Now is the time- All the cinema all at PFC has been waiting for…
is here.. patronise it.. From 13 B, to Little Zizou to Gulaal to Firaaq to Barah Aana to Straight . All the indie, low budget movies are here, the kind we want to make or watch and noone is going to the theatres. Ignore the reviews, make your opinions, love it , hate it, discuss it later but first go and watch it.
We can’t always be sitting here cribbing about our cinema, bitching out the producers and whatever if we ourselves are not going to patronise these films. People don’t talk crap when they say this site is an anurag kashyap site.. because that is what it looks like, umpteen reviews of Dev.D and gulaal and not one of Little Zizou, which is a fantastic little film.. where are the discussions on Firaaq and Barah aana, both of which i saw in an empty theatre today.. if none of these films work, then prepare yourself to go back to the cinema we have tried so hard to leave behind. Ignore the reviews, good or bad and go watch these films, make your own opinions, argue, debate or else nothing is going to improve and we will be fighting a lost cause. Words alone won’t change our films, actions would and it has to start from here or we should stop calling ourselves passion for cinema and make it passion for bakchodi..
For anykind to work, you have to first buy tickets, people who are actually doing it need to see money to take it further. Most of us here went and saw Rab ne .. just so they could bitch it out but i don’t see anyone going to see these. The number of people i see at PFC parties i don’t see at PFC screenings.. not even the official authors and members.. so i guess either we do it by doing it or just give up the pretensions of really wanting a change and acknowledge we are the bitches masquerading as cinema lovers. I am done here.
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
Bravo.
Agreed. Time to walk the talk.
Most of us NRI’s dont have that option. All we can do is support and show our solidarity by buyin the DVD when and if it becomes availale to us. But true.. everyone in India should definitely be goin for these indie movies irrespective of the reviews or reputation of ppl involved. If these movies do not make any money, the financers would soon go back to placing safe bets.
agreed but we also need to be careful not to become crusaders for medium/small budget films. we shouldn’t have a cause. we love good cinema and that’s the key word – good…not small or medium or big.
Well said Anurag!! I think the fixation with you is more profound than you think… hopefully the above post benefits others too!
When is Dev-D slated to be released on DVD this side of the Atlantic?
i completely agree… bakchodi won’t change anything… work, work, work- do what’s necessary
Anurag, let me tell my situation, i live in a place called Bhubaneshwar, which though being the capital city, is more like a small town. There are just 5 theaters, and all i get to see is the latest Oriya flicks, and even if Bollywood movies are released, they would be the standard mainstream fare. Dev D came here after 3 weeks, and Gulaal has not even released here. Only other option i have is to watch it online out here. Its not just here, its the same problem with the smaller towns and cities. So tell me what can people like me living in the smaller cities do about it, this is something i have been talking about from a long time.
There are many passionate movie lovers in the smaller cities and towns, and movies like Gulaal, Firaq should reach out to them also. Unfortunately, its not been happening. So tell me what do people like us in small towns and cities do. Accept that this is our Karma, and wait for the DVD to come out. Or watch it online.
anurga, barah anna any good?
I have seen most of the films mentioned by you.
While coming out of theater after watching Firaaq, I heard a boy telling his girlfriend ” Sorry yaar Mujhe pata nahi tha movie itni pakau hogi”.
An old couple left the theater after watching 15 min of movies. I don’t know the exact reason.
The problem is that after watching movies like 13B (Expecting much more) and Firaq people are getting disappointed. Personally I hated Firaq for many reasons. But 13B and Little Zizou are good movies. But we can’t blame the audience for not watching the movies. Its up to them to decide. As per as I am concerned I am going to watch as many movies I can.
ur rite anurag…….
but there has been a change……
consider this…a year back …i had to force my friends to watch manorama on dvd…and now they want to watch a movie like Gulaal or Luck By chance on friday itself..
i wish all these indie movies had released with some gap between them. i understand its a bit difficult logistics wise…..but then u have to admit…Little Zizou and Gulaal definitely ate into each other’s shares………especially since people watching these kind of films are the same…..
Anurag Sir, any indications as to what exactly was Piyush Mishra’s dialogue in Gulaal which got Beeped out in the theater? It was relating to Gandhiji and his gol chasme (round glasses). I am highly curious
Firts i liked to thank u for making Movie like “Dev.D” & “Gulaal”. After watching this absolutely terrfic movies there no other thoughts in my mind, but to meet u. i know that’s not gonna be possible. i was so high before the release of dev.d that i was not even conerntating on my work. friday came and i was ready to go for my work, but instead of doing that i gone staright to big cinemas and bought ticket for dev.d without second thought. & WHEN i came out of the theater i really wanted to go for another time, but i wouldn’t. but still i saw dev.d three times & gulaal one time. i am waiting for the dvds to come out. this is something personal i want to tell u AK. AT the time of NO SMOKING I WATCHED THAT MOVIE FIRST DAY FIRST SHOW, AND THE FEEL OF THE MOVIE WAS SO AMAZING THAT I CAN’T EVEN TELL U IN WORDS. MY FKING FRIENDS THEY WERE ABUSING NO SMOKING, BCOZ THERE MENTALITY IS SO SMALL THAT WE CAN’T ADJUST OURSELFS. BUT I ALWAYS STOOD BY YOUR SIDE, WHENEVER THEY CRITICISED NO SMOKING I’HD ALWAYS ABUSED THEM. BECOZ I KNOW WHAT U’VE MADE WAS A MASTERPIECE. I’VE ALWAYS BELIEVE IN U & I WILL!
REALLY WANTS TO THANK YOU FOR ENTERTAINING US BY SHOWING REAL WORLD.
I’m not a member of the PFC “official” club or anything of that sort…and sitting here in the US I don’t get a chance to watch any of these movies mentioned..but nonetheless…
I’m feeling sorry for ourselves!
yeh bhi to ho sakta hai ki cinema ka vaqt guzar chuka hai. I’m not overtly emotional about cinema – or a certain type of cinema – not doing well.
Andhere mein teer chalaane se kuchh haasil nahin. We cannot manufacture an artificial viewer. Or maybe cinema will have to be a lot better than it is.
A lot more impassioned; a lot more emotionally gripping. We are living through times when conventional sites of struggle are crumbling.
u r right Anurag…here is my view on some of these movies and i watched all of them in theatre with wife and friends. Loved DevD to the bits, watched it once with wife who just seems so enthralled by ‘matresses on cycle’ scene – women emancipation and all. Gulal was tough, good in bits, RannSa was awesome…..songs were good but went on for too long, breaking the flow. 13b was superb….watching it again today…..will dwell on it later. All in all interesting times……thx all u maverics, u non-conformists
Went and watched Barah Aana. Don’t know what to make of the film. The only thing I brought home was Vijay Raaz’s performance. Why was Naseer quiet. If there were certain things left for the audience to decipher on their own, I guess they were too subtle. The movie didn’t know where it was going or what it was trying to say.
One doesn’t have the kind of money to watch three films over a weekend. It’s better to wait for a moser baer VCD instead these days. At least a family of four can ‘legally’ watch the film at an affordable expense.
mohan.. there is a lot of passion but the unfortunate thing is commerce comes in the way of it and it comes so often that slowly an impassioned mind gets numbed. For it to survive the change has to be sought commercially and it can be done from within.. i am saying watch it and reject it, but make your own choice.
CBJK..Barah aana is really good, few reservations but a really good film about ordinary people..
amol.. we need more people like you
papaji yeah it is about good cinema.. a big budget good cinema with a star has got its patrons.. i m saying , people are just not going in.. due to recession and the industry strike.. no big films are coming out hence most of the small films that otherwise wouldn’t have found a release are coming out.. watch them and then the one that you like , propogate it..
vikas the dialogue was two names.. Gandhi, Ambedkar
@ Anurag: I read in some articles on Gulaal about the haphazard editing at places. Am sure this was due to mandatory ‘cuts’ that the censor board requested in order for the movie to be released. Will the DVD have all the deleted scenes or do the censor board have a say in what is released on DVD too?
And this was raised by ‘Tony mera naam’ in another post in relation to piracy – Is there a possibility that distributors may consider a simultaneous release of movies on DVD for ppl outside India where the hindi indie movies do not come on the big screen? This can curb piracy and create buzz.
I agree that Gulaal might not have a ‘huge’ audience outside India bcos of its theme but am sure movies like Dev D, OLLO, 13B, Lil Zizou, etc. would find its audience even outside. So why then are we underestimating the market that clearly exists outside India when it comes to Indie movies? Is feasibility (economic) the only reason?
I like watching good intelligent movies and am a fan of yours. I am not from the industry. I am a Chartered Accountant. Anyways, lastweek we had 4 releases. Do you expect everybody to watch all these movies? Each movie will cost me around Rs. 300/-(including Travel expenses and if i go alone) and 4 hours(from my house to coming back). If I watch all the movies than it will cost me Rs. 1,200/- and 16 hours of my life. I choose not to do that. So what do I do? I read some reviews (from Taran Adarsh to PFC), analyze it and than pick one and not care for the remaining and if I miss some good movies I gather some patience and than buy a DVD. But watching each and every movie is not feasible (monetarily or timewise). Aur bhi Gham hain zindagi mein movies ke siva.
anurag,
i have seen few movies out of the lot…gulaal, dev d, firaaq, 13b,barah aana… i wante to watch straight and little zizou…but dude…whrz the money…if corporates are hit by recession…so r our pockets…and the ticket prices for shit like 13b is also the same…i mean they are low budget experimental films…the pricing of the tickets also have to be reasonable…i agree with what you are saying but the truth is let them flop..let these exhibitors and producers learn a lesson…i have huge regards for the new wave directors but only regards dont fill my pockets…
I completely agree. If we don’t go out and watch these indies who the hell are we to talk about all the shit we do? Independent cinema can’t afford armchair supporters.
