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Nishabd - Sc. 55 + 56 and Aftermath
It was december 1999 that i passed out from Jamia Millia Islamia, within no time being a mass communication student and that too from a reputed institution like jamia, it was not too haerd to finad a job for myself. Though lookintg back, i think that i would have as well started directing instead of working as an AD for the last seven years. But there was a greed and hunger to perfect the skill before i ventured on my own, though even as an AD i think i have learnt a lot in terms of direction. The work experience never goes waste. All thanks to Umesh Padalkar my first director whom i assisted on a serial called ‘kagaar’ that was aired on Sahara Channel, later on of course i cannot stop but mention the directors under whom i was groomed and trained as an assistant director, and they are Sourabh narang, Sriram Raghavan, Ram Gopal Varma and ofcourse a film with Antara and Satchit Puranik.
So the first episode was called ‘Beach House’ and it was shot in a bunglow called Beach house at Mud island. This was the first ever episode of my career and remains very special for me. Ther I was a student, my mind all corrupted especially knowing heard of Bergman, Bunuel, Tarkovski, Akira Kurusawa, Orsen Welles etc etc etc… By then i had already decided that Direction was my calling and this is what i would love to do all my life. So The first exposure was in terms of knowing what Scheduling is, and how its doen… all thanks to Snigdha Khataukar who happily told me that this is how a schedule was made, this was new to me, i was very excited… because at the institute they never taught how do schedule, and basically how the industry worked.
Now Mr. Umesh Padalkar was a tall huge guy with as huge an ego and temper. I was just a fresher passed out, thinking i knew it all. So we were shooting… four days of hard work and i had realised what Umesh was like. I realized he was one of the best Directors that the TV industry had that time, as he was a perfectionist, and was the only director who could achieve a feature like quality in his serial. But I also realized that he was a very short temperd guy, Assistants working hard did not mean anything to him… in fact i think Ads who sucked up to him were the ones who easily got away with his yelling and shouting. I was never perfect then neither am i perfect now and i hope not to be the same in future. Though the Ads like Nandu Kale (who is a very successful TV director now), Mahim, Sahil, Maish Jha and Raj Kumar Gupta were never short of putting in rigour as he loved that. The Budget was low, and getting a film like quality must have been really keeping him under lot of stress.
So the first episode of my career, starring Pawan Malhotra of Black Friday fame, Mahru Sheikh and another superb actor called Vineet Kumar were acting in the episode. Cut to the last day of our shoot. The shot is of a rope ladder falling from a helicopter which mahru and Pawan climb but in the process Vineetji being a cop comes to the site sees them trying to escape and shoots Pawan down. Now Mahru dearest could not get get the technique of climbing the rope ladder right. It was close to 1:00 Am, we had already crossed the time limit ans the entire unit was standing around for the director to call pack up so that they could leave. Mud island in 2000 could still be called as an isolated place, though its quiet improved now in terms of transportation etc. So comig back to Mahru, knowing that she was unable to climb the rope ladder Vineetji came up with an idea that me and andother Ad of ours hold the ladder tight so that she gets some support and the climbing becomes easier for her. Anyways Pawn was to get shot so his climbing was not so crucial. Ok.. fine, done… we sorted the problem out. Me and this Assistant director was holding the rope ladder, Umesh was just crossing pass by us, when i asked my fellow AD, where was Vineetji… Umesh just heard me asking him that and god knows what happend he assumed that i was calling Vineetji to hold the ladder and just started blasting me at one am in the night and that too at the top of his voice… in front of close to fourty fifty unit members who were just waiting for him to call pack up… and this man just went on and on and on for not less than three to four minutes… “Vineetji is doing this out of courtesy, trying to help us out and you fucking want to call him to hold the ladder?”. I was shit scared but still seeing that he was not stopping and everybody looking at me getting shouted was a very painful experience. I was tring to show that his shouting was not affecting me and it was just a director ad thing… i am telling him “umesh no i was not calling him, i think u got me wrong, i was just asking ashwini as to where he was?” But Mr. padalkar would not listen, he went on and on and on…. i had tears in my eyes… the first ever job of my career i was so excited to be working, dreaming that one day i will be like umesh was completely shattered and demoralised and was made to feel like a piece of shit who is incapable of being even a good AD.
