very real scene and i was moved by this scene. This scene was in original script or it was improvisation???
Hey Onir..its nice to see you here….!!
Thanks Hemanth. Hey Shatrughan
Sanjay speaks of the UGC Grant that Juhi got for her “B.ed”. This scene and the dialogues were very much a part of the original script. Wanted to bring in the dynamics of a girl/boy equation in a middle class family. When I wrote the scene I kind of reversed my growing up years situation. … With a super intelligent younger brother and elder sister I was the black sheep of the family. And it was my sister who always made value myself. I think it works because it is not some over the top dialogue bazi situation but very simple/real and Juhi plays it so beautifully.
Hi..Onir…Hmm..Tarashankar would be quite challenging…would require some rewrites to suit today’s milieu and how would you treat those heavy verbose portions - ah, I dont remember the names of the novels…but all the same?? In fact Bengali Litt. has quite a few gems..have just finished my 4th read of “Purba Paschim” - Sunil G is damn good…quite a few movies may be nesting there for the new wave to try out - in the same formats or in contemporary treatments..
Onir: I loved your MY BROTHER NIKHIL, but felt BAS EK PAL was a outright bore despite some remarkable performance which seems to be your strong point. Looking forward to whatever you have to offer next.
Regards,
A.Shah
Thanks Akshay.
Indraneel…. I particularly love ” Kankabati” … almost like an Alice in wonderland. Would like to do a mix of animation and live … modernize it in terms of language. I think it could be fascinating. Not so much in touch with modern Bengali writing. Suggest a few to me… which might make good adaptations… will get hold of them.
thanks for the post. It’s been quite a journey for MBN Onir. i think the journey reflects quite well in the sensitivity of your film. in fact, i was quite glad that you chose not to mention how Nikhil contracts Aids. i remember your explanation from your last post. good luck onir and many more good films to come..
Thank you Smriti.
Hi Onir,
i loved MBN and the performances by Juhi and Sanjay were too good….BTW how’s ur equation with yashraj?….i am sure they can help u make a movie of ur choice without thinking abt. the budget..what say?….anyway keep up the good work (no more BEPs please)..awaiting ur next.
regards
raaj
thanx for the post Onir,I think incorporating all this on the final dvd, is of real importance and consequence as RK suggested. This should be brought to the notice of the concerned people. We need to see the personal comments of the director and the making. How about shooting and uploading it on the youtube??? I am sure cinema fanatics would love to watch it.
Hi Raaj
LOl… Thanks for your comment. My equation with Yash Raj is fine but I cannot identify with their kind of films…. no offence meant…. but cannot make those and i am sure they would not like to make movies from the MBN genre.
hi Suchita
I had shot the making… but the DVD distributors in india did not incorporate it. I never thought about uploading it. maybe I should since I have it. Thanks for the suggestion
Hello Onir,
My Brother Nikhil rocked my boat when I saw it for the first time. The thing I liked about this story was not the subject only but the way those relationships were handled. I loved the way the story was narrated and it was a visual treat.
I love Stephen Daldry’s “Billy Elliot” and it remains till date a favorite movie of mine. The movie had 2 essences and one was that of the family coming together. I saw really a strong connection like that film in yours also to the relationship between the siblings first and also the friend.
I am fairly new on this forum but see a lot of bashing done towards the larger studios. I am a struggler but still in Bangalore and not really aware of how studios work in Mumbai and cannot comment on that but You & your dear friends on this forum need to shake hands with the devil, if need be, to get a larger montage to tell your stories as they need to be told irrespective of what the other real issues are.
One of my many gurus (Kurosawa) had told in his last days that he would have loved to do all his films in English as it would have been viewed by a larger audience. I wish from the bottom of my heart that you all do not feel so in your later days.
So Dude, please do whatever it is but make those movies that you need to do and tell us those stories that you need & if it means you need to dance with the devil, grit your teeth and do the tango
Cheers,
Deepak
Hi deepak
Thank you for your comment. I think you got me a lil wrong…. I would be willing to dance with the devil as long as I know I am doing my steps/creating my dance. if i turn into a devil myself whats the point. I rather not be than be a shadow….
hi..thanks for the reply..by the way the promos of RGV KI AAG are on air..what do you think of the film..will it work?
Ricky…. Honestly am a totally non TV person, except for news. I have not seen the full promo…. just glimpses. Honestly I feel that the maker does not realize that “Mehooba Mehooba” is not a song about cleavage… it is about a incredible graceful dancer called Helen. And honestly the name itself RGV KI AAG puts one off… and the cast too is not something one feels really kicked about.
You are welcome Onir. RGV needs to take a break.
Yeh aag kab bujhegi?
Before the promos came out,i was very excited abt the film. But since the first promo to this mehbooba song, m not at all excited about the film. I think post-release ramu is going to admit this as his mistake like he has done few times before. the promos r bad, bad…really bad. n looks like again its a horny camera out there like it was in nishabd…u have to c the angles…in the promos…how nisha kothari is shot!!!