Glad you like the film Anurag. Will pick your brains in person soon.
Is it practically possible to watch 4-5 movies within a week(these kind of movies don’t usually survive to the next week) @ 200 bucks each for a common man?
Looking at it another way…in the last few months we have already had quite a few films based on terrorism or after effects of that…mumbai meri jaan, Aamir, A Wednesday…not to mention Parzania a little while ago which was based on similar backdrop as Firaq…so would a common man really want to spend money on that?
One may argue that when we do not get tired of one romantic move after another or one comedy after another then why should that be a problem with films dealing with serious subject…but please note that Cineme in India is still an entertainment medium and not a cerebral medium…people/families still look for entertainment or paisa-vasool factor. It is people like us who can appreicate/argue/debate on such films…but we, imo, are a minority…what about the common man who views cinema more as a “release management”, release from stress/tension etc..?
i saw baarah aana at an almost empty chandan theatre.saw firaaq with around 10 people around me. it pains to see the state of good cinema being wasted like this.
Anurag…
i hate you and i love you… i hate you for the kind of perception you have of life…Gory, ugly, dark…i respect your freedom of expression but i hate it…Try to find an UNIVERSAL EMOTION which suits your kind of story…thats what is lacking in your films…you are still acting like a philosopher…jump into spiritual zone…its a whole new journey…by taking stance as a philosopher we get N number of opportunities to DEFEND our work…dont do that…get to the bottom of EMOTIONAL WORLD of your character and make a statement without making it, through undercurrent…get the THOUGHT right and spread it as an undercurrent…this lacks in your films and hence i hate you…
i love you for better reason…you do what you say…and thats why you are most loved here or any where you go…
about rest of them i am fade up of ATTEMPTS…most of the indie films look like ATTEMPTS… considering all the hard ships if they finally make a film cant they understand they are making BORING films..most of them have NOTHING to say…
Where is today’s ARDHYA SATYA, MIRCH MASALA, NEW DELHI TIMES, SPARSHA?
i could sense ‘TRYING to please the audience by doing something or anything diferent’ approach in these indie films…i would be more than happy to sense ‘ i wanted to say this and i said it and i consciously tried to tell a story’ approach…
I could not agree with you more.
But Anurag, Many of us here have an option to watch Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, English,Bangla, any Foreign Language and Hindi. People here are for passion for cinema, and not passion for indie Hindi Cinema alone…We excercise our right to watch good films according to our choice in any or all of the above lanuguages.
I checked out ‘Yaavarum Nalam’, aka 13B, say 30 people, in the theatre with me, but need to say that even if ‘Dukey Bana’ and his men have shed their blood for ‘Rajputana’, it is a doomed cause from the word go. But ‘Dukey’ could not stop trying, just because of his passion. As long as we have ‘Dukey’’s, in both audience and Film makers good cinema will survive.
Midnight revolution is impossible. It will definitely get better in time. Today is better than ten years before. Atleast, these films are getting released and is played in good multiplexes all over.
I agree that we must give preference to these over and above RNBDJ type of nonsense.
Dear Anurag Kashyap,
Thank you for this article. Well said and succinctly written. Please forgive me for this elaborate response.
Carrying on from the comment that Ratnakar made above, I shall add a few more points. I live in a country where movies are released for NRI audiences. I don’t need to elaborate on what type of movies they are. But, even those do not release in my city. On top of it, I live on an island. To aisa bhi nahin ke drive kar ke jaa sakoon.
To kya karen, pirated dekhen? We have decided NOT to watch those. Stupid us, aasaani se mil jaata hai to dekh sakte hain na.
But, being a movie maker, you tell me, DVD banaane mein kitne saal lagte hain? Kaise koi pirated version banaane waala movie release hone ke pehle DVD banaa letaa hai, aur kaise movie ban ke ek saal hone par bhi legal DVD release nahin hoti.
To, aisa nahin kar sakte aap ke DVD release karo aur rent pe rakho Netflix ya aise koi website pe? Theatre mein hi dekhnaa chaahiye kya? Baaki saare viewers bhaadh mein jaayein? Or can’t you work with a website/company to show movies online? No need to download anything. Watch the movie online, pay for it as well.
To Quote you “The number of people i see at PFC parties i don’t see at PFC screenings.. not even the official authors and members” Unquote
I am sure you meant a specific location and set of people because, I do not have an inkling of an idea where these two events happen. Aapne itna bhi nahin sochaa ke aur bhi log hain yahaan PFC pe jinhein aap jaante ya pehchaante nahin.
So, when you say that you are done here. You basically reaffirm the talk that PFC is all about you. I am sorry but I totally disagree with it. There is a lot of articles about your movies here. Yes, but there are articles about other movies here too. Have you had the time to read those? May be not but people still write irrespective of the amount of viewership the article gets. That is something to think about. “Little Zizou” and “13B” in specific, may not have been written about, but many other films have been…. It is after we read about “Amal” (by Richie Mehta) on PFC, that we went to see it when the local museum theatre screened it during a Film Club (that we are part of) screening. We read about Partho Sengupta’s “Hawa Aane De” here and saw it at the same place when we had a chance…. But, the point is, we have to GET THAT ONE CHANCE.
Fed up honaa thaa to as audiences who do not have access to movies that they want to watch, we need to be fed up of YOU as a movie maker, but we don’t. We still hope to watch enjoy, dislike, argue and idolize movies and more……
Where I agree with Anurag is that these movies should be given a chance, at least by those who keep complaining that they are fed up of same old crap. But I also agree with the view that one cannot afford to shell out Rs300 apiece and watch 4 movies of uncertain merit in a week. We sure have to pick and choose. Agree with Anurag when he says, What if there is a possibility that the movie may not be truly great? We give Rab ne.. a chance, right? So even if we just like the premise we should go check it out for ourselves.
As for advice to the makes, I know they all are trying to their best, but please keep the audience in mind, and the fact that they are paying good money, driving thru traffic jams, taking time out from their busy schedule, so pl try and make it their worthwhile. If the subject is old , please invest in anew lingo, so that we find it interesting. Incorporate some exciting element ( a great song, a few dramatic moments, a new theme, anything); please don’t make a film just to fulfil your ambition of making a film.,
Guys watch what you can.. these films are not always running in multiplexes.. barah aana is at chandan ..its cheaper.. we pulled out gulaal from cheaper single screens because no audience there.. every film is available atleast in one cheap option..
talk about them.. my reaction was largely because except my films nothing was being discussed.. it is not only about hindi films.. i am talking about whats available in my city.. you patronise what’s available in yours.. choose one but choose it now..
Hi Anurag,
Gulal hasnt even released here in singapore. i am dying to see it. silly mainstream stuff runs here for weeks sometimes. its shocking. even maqbool want released here. i had a to get a vcd from india. talking about little sensible films the recent film JUGAAD wasnt bad either. great combo. Manoj bajpai and Vijay raaz.
whats your next venture going to be?
good day..
all we need is one out of these films to be profitable..
@Ram V
“Today is better than ten years before. Atleast, these films are getting released ”
THIS IS THE TRUTH !!!
GK
I totally agree with Anurag. Would just add that even if someone has seen for example x film, kindly talk about it here,so that we could have a discussion about it and create a buzz. Good,bad,ugly whatever lets have discussions about these films. We as filmmakers might not comment so much in the open but you as an audience can swear,abuse,clap etc here in this platform.Where else can you go and tell film maker what you felt about his/her film? And believe me filmmakers do read PFC.
As Anurag has put,because there is lack of Big Budget content in the market these films are getting a chance to come out with good show timings etc…Watch whatever you can and write about it.
hi there, can anyone pls tell me something more on screenings at PFC… been a film student, i m really mad about quality films. i see almost every film that is released in India (and that too in theatres). One important thing learnt from my faculty is – ALWAYS RESPECT THE HARD WORK THE CAST N CREW HAD PUT IN. i strongly agree to you that GO URSELF AND THE SEE THE MOVIE.. dont go by others opinion…. thnx for ur time.
Right all the way!!
Hi anurag,
Although I agree with you, I do believe the audience has the right to love or reject a film. Times are such that audiences will have to be drawn out of their homes and this I mean even for the big budget. Take for egs:- Dev D, it is not exactly a small film but not star studded affair. But what draws the audiences is the shock element in promos, the exuberant and outrageous promotion. It is merely a case of people having more options these days, you have to chase them even the small movies. The marketing has to bombard the audiences and like it or not reviews play a huge role. I am n the middle of exams, hence am unable to watch any of these movies. But I genuinely feel Indian cinema is changing and the “fear” element in your blog of us going back to the “regressive” cinema is not enough of a carrot.
I considered lucky to find some of the movies running in my locality so was able to see them during the weekends.
Saw & wrote on 13B on my blog.
Firaq was too slow & frankly, I saw it only it was debut of Nandita Das.
Barah Aana- was happy to see something different at last. Will post a review soon.
(Saw Aloo Chat, too)
Unfortunately they are still showing Gulaal in 3 shows, and thus other movies are not getting much crowd :-s
Cheers!
~uh~
Hi Anurag,
It absolutely righto when u say.. love it or hate it.. first watch it… but forcing junta to go theater also need certain pre work.. i agree commerce play in vital role in advertisement and marketing… still some movies could have been marketed well.. i challenge half of the junta dont know Little Zizou have mira nair in backing.. Ur Dev d was been marketed very nicely and even u had gone to the extent of gifting people Condoms and allowing them to call chanda on hot line..
Still.. i believe (rather want to believe) average intellectuality and acceptance of audience toward CINEMA is increasing.. else movies like DASVIDANIYA , MITHYA, GULAL, OYE LUCKY LUCKY OYE wouldn’t have worked !!
