Media Happenings In India
Hi Folks,
Just concluded my whirlwind tour of India. While there is good news to report on my project, will make it public when a couple of legal formalities are completed. But what was outstanding and infectious was the media mood and the general mood in Delhi and Mumbai.
I can safely conclude that there is more excitement in the air, on the television and in places like Prithvi, Mocha, etc, than all of NY and LA put together.
Of course not all that is good news. Like the city of Gurgaon, which has great apartment complexes, wondeful malls and NO AUTO and NO PUBLIC transportation (moral of the story, agar sabzi tarkari leni hain to mall jaon), television in India is getting ahead of itself, in that it is buzzing but the basic infrasturcture is missing.
Most programs and certainly reality programs suffer from a “filmi” obsession complex. Also we as a group in the film industry suffer from a “unnecessary respect for the elders” obsession complex. So if Shabana and Mahesh Bhatt are called to judge a contest, then it is the right of the participants to question their judgement and IT IS NOT DISRESPECTFUL to do that, if the so called “elders, albeit merely because they were born a few years before us,” like Mahesh et all, cannot handle someone questioning their authority and decide to walk off, then taht is also their right, what is an absymal “low” is that news channels reporting on this 24 hrs a day and 24 times per hour. Also why do we have TV celebrities being participants? we have a nation of a billion plus, surely there can’t be a dearth of participants.
Saw Nadira’s opening play at Prithvi. Was great to see the buzz there in that complex. Now why did they stop Irish Coffee!!! Sure there were the genuine supporters of theater which made me feel very positive of the state of the affairs in Mumbai, from a creative perspective. There were very few “pseudos” in the crowd, probably more are found in plays here in the US. Go PRithvi, you will provide actors for my next 10 films….if I get to write them…..plus the paan outside of Prithvi was great.
Was good to run into PFC’s like Suchita in Delhi. Go PFC!!! Go Suchita, enjoyed the discussion a lot more than having chai or blowing smoke (oh well I don’t smoke) with some kurta clad “anti capitalist,” who anyway other than talking, does nothing meaningful in life. Go PFC’s who are not afraid to be called by their name and identity on PFC!!!
Again back to the point of “drama,” what was the need for SRK to apologize to Manoj…goes to prove that Bollywood cannot handle a joke on themselves and tend to take themselves a little too seriously.
So why do TV news channels in India repeat the same piece of news every five minutes??? And who gives a rat’s behind whether some guy named Gary is set to coach India, surely there has to be more newsworthy news, as opposed to having 465 types of discussions on a balding, mid 40’s South African, who anyway does not like the country or travelling in it.
So it is actually a pleasure seeing a Ghar Ek Sapna, sure it is a soap, but at least the accent is Bihari and the story,desi.
And talking about travelling, Jet Airways and Jet Lite are way better than any United or Southwest flight that I have taken. Kingfisher is like a new age “I am different filmmaker form Bollywood,” filmmaker ……….. a pouting woman is a pre requisite for good service/film.
But the buzz in places like Mocha, Juhu, on what the new and old “new” age audiences want, over Kheema Pau, is so encouraging to first time film producers/scriptwriters like me, makes me want to shift shop to Mumbai yesterday.
Of course we know why Aaja Nachle flopped…..call it over exposure, EVEN PRIOR to the film release……..picture this. I get up in the morning in Delhi and put on the telley and we have Madhuri in an interview….I shower and show up at Palam for my flight to Mumbai a couple of hours later……and we have Madhuri doing a re run of the same interview……then I get aboard my flight, show up in Mumbai, check into the hotel, put on the tv and we have……….Madhuri doing a re re run of the same interview…..then I do some property shopping, head out to meet friends, come back to the hotel after dinner and we have Madhuri doing a re re re (etc) run of the same interview……..even if you had missed her all this while….you won’t after a 24 hours stint…where we saw her 48 times…….I just skipped that channel for the rest of my stay there.
And on property, my fascination with Yaari Road came to a sudden end, due to overpriced properties and shabbily maintianed houses…suddenly JP Road and Versova are the new “black.” But wait, flop filmmakers like RGV live on JP Road, does that mean if I end up there I will also be ….? Ok now I am getting superstitious and no I should not say negative things about…..ok now I am getting diplomatic…welcome to Bollywood…welcome to the unreal world.