I went through a lot of emotions… i wished that it could have happened during day time and i would have just got up and threw the script on his face and told him that “Fuck off Bhenchod, i don’t want to assist you”, but, but, but… remember it was mid night and we were shooting at mud island and it was Umesh who used to give me a lift till sion which was good one hour from the location, and at that particular time i just did not have the money to go on my own, i was stuck… i had to keep quiet and go through this continous humiliation. In fact even Vineetji came out surprised and his first reaction was “kya hua bhai? kaahe ye itna chilla raha hain” but who would explain it to him… We finally canned the shot. Umesh okayed it… and called for a pack up.
Cut to the journey from Beach House in Mud Isalnd till Sion station wher he used dropped me there was not an exchange of single word between the two of us. I had realized that i can never work under a man like this. After which I just worked on one episode callled ‘Uffan’ starring Achint kaur and Meeta Vashist and i quit the job. I had sworn that I will never let it happen to me ever again.
Then afterwards i kept freelancing with much sober and equally talented directors like Sourabh Narang, Maya Rao, Girish Mallik is one topic for a seperate post altogether where i lost close to twenty thousand rupees… but not the right time to talk about neither very important.
CUt to the story of Scene 55 + 56, now having gone through such an experience even today, my first worry on the set is to ensure that everything is ready at hand… the only reason is the thought of not getting fired by your director, as i got from Umesh Padalkar. Though i still credt and respect him for me being wherever i am and in whatever capacity i am, because he is the man who thought me to try as much as to be perfect and he is the man under whom i learnt the meaning of having quality work to your credit.
As you all know that Nishabd was shot in a twenty days straight, there was lot of pressure on us Ad as RGV at times never used to commincate clearly was to what he wanted or meant. There were techniques we ads have develped to know… there were dialogues cut and written on the sets at the the hotel where he and AB and our writer stayed. The scenes were changed at night, now we were staying in anothet hotel and directly used to report on the sets, so many times it used to happen that we were clueless about the changes he had made. We used to report on the sets and his first question was “Show me the scene paper”. So our intern Aditya was given the responsibility of handling the scripts and handing it over to the actors etc… initially he used to carry all the scenes… so one day i told him that carry only those scens with you which we are shooting that particular day. As it used to get very confusing and time consuming as he used to go through fifty papers to find that one scene, and RGv being RGV within that time would ask twice where is the scene papers etc… Though RGV, Sriram Raghavan are gods when oit comes to working under them, as they would never get in any kind of power games with Ads atleast.
So the day scene 55 + 56 took place we had shot already for close to 16/17 days… there was a lot of thinking done before coming to the conclusion that whether Revathy as Amitji’s wife should confront him or not… a night before there were some changes made, we already had earlier prints of the same scene… this fateful day, RGV was under big stress, i assume that he must have been think as to how well to shoot the confrontation between Revathy, Nasser and Amitji… the shot was decided, Amit had lit the room, Aditya had given him the copy of scene 55 + 56 and till that moment everything was rocking…. Now Amitji had already reached the set, and so was Nasser and so was Revathyji. A lot of discussion too had taken place between Amitji and RGV. So Jiah is not a part of this scene… Three big Actors… everybody is in a light relaxed mood, we had already finished shooting 90% of the film, urvashi our another Ad had already handed over the new scenes to Aditya the same morning…
Cut to the set… Amitji is in his performance mood, so was Revathy and Nasser… shot being Amitji is sitting on the mattress on the floor, Reavthy has already been informed by Amitji that “I am in love with jiah” hence the tension and her confrontation… the whole room where the video assist was put where RGV was sitting was full of enthu unit cutlets, “sab ko dekhna hain na, ke how the scene is being picturised”> Full on Gltcerine is flowing in between the actors and RGV calls for “silence” which is very rare… I am standing behind the boss and he calls for a rehearsal and says “action” so as per the plan Revathy and Nasser enter… and Revathy narrates her lines….