Don’t ask the people to go.. make/force the people to go
No more Gulaal in Bangalore…anywhere…I dont know why? Dev D still on, Barah Anna is on, Zizou is on….Any idea, Anurag??? Even if it plays it in 12 noon slot….
@Anurag
Yes I understand your sentiments…I try to catch most of such movies as soon as possible…
But cost is a factor…In recent weeks we have seen 2/3 small budget films releasing together….I gues you ppl should have some tacit understanding and form a cartel…
Also…You seem to have mastered the art of promotion & marketing…but same can’t be said about others…Stoneman Murders was a pretty good thriller which was released with amateurish trailers & promotion….I finally saw a pirated print & hated myself for not watching it on big screen…
Y not so called meaninful films-makers sell their products to corporate satelite channel and be released straight on.I am sure u can reach much more audience by this way and break even in terms of business and satisfaction atleast.
and coming to 13B, i hated watching on my local cable…lucky that i missed the painful exp if watched in a theatre.
Our indian films USP is universal selling point and if u cant work on it then..try documentaries or short movies…
becos we dont have GENRE’S for our films…we only boast that we r emerging with time..thas a holy crap.
Anurag! Just saw this… and I Love You for this post. Aap jiye hazaaron saal, aur saal ke din ho pachaas hazaar. *muah*
@Anurag
If you think people will watch movies because it is some sort of crusade “good vs bad” then you are wrong ,I and countless others watch movies because we either like the concept of the movie or are attracted by the promos and the starcast.
I am not going to spend my hard earned money simply because I need to resurrect Indian Cinema.
Audiences have the right to love or hate a movie ,as much as you have the right to make a “different” kind of cinema.
uh pl put the links of your reviews here and you can also sent it as iview i think..
vineet this is not about the audience.. this post is addressed to the authors, writers on PFC and all of us including me who keep screaming from the rooftop about the change that we want..
@Jitaditya
The release dates are decided not by the filmmaker(director) unless he is a producer too.
Unless the film is backed by a strong(moneyed) producer,distributor,exhibitor the only way of publicity these days is WOM(word of mouth)and a good prayer :-)…
ahh and how could I forget the “reviewers and ratings”…
@ Anurag
Right & Wrong-
Its a good point to point the hypocrasy, talking about good cinema but not actually watching it.But the whole point is why to force a small budget/different movie on anyone?
M sure most of the movies make their own fate. Being a Media Researcher i can safely say, the reasons for a Movie doing good business(without considering wether its a good/bad or small/big budget film) is all related to a film.
Here are some case studies:-
1) Gulaal – will do well compared to movies of the same genre because of your name, buzz in blogs across the web, word of mouth, SONGS!
2) Firaaq – will do good, too. good marketing+ critically acclaimed+Nandita Das+ Godhra
3) Barah Anna and Straight -Not big crowd pullers, no hype/buzz, no one wud put under “must watch”- poor returns
And now talking about change- after years of lobbying i have finally convinced my family, friends to miss movies like Rab Ne…( i didnt see it nor allowed my family 2 see it), made it a point to see Gulal and Firaaq.
But like in TV, good & mature cinema, will have few takers! u r targetting a small niche TG. It will take atleast 5-6 yrs for such movies to be crowd pullers!
As Anurag Kashyap suggested (wow!)-
My review on 13B – here
[also AK please have a look at the trivia in Gulaal- . There were too many reviews here, so....]
Normally, I refrain from posting the links here because some people term it as ‘Blog-whoring’.
Will sent the Barah Ana review on Projektiview.
~Cheers!
~uh~
The big budget movies very well know when to release the films and with which films they are clashing. Isn’t it responsibility of the marketeer of the film to take care of logistical issue? People can’t watch 3 films over a weekend with the kind of ticket rates there are (and don’t forget the 80Rs. popcorn)- and most of the times, because there are so many choices, perhaps won’t watch any.
BTW – My personal opition is – I think Dev D was overhyped. It was certainl good, but the answer to the question “did I look at the ristwatch while watching the movie in the second half?” is resounding YES. A simple yardstick of how I would rate a performance. If I forget eating the popcorn while holding on to it, fantastic. But if you like Dev D and don’t like Shahrukh’s movie, you are kind of pandit – you become intellectually different
But I guess I would call it ‘brahminization’ of cinema taste, especially on PFC. You can’t not like Anurag Kashyap’s movie on this forum.
@Pankaj,
If you like, leave alone, Any PFCian filmmaker, you may dislike films made by anyone, existing anywhere in the world and your disliking may get a place at PFC.
Main problem is, whether that disliking is coming from a CUSTOMER or an AUDIENCE of the CINEMA?. First disliking does not throw any light on the film and second always brings in a good discussion.
Many have been doing it here and you may also join the brigade.
For many, not everything in a film can be great and moreover good and weak things can be quoted separately.
try yourself and see what PFC can do.
Whats the matter? We all watch movies. I cant watch first day first show. I watch all of them on third day second show. Every sunday! Now if I dont watch movies, how can I come and comment on the movies! And no. I have not seen Rab ne. I immensely liked DDLJ, but gave up after Mohabbatein. BTW have you seen Billu (Barber). What a movie! In fact its the kind of movie, if you have liked Taare Zameen Par, you would like Billu. Just dont have any previous hang ups about it being a Priyadarshan movie. Dunno where he’s copied it from, but he’s made one hell of a movie in Billu. Though I did wish I had seen it on DVD, since I would have liked to fast forward the songs. Firaaq should have released much much earlier and is similar to Mumbai meri jaan. Havent seen Zizou at all nor do I intend to. But do watch Billu and let us know what you think.
‘if you have liked Taare Zameen Par, you would like Billu.’
Do I need medical attention if I don’t ?
To make things worse I liked ‘ Oh My God’ and ‘Main Meri PAtni Aur Woh/…….:(
@Pankaj…”Brahmanization’ of cinema taste’…I realize where you are coming from…I don’t know if there is something like ‘SCization’, ‘OBCization’ and ‘STization’…you can subscribe to that moron…Dont bring caste in here…
I think TZP was completely pretentious…if thats the benchmark for Billu then i think i would give it a miss… i too had loved ‘Oh My GoD’ and ‘Main Meri Patni Aur Woh’. Thought both were brilliant effort.
Dear Anurag, You came back to PFC after nearly two months, busy under the success and critical acclaim on DEV.D and GULAAL, I hope. I am searching for an official film critic who rated NO SMOKING high in the media. Could not find one.
I thought the best person to ask is you – you might know. I loved NO SMOKING, and could not understand – what was so difficult to ‘not’ understand the movie.
Are our Indian film critics so poor in appreciating experimental cinema? Have not they seen a bit of international cinema?
Anyways, if you know, I would like to get the name of the critics who rated NO SMOKING good. Just to know who are those few critics with some aptitude in India.
If you read this, do reply…
Regards,
Raj Doctor, Amsterdam
i saw all of them except for 13 B and straight…
yesterday, i saw Crime and Punishment(Finnish).. what a film?
before this one , i had seen another version of Crime and Punishment (old one in English)…
i had sent you a mail and i doubt, if u’ve read it…
anyhow, take care
y shd we watch every movie and decide ?..i dont get the point…atleast 5-6 small films are churnning out on monthly basis…and u have only multiplex playing them which cost arnd 150-250 for a ticket and u end up watching a shit most of the time….so even if i liked “me meri patni or wo”…”mixed doubles”…”mithya”…”bheja fry” ..i cant spend my money on every tom dick harry’s movie just on the name of low budget movies…i must take up my sat mumbai mirror and decide ok..that firraq is better then barah aana or straight….after we have discussed so much on PFC that we shdnt folllow starts blindly…now we are making anurag ..vinay pathak..and ranvir starts and blindly chasing them….i dont think DEVD is excellent movie and PFC has gone overboard in buttering AK…the second half draggs on and we see repeated seen from..drugs-booze-depression played in loop…he couldnt hold movie for 2+ hours and it was quite cut to short climax….i just hope we will follow good cinema and not ppl…bcoz thats wat PFC is all abt…
no offence….
regards
mars
sorry, i didn’t any review…i am working on my own writing stuff….but would have loved to write the reviews and share it with you…
4 movies were released this weekend.
Coming friday another movie is coming (EK: Power of one. Now how an average viewer will watch all these movies. I have seen 3 out of 4 movies and will watch ek: power of one next week.
The point is there are large number of small budget movies releasing. Even good movies will not work against big budget movies.
10 years back shool was released with Hum saath-saath hai (Hum pachas-saath hai). People were coming to see shool only when they were not getting tickets for the other movie. I myself saw Bheja Fry after not getting the tickets of spider-men-3.
The point is every body should atleast make some choice of his own without getting affected by reviews and other things.
Obviously as a director, Anurag would want us to see all the movies, one every day of the week. But thankfully reviewers warn us about them, in advance. See we all stick to a reviewer who, we feel, have similar sensibilities like us. After all, we would like to have a good movie going experience each time. Why would we spend our money (and time) first and then decide. My fav reviewer used to be Deepa Gehlot. Now I cant find her reviews at all anywhere.
Hi Anurag, can you tell me if Gulaal will be released in US and when? Dev D was released here but only in 1 theater in NJ. I was looking forward to watch both these movies but was sad not to see their names in theaters near me.
@Vinay
But we have different reviews by different reviewers. Taran aadarsh will never say anything against SRK, yash raj films.
It depends on person-to-person basis. Many fucking people liked RBJ even after getting bad reviews. Sometimes its upto a person. I can watch any movie of RGV (I know lately he is making shits only). You will not belive I have given money of 18 tickets of RGV’s Aag. The point is we can watch the movie first and that go through the review. Or in my case watch the movie irrespect to the review.
When you say that you are done here, is that because you have another blog on your Dev D website?