I was suprised to learn that the “domestic” version of the DVD didn’t contain the making-of feature. Living in the US, my copy has that feature and I assumed that they all did. They certainly SHOULD have. That feature, and this post, confirmed for me what I’d already guessed. In order for a project to succeed the way this one did, everyone from the top down has to have an almost “parental” pride and belief in it. Clearly that level of commitment existed on the sets of MBN, and the making-of feature lets the audience become a part of that very special ensemble for a short while. After seeing the goings-on behind the scenes and listening to the thoughts of the people who worked on it, it’s easy to understand why MBN was such a powerful movie.
Thanks for the insights Onir, especially for those not fortunate enough to have the international release. The distributor really shortchanged the consumers when they left that feature out on the domestic release. I’d suggest posting it on YouTube or another similar site so the viewers in India itself can have a chance to see it. Just a thought.
Phoenixnu … no wonder he says that he likes his women to keep shut and not be intelligent. His Camera which I suppose is his eye only “eyes” one thing… be it Nisha or Jiah or whoever…
Oops. Guess I should’ve read farther down. Somebody else suggested uploading the making-of video before I did. It might be better, thoguh, to upload it to the MBN website. YouTube is nice, but you don’t have any control over resolution and so forth. If you put it on your own site, you have total control over the presentation.
On RGV’s “Mehooba”, Urmila herself was pretty put out when she saw the final edit on that song. If I recall correctly, she said something like it “wasn’t 1/100th of what [she] had put into it”. Considering that Urmila almost NEVER makes negative comments about anyone to the media, that speaks volumes to me. Since I haven’t seen it yet,(it sometimes takes a while for Bollywood films to arrive in this region) I can’t really comment one way or the other on it. But even if I did, my comments would have to be consider in the context of my admitted and unapologetic bias for Urmila. Much as I might try, I can’t be objective where her performance is concerned.
Hi James, I am glad that you have seen the making. I know anyone who sees it can feel what went behind the making of the film… except a few for whom all those special moments means nothing… or rather who are in the film business not because they have PFC but for other reasons.
I will upload it on U tube soon.
LOL James… gonna pass that on to her….
hey Pratim…. if you are speaking of the AAG in context of RGV… I would love to call the fire brigade… hehe… and if u are talking of AAG in context to my reaction to him…. well yeh AAG “onir” hai…. and u know what that means :d
ha ha… no I meant his aag… god, what has he done to the mehbooba mehbooba song?! even the lajja item number by urmila was so much better… but I do have a gut feeling rgv will fire again at some time in the future… now the question is when? and more importantly will he be allowed to make movies till then?
Pratim… rest assured he will keep making movies…. the factory will keep churning more…. and yes I will not be suprised if he suprises us suddenly with something exciting… after all he made Rangeela/Satya/Shiva/ Company… cant deny the man his due
i remember he told me that in his early days rgv would start a new film before releasing his finished one… so that if that one flops he has something to fall back… of course that time he was more humble and there was no factory… handmade stuff (rajat kapoor’s production company’s called handmade movie if moi not wrong) is so much better than factory finish…
Onir..thats so true. N from urmilla to jiah..he has shot everyoen in the manner…obssesd with legs 4 sure. N ya Ramu is damn unpredictable.
About mehbooba song…i think he took it literally..its meh-boobs-a!! all over the place. thats about it.
PDC…Handmade Films is sunil doshi’s..i think. rajat kapoor is cinematograph.
I would want to see the rangeela Ramu back in form. What happenned after that… why can’t he come back in the love comedy mode
Pratim/Phoenixnu… I think Factory unfortunately has become what the word means… and now with naming the film RGV ka AAg… it just shows how arrogant and self obsessed he has become. I think he thinks he is GOD.
Suchita … absolutely right… i think the Rangeela Ramu was so rocking. I think there was a bit of that in Main Madhuri Dixhit banna….
Pratim,
Loved Urmila’s item in Lajja, but nothing tops Chamma Chamma (oops… that wasn’t Ramu though was it?
Regarding Rangeela,I’ll always hodl a special place for it, but in my humble opinion Mast was a much better film. Maybe it’s just that I identify so strongly with Aftab’s character in that one.
Speaking of identifying with characters, when Sanjay’s dream sequence in prison in BEP came around I actually said (out loud), “Yeah, Sanjubhai, I have that same dream all the time.”
Maybe I need a 12-step program, huh?
Onir…great post; to be honest i still havent seen MBN… but i remember wanting to see it so badly when the promos first came out… but couldnt make it. Hopefully soon i’ll be able to make a trip and finally see it!!
# Onir on July 30th, 2007 5:12 am
LOL James
Introspective, warm and nostalgic - just like the movie. Waiting for more such. And many more movies. Back in Bombay this weekend. See you then.
Baarish… its very simple… get hold of a dvd :d
and James stop day dreaming! and yes I will pass on your message…. I must say you keep track of everything…. I did not know that she was unwell.
Hey Bhavani
Thank you and yes time for Coffee/Tea meet
Stop daydreaming? What else does a not-rich, not-famous American have?
(Hmm… is there a script in there? Nah… been done. To death.)
Her accident rated a small mention in TOI, but that was about it. I almost missed it myself. Nothing life-threatening, but a badly sprained ankle.
hey onir,
my question to you has generated a lot of comments..sorry to invade your space..but looks like people here are not so excited about RGV KI AAG..but you never know..he might just pull it off this time..he also has another release after RGV KI AAG..it’s called DARLING(promos are interesting)..RGV could return to form..we all hope so!