Cut to there is silence, Nasser is looking at Amitji, Amitji is looking at Revathy tears in his eyes all three actors are looking at each other, and ther are looking at each other, serious intense mood, pin drop silence, and more silence and more silence… and the looks are still being held together, no lines are being said… that RGV looks at the script and on the mike, that he is used to says “Amitji your lines” cut to immediately the silence is broken and Amitji says “hey, Ramu, my lines? sorry, i have been given the wrong script”. And that is it…. RGV in full anger gets up, goes to Amitji, matches the dialogues with the copy he has, i have already followed him, Abhishek is busy making schedule in the next room, i am the man directly in the line of fire and RGV just looses it, and to forget the entire unit is still standing there to witness the great act of the actors and mine and RGV’s too. “Are you mad or what? How can you give a wrong script to your actors?”. I being very confident about the prepration us Ads have done am very sure that it cannot be possible. I tell him, no sir… impossible, impossible, cannot happen. And RGV in front of BIg B and Revathy and Nasser and the entire crew is raping me badly. In order to avoid my remaining izzat, especially in front of AB and others, i tell “no, let me go and chek with Abhishek and i leave the room “. I quickly exit the room having gone through the humiliation at one point of time in my career… I go and meet Abhishek and tell him ,”boss we gave Amitji a wrong script”, Abhishek too is shocked, his face changes and i realize that his line of vision has shifted form mine to over my shoulder.
Cut to i turn round and there is my Tiger ‘RGV’ fumin, breathing heavily, giving full khunnas with his intimidating eyes “this is the level of focus you guys have? jokers, chutiyaas” that Aditya comes rushing and running with sme papers in his hands and tells me “i have the the scene papers, i have the scene papers”, he had given amitji the same scene paper numbered sc 55 + 56, but instead of giving him the new scene he just looked at the numbers and had left the wrong scene paper in his vanity van. But by the time our saviour aditya reached the site both me and abhishek were already dead… i just told adi, that quickly give Amitji this scene paper and take the old one, and do you know what guys? the changes that had inthe earlier scene and this new scene was just of three lines in the begining and everything else was the same. But the damage was already done, we had made a mistake and amitji had lifetd his hands saying ” he got the wrong scene” just escalated RGV’s temper.
That was it, the entire unit who usually is n love with us, was looking at us in a pitiful manner as if they were thinking ke “kaise buri tarah se tumhaari boss ne maari”. Yes we were wrong and at that particular moment, obviously i would not have had and argument with him and tell him and justify that “sir the scene is same, even the nunber is same bt just instead of this that copy went to him” all thanks to Aditya carrying a bunch of papers with him, hence the confusion, neither would i have evr put the balme on adi… it was th direction departments fault.
After that i never had the balls to enter the room, i was feeling too bad that i got shouted by RGV and our whole reason for working so hard was to ensure that a situation does not arrive. But what was destined to happed had happened. RGVhad raped us very well. So what i do? what i do is sulk, sulk and sulk. Avoid coming in direct line of Ramu’s vision… The scene was okayed Amitji came out and i apologized him for the fiasco. BUt RGV we never had the balls, that whole day, i kept avoiding him.
Cut to the same night both Abhishek and me go to his room to get the call sheet signed, also another thought was in case if he wishes to rape us, why not have an orgy? We go to his room, say sorry to him too for the fuck up, and what he does is signs the call sheet, its obvious that he is still upset and just says “thats ok” and gets back to watching TV.