Now despite Sanjay ”the noble, cause I make cash entries to AB in my books but don’t pay them in reality” Gupta—I am actually looking forward to his Dus Kahaniyan….no, not because it is different, it is not, they are “Bollywood” shorts, just the whole package deal makes it fun.
All in all a fun, exciting, happening trip. Now look forward to returning in Mid Jan
Sincerely,
Vivek “first we had inspiration from the west in films, then in TV, then again in TV, then again in TV, then again…”Kumar
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Vivek
Congrats and All the Best for your project!
You make me want to go to Mumbai right away.
Sweet insights……..
You did not like Mrs Nene’s at all?
She does look gorgeous….
kya karti hai yaar,
note to myself- have 2 kids asap??
K
Hi there !
Too bad we couldnt catch up !
Kavita thanks. Nothing against Madhuri, but now that I have seen the other side, not sure about the 2 kids part since am not qualified to go there, but loads of make up can make any suburban, Denver housewife, look very chic…again could well be natural, but could well be oodles of Body Shop, plus camera and lenses.
Playback, no worries my man, now that Versova is most likely going to be home, we shall catch up on the next trip coming up shortly. This time we can meet at some Dhaba in Versova, which is like the hangout place of all tele folks and is run by an uncle of a friend of mine, Jigyasa, whom I am considering as editor for my film and who was the AD on Don and Being Cyrus.
OK
Whats this Dhaba called ?
Good to know u had a successful visit !
The Dhaba ( by Prataps) in oshiwara near teh pilice station. Don’t ask me where that is, all I know is that is how it was described to me. Plus I get very confused between Versova, 4-7 Bunglows and Oshiwara, but somewhere there, also when I saw the size of Naana Naani Park, it is just about sufficient for One Nana and One Nani:)
Ha ! Ha ! Ha !
Okie ! Theres an Adarsh Bar there too ! Its supposed to be a similar place.
Are u planning to produce the film too ?
Sorry bud, I don’t drink, other than a glass of red wine every two weeks, so will pass on the bar, since I am a teetotller, or a diet coke, have had two cans of diet coke every day since 1997 Feb, can totally have tea with you, although again without milk, since am lactose intolerent, so perhaps a mocha chai.
Yes am part producer, i.e. my company, Golden Gate Creations is, although it does not mean much, since i am clueless on that aspect and it will be the party pumping in the money that will be calling all the shots, other than the choice of actors and director, which was my only condition.
Hey Vivek, back to work!!! what else!!! hope you had a great trip.. perhaps you should check out property in lokahandwala..
How was Goa Suchita?
yep now the search is going to be in Lokhandwala, 4-7 bunglows and Oshiwara…hopefully…I can live there and still avoid becoming too filmi:):). In Juhu all I saw at restaurants was everyone eating brown bread, egg whites, soups and salads, almost as if the whole town was made up of aspiring actors….wanted to get some fat, normal people, regular around me, hence rushed back to the US:)
ha ha brown bread and egg whites:d good one.. couldn’t do Goa… had to rush back:(
oh and the gym, had all these wierdos eating these GNC multi vitamins…I was like if they even concentrated half their time on becoming better actors as opposed to PT Usha’s and Carl Lewis, I would consider casting them…now I can only consider them for “Rambo and Rambess Part 46.”
ha ha.. your trip seemed very interesting…hope t was successful
Vivek, congratulations on your project nearing fruition. I will eagerly wait to hear more details when you can provide them.
On the “overexposure” of Madhuri being the reason for Aaja Nachle not doing as well as expected, this doesn’t explain why OSO succeeded, does it? If anything, SRK was all over every channel, as I understand, not just one. So I don’t think “overexposure” is the answer.
Hello Vivek,
Need some information and advice.. about copyrighting in India.
I have finished the second draft of a feature length script that i want to shoot next year in India.
I plan to get it copyrighted with WGA(East)
But how can i get it copyrighted in India sitting in NY ?
Hope you have some info..
Many thanks
Hemant.