Ricky… You are welcome to “invade” this space. and no worries you wont find any resistance :). Well a good film from anyone is always good news… but honestly the Fardeen and Esha beach song from “Darling” does not excite me enough to want to see the film…. its almost like Urmila from “Pyaar Tune…” has been replaced by Esha… but I suppose its a question of personal taste.
Urmila “replaced”??
… khabi nahin!!
Sorry… I couldn’t resist. :”>
James… Bad one!
Aw Onir, come on… you couldn’t see that one coming?
But to get somewhere close to back on-topic, I’ve noticed that most BW DVD’s don’t include ANY kind of bonus features. (n fact, the first one I bought that did was none other than PTKK.) Usually though, those aren’t anything more than interviews with the director and star cast, and maybe the music director and cinematographer. That’s usually the extent of a “making-of” featurette. That’s one reason I liked the Making of MBN so much. Yes, there were the requisite interviews, but we also got to “go on set”. It makes the audience feel a part of the team. It was also good that the interviews included some of the people farther down the credits list.
The “behind the scenes” approach CAN be taken too far though. Especially if it’s for a film with a lot of special effects. Revealing how those are done is akin to the magician showing everybody how he performed the illusion after the show is over. Some things are best left to the imagination.
But the way the Making of MBN was done was consistent with the feeling of the film itself, and with the way you describe the journey. When the art director (at least that’s who I think it was) mentioned the cast tending to minor details of set decoration — moving a lamp or whatever — I was reminded of a similar story from the music industry of the late-70’s. During that period, a small independent label called Stiff Records formed in London. They signed a lot of people who later went on to become quite famous, but at the time they were just struggling for credibility. and the story goes that these artists would be in the studio in the afternoon and sleeving records in the warehouse in the evening. That was the kind of feeling I got from the Making of MBN.
Anyway, like the film itself, the feature was “just right”. So that’s something to keep for your next project.
hey James
I think one of the reasons why the Making turned out special was because an
Well whoever made it, they did a super job. Being a part of a project like MBN has to be a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing. And because of that feature we (the audience) got to be a part of it too — if only vicariously. It’s not quite the same — I think one of the most special moments during the filming had to be when it started dawning on everybody just HOW good this film was going to be, and we couldn’t get in on that because … well, you just had to be there for that one. But seeing the cast and crew not just working, but in between shots and so forth, you could feel the vibe that was going on even if it WAS in a voyeuristic way. And very few BW DVD’s offer that. There was footage from the premier in the bonus features of Maine Gandhi ko Nahin Mara, but I can’t think of any others that I’ve seen that went beyond the usual stuff.
These features kind of “personalize” the film for the viewer and I’m really sorry that the domestic distributors of MBN didn’t seem to get that. Ah well, maybe the next one, eh?
James
In the second one too the same story was repeated. Overseas dvd’s carried the making in a double dvd package… in India they did not include it.
Well, I suppose that’s one benefit of living in the US… I have the 2-disc edition of BEP. I wonder if that’s the case with all of the domestic releases whose international versions include those bonuses. With DVD technology being what it is today (multi-layer media, etc.) there’s no reason why the domestic releases couldn’t include the bonus features even on a single disc edition. I guess it’s more important to make sure everybody sees the trailers for other releases. Or maybe the manufacturers just figure if you don’t know those features are available you don’t know what you’re missing so you won’t miss it. But I somehow doubt the DVD buying public will object strongly enough to bring about a change. And unless there’s some kind of uproar, the distributors aren’t going to change the practice on their own. As it is, there’s at least one presumably reputable distributor (at least I THOUGHT they were) that I suspect sold me a counterfeit. I couldn’t convince a jury of it, but I have my doubts about its provenance. So if they’re willing to engage in activity that’s clearly illegal, I don’t think public pressure is going to convince them to add bonus features to their releases — even if that pressure could be brought to bear.
Okay, rant over. I’m just a little disillusioned this morning. Short of opening up your own distribution house, I don’t know how you could alter the nature of the beast. If I were a rich man…
hi onir,
you have certainly make a mark by MY BROTHER NIKHIL and BAS EK PAL , infact i consider you one of the best filmakers available in our country to make films atleat which have sense rather than dozens of movie coming out every month by some well known senseless filmakers. I HOPE YOUR NEXT VENTURE WILL BE COMING SOON , i am waiting desperately for your brand of cinema,and onir bhai can you please make a film on the people belonging to northeast regions in our country or may be on the people of tibet …
as there are various issue of these peopole which the whole world MAY would like to see….
as these idea is yet to be shown on the screen.
i know filmaking is not a child play…, but i think it is a good new idea …what do you say..
hey Priyank… Thank you for your comments. Am in the process of finalising my next film…. but there are the usual problems that independent filmmakers like me face… I would love to do something in the north east… more so because I am born and brought up in Bhutan and a lot of me is because of growing up in Bhutan. The problem is that of taking a whole production to such a remote area costs a lot in terms of transport, stay, logistics of safety. But someday soon hopefully I will overcome those problems.
honestly, who cares about RGVkiAAG”, i really didnt like the sound of it when he first anounced the movie..and after i saw the mehbooba promo, i wanted to throw something at the tv. and you guys were right..the whole leg thing. I dont appreciate the way he portrays woman. and at least urmila and antara mali cold act..this nisha kothai girl maks my blood boil.