The next day, i m full on n a sulking spree… am avoiding interacting him, i am scared to ask him anything that i would have usually would not. He is observing me from a distance, a guy like me who is so constantly around and does not like to leave the set is not even thinking of going near the video assist and seeing the frame etc etc etc. The same day or rather night, we shot monologues, seven monologues that amitji was preparing about whichi have mentioned in my earlier blogs. Lighting was ready, amitji has been called, RGV goes and see’s him rehearsing, I am still full un sulking and angry…. RGV calls for his vodka…. te angry young man in me too feels like having one, full on bagawat. RGV is having it in a kaanch ka glass, i tell the spot boys to fix mine in a steel ka glass… everybody thinks i am drinking coke or pepsi… RGV is full on to it, so am I. Amiyji has reached the location, a couple of monologues have been shot, Big B again wants to rehearse his lines, I am still not coming in front of him… that while Amitji is busy with practising his lines. Somebody very familiar to me comes next to me with glass of Vodka in his hands, i turn around i know this man RGV himself, I am steady, no movement that with one of his hands punches me on my arm ann mumbles something which to sounds me sounds like “ssszurya do know something something BOX” and i am too am high on equal amount of pegs i hear ” ssszurya, do you know how to BOX” and i am like “No sir….” I am shaking my neck trying to tell him no, i dont know how to BOX, (aren’t you happy with whatever you did yesteday - this is in thought).
Cut to he now the glass is somewhere else, he again jokularly punches on my arms and tells me ” Do you know that i was a Boxer in my class in my college day?” aaaaahhhhhh…. sigh of relief… The ice has been broken, I, within no time am like i was before sc 55 + 56, on my toes and running around all my energy levels back…. Amitji resumes shooting and we are doen with Amitji’s portion and that is suppposed to be his last night in Munnar with us.
Sheel had organized a party since the entire film is over, Amitji doesnt spend time in parties and most of it he doesnt attend, neither did he this one. But we all drank, danced, fought and had a great time of our lives till the wee hours in the morning. All of us not realizing how those twenty days just flew by… leaving us ‘Nishabd’ and of the thought that tomorrow will be altogether an entire new day for all of us in the Unit.
52 Responses to “Nishabd - Sc. 55 + 56 and Aftermath”
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I could see the whole thing happening right in front of my eyes.
I was like going back in memory lane.
I feel ya brother!
I been in those exact dark moments.
This is nothing. In the most important day of shooting guess what happens…we run out of stock. 300km outside Mumbai at 1:30 in the night…..
It was hell!
Ahhhh..the wait is over after all….In the hindsight now it looks funny…but i am sure..what you must have went through during the happening.
Seriously after all the build up you gave for Sc 55 + 56, i thought it would be a biiig KLPD…but nah..as i said..you have it in you boss…Nice piece of article…
You worked with raj Kumar Gupta…is he ” our” rajkumar? AK’s Asst? :o
On a brighter side…Jiah didnt know about the scenes..you lucky dawg…ahaha…
“ssszurya, do you know how to BOX”
You shud have punched him and said
” Acchi lagi?” ahaha kidding bro…
Keep writing boss… about working with Saurabh and Antara…would be interesting to know about Antara as a director..though she left a lot to be desired from her directorial debut…it wud be great to see you view-point….
Cheers Dost…( Accha woh Jiah ko bol diya mere baarein mein..lol?)
= Darn… re-reading this post again and again… atlast the mystery of 55-56 is solved :)>-
wow.. at first i was wondering where you were going with the umesh story.. but damn.. i could totally see this unfolding in front of me! nice to see rgv’s wicked sense of humor :) what a dude..
Woh AD hi kya jiska set pe rape na ho…..just kiddin man……keep the fire burning.
Yaar Zuuuryaaaa…
why not make a movie on the legend of the screen
number 55+56. Its friggin cool… the way u
build it up… from where u started ur career
& then wham - the mystery of 55+56.