@ amol ..thats wat vinay is saying that we can find a critic who has same taste as we..i mean in my case its mayank shekhar (mumbai mirror) ..we have common taste so i go by his review so u can find urs…
and one more thing…u read lods of shit abt SRK but never google it…m not at all fan of mr taran adarsh(he gave musafir 4 star)…but the fact is he gave RBJ 2 star….n ur saying he never writes anything against SRK and yash raj…
do check this one…just googled it…
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movies/review/13824/index.html
..google it men..ur life will be more sensible..
regards
mars
I waited all opening weekend for a post about Little Zizou, and when I saw none (?!?!) I felt I really needed to fill the deafening void! But if anyone had a chance to look at the comments on the piece, 50% seemed to be coming from people who hadn’t seen the film, since their passionately violent reactions to it were inappropriate for such a charming and lovely film… I personally feel that a lot of the writing on PFC is by people who simply want to sound interesting by criticizing… By taking the opposing view, they feel important and different… And really, what good Indian cinema needs right now is the support of intelligent people, so that we don’t read only a bunch of articles about the flop of this and the flop of that, but the great SUCCESS of cinema coming out of the Desh.
@ nina…hahah…i think u have attached ur self too much to the film..its not great cinema by any means…and m in other half of ppl who have watched the movie….so take a chill pill dear….waise u havent rplied to my comment on ur post….
..”immad shah is splendid”…huh?!
regards
mars
Bigflix.com releases most of its ‘offbeat’ movies for download rent online and has started ‘rental services’ to folks in india. Looks like they want to produce offbeat movies and put them on a ‘Direct to DVD’ mode. Though the move can make an NRI like me glad that I can watch a quality movie online legally, but I fail to understand the reason why they wont publicize a good movie and release it widely and participate in upgrading the general taste. Is it so difficult?
p.s. I also have to be unpopular and find a bone to pick about filmmakers’ views in general of the media, or for a more personal view, me. There is a bit of a discrepancy when it comes to journalists, and a bit of a masochistic touch. Personally, I have been a huge promoter of Indian cinema in the US. But I have two things working against me, that I only write about films I like and that I am not writing for the NY Times, yet… Once a bad, wrong, misquoted and misdirected review comes out, some filmmakers jump all over themselves to disprove it or argue with it. But even in this post, my piece on LZ is completely ignored… It’s a weird dynamic and one that makes positive critics of Indian cinema think twice about writing the next great article. Think about it…
I for one don’t understand why smaller , zara hatke Indian movies don’t get released outside India.
A Manorama, OLLO, Little Zizou et all has an audience within the NRI community. Not everyone wants to watch the big-marriage, typical shaadi-naach gaana movie.
As evidence, watch the number of people downloading these movies from the various online forums ., the majority are resident outside India , the only reason they do this is cause such movies never get released where they live.
@ Venkatesh
i doubt it man. i live in the US and i don’t find anyone going to theaters for the ‘hatke’ movies. last i went to a theater was for OLLO and it was just my family and 5 more ppl. the other hall had dostana playing and everyone was watching that. ppl download all these movies because they can get ‘em for free. but even then, a RNBDJ gets way more downloads than a Gulaal. way more.
Anurag, do share here your slight reservations about Barah Ana.
You have a huge point when you say that it’s time to walk the talk…for which one has to move their ass, and open their wallets to reach the halls…I guess many prefer to sit in front of their PCs or Macs’ and enjoy seeing their opinions getting published rather than the hard task of watching to form an opinion. Also I have felt that many out there prefer to go with a borrowed opinion, and are unable to make up their mind whether they liked a film or not. That is kinda sad…
Watched “Barah Ana”, and “Straight” this week. Barah Ana I would say managed to hold my interest in the characters, but Straight felt like an opportunity lost. But Gul Panag was superb, I am kinda becoming a big Gul Panag fan – remember her Dor, Manorama 6 Feet under…wow, a fabulous looker and an understated performer….
I think two very well made points above were -
1) Ignore the reviews, make your opinions
2) PFC is having bias towards AK and certain filmmakers and other good works are ignored.
I totally agree here when AK says ignore the reviews. But again I don’t see the point that you’ve to buy tickets to watch every movie. Especially certain indies where experience of theater doesn’t add any value and you’ve to shell out at least 300 bucks to watch them. Movies like Little zizou is waste of money, if you are seein it on big screen and shelling out 300 bucks. This are DVD market movies and will be well appreciated there. This is strictly my personal opinion, and the opinion is based on what little I’ve seen and read on the web, about the movie (I’ve read in between d lines also). I think we should concentrate more on developing DVD markets for this kinda movies rather then filling theaters. Movie watching in theater is an experience and that’s why people pay to watch Rab ne in theater and a normal indie at home on TV or DVD. I’m talking here about people who love to see indies but still doesn’t go to theatre to watch all of them. I’ve seen quite a few movies (Firaaq and Dev d) from above in theatre, some are not released in Chennai (13B and Gulaal) and would not like to pay for some (little zizou or barah aana) to see it in theater, though I’ll surely love to catch it on DVDs.
Second issue. About the biasness of articles on PFC towards certain filmmakers is well known and I think it is now pointless to point out that (pun intended). What we need here is writers with more diverse tastes (I think project iview is sort of serving this purpose but not sufficiently). Even I think overall the quality of writing on the blog is going down and crappy posts are increasing such as posts about reviews of Taran adarsh (Again my personal opinion). I know above is sort of criticism which is out of context, but I wanted to mention it somewhere and thought this is the best place to do it.
Youth Change karta hai duniya ko Youth…..
Par Aisa change karna kya hai usko
Hi Tapan,
I’d really urge you to go see barah aana in the theatre with an audience. I honestly believe you lose a lot watching the film on DVD. It is playing in Satyam and has been running full since it opened. Would love to read your comments after.I don’t mean to make a blatant plug of my film but I felt I needed to write this when I read your post.
@mars
You haven’t seen the review that was posted on the first day of release by taran a.
The review was replaced on the 3rd day.
I am on the same plane with Ratnakar.
Dev.D came to my town(which too has single digit number of theatres like Bhubaneshwar) only because UTV temporarily had a no-deal with multiplexes(that’s what I heard from grapevine… OLLO came almost two months after its release… it is not due to local film industry’s strike/not allowing other language films for 5 weeks et al.).
Dev.D became a hit here, SO the theatre dude showed Gulaal, it failed to get audience.
We never got to see any of the movies you have mentioned above.
I have been borrowing all of the cool indian indy movies off the net. :(
anurag you are very right…we need one of these releases to be a hit…make money so that ten more will be made…great thought and post…
Hi Raja,
Thanks for the reco, I’ll surely watch it @ Sathyam. (u missed the Chennai specialty ‘h’ there)
. Just one point, you can plug your movie anytime and anywhere, as you deem fit. I think it is as much as movie maker’s birth right to do so as it is the responsibility and choice of the audience/viewers to comprehend and act on that plug. So no worries.
Just wanted to clear one more thing, which I sorta assumed above i.e. The choice between the DVD and theater comes when a person have constraints of resources and wanna optimally utilize it (according to person’s need and choice). So put the perspective in my context I would love to watch all the movies in theater but money never seems enough to do so.
Just to say, I’m not making any premature judgments about the movie that it is not good, it is just that I wanna make choices based on the amount of information available to me (which could be true, false, sufficient, insufficient – I don’t know and it differs according to movie also). No offense meant when I said Barah aana is ‘DVD’ category movie. 
About Barah Aana, I hope to watch it on big screen also here, due to the fact it’s an Indo-Italian production, and to the fact one of the characters is (has?) performed by an Italian actress, Violante Placido, daughter of a very famous Italian actor, Michele Placido. Unbelievable: EVEN ITALIAN PAPERS HAVE WRITTEN ABOUT THIS MOVIE!!!!
Mr. Kashyap, I read your old post about ‘No Smoking’ première at Rome Film Festival. I want to say I appreciated a lot the originality of NS, but (ahem… sorry) I didn’t like it so much. Anyway, more important: ALL THE REVIEWS I READ IN ITALIAN PAPERS WERE POSITIVE!!!! Italian critics were very impressed by NS!!!
Ciao!
Celeste
Anurag,
In your frustration, please don’t forget to keep atleast mentioning the names of the films that are worth a watch. I live outside India and the only window for me to even know which films are being made and released are the reviews published. I diligently note down all films you list, get a DVD and watch them. While the perceptible indication is watching a theare full, there is a long tail these internet forums enable, where the life of a film is not over as soon as it goes out of the theatre.
BTW, saw HULLA yesterday and loved it. Looking forward to other films DVD’s, especially 13B, as the story line seems to be like a telugu film “A FILM BY ARAVIND” which I loved (except for the climax).
Saw luck by chance during the weekend, you did a great job. Had a Rishi Kapoor week almost, saw BOBBY for the first time and was struck by his natural ease even in his first film, then saw Luck by Chance and Delhi-6, he was phenomenal in both and gave a superlative performance.
I am enjoying the lyrics of Gulaal these days and have not heard any other songs in past week except Duniya, Aarambh and Raanaji. Kudos to Piyush Mishra and Rekha Bharadwaj is some talent!
What is PFC parties and PFC screenings? Are some events organised for PFC members? Throw some light please.
Michel Placido is also the director of “Romanzo Criminale”..
One film I am desperately waiting to get a DVD is Tahaan! Unfortunately no-one here in UK seem to have even heard of the film.
Being interested in the craft, I am also interested in watching films for some specific features. Example: Anil Kapoor when promoting “Gandhi My Father” mentioned Resul Pookutty’s work on the sound during an interview, very prominently and I watched that film only with an intent to understand why that deserved special mention. So, while writing about films, even if the overall product is not good, it is important to highlight some specific features / aspects that have been done well (ultimately the people associated with film work very hard). Mostly, the music, lyrics or dance get some credit even if the film does not work, but not others.