He’s went through making this movie for himself, not the audience.
Jabina…. I wonder if he has the time to figure out if he is watching the edit of RGVkiAAG, or Darlin or Sarkar or any of the other ten films under production… they have all started to look like each other…. I think he is making them more for sustaining his factory rather than himself. Do not want to believe that this is the Shiva, Satya , Rangeela man…. cant be… maybe a BHOOT has got into him…. :d
Onir, don’t forget this is the same guy who made “Kaun?”, which for reasons I’ll never understand took the box office by storm. Or so I’ve heard anyway. It was an Urmila showcase (which is always fine by me!) but it could’ve been SO much more! What burned me up was that it COULD have been a really great film. The concept was great — but the execution… not so much. And he wouldn’t have had to change very much to make it the movie it could have been. Just the timing of some key script elements would have done it. As it was, it was just a prime example of unrealized potential. Which is a real shame.
But the reviews were good, so maybe it’s just me.
haha yea, well lets just forget about him until he decides to be decent again..
and how about another entry mr?
ey post-ei onek beshi comment kora hoi jache!
Jabina…. Theek aache. Next week.
James the film “Kaun” did not really take the box office by storm. It had a moderate run. But you must realise those were the Bestdays of RGV and everyone who loved cinema would not want to miss anything by him. At the end of the day he did offer something innovative to Hindi films. Anyway I think enough of RGV for now
Hi Onir…Yes…your new post is overdue…RGV is overdue with a decent film, you’re right, he will never admit it in front of us…but it has now become an economic necessity that he keeps churning out all the drivel that he keeps throwing at us… and all the lousy self depreceating comments that he throws at us after his movies fail. Not that he has no talented people around him. He’s just stopped feeling them out, stopped working at his movies!!
Moving ahead, were you brought up in Bhutan? Or somewhere near Bhutan??
I lived in Birpara for a while. Went back last year…my, what a comedown in the economy!!
Sad!!
Make a film in the NE someday. Nice people there!
Cheers!
Hey Indraneel….. I was born and spend my entire school life in Bhutan. Mostly in Thimphu :).Yes I think the people in the north east and Bhutan are just such lovely people…. and also it is important to include people and places from other parts of India in our mainstream films… would probably make us feel more of an entity…. and promise to write the next post soon.
Thimpu I have not visited..but yes…
Thimpu I have not visited..but yes…have met a lot of Bhutias in life…very nice people…in fact we should see Regional Cinema come of age in ouyr lifetime and get promoted heavily.
Would love to see a nice Khasi film with demographic change issues as the background..albeit with some fabulous shillong band doing music duty!!!!
Onir, May I ask you a personal question? Why don’t you use your full name? Are you afraid that bloody Bollywood won’t accept you with your name? Why can’t you let us Bengalis be proud of ourselves? May I ask you where your real “desher bari” is?
Would love to hear from you!
BTW, Thimpu & Foontsheiling (is it right spelling?) were my first travel destinations as an infant.
Hey, I tried once before to steer the thread back closer to on topic, but if ya can’t beat ‘em join ‘em, eh?
As a Westerner who has till date not had a chance to visit India, I’d love to see films set in other parts of the country. In fact that was one of the few redeeming qualities about LOC Kargil. Now before I start an incident here, let me make it absolutely clear that my comments about Kargil are STRICTLY about the film and not about the topic, and should absolutely NOT be interpreted in ANY way as disrespectful of the men who lost their lives there. I just had a few issues with the way the film told the story, not the story itself.
But getting back to the subject of different locations, I enjoyed Pinjar, Banaras, Agni Varsha and some others that I can’t drag up from memory right away as much for their settings as their stories. Urmila was the reason for my discovery of Indian cinema, and it was Indian cinema that got me interested in India in general. (So you can blame her for my ramblings here.)
That being the case, it naturally follows that I’d be interested in seeing the rest of the country in the only way I currently have available. I know I’m only seeing the “filmi version” of life as you know it there — just like Hollywood films are only the “filmi version” of life as we know it here (and sometimes not even that!).
That’s what makes films like MBN so important. They point up that the things that unite us in humanity are much more important than the things that divide us as nations or races or religions. And they make us examine ourselves — which can sometimes be an uncomfortable thing to do. So if someone were to fictionalize the unrest in Gujuarat (pardon me if I misspelled that) or Tamil Nadu we — as citizens of the world — would have cause to look at ourselves in light of those kinds of circumstances. Whether or not we actually have a “real” connection to the people in those regions, we’ve seen the same kind of thing happen in our own homelands wherever we live.
But moving to a unique location doesn’t mean a film has to be about conflict. As many have already pointed out, there are a lot of really good people in the northeast as an example. Maybe if the rest of us got introduced properly, we’d have a better understanding of each other. That’s gotta be a good thing right?
Or maybe I’m just finding my “inner idealist” in choosing to believe that understanding would promote mutual respect and (dare I say it?) a more peaceful world. Hey, it could happen. Right?
right?