Loved readin it yaar… keep posting.
Hey OM - Yes its the same Raj Kumar Gupta… i know every atom and molecule of the entity that comprises Raj Kumar Gupta. By the way, he met Anurag Kashyap because of Umesh only, and hence their association began from the ‘Kagaar’ office.
Striker - True, he in fact is a dude, though otherwise he himself doesnt believe in shouting or insulting his colleagues… This was the first time that i was in a situation like this, though had there been anybody else either, even abhishek, he would have done the same. Afterall he is a man with a heart of gold. Umesh on the other hand did not speak a single word… and never did he make me feel like a part of his team. He expected him assistants to be scared of him. respectful of him, which we all were as nothing can take the fact away even today that he is one of my favourite directors. But the best experience has been with Sourabh and Sriram… Chilled out souls…
OM - Antara ke barein mein kya likhu? it was her debut film dude…
Fuck! Bhen*** mazaa aa gaya! Trust me boss, the wait for sc.55/56 was totally worth it! This is my first comment to your post and let me tell you that I have really enjoyed all of them…The simplicity and honesty in your posts is quite rare….Keep them coming fella!
Hehehe Surya…let me say…now that must have
been some tongue lashing…and that too in front
of AB…but hey…guess its training for when u’re going to scream at your AD’s.. :d
Great story as usual….
HEy Chaitanya, as they say “honest is the best policy” you can never go wrong… i dont plan them… i just write as it comes directly from my heart. Thank u though…
Rainbow - I don’t think i will ever shout at my Ad’s i don’t believe that if u shout you will come up with a great product.
Dear Surya,
It takes a lot of balls to write what you have… to revisit a humiliating and traumatic experience… and instead of banishing it to the inner recesses of your sub conscious with a ” SPAM” sign all over it… you chose to exorcise it and revisit it …and more importantly share it… with candour and, dare i use the word, courage… so that people on this site… me included… can cue back to similar incidents each of one of us have no doubt faced.. so that instead of living in denial…we rather look back and learn from those experiences and take something positive.. reflective.. introspective.. from them.
A truly Balls-y post bro!
cheers,
sourabh
ps- three OTHER things you guys didn’t know about the time Surya assisted me:
1. On the third day of shooting, 9/11 happened.
2. My lead actress started showering more attention (affection?)on my first AD…Mr. Surendra Hiwrale… every directors nightmare..ha..ha.. ( the precursor to the Antara, jiah, etc tracks that were to follow later i guess..ha..)
3. The re-christening of my first AD aka How Surendra Hiwrale became Surya.
boss, saala mazaa aa gaya. kya article likha hain yaar tune…
premal
surya…finally n finally its here. worth d wait bro!! seems like a total filmy script as i read ur post. n a very intersting one.
btw,if a talented person is humble as well then i respect him/her more. otherwise just respect his/her talent. not the person. know its difficult in a situation like this. but whats life if not “experience”.
@Sourabh,now u need to spill the beans as well…Kyunki Surya Bhi Kabhi Surendra Tha !!!
Surendra: You finsihed the last chapter of Col Ranjit’s novels. Now no Major Balwant will whistle.
You could not stop you for 1 more day. If film was released then people were going to wtach it again, for the scene 55+56 after reading your post.:(
But very nice and lively reporatge:)
Hey Sourabh,
Thanks man, it means lot to me that a person like you has encouraged me on this post of mine… Truly and sincerely let me tell you, working under you was the most humbling and enjoyable experiences as i always felt that you respected not only me, but all the other ADs as well… I felt you gave me lots of space to grow as a professional… remember that episode, you actually made me do the rough cut of that episode… you never had problems with us and gave us enough scope to think and grow… though i might have never said this to you personally, but working with you was again the best experience i have ever had as an AD… I sincerely am thankful to you for everything…
Boss I was gripped…Imagined every bit of what must have happened scence by scene.