Would urge people writing about films, also write about specific things that stand out in the film, even if the film does not work.
For example: I liked Delhi-6, because I did not watch it as a potential love story or a revolutionary cinema, but as a peek into the lives of various people and how they co-exist hanging on.
and Anurag Kashyap is also a director of Gulaal and a sidey in luck by chance. Thanks for such a intriguing info AK.
Any PFC screenings happening in Pune Let me know. I will be the first to come and also spread the word around to make sure pune folks attend. But PFC screenings only in Mumbai and NY not fair
No Kesavan, then we have to watch it closely and understand and appreciate what is there to understand and appreciate. We, here, see movie to point out what is wrong with Taran Adarsh’s review. If still we (PFC community) couldn’t fucking find anything then we just make it up.
@ Kesavan – Btw Tahaan is a beautiful movie, wonderful story. Torrents are available, dl it.
Anurag just like we have moved away from the cinema that we used to make once, we also need to move away of change the way we sale our cinema. The old way of going to theaters and buying a ticket to watch a movie needs to have few other options added to it as well. Give me Firaaq DVD quality for download and I will happily pay Rs 50 which directly goes to the producer to distributor no multiplex. We need to INNOVATE on the ways we sell our cinema Just creating great cinema is not enough. Innovations in cinema has to be coupled with innovations in selling our cinema.
Thank you Johny, being a person from the entertainment industry, I believe in a film’s experience also and hence I never saw a film on my computer till date. Hope I can hang on indefinitely!. Shall try till I get a DVD of Tahaan.
I could wait for a good 6-8 months to get a hold of Anuranan and I still cant get hold of a DVD of Raincoat also here.
So waiting for Tahaan and Raincoat. Someday, but surely I shall get hold of them. To not forget, I maintain a list of all films I want to watch and am always on the lookout. There is an endless list of Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam films too in my list (lucky to understand all those languages).
Innovations in selling our cinema is full on…..Slumdog and Ghajini are the best example of it. When some actor shaves ur hair on street or all d employees get same haircut for a movie, isn’t it d one of d best ways of selling. Of course slumdog helped us to sell our crappy cinema to videshis, who’ll buy good Indian cinema like. So cinema_enthu we r innovating in selling our cinema but i hereby remain silent abt makin it more reachable and affordable.
Now thats a sane post after some weeks of posts dedicated to a handful of movies, with many worthy ones being forgotten. Added to those films u mentioned, there are such small films being released in regional languages like Tamil and Malayalam. I think the Indian industry as a whole is bringing out enough good films every year, but the lack of visibility and meaningful discussions have spelt doom for such classics.
TRUE…
lets not be the thekedaars of indian cinema. instead avid watchers of the same. we being passionate for cinema should not just speak about it but also enjoy the process of buying a ticket , some pop corn and watch a film on the big screen with friends, with families. lets have fun. lets enjoy cinema good or bad, corny or classic.
“lets go”
I agree, Anurag. As a student, I’ve never felt guilty about watching movies downloaded from the internet.
But after seeing the hard yards gone into Gulaal and Dev.D, I would feel guilty not supporting such work. Not only will I watch these in the big screen, but get my friends along as well.
- Varun
ABSOLUTELY TRUE…..
Lets all become friend of sahitya sahay. He enjoys the process of buying a ticket , some pop corn and watch a film, den let’s give him this enjoyment again & again by letting him pay for us.
With this he’ll also give you acumen and insights to enjoy bad cinema. “Let’s go”
@75
“certain indies where experience of theater doesn’t add any value and you’ve to shell out at least 300 bucks to watch them”
i.e $6 in India,in USA average ticket price ranges from $10-$14 but people dont crib they earn their weekly checks and support Independent cinema,the truth is no matter where the film is released,no matter how much the ticket is priced,no matter how much we spend on gas to reach, pay for the parking,pop-corn etc,we should ALL earn extra and take that extra effort to see the film on SCREEN because that extra effort is miniscule as compared to the EFFORT put in by the Filmmaker and we should stop cribbing on such petty things ONCE AND FOR ALL !!!
GK
johnny cinema is an expensive entertainment or art form, whichever way you want to look at it.. buying tickets is important for it to continue.. you have a problem with content , constructive criticism and actually doing something about it is always welcome.. cribbing about it is neither going to solve your problems nor cinema’s.. you like it on your computer pl continue to do so.. have fun doing it.. someone else likes the experience of it on screen let him .. if you can’t help then don’t, do not let your personal frustrations and inadequacies of performance lead you in a nowhere zone.. have a good wank and sleep well..
Anurag very true…B ut can you blame people if they have to deal with 4 films in a week? of course they have to ‘pick and choose’… Also the concept of “weekend entertainment” is a major reason people go for movies but some of these movies seem to “not fulfil” this criteria.. I loved 13B, Little Zizou and Firaaq; could not catch Barah Anna… of course i went bonkers after dev D and Gulaal but then why do these smaller films have to release almost at the same time? its like 4 in one week and none in the next week… I think the producers of the smaller filsm should try to sort out the releases that they dont force people to ‘pick and choose’
@GK – What a comment sirjee. But let me also comment
1) $6 in India $10-14 in US, what a comparison sirjee. Just to add prespective, I know it won’t suffice fully, per cpaita income of india is usd 2,753 and of US is usd 45,790. But still sirjee people in US are hard working and big hearted and payin more den Indians (in context only).
2) You mean to say that in USA people don’t crib and in India all the people crib. A perfect sample size of 1 to make judgment sirjee.
3) No matter how much the ticket price is – Sirjee then US should become holy grail for Indies. They will pay anything the film makers ask for even a 1000$ wld b a petty for dem.
4) “We should All earn extra” – Sirjee u’ve started deciding for evrybody. I think u’ve qualities to become a good dictator sirjee.
5) “Miniscule to effort put in by Filmmaker” – Sirjee efforts are also put in gutter cleaner and I think compared to some film maker they put more efforts. We should all earn extra to pay gutter cleaners extra. Sirjee u r right we should pay for all the efforts, whether we think those will be good efforts or not.
6) Stop cribbing on such petty things – Sirjee, absolutely right, paying 300 rs for a movie a such a petty thing, where average salary of movie goer is 10K (Just approximation) and in 300 you can buy a monthly pass. Yes you are right that we should not talk about finding solutions to make cinema more affordable but should curse ppl who crib on such petty things as high ticket prices.
Sirjee wonderful comment. You’ve opened my eyes.
Anurag,
I am not sure if you enjoy watching documentaries, especially on Nature. If you do, I highly recommend you to watch “Nature’s Great Events”. This is a 6 part TV series showed on BBC, which just ended last week. This has to be one of the best ever documentaries I saw, especially the second part called “The great salmon run”. Watch it if you get a chance and let me know how you liked it.
joyjit you are right about all of them coming together.. i don’t know why producers can’t time it.. it is actually all these films eating into each other… but i guess the pending strike was one of the major reasons for these.. no big releases. and the insecurity of competing with the big release..
we have to find out ways to get people in the theatre.. one of them has to be some kind of scheme these multiplexes should come with.. may be some kind of monthly pass.. or students discount.. i don’t know what..
kesavan has seen most of the bbc nature documentaries, planet earth to microcosmos.. love them and own them but never heard of nature’s great events.. is it out on dvd..
anurag,
Am from New Jersey. The one and only theatre closest to me showing hindi cinema is Regal at Commerce Center. I have been for some time now waiting for Dev D and its yet to come – this is a theatre where all new hindi films are screened and I understand why DevD is not here yet. I’ve made my friends promise me that they would come to watch it with me (am slowly but surely making them watch the good films on the big screen) but now they are losing their patience and I know that very soon they would watch a pirated DVD – so whats hapeening?
Anurag,
Yes, “Nature’s Great Events” is just out on DVD and it is a must watch.
It is the most spectacular show I saw on TV and in a 60 minute episode, they dedicate the last 15 minutes to “DIARIES” and describe how the film was shot and to what extent the cameraman and crew went to shoot the events, how they used their equipment etc. It is a heavenly experience watching it.
This series talks about migration of animals and how season changes cause animal migration like salmons who travel amost 3000 miles and how every animal, plant and nature are interlinked.
The 6 part series consists of
1. The great melt – Covers summar in Arctic and migration of animals.
2. The Salmon Run – Covers how salmon travel almost 3000 miles to go exactly to the same place where they were born, to breed and how the bears and other animals wait for their return to feed themselves.
3. The great migration – Covers the migration of animals in Serengeti National Park and this follows a lion pride..amazing
4. The great tide – Covers sardine migration and how the birds and dolphins follow them
5. The great flood – Covers kalahari desert. They actually cover the first trickle of water into the desert and how it all fills up the land and turns it green and migration of animals there.
6. The great feast – Covers the migration of humpback whales to Alaska to feed again amazing.
My favourites are The salmon run and the great flood.
Highly recommended.
Is it available in India or only UK.. i got all of them from UK.. if it is UK then i will have to wait..
Forgot mentioning, the Narration is by David Attenborough and he is outstanding.
Forgot to mention, watch the great feast, it shows why Whales are considered some of the most intillegent beings on earth (not including humans) and how they hunt using Bubbles as nets to cactch fish.
I am not sure about territories. I distinctly remember hitting the same point once almost 8 months back with you, when I recommended a few telugu films to you. I mentioned I can send them across to you if you want to watch it.
If you have the patience to wait till it is released in India or buy on one of your trips to UK, then upto you.
But, do note down the title in your list of “Must watch”.