Indraneel… the Bhutias and the Bhutanese people are different… Bhutias are from Sikkim and Nepal… if you call the Bhutanese ppl Bhutias they would be very upset :). Was in Shjillong last year… rocks and the music is also so lovely and the Momos….ummmmm.
Charles Foster Kane aka Antonio Ricci . Well honestly calling myself Onir has nothing to do with not wanting to be know as a Bengali in BW. If u see the scenario there are enough Bengali directors and actors who are Bengalis and have established themselves.
I stopped using my surname when I was in Class ten because in school they would not let me use my Mom’s surname and so I decided to do away with my Dad’s. Then I further Shortened it because In mumbai I was tired of being called AnilBhan/ Anil Bhai/ Amir Bhan/ Amir Bahi…. everything but Onirban. So i decided to name myself Onir.
By the way the correct spelling is Phuntsholing
My Desher Bari will always be for me my Bari in Bhutan….
James… you are correct. I would like to introduce characters from other parts of India… especially the north east in my films without making any issue about it. would like them to be there just as one of us….. I think it is important to start to see “them” and see “them” as Us
hey onir bhai dont u think its wrong to caterize those people as north east, why mumbai wallas are not called as south west… anyway atleast include them in your movies..since we all cinema passionate people are bored of seeing maharastrians and delhities in every hindi movies …..
n please can u tell me what has happened to script writing in film industry , after watching movies released this year i could not figure atleast 5 movies which have an excellent script or a may be the original script , script is considered to be the backbone of the movie.., but now it seems it has become the tail of the movie …, look at the jhoom barabar jhoom which i think has proved that film can be made without the proper script also , just because it has a taglines of yash raj films …, even ramu has run out of the scripts and has started making remakes…
i think the biggest problem is all the good scriptwriters are independent filmamkers like u , annurag..,whom the big production house seems doesnt want to give a chance…
n thats why we are left watching the usual , unusual love stories, stupid comedies with the background of new york and europe..
Hey Priyank… the reason for calling the “North East” - North East is not to categories them but it is geographical and political term used for the seven sisters of the misty east because of its special positioning in the Indian constituency.
I honestly think there are a lot of talented young writers but most of the industry still does not want to spend time and money on research and script development. I have been trying to work on a script dealing with Child trafficking for the use of them as camel Jockey. Now to do this script needs funds for script development, travel etc. but most producers when they hear that it is in such basic stage resort ‘ kay kuch ready script nahi” :(.
hey onir bhai ..
thank you very much of explaining the meaning of the norh east…:)
a script on child trafficking.. sound intersting man:-?
n yes in order to write a script on this u have to travel to those parts of world..,
perhaps which producers do not want to pay for ..
n thats why it seems in upcoming time more movie remakes or script inspired( copied) from english movies, books will be available to us…
:(:(
Exactly! “Seeing ‘them’ as ‘us’”. That’s a short, and beautifully to-the-point version of my rather long-winded post. Expand that thought to a global scale — where Americans see… say… Chinese as “us” or Chinese see Tibetans as “us” and maybe we’ll start seeing a world where people don’t fear those from somewhere else simply because their language or customs are strange to them. Not in my lifetime I don’t imagine, but maybe in my children’s or their children’s.
At the end of Maine Gandhi ko Nahin Mara, Anupam Kehr makes a statement to the “court” and in it he says something along the lines of “Buildings falling in New York are too far away for those in Delhi to care. Earthquakes ravage Japan, but teacups in Washington are too far for trembling.” With technology making the world smaller by the day, you’d think we’d understand each other better. Instead, we seem to be fighting that much harder to keep ourselves segregated…
But enough of philosophy. The child trafficking story sounds intriguing — especially since I don’t know anything about the practice. The usual motive for such things is a bit darker than camel jockeying. But then again, I’m assuming that that actually means what it sounds like it means…
Priyank … yes I need to travel to th e middle east/pakistan/and london for the script. Am already talking to the person who runs an NGO of the rescued kidsin London and was responsible through massive undercover operations to get the practice banned in the middle east. Lets see…. how I manage
James… if you google you will get to know the full scenario. It is not as simple as it sounds. These kids are between the age of 3 and 9. underfed and overworked so that they stay light. also many die or become physically hanicapped due to accidents during the race. On top of that very often all these kids are also subjected to sexsual abuse… it is very very disturbing.
ah… I knew there had to be more to the story. And just from your brief description, yes it IS very disturbing. A couple of thoughts occur to me. The first is be very careful if you decide to tackle this story. Clearly there is a lot of money involved in this business and if you expose it for the world to see you’re likely to make some pretty powerful enemies. And we want to see many many more Onir films, so watch your back.
Second, I don’t know if you’ve considered it, but I’ll throw out an idea that you’re free to disregard if you like. Would it be easier to get funding if you were to collaborate with another director/producer who was more established? A couple of names come to mind but the one that keeps jumping to the front of the queue is Deepa Mehta. She’s taken on some pretty gritty issues and she’s also had experience in ticking off powerful people in the process. and more important how to survive it. Of course, she IS living in Canada now and the uproar over “Water” may have had something to do with that. If not a full-on collaboration, she might have some useful advice at least. Another name that comes to mind is Anupam Kehr. He’s produced a couple of things and is well established in the industry. Just the value of his name alone might make financiers more amenable to your project. And my feeling is that neither of these would require you to compromise the story you’re trying to tell. That’s only based on what I’ve read though, since I obviously don’t know either of them personally. So as I say, you can take this suggestion for whatever you think it’s worth. I’m just floating the idea on the off chance that you hadn’t considered it yet. It’s also possible that there might be other “offshore” money available. If you can get in touch with the right people, there’s always money SOEMwhere.