Tell u what Surya…even this could be made into a short episode.
Lucky for u to have worked under such creative masters of Indian cinema.
While losers like me get to have these non creative/useless bastards as our bosses…u atleast have RGV as ur boss…and RGV coming to you for breaking the ice…fuck! u are blessed man and he fuckin likes u.
Regards,
Shitij
surya,
thanks!!!…now finally you can…take light!!!
surya, this post has what even most hindi movies do not.. REPEAT VALUE! loved it even more the second time around.. keep writing bro
Shitij - Nahi yaar, i don’t think so, no matter how bad the bosses are or would be, am sure they must be having some good points to learn from them, look at them and try to gain something from that. eg :- Umesh being such a hitler, i still give him all the credit for sub consciously creating an eye for detailing and quality work. As that used to be seen in the final product, just that as people i could never relate to him, but learningwise, yes i worked with him only on two episodes, but the foundation that he lay in my mind is so very strong… that it will saty forever…
Saahil - Brother, i am jobless yet again…
Striker Boy - Dude… i will, i am never going to give up… I just love to connect with my pfc frieds and colleagues all over the world.
Mr Surya , I have been following your posts but this time i feel like i have to reply, Awesome post to start with, once u get into it u feel like u r right there and RGV is talking to you. Great narration.your experience with RGV is like “Kuch Paane Ke liye Kuch Khona Padtha hai”.
I wish u r efforts have nice results in future and all the best to u.
VARUN - THANK YOU SO MUCH…. I NEED UR AND EVERYBODY’S BEST WISHES.
Dont worry bro, I know how hard u guys work, u and other people in industry always have my good wishes :)
Hope u start working on u r own movie some time soon.
Hey Surwendra or Surya
I am a sophomore at the university of minnesota, usa. We have to interview a person who works in the field of technology in my Writing for Science and Technology class. Do you mind if I send you bunch of questions for my interview assignment? If you don’t mind, then please do let me know by e-mailing me at yingc007@umn.edu
Or anyone in the Passion for Cinema, who is in the industry of filmmaking. Thank you
By the way, i like your story on Nishabd. I was thinking about a story like that long time ago, guess the seat is taken… but congrats surya.
Hi Yingchuk,
My original name is Surendra And people in this industry call me surya. Yes, i am with you, you can send i your questions and i will mail my reply back to you. And if you have a story in mind on the similar lines, do not give it up, just because someone where has made a film on the same subject, obviously your interpretation if the film is gonna be completely yours… cheers…
Please see this video…
May be one of you can create such an effect with a small video… Its truly great concept.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhwIFbB5iuo
Cheers
Chin
Surya.. just wanted to say a big thanks for all the updates…all of us have really appreciated them matey.
Also, i sincerley wish you all the very best with whatever the future holds for you…
All the best yaar…
Hey Steve,
Thanks for all the goosd words, yeah man, am jobless all of a sudden… not used to being like this man… though utilising my time to write a script.
Regards,
Me.
so finally we get to hear about sc 55 and 56.. will write more about this later but for now.. best of luck(hopefully your passion and hard work pays off (sooner than later))… keep working on your scripts and hopefully soon you’ll be back with some new and exciting stories for us(thanks!!)…
I haven’t seen Nishabd yet, but if you have worked for RGV as an AD, it is given that you have stuff and as long as you have stuff, you don’t have to worry about job.
Good luck.
Great post, great narration! I was freaking nervous man… you had me on edge bro… great stuff!
sssszzzuurrryaaa….fuk man…….