Anurag, I really, badly want to know if you are putting Guru Dutt’s life on celluloid. I cant tell you in words how much I am excited about the news. Some friends told me its an incorrect news picked up by some misinformed journos. I am really wanting to know more about it. In fact I asked this same question in one of my posts on Pyaasa and existentialism :
http://passionforcinema.com/existentialism-the-absurd-and-pyaasa/
Kesavan- Attenborough has done the narration in all the bbc nature movies including Planet Earth amd Microcosmos.. see Microcosmos.. it’s something else..
will egt it from UK..
Neeraj the news is correct but i am just writing it.. it is to be directed by Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, who has nurtured it for four years, his first film and to be produced by UTV.
Since you are online, let me take my share of your attention:
1. Who did the choreography of Raanaji song in Gulaal? I just saw the trailer and the choreography is superb, simple, effective and very well done.
2. Do you watch TV series 24 and MADMEN?
3. Madmen is about the ad industry in 1960’s hence its a peek into the old world. I was there at a special one-off event at Las Vegas a couple of months back organised by Lionsgate, when all the stars of Madmen came on stage and performed a show, called Madmen Revue.
In this show, it was amazing to watch all the stars sing, and sing they can!. If you are fan of Madmen, it is a show not to miss. Should be on DVD again.
1. mansi agarwal- a first timer who i saw performing on stage, she also did dhol in dev.d
2. seen 24.. madmen was recommended just this morning
OMFG! I am thrilled. Would have loved to see you directing it but even if you’re writing it, I am thrilled. The reason why I think you’re the only one who can write/direct is because I have closely read about both of your lives ( from media).. In the whole industry you’re the only one who can probably understand him I think.
BTW That post of mine was a subtle prelude to Gulaal, if in case you have read it, you’ll realize that in the PS.
@ Anurag –
Just to say, I love your brand of cinema and m a great admirer of your work. But it has nothing to do with the topic here, following are some of my comments –
1) Cinema is expensive form of art form (I like this version better) – Yes totally, no doubt about that. But point here is that as a consumer of dis art form, doesn’t I’ve right to choose that what I want to consume and what I don’t want to. This consumption pattern will also depend on whether the satisfaction I’m deriving out of product is equal or more than the cost I’m paying. This satisfaction will also get affected by the other usage of that money. So yes, we should pay for the things we are consuming but by our own choices. I think nowadays price of watching a movie exorbitant, we should try to find affordable solutions. This is very pertinent in regards to indie movies. Low cost multiplexes and web could be used as creative medium to propogate and reach audiences. I never understood how come a single theatre wid a little less quality can deliver at such cheaper price den multiplexes. Efforts should be made in this regards. I’m not going to pay 300 bucks to see “straight”, which I consider a silly movie, and decide whether it is a good movie or not. Things should make sense.
2) “you have a problem with content , constructive criticism and actually doing something about it is always welcome” – I’m criticizing the movie by not watching it and not paying for it. And btw how will you come to know that content is good or not unless you go and watch the movie. If I’m not content will they refund the money to me. Though I’m not this much into chik-chik abt money, but things here has gone over my head. I’ll repeat again that everything should make sense. If I pay for 3 movies and out of that I like 1 movie then cost of that movie is 900 bucks. It’s not at all feasible and (I think desirable) to do so. So I’ll b choosy, will make perceptions about the movies before seeing it (from various sources, including reviews) and will see it only if it make sense.
3) “you like it on your computer pl continue to do so” – Who likes it on computer. Given a choice I think 99% wouldn’t like it on comps. Why do they watch it. Some have reach ability and some have affordability constraints. Like for Tahaan, it was not at all released in my city and DVD’s were not available for long time. The option for me is either to dl and see or wait. Some noble souls like Kesavan can wait but I can’t. But somehow I think I alone is not responsible for this, though major crime lies with me.
3)”someone else likes the experience of it on screen let him” – Who stopped anybody. If somebody wants to see let him, but he/she should not give gyan to others that what they should do. Just a note here that if I can stop anybody here, that wld b gr8, atleast I made a fool out of somebody.
4)”if you can’t help then don’t, do not let your personal frustrations and inadequacies of performance lead you in a nowhere zone” – I don’t know how come talk of help came here. Plz AK by talking abt help u r sorta takin urself down (no offense meant). You are producer, we’re consumers. Only thing is let both parties be honest and should not short change others. Sorry but I don’t know how come talk of personal frustrations and inadequacies come here. I think let’s stick to the topic.
5) “have a good wank and sleep well..” – I’ll and hope the same for you.
Btw please can you share the dialogue in Gulaal, which got censored. (in case you remember)
Johnny see what you say now makes a point.. but saying random things without making a point sometimes makes one upset.. apologies for my last line..
yes low cost multiplexes is an idea, when last time i gave the idea to one multiplex owner of having monthly passes, he said we could do that but problem is how do we divide revenues later, all the producers will make our lives hell over the shares.. which is true..
They are all looking for a way.. Moserbaer has already done the needful by bringing the dvd cost down but the quality suffers..
See gulaal on a digital screen and you won’t like it.. neither the transfer nor the sound works,colours are haywire.. but see it on film and it will work ten times more.. quality is not what exhibitors are concerned about.. we release our films too soon after we complete it..
bring forth the ideas to cut costs.. i will take them forward..
Neeraj.. i don’t think i can do it.. i would rather just write it.. I don’t want to fall into the trap of thinking or feeling “i know and understand Gurudutt because i think i am like that” .. have seen too many filmmakers finishing themselves off doing that.. I don’t and would not ever want to be called that.. i admire and love Pyaasa and Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam and Aarpar, Mr and Mrs 55.. i would leave it at that..
Johnny.. the first dialogue was the two names he takes of Gandhi and Ambedkar, the men with round glasses..
second was a discussion on the national anthem that ransa talks about , how it was written by tagore in 1911 to welcome King George the fifth and Queen Mary and we sing it as our anthem , where it clearly says for e.g. Bharat Bhagya Vidhaaata.. That is man who decides the fate of india, it talks about sindh which is not part of us anymoe.. Jan Gan Man adhinayak.. means Jan Gan Man jiske “Aadheen ho” means people who rule us.. we are still singin g to them.. there is a law that forbids any such discussion as it amounts to disrespect of the anthem hence punishable by law.. well if i was the producer and it was my money i would have fought it tooth and nail till the end.. mine or the law’s..
@Anurag Kashyap
Sorry to intrude in ongoing discussion. But your comment on Tagore and Jan Gan Man, has prompted me to do so.
It has been proved by historians that its not true that Tagore had written it to welcome George Pancham. He had written it much earlier and as one can see its more like a prayer to the God. as most of his poems are mystic in nature, so this also falls in the same category.
Political leaders wanted something from Tagore, which could be recited during welcome ceremony of George the fifth. Its mis reading and mis interpretation that Tagore wrote it in honour of George. There were many other ways to please the king if that was the motive, he could not have been pleased by a song in Indian language.
Yes some people have been following this route but this is nothing more than an attempt to degrade Tagore.
If today Obama comes to India and ARR is asked to present his song Jai Ho at the welcome ceremony, will that turn the history that Gulzar saab had written it to please Obama and Jai Ho is in reality Jai Ho of Obama?
Adhinayak in Jan gan man is God. It was a good song and it still is. As it was associated more with the cultural heritage and geographical description of Bharat Bhumi and not of India, so it does not matter if people still sing it. Its cultural history of Bharat.
Its not a fight like Naveen Jindal had fought for hoisting the national flag.
Yes its kind of ideological fight but if people see the song in right perspective then nothing is there to feel angry or to fight.
Flowers dont become good or bad if they are used by priests in the temple or demons in their harams or at evil places.
eye-opening sir…..
Hi Anurag,
None of the movies(except 13b) mentioned in your post have been released in California. Still waiting for Gulaal, Firaaq, Barah Aana.
And, I am sure watching those on a pirated DVD isnt a great idea either.
Thats all I have to say in my defense.
u r absolutely correct anurag.Audacious attempts in creativeness have to be welcomed and encouraged even if they miss the bull’s eye and the reason why such movies miss their mark will be coz of a very thin line but still would be a far better option than many other shits around them.I would like you to write abt ur experiences on TAMIL M.A(Kathradu Tamil),SUBRAMANIAPURAM,MIRUGAM if u have already watched them…..if not watch them and write on those also.
@Anurag,
The concept of a monthly pass at multiplex is a hit here in UK with CINEWORLD multiplexes. Would be a good case-study to understand how its working for them.
The other idea which became decently successful is called Orange Wednesdays. This is sponsored by Orange cell company, where every wednesday if you have a orange cell phone, you send a SMS (worth 40 pence) and you get a code, using that code you get 2 tickets for the price of one.
Finally, just one small point, if I watch 3 films by paying 300 each and one turns out good, its not 900 rs for one good film. Basically art form is such that if the film is really good, then its invaluable and infact 9000 rs also feels like Paisa Vasool. I am reminded of days when Rangeela was released, when people paid exhorbitant prices to watch that film and came out saying Paisa Vasool.
So, its not simple mathematics. I can send you some other ideas being used by people to attrack audiences for Indes and also to bring the cost of watching a film down for these people. Hopefully you will hear from me tomorrow with these ideas.
we have Vodfone tuesdays at fame..i don’t know how that works
Sorry I hijacked the topic for a bit but here’s my two depreciated cents on it.
Hazaaron kwaishien aaisi was a rage back in b-school. This film is a cult. We were once given 2k as part of a business-plan competition. So we played it off the DVD in our college auditorium. Our film production class teacher, who was the ex dean of FTII, talked about the film at the end of the film. We got 200 per person for this do. In most colleges there are theaters where the film can be shown. I mean the indie films are definitely welcomed and appreciated in colleges, why not tour in colleges. Like most IITs and IIMs have an ampitheatre kind of a setting. If your TG is not coming to theaters to watch these films, why not go to the TG.