Onir - I am sure you are familiar with the case that was filed in Miami by the parents of a former jockey. Saudi Arabia is putting tremendous pressure on the US to throw out the case due to lack of jurisdiction. The case and the articles surrounding it have some excellent (and extremely distrubing) information on the situation.
While the practice still continues it is a little heartening that many countries have introduced robots instead. But to hear about thousands of kids who don’t know where they came from and can’t be repatriated is beyond scary.
Let me know if you need any of those links.
James… thank you for your suggestions
Hey Shripriya… Thank you for the offer. I have been doing a lot of research on the subject. am in touch with Ansar Burney, Human rights activist from Pakistan based in london and responsible for getting Child Jockey races banned in middle east and Sudan. He has offered his help for the project. trying to put together some fund so that i can travel with him as he monitors the current situation in the middle east and Sudan.
Very very disturbing stories. I am aware of the robots replacing kids. but explotation of kids take some other form….. and what I would like to do is use any one story as a base to basically talk about the horror of child abuse. One form might be disappearing…. but other new ones are taking shape and we all need to start thinking.
Oh man… where have I left my brain? Don’t know why I didn’t think of her before now. The American singer Pat Benatar has had a very vocal campaign going against all forms of child abuse for pretty much her entire career. She’s done her song “Hell is For Children” at every single concert she’s played for the last … almost 30 years. She’d completely support this project if she knew about it, I know she would. How much support and what form it might take I couldn’t say, but she’s done very well for a lot of years in the music industry, so there might be some funding to be had there.
And by a happy coincidence, I’m seeing her show at House of Blues in a couple of weeks. I’m not such an important figure that I could get a face-to-face meeting with her, but it’s possible I might be able to get a message to her somehow. I’ll do my best anyway. AND she lives in San Francisco, so she’s probably seen or at least heard of MBN. That’ll help with credibility for sure.
I’ll start working on a pitch and send it to your gmail address so you can review it and make whatever changes you want. Obviously I can’t guarantee success, but as Wayne Gretzky used to say: “100% of shots NOT taken don’t go in the net”. Can’t hurt to try, hai na?
Hi, Please suggest me how much will be the budget for this movie?
I want to make a very low budget movie. I will not use trolly or light. Entire movie will be shot with steady cam and use natural light (complete movie will be done in day light). 70% of the shooting will be in a house . Look of the house will be like a middle class level. 30% will be exterior (jungle and beach). There will be 3 lead characters. 4 to 5 extras. No sets required. back drop is middle class house. I will use all the new actors who will agree to act without or for a very less remuneration. so how much will be the budget. Just take a guess.
One of my friends suggests me to shoot it using HD cam and then convert to negative. Will it work to project in theatre. Howt will be the output? Usually what is the movie camera rent and reel cost. In other words please suggest me how to shoot this movie with least budget and do the theater release without spoilling the story. If I sound dumb then I am ready for criticism.
hey James… Thank you for your effort and support. finger’s crossed.
Hi Vje… no you do not sound dumb. You should consult you DOP before deciding on HD or film. Because the subject and the style is also important. Maybe 16mm could be a good idea. The problem with HD is that the Camera is expensive and also Di will cost. unless someone gives you a super deal…. it might not be a great idea.
In terms of budget …. very difficult to just give a wild figure…. depends on your equation with crew also. But I think if you are doing dolby digital sound and 35mm cinemascope… ti will cost u around approx +/-75 lacs. ( like a Bheja Fry)
I know this reaction might sound little out of place but honestly I didnt like MBN or BEP much. I remember watching BEP in osians last year. after watching both your films i felt that characters were never established properly and lacked depth and were very weak and I think mostly good films stand on the weight of strong characterizations. With MBN i thought it was very well structured but not necessarily very well detailed in terms of characterization, no character for me stood out, i could only see a very interesting thought behind each character, but I felt none of them live and breathe.
With BEP, i felt you were trying to do many things at one time. Suri’s character’s experience in the jail with another guy??? It just took the story to another direction, taking away the attention completely somewhere else. The story itself was unconvincing. the jimi, juhi track looked wierd, i found juhi’s character regressive, Urmila’s dillema unconvincing and her presence very passive, Suri’s madness and the change in his perception towards the climax very contrived, jimi’s opinion about everything was illogical, rehan was way too underdeveloped and unreasonable. I felt that establishing so many characters and getting deep into their minds is extremely difficult and to top it you had these wiiiideeee range of characters and you had to justify each of them. If you remember keislowski’s Blue then you’ll find that he bares his character completely out in the open so well that after watching the film you feel you know Juliette binoche’s character inside out. but then it took him the whole 2 hours to do that. its the same time in which you were trying to do the same thing with soooo many characters.
I dont mean that its impossible to do what you were trying, may be if it had worked we’d have been studying it in film schools and cosidering a modern classic and theres nothing wrong in trying to do something which sounds or may be haproven unachievable because without this attitude we might have missded out on some really fantastic films.