Hi Surya,
Wish you a very happy holi and man hats off to you for such an amazing take on the life of an AD on the sets. The more I read the more I get interested in the work that you guys do. I genuinely want to know what your job function as an AD is. Do you wear the thinker
Surya, I hope you get to read this mate
Steve, you dig it man! i saw the film yesterday, and have a few things to say.
in fact there r many similarities in which eklavya and nishabd are etting written off, anyways, i ll write soon about them.
btw, we should start a ‘we somehow like the films ppl hate’ camp …lol
Hey Steve, Het Tushar - Guys i can only thank you and feel happy that you liked RGv’s efforts… This will further strengthen me or people associated to do something like this when we become directors…
CC - About and AD’s job, i will write to you at length soon… but mostly its a doers hat that we wear, it depends upon the director with whom u are working and whether he likes your suggestions or not. Eg :- Umesh, Sriram and Sourabh Narang would actually be interested in knowing our views, while a Director like RGv would never have time to actually sit and discuss the script with his AD’s, whatever learning that took place under him was while working on the sets…
Hi Surya, well thats what I truely felt yaar.
It’s one of those films which really should be seen in total silence.
And it actually hits you the following day.
I found myself thinking about so many aspects of the film when i got up the next day.
Sadly the reaction from some is kinda harsh, some who havent even seen the film, but again, that was to be expected wasn’t it??
Well, I’m glad RGV made this as I was gutted when he made the recent ‘Shiva’ and really wished he hadnt directed that!!
Oh Tushar,
Hey Steve,
Hi once again… see everybody has a right to opinion… if they wish to express it in a particular manner we should be tolerant and accept it… after all those saying negative things does not necessarily hates us filmmakers… probably its their love towards us that they think they can express it the way they want to and we won’t mind… and trust me on that, no filmmaker will, at the same time i feel very few films are the ones which will satisfy a majority of the masses… as i have written in my earlier post, i never liked lagaan, but it was nominated in the oscars… so there you go bro… we will keep trying to work on good films, and with good directors hopefully…
Surya you didn’t like ‘Lagaan’???
That movie really impressed me man!:d
I really dont like period films, and i certainly do not have a passion for cricket!
However, this 4hour movie had me glued to my seat, and although i was bursting for a pee, i just didnt move till the end!
Im sure i have caused some damage to my bladder…
Think i can sue Ashutosh?!
I’ve just been telling a friend how i am soon going to become the most annoying person in Wolverhampton (that’s where i’m from) as i find myself defending ‘Nishabd’!!
I’ve just had a lenghty conversation with the girl at the internet cafe, who happens to be Telugu (i love south indians!!)who has decided she wont watch ‘Nishabd’ as she doesn’t agree with it.
I asked exactly what was putting her off… as expected, its the whole age thing.
I then told her that she’s missing a very decent film with brilliant performances because of a mental block regarding age.
I’m not saying i’m fully comfortable with the idea myself, but that wont stop me from viewing a film.
I just spoke to a guy at the BBC Asian Network too regarding this issue.
Which brings me to ‘Notes On A Scandal’, the film with Judy Dench and Cate Blanchett.
I most definitely dont agree with a teacher having sex with a 15 year old boy pupil(who actually looks ten!!)
But i do believe in great acting and Cate and Judy are outstanding!!
Infact, they make a relatively good film a must see!!
I dont know… I guess RGV turns me on alot more than others, but having said that, i do not recommend ‘Shiva’ lol!!
When ‘Lamhe’ (my all time fave movie) released and bombed at the box office over a decade ago, Sridevi was said to have quoted….
”Had the film released 10 years from now, it’d definitely be a success”
How wrong were you Sri!!:((:((:((
Steve,
You dont have to bother about others yaar… by the way where is this wolversomething located, which country??? Come to India sometime if you can… No i did not like lagaan… its all about taste… i think they compromised on establishing the period, its there where i felt that a lot more could have achived, whether art directionwise or by giving it a more old look, the film to me looked as if it was happening somewhere nearby in todays times, that is what kept disturbing me the most… else all was well…
Wolverhampton is a s-m-a-l-l little ‘city’ in the West Midlands in the U.K.
I’m not surprised that you havent heard of it!!