Hemant,
Best to also copyright in DC. That gives some sort of a global protection. In India it is more complicated, you have to physically show up at their office (at least that is how it was in July of 07) , which is near Fun Republic in Andheri W. Then you need to first become a member, for that your form has to be endorsed by an exisiting member (I’m sure many in PFC are, or I can, since I am now) and you have to pay the fees, provide a copy of an academic credential indicating your screenwriting education (or film education) and then they will stamp every page of the script and give it a registration number. Does it guarantee protection, no….but it does have some teeth and it seems like a pretty corruption free place, albeit with outdated methods.
Vivek, about script registration in Mumbai — why do they need academic credentials? It’s not as if everyone writing scripts there have academic credentials! And what sort of thing is meant by such a credential? I know you said you completed the certificate program at UCLA Extension. But what of someone who has taken the odd course here or there, or even self-educated through the many excellent books available on the subject? It seems like an unnecessary, not to say comical, requirement.
Not sure why they do that SM, that is what the form asked and I had a copy with me on my July trip to Mumbai, so I gave it to them. Actually in my opinion this whole concept of first becoming a member and then registrering is unnecesary, unlike a simple concept of a) have script b) it is my script and c) register and pay online and get the certificate instantaneously and then have it mailed, like is the case with WGA or even the Copyright Congress in DC.
Thanks for the explanation, Vivek. I am curious about a couple of more things, though, if you can enlighten me. Are all produced films first registered in this manner? I don’t think so, but I may be wrong. Second, though you can register it in India (with whom, BTW? You never mentioned the organization’s name, but I am guessing that it is the Screenwriters’ Association), it is not required that all producers must only take scripts registered with them, or work with screenwriters who are members of this association, is it? This is in contrast to the situation in Hollywood, where, except for the indies, major producers can only hire writers who belong to WGA.
Many Thanks Vivek for the information -:)
But i am kinda in a fix. With copyright from DC, it takes 4/5 months (as mentioned on the website) to receive the registration certificate..
And i plan to go to India in March-08..
Also, i wanted to share the script with some people for the feedback . … Don’t know..if i should do that now. . (CONFUSED)
(sm, Vivek meant Writers Association in India.)
Vivek,hemant,
The organisation that you mentioned is The film writers association of India. They have a website
www,thefilmwritersassociationofindia.com from which you can download membership forms,Which however cannot be submitted online.
They require a copy of a script under production or a copy of any article published in any publication or even on the net.
They register your scripts at a nominal fee,but i’m not sure if this has any legal standing.
Perhaps some one in PFC can appraise us better about this.
I had raised this query in my post
http://passionforcinema.com/mr-wkumar-goes-to-bollywood/
Vivek,the close resemblance to your name is purely coincidental
I think that what ultimately matters is the mutual trust that you establish with your producer.
Thanks Arun, Vivek and sm.
Guys, do we have any support system on PFC..at least for feedback and critique ..or any help in getting the crew..
don’t know, if it already exists..
i plan to direct..it in 2008 and will end up producing it too if i don’t find any producer. .
(Am originally from New Delhi too. ..story is also based in new delhi)
Hemant- while copyright takes time to mail the cert, the protection/coverage starts ASAP, so you should be fine.
Arun- No offense taken on resembalnce of name:). Now if you call me Manoj Kumar, I will take offense or have to become a patriotic, porn filmmaker .
:d
SM/Arun- In my ltd experience I have a healthy integrity respect for the Writers Association of India, in front of my eyes, saw them refuse a bribe by a kid who had not written an original piece and wanted their “chapa.” Do producers , etc have to go through them, no, because they themselves plagiarize, but don’t think it is a bad thing to deal only with Guild members, as Hollywood does, since many people prefer not to become guild members even here. But they (the association in India, do go after the folks), plus it is good to have a loud mouth…and not play the “haan ji, diplomatic card in Bollywood,” which anyway is a by product of the fear/insecurity psychosis created by folks who want you to believe that.
Hemant- I have found a support system in PFC, eg, reaching out to Suchita and she being agreeable to reach out to her friends in Mumbai, so yes it does exist.
Thanks a ton, Vivek
Appreciate your help on the information.