I just mean, in future just be careful with handling your characters.
I’d love to read your opinion on this.
Adesh… since you have passed your “opinion” about how you feel about my characters… and it seems more like a statement with so much of authority and finality that it does not really allow a discussion.
Anyway I do not agree with you at all. The most common reaction that I get regarding this is that my characters are intense, strong, real… interesting characters with a lot of depth. Sometimes it takes one to recognise another. Whereever I have screened MBN people have connected with one or the other character.
I suppose you are unaware that MBN is currently being screened in 40 different schools all over Canada…. is a part different Univercity studies in the US and India. .. anyway I never claimed I made some modern classic and it does not bother me if some film school is not screening my film…
at the same time… you have the right to not connect to my film / character. Honestly too many people have felt otherwise and most importantly I do not agree with you at all so do not see any point in really trying to figure out why you feel the way you do.
I could go on about each of your points but… basically I completely disagree with most of your observation… save for the fact that Yes strong characterisation is important….a nd thanks for your advice.
hey Onir
Love the post. What went behind shows on the screen. I was watching it with my mother and I think we could talk about a lot of unspoken things after the film. I could not stop my tears because I remembered my Dad who is now dead never acknowledging me being different. Thank you for MBN. has made a difference for many from the community. Juhi, sanjay and Nigel were so loveable. I wanted to be Nigel.
@Onir,
” am sorry to disappoint you but I suppose you are unaware that MBN is currently being screened in 40 different schools all over Canada
Hi
Onir
One of the problems with BEP was that all characters were showen confused. It was never clear to me why Juhi got Sanjay released from prison. Also if all characters were “modern”, I was wondering how Juhi
could tolerate and bear with so much of abuse
from her husband in the movie. Also it’s not clear how Urmila falls in love with Jimmy and if she
still craves for Sanjay.
Hey Onir,
I am not at all disappointed to know that MBN is being screened all over the world. Its great. And by writing what I felt about the film, I was not passing any judgement, it was just an opinion which I share with everyone I know. Its just that, may be I didnt meet those people who thought otherwise. But obviously you must have, because you have taken it all over the world and interacted with more people than I have.
And I definitely didnt mean that to measure a film’s success, you have to see that in how many schools it is being screened. You misunderstood me there.
And I think only you can be your worst critic, I believe it holds true for most people. And I am sure you know your work, intentions, strength and weakness, so you know better where you need to work more and what you need to refine further.
But to put my opinion in a line, espicially about BEP, I’d say that I felt you were trying to get deep into n number of characters, n number of lives, n number of issues, n number of emotions and n number of character dynamics and arcs at the same time which, according to me, stopped you to get justify and establish the inner struggle/dillema of even single character.
Well, this is what I felt as a viewer and you can disagree with it. And then I think another factor working here is that different people take different things out of the same thing and may be thats why we all love this medium so much.
Anyway,
thanks for the reply,
Adesh prasad
Hey Cubicle Bound Misfit
I totally agree with you. I do not think being in a university/not makes a film bad/good. That is why I added
Hey Shantanu
Hey Adesh…Maybe I understood you wrong…. but your writing seemed more like a judgment. Of course as a viewer you have every right to air your opinion. I would be stupid to think that MBN is flawless. There are a lot of things that trouble me when I watch the film now. However we have differences in what we think is wrong with the film. But I honestly like the film and the characters a lot… despite the flaws.
In terms of BEP yes you are right that maybe because I was dealing with too many complex characters, and situations at the same time…. I could not do justice to each character 100%. And you are right different people take different things from a film… and sometimes a different time or milieu brings forth some different reactions.
And thank you for sharing you vies anyway…. whether I agree or not… its welcome.
When a “thing” — a film, a song, a book, whatever — is created the people who come in contact with it will fall into three groups. 1. Those who like it, 2. those who don’t, and 3. those who don’t care one way or the other. The creative success (as opposed to the commercial success or critical success) of the object in question might well be measured by the size of the third group. Whether you love a film or hate it, it got your attention and spawned a reaction. And those in Group #2 might have other motivations for their reactions other than the quality of the work — or lack of it. Often when people say they hate a film — even when they present ostensibly reasonable explanations — it’s because the film hits too close to the bone. I’m not saying that’s the case with any specific person — here or elsewhere — but it does raise questions that are better left for introspection than discussion.
As for Juhi’s character in BEP tolerating domestic violence for as long as she did, Onir you are absolutely correct in saying that this has nothing to do with being “modern” or “backward”. Women the world over (and to a lesser extent — or less well-known anyway — men as well) stay in relationships where they are routinely abused physically or otherwise. They do it for a variety of reasons making excuses for their abusers sometimes for the duration of their lives. They are beaten, degraded, humiliated and treated as chattel until one of two things happens. Either they die — sometimes at the hands of their abusers, sometimes at their own, sometimes at the Creator’s — or the situation becomes so intolerable that they break free from it. I know many such women right here in the US and there are countless others both here and abroad. And people a WHOLE lot smarter than me have been mystified by the phenomenon for ages. But the fact remains that people only change when change is less painful than the pain they’re currently in. And it takes a mind-bending amount of pain to get a victim of domestic violence to consider leaving as less painful than staying.