If a film is shown at campus then you’re sure to have even the least interested guy watching it too, the herd thing picks up. Lends better ROI and effective Word of mouth, that is in case the movie is superb.
Besides this wont lead to profit sharing problems with the multiplexes ;-)
Anurag – your post is nice, heartfelt et al. But with all due respect, I doubt your asking people to go watch films in theatres would do it. I think the business aspect of film has not kept up with the creative burst of activity that we have seen in these past few years. I know multiplexes helped small budget films that are so rampant now. But the same multiplexes charge the same amount for the smaller films like they do for the big banners. And it costs less than 10% to produce the small one!
I know we don’t have any model in place that allows the cheap distribution of small budget films but to me that’s what needs to happen or else before long the system will crumble like the music industry here in the US has.
It’s a known truth that most studios here in the US are unable to sustain growing losses owing to free distribution of content over the internet and are shutting down their Independent arms that rely on subsidies from the big budget extravaganzas.
Do you think at some point, in the not so distant future, watching movies in theatres would be a thing of the past?? I mean look at the pace of technology that’s working to stream content to the consumer in every imaginable form – from your game console to your mobile phone! … and then think of the conventional form of film production and distribution and you wonder how long it would be before people get used to watching films in their own little spaces than in a movie theatre.
Don’t know if this is the right mail to reply to, but as a student of cinema and someone who during his trading days has invested in global media and a NRI , find it both thrilling (that such movies are being made) and frustrating (that NRI’s cant see it when released). I try not to see pirated stuff but with a movie like Gulal it becomes too much of a temptation to fall for seeing it on the web. Now according to me if the small film makers get under a common umbrella it does make financial sense to get it shown in UK / US and still make it be financially viable. There is so much demand for this and esp with the evolution of other regional cinema that there is foreign audience too looking at this.
Anurag, though a question on Gulal, what is the significance of the ramayan actors who both bhatti and jadhwal befriend is it to signify Indian politics ?
RK we did research it and there was concrete proof to what i had put in the film.. but would be grateful if you could may be pass a link to the historians proof or a book that talks about it..
rest the sequence in the film also came as a reaction to how it was made compulsory to sing the national anthem before the film..
And also the information that i have is written on a plaque at the gateway of India..
The only – I think – Italian review of ‘Dev D’.
Please, DON’T ASK ME TO TRANSLATE!!! My English is too poor. Anyway, rate ****, and it’s the second suggested 2009 Hindi film after ‘Luck By Chance’.
http://filmcinehindi.blogspot.com/2009/03/dev-d.html
(Time to learn Italian, my friend)
Celeste
About Michele Placido, yes: ‘Romanzo Criminale’ is his most famous directorial project, but in Italy he’s appreciated above all for his amazing performance in ‘La Piovra’, a TV serial directed by another famous director, Damiano Damiani, about mafia. When that serial was on TV, all Italians were sitting in front of the video forgetting anything else. I’m very impressed and delighted by your knowing about Placido – a national glory, here – and about Moravia.
Thanks soooooooooooooooooooo much!!!!!
Celeste
Anurag, you could have gained an audience in the UK for Dev D not just among British Indian youth fed up of the moronic movies from India we usually get released here, but because the themes speak directly to them……and I honestly believe the movie could have gained attention in mainstream / arthouse cinemas. There is a real hunger for intelligent and original Indian cinema now amongst British people, post Slumdog, a curiousity that the usual formulaic ‘Bollywood’ movies that are dumped in multiplexes for one week at a time fail to satisfy because they are so stupid and laughable.
Good luck Anurag, you are the possessor of a unique, exciting and restless cinematic intelligence and eye, you deserve all the success I am sure the future will bring you.
@ Neeraj
I like your idea about screeing these small budget films with select appeal in college campuses. I’m not sure how much of it is practiced in India, but in the US it is a standard marketing practice to generate buzz, if you want to target young crowd.
I respect the in-your-face boldness of your characters and stories. I would like to know one tiny detail about Gulaal: Rannsa is clearly someone who sees through the farce of the system. Does he still contest the election just to get a kick out of it? Thanks for the clarification on the censored dialogue. I knew it couldn’t just be some gaali…. :D
I was sad not to be able to see Gulaal at a theatre, but the reality of living in middle U.S. is that the only option is to watch movies online or thru DVD. But to compensate I have been egging my friends and family in India to go watch the really good movies at theaters and I have gone to a theater to see everything from Watchmen to Wrestler to Knowing. Also, I’d like your comments on this article of mine.
http://passionforcinema.com/the-art-and-artistry-of-depravity/
Hey…anurag I hope you didn’t remember about Netaji Subhash Chandra bose when Piyush misra was talking about people with Gol chashme (round glasses)…totally agree on Gandhi and Ambedkar though.. :-).
true. gulaal didnt release in the US :( still dieing to watch it. Will send reviews thru iview for all the indies I watch here.
There is a tinge of irony here… I see a lot of my friends interested in good, independent cinema… However when it comes to watching the movie, they dont see it. I don’t know whether it is my perception, but I think there is not enough publicity of small budget films. I agree they do not have budgets to do that much publicity. But still, there are a lot of mediums nowadays (esp internet) where in one can promote the movies, I do not see that happening too. I never saw movies like Sehar or Oh My God being promoted well (There are others too, I know). Many people I know could not watch the movie because they simply did not know about the movie being released.
You know, a lot of low-budget films movie do not get any publicity in mid-size cities too (forget about smaller cities). People simply dont know about the movie.
Kesavan, not sure about ‘Tahaan’, but ‘Raincoat’ is definitely available here in the U.K.
And yes, ur so lucky to know all those languages!
I burn with envy!
Anurag,
Just an idea.
Most of the films we like and are discussing are not released worldwide. Even places with substantial desi population are not exposed to such films. Hence at times the only thing you can do is watch it online, which I dont like. As a viewer you dont get quality nor are you able to support the future of such movies in a material way. Is it by any chance possible to release it online with charge. It seems like a nice business model. Consumer gets quality and producer of movie the money. PFC seems to be an ideal site for such links. If the movie is releasing in theater the online release can be delayed.
This way myself and others who want to can help such endeavours.
Pranav
Sorry for being off topic, but here is some stuff related to jana gana mana
I dont know if these links can be trusted but we do have some rational info available over here
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_jana_gana_mana
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jana_Gana_Mana
Going by Tagore’s track record, I believe he wouldn’t have obiliged to any such request from the empire. And why the hell would britishers want a welcome song in bengali for king George V.
What amazed me though was the new paper quotes from that time. have a look
“The Bengali poet Babu Rabindranath Tagore sang a song composed by him specially to welcome the Emperor.” (Statesman, Dec. 28, 1911)
“The proceedings began with the singing by Babu Rabindranath Tagore of a song specially composed by him in honour of the Emperor.” (Englishman, Dec. 28, 1911)
“When the proceedings of the Indian National Congress began on Wednesday 27th December 1911, a Bengali song in welcome of the Emperor was sung. A resolution welcoming the Emperor and Empress was also adopted unanimously.” (Indian, Dec. 29, 1911)
Guess, sensationalism in newspaper was rampant in those days too :-o
Azad ^ Few more links, re Tagore issue, FWIW:
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http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/5_yrs_anniv/asim_k_duttaroy/Genesis_of_Janagana.pdf
&
http://homepages.udayton.edu/~chattemr/janaganamana.html
&
http://www.countercurrents.org/comm-sengupta180706.htm
#
Rk, the historians haven’t proven that Tagore did not write Jana Gana Mana as a welcome song for George V. The proof, based on the facts that are recorded, is that he gave this song to be sung at the Congress meet to welcome King George V. It obviously had to be in an Indian language for it to be sing at the Indian congress session. My interpretation of the event is that Tagore, while writing it in praise of King George V, deliberately kept it ambiguous with an interpretation with God also a possibility.
Is that on open forum?My post got deleted cuz I didnt scond with the blogger and pointed out flaws in the movie.Thats it,may be its my last post here.
anurag do u watch takeshi miike’s movies?
monstermayank ^ comments are never deleted on PFC, unless the comment falls into one of these categories: verbal abuse, personal attacks, hate statements, spam, trolls, advertising, which is when the spam filter gets triggered.
*
i’ve checked the spam filter for your comment, but it’s not to be found.
*
suggest you repost it, if you believe the points you’ve made are valid and need to be discussed.
@Anurag Kashyap (129,130),
Sorry it will be quite long:
I have yet to see your film so I am not aware of the context in which you have used it. I had responded to your comment. Through trailers and songs and few snaps here and there I can imagine that if its given to Piyush Mishra then in a fiction, Toba Tek Singh type characters or a poet whose intelligence remains intact but who has lost balance over the sense of time and space, can say anything.
Its all fine as long as its related with a character in a story or in a film as then its within a context. If a character is shown as a follower of right wing politics in india then its completely justified because they are the people whose psyche has been carrying the wounds that Jana Mana Gana was given the preference over the Vande Matram while selecting national anthem and for them this false theory, that Tagore wrote it to please George Vth, is completely suitable.
In fiction many things can be presented as sayings belong to the characters in a particular situation.
Dr Rahi Masoom Raza’s characters in Katra B Arju, pass vulgar comments on Nargis Dutt and Kamini Kaushal but that was through the hindu and muslim villager characters fighting over petty issue – which male actor of their religion was enjoying the close proximity of female actor of other religion.
common sense says that if there were concrete proof for such things then why right wing politicians have not tried to make a public issue out of it or none of them carried it to supreme court or raised the issue inside the parliament so that a proper debate could take place and this could have worked in their favour. This way they could have polarised the people. Fact is they know it does not hold any water.
they will go on making noise tim to time, about such issues just to polarise the voters but will never follow constitutional path to bring a change in the status quo as Jindal N, has done in case of national flag.
And how there could be concrete proof behind this theory? Tagore’s poem was used in the welcome ceremony, its a fact, but how to prove it that Tagore wrote it to please the king?
Leaving apart any other thing, simple meaning of the song does not suggest that it can have any connection with George Vth.
This is little surprising that during research your team did not come across any single article, book, where historians have covered this issue.
There are many things:
First is reporting of the session where this song was sung. What the minutes of that session say?
History of congess sessions will shed light on this.
If you are very much interested then you may try to get information from history department of JNU. Rather history dept. of any good university will be helpful in quoting the right name of researchers, books and articles to you.
And we know that authentic reporting will be found in Bengali and other vernaculor print media of that time as English media was for british govt. and not to present India and Indian situations in right context.
What was the stand of Anand Bazar Patrika like publication?
It has never been an issue except for the people belonging to right wing politics and they are champions in raising false issues and they know the art to make everything controversial.
Few communists had called Neta Ji Bose as dog of Tojo,
Concrete proof is there that Communists called Neta ji in abusive terms but can there be concrete proof that they were speaking truth?
should I believe in their saying because they were contemporaries of Neta Ji? or I have to apply my own mind?
Why people did not raise this issue when it was sung? This issue perhaps came in to existence in late 20s or early 30s and without considering the politics behind raising this issue, nothing can be proved.
Intention of an artist is important. Your film has used Jaise door desh ke tower mein ghus jaye re aeroplane.
It’s a concrete solid fact that film has used this line but there will be some context within which this line has been used.
Some moodh magaz in America or pro American people may accuse you, your lyricist and your film, three of you have ridiculed such a tragic event (9/11) happened in the dawn of the new millennium.
10 years down, people will be divided in to two opinions. One group of people will be intelligent enough to see the right context and other group of people will be declaring that Anurag Kashyap and his film did not have civilized manners to give proper respect to a very sad event where many people lost their lives and families were broken and they made mockery out of this event.
Ofcourse in prose, right context can be produced and America’s policies can be questioned and back fire theory can be implemented but humorous poetic manners are bound to create controversy.
But knowing your sensitivity can we, who are living in this era when your film is released, question your integrity?
There can not be solid proof that Tagore wrote the song to please George Vth. We the people have to go by our instincts and faith in our creative ancestors, which has been developed because of ther body and nature of work.
In film, in fiction everyting is fine but in real life? Perhaps not, even if we say that every issue is subjective.
Theme has to be NOVEL!…Story has to be fresh…Plot has to be entertaining…and films would run…!… this is lacking in most of indie or even big commercial films of India…Big films have advantage of Big stars and Music…so they run any way…but indie films have have all the above things in right place irrespective of genre they are made in.
its like Be the change u want to see!
I understand what you say, but we found ample evidence for the fact that it was either written or tweaked to be sung for The King and the Queen.. we consulted one of the leading historians and he also said there is no proof that tagore wrote it b efore but there is enough proof he wrote it for them as a welcome song.. which is why i asked for the proof for tghe otherwise..
@Utkal Mohanty(143),
Historians have not proved either that he wrote it to please George Vth. They base their allegations on the Nobel Prize given to Tagore in 1913 and Knighthood in 1915.
This is very narrow approach and filled with inferiority complex.
Even more written proof are there in favour of Tagore and moreover, people have to apply their sensitivity and mind on such issue.
If you feel that he wrote it to please the king, its fine, neither Tagore is going to be affected nor my opinion about him and his creation. His creation never needed any support from any empire, it has easily transcended the time and its still pulsating with the heart beats of people and will continuously follow this journey
Kedar how would you know the theme is not novel till you see it.. as it is any novel theme is always rejected the first time around..
Yes it is rejected most of the times but then there is a story to express it…and PLOT to present it…
i strongly feel that Indie film makers are failing in the last aspect most of the times… PLOT… they do have SOMETHING to say ( if not Novel or Universally appealing all the time) but they are lacking in CRAFT of VISUAL STORY TELLING immensely… and i guess this is happening because THEY DONT HAVE CONTROL over what they want to say…they seem to be in too much hurry…they fail to emerge at a point where their stories become universally appealing ( this doesnt mean they please each and every living soul)…
are u getting what i am trying to say…this is about CORE thing…about art…Muzhaffar ali wrote an article in SUNDAY TIMES about it…it was in PUNE TIMES…i dont know when it came in Mumbai times…but he had to words to express what i am trying to say…. more or less…
its about INTENTION of the film maker…everything…everything about an artist and his relation with his art form…amm…
why NOVEL things have got repetitively rejected in the past…because they are NOVEL…they fail to please your existing moral social values…
hence i said SPIRITUALITY and not SOPHISTRY…philosophers keep fighting…spiritualists keep walking…keep exploring…does it mean they have understood better than those philosophers…no…definitely not…its just that they have accepted long ago that universe is all about contradictions…and hence they prefer to explore on their own…
now i got to see this approach in most of the modern foreign films…hence they appeal more…on top of this they also have mastered the CRAFT…
so even the most complex or subtlest layer of human emotions come across easily through their Stories backed with scintillating plots…
more later…i am sure i am making sense…
* i am NOT sure whether i am making any sense…
Anurag,
It was a very inspiring blog. I agree, that a lot of people who want to watch these independent films are put off by the reviews that float around in the Indian Media circles. Most of the reviewers are incompetent, and their analysis of the movie is so superficial. Some of them discuss the length of the movie, the absence of a “star” in the cast, what not…. I find it incomprehensible that, a reviewer should look at such trivialities… instead of trying to analyze a film by its actual components.. like Screenplay, direction, editing, cinematography. I believe, the reviewers do play a significant role in educating audiences… and sadly for us.. they are grossly incompetent.
@ dear anurag sir,
how are d multiplexes wrk..do they take fixed rent per show or per week wise or they share profits..some say, fixed rent, then y they r fighting for d ratios with d producer frm their birth or so?
n wht abt d single screen fixed rent or percentage?
Hi Tapan,
added the H immediately!! I understand the economics of watching a film adn the fact that it seems like too many films targetting a similar Tg release togetehr making it doubly difficult to pick. The problem we have as producers of indies is that our hands are tied in terms of the money we have for publicity which means we don’t generally get great openings. It is a catch 22 situation where we need word of mouth, but for that we need an opening. Going small in terms of screens is one option but piracy doesn’t allow for a platform release. Lots of issues but honestly I believe they can and will be sorted as long as the industry believes there is a real audience for this kind of cinema.
@Anurag
It was a very good blog. I think all of us must watch these movies in theater. I saw Gulaal in theater even after watching it on my computer first. I also went for Baarah Aana (and its a good movie by the way). For Baarah Aanaa there were some 20 odd people watching.
Rk: “His creation never needed any support from any empire, it has easily transcended the time and its still pulsating with the heart beats of people and will continuously follow this journey.” Absolutely. The fact that he wrote Jana Gana Mana in praise of the King dos not make him a lesser poet. The fact is that India was under British rule at that time. so praising the ruler , the king was nothing untoward. Didn’t the congress organize a session to welcome the king? In fact the poet himself has praised the British rulers on many occasions. That does not make him a lesser poet, or a lesser patriot. His patriotism was broader than some of his fans give him credit for.
As to the historians’ proof, no one can prove what was on his mind. What is proven however is that the organizers asked him fora song to be sung at the welcome function by Congress in 1911, for King Geroge V, and Tagore gave the this song, and it was sung. The newspapers reported that this song was sung in praise of King George V, and the poet never sent the papers any rebuttal.
@Utkal Mohanty,
Why congress should not have oragnised a session? They treated themselves as representative of the country and they were following a new pattern of creating a democratic India. King was a guest here. From congres side things were always followed in a civilized manner.
If King had come after 1947 then also he would have been given the welcome party, a grand reception as India has been giving even to other country chiefs like Gen. Musharaf, knowing very well his role behind Kargil. There may be a mushaira in the honour of General.
To sing a poem at/in that welcome party = to sing a song in praise of king?
Since you are in to journalism and if you live in Delhi then it should not be hard for you to visit JNU. Please visit and try to meet the professor who had done research on the topic.
and since its such a good topic, please try to get a hold on all the related papers, as said in earlier comment, reportings in vernaculor press.
Its not true that Tagore did not object. It might be posible that he did not release statements in press. It happens many time, a creative person does not feel to object such petty things as he finds it below his stature. But its also true that this point was discussed with his friends and well wishers. He should have better things to do than handing such a petty issue all the time.
Moreover, if people dont want to believe they will not believe in his honesty and will crucify him in this particular case.
You must visit the professor. See the paper which tells other side of the story and then take a decision.
Your last paragraph should present the essence. He was asked to write a poem. he gave one poem and it was sung at the occasion.
Rest you are quoting newspaper’s lines.
this Tagore topic may deviate the discussion devoted to good point of promoting the good cinema, so those who believe in the charges against Tagore should first try to see other side of literature also as its possible that they never came across such literature and there might come the possibility of some flexibility in the approach and then we can continue this discussion on some suitable post devoted to Gulaal, after all arguments, facts are produced from other side also before an authority announces the punishment. here focus from good indie films is getting a deviation.
Sir… I would like to know when and where do these PFC screenings take place, so that we can take an active part in them. As far as i am concerned i never per se got to know of any PFC screenings happening. Maybe our communication channels need to be more effective. As in do we actually have the PFC screenings? If so my humble apologies, i never knew about them or was not informed about…
(i) Why a countrywide release? Can’t a movie first release only where it’s audiece is. ‘Coz if the word of mouth is negative a countrywide release only spreads it faster and chances are because of that some people who were probably going to like it will not want to watch it anymore. We should face it that India is a country that believes in paisa vasool and if there is a reliable enough source telling them that the movie isn’t worth it, there are few people who’d still go ahead and