Many people who live in the U.K haven’t either!!
I would love to come to india again, as i have only been once and didn’t get to see much of it.
Does that mean if I come to india, I can sit and drink loadsa coffee and do your head in about my film fascination?! Lol! :d/
And ur right.. no point in trying to defend the film if people aren’t even willing to try and understand.
Thanks buddy!
Its been a day since I saw Nishabd and i have really started to like the film,
the same things that were negative before have now become positive.
Example:
It is boring=it is a depiction of the real situation, if it is hollow and irks you,
probably that
Hi Surya,
I hope you read this. All the disconcerting assessment on nishabd,
especially on pfc actually
stimulated me to buy tickets
and watch the
Well CC my friend - Some love it some hated it… so when audience like you take all the pain in actually expressing their liking for the film, it only boosts our morale as filmmakers to keep making good cinema… Thank you very much. At the same time, we don’t ignore those who did not like it…
Hi, Surendra,
Phew ! That was a blast from the past !
You have managed to recreate the environment that crazy night in an extraordinary manner.
If you felt that my ‘diatribe’ was a personal attack on you, I apologize.
That was not what I intended.
Warm Regards,
Umesh Padalkar
Hi Umesh,
Well i am sure that must not have been your personal attack on me, it was just the work pressure on you to complete the episode in four days (and nights) and achieve the results that you always wanted too, in the process you ended up fucking all the Ads happiness without probably realizing that they too were working equally hard as you were. The only difference was you were the director and we were the ads. My writing this episode is also not a personal thing against you… I must admit, you showed me the way and probably that is the reason I have not taken up any crappy work (i mean daily soaps here) that will get me lots of money but not help me grow as a professional. CHEERS!!!
Though guys, I would like to take this opportunity to tell you that all the Ads that I mentioned here include Manish Jha, Mahim, Nandu Kale who were trained under Umesh and are really doing well for themselves as they are directing either for Television or Films. Its only me and RajKumar Gupta who have been left behind…
Hi Surya, just had a couple of things to add to the many things i have said about the film!!
Managed to see the film again, and this time I noticed different things about the film which all occur in the second half.
The first thing was how beautifully Revathy
Steve bro…
RGV has the copyrights for all his films… and yes its a possibility that he might have used the same music from various films… the shots you mentioned are mine favourite too… just forwarded your mail to our screenplay writer Kusum, with all the criticism we got, am sure she will feel really happy to read that you went and watched it twice… cheers buddy, now that i am jobless and salaryless I wont be writing much, but we can still keep in touch… you can write to me on my yahoo e mail id steve…
Hey Surya, it wasn’t really critisism, it was more of an observation.
I was just saying that i noticed all this stuff which i failed to do on the first visit to ‘Nishabd’.
What i forgot to mention was the fact that Amar has given an outstanding score, in particular the scenes commencing Jiah’s day out with Amitabh.
I can’t tell you how much i love the music once Jiah tells Amitabh to stop singing and covers his mouth.
The music really hightens the impact of the scene and just reinstates that a films BGM is so crucial.
By the way, how do i find out what your yahoo id is??
I would love to stay in contact with you man!!
Another interesting article Surya…it gives the real picture of wat goes on behind the camera…and the exp are worth going thru especially when it comes to working wid Ramu.
I feel very unfortunate of not catching up wid Nishabd on big screen
(DVD’s dont match the aura of watching a film on big screen)
Even the comments have been equally interesting to go thru…
Looking forward for ur first venture as an Independent Director.
All the best
Ciao
Rreena Sharma
Rreena aka Angie aka RRock on…
My god how many names you have? ha ha ha, thanks for all your best wishes… One day… One day I will be there…
Hi Surya,
Your article was amazing and actually inspiring. The way you described ur experience with RGV during the shoot of Nishabd was really very frightening!:)
All the best to you friend and I really hope that we meet soon.
Thanks
Aditya