But perhaps there’s a point to be taken from Adesh’s comment. Juhi’s story in BEP could have been the plot of a film all by itself. So could Sanjay’s or Jimmy’s. Even in the context of the story as it was written, if the focus had been directed towards any one of these characters and the others used as supporting stories maybe … but it wasn’t, so the only value to be taken from the discussion is a lesson learned for the next one. (I suppose the other direction could have been to go with several compartmentalized stories a-la Darna Mana Hai?)
But it’s easy to be a “Monday Morning Quarterback”, na?
@Onir,
Thanks a lot. This human quality to disagree amicably really deserve kudos.When it comes to movies,I am a rather weak student of horror genre and humanity in all its facets does not excite me that much still I think MBN was a good effort.Hope you will not confine yourself to only one type of movies and will explore from religion to giraffe.
Regards,
cubi
Cubicle…Thanks. Yes am looking at trying my hand on diferent genres… lets see….
James I feel that five characters and their complex stories is not a problem. Of course each of those stories could be a seperate film… so could each story in Amores Perros or Crash. The problem is not the number. If the characters seem unconvincing then maybe it is a problem with the writing. and even if it was one story it could have faced the same problem. because screen time, space is not the question… detailing is being questioned… But there are always so many different ways of re doing a film… ech person would choose a different path… so….
I was really just “thinking out loud” and trying to see things form a different perspective. I agree that putting five stories together in a convergent central story is not a bad way to go. Tom Clancy writes that way all the time — or used to anyway — and creates some of the most interesting books I’ve read. I think (and he’s free to correct me if I’m wrong) that Adesh’s point was that he couldn’t identify what that convergent central story was in BEP. If there’s a criticism there, I mean for it to be a constructive one.
So if you took an exit poll at the theater, you’d probably get at least five different answers when you asked what the film was about. But that could be said of ANY film to one degree or another, because we all take away from it what we find most important. Someone with direct or indirect experience with domestic violence might think Juhi was the focal character, another who perhaps was wrongfully accused of a crime or other misdeed might think Sanjay’s was the central story. And who knows? Maybe there’s even somebody in the world who just identifies with Sanjay’s dream sequence in prison.
James LOL
Ashish. Thanks for your comments, and am glad that the film helped you open up with your mother. A lot of people I know identify with the father son conflict whatever their sexsual preferences might be. am happy even if has made a difference to anyone :). and next time i need a Nigel I will message u …
Speaking of Urmila, is there any news update on her ankle? I’ve been checking but apparently the healing wasn’t as newsworthy as the injury. Guess it never is huh?
Dear Onir Sir,
You can easily upload the making of mbn on pfc or is it of a too long duration??
Check out Pratimda’s latest post:)
hi onir,
Firstly I would like to tell u that I am from your university(J.U.). That is one reason that I was waiting for MBN. I have cried for few books(pather panchali).but I never cried for any film until I saw MBN. I dont want to tell anything about MBN. Crictics told everything. But I was disappointed after Bas ek pal. What was that? I went to watch BEP in Nandan(kolkata). It was horribile. Not only the movie but also the enviornment. Is not it horrible to watch a dark movie in an almost empty theatre?
Another thing is to be discussed. Actually I am from Bankura. It is a small town. MBN was not displayed there. Though it is tough for a small budget film to distribute in such remote areas yet there are viwers for such films? In fact MBN not reached Burdwan or Durgapur.
Anyway best of luck for ur next. I am waiting.
@sulakshana i think 40 mins will be too long to be uploaded here.
@Maddy. Thank you for your comments. Yes I know there is an audience even in small towns for a film like MBN but it is very difficult to get the distributors believe also. But different organisations like the SAATHI have organised screens across the state… and in Bankura too.
I am sorry that you did not like BEP. For me desipte its flaws it means growth as a film maker for me. I know people did not flock the theatres to see BEP, but even when MBN released there were three people watching the film in Jaipur… so it was pulled off…. empty halls is not what defines a film( that is not disregarding that you have not liked BEP)… johnny is such a good film but the collections are terrible… maybe the audience is not ready for dark films… maybe… there are questions which we are all trying to find answers to… me for myself… thanks for your best wishes
Hey onir
thnx for ur reply.I didn’t like BEP- its not true. actually I could not communicate with the film. It doesn’t mean that the movie is not good. recently I watched a french movie IRREVERSIBLE. I could not communicate with that movie. It doesn’t mean that IRREVERSIBLE is not a good movie. Its an acclaimed movie. I think the problem with BEP is that our relations are not complicated in that level as in the film until today. so audience didn’t like the movie. but I think after few years relations will change and the those type of movies will be accepted. I want to cite another example. Few years ago a movie came FILHAAL……..great performance by susmita sen, tabu, palash sen & of course sanjay suri……..I liked the movie too much…..but the movie failed in BO………bcoz the storyline was far ahead of the age.
What u said is true that BO collection does not define the quality of a movie.
But yet there is a positive sign that indian audience are changing. so Chak de is a heat.
Hey, have you watched The Bong Connection. Thats a very good movie & its a big hit in kolkata.
I heard that u r remaking Chasme Baddur. Is it true?
Pls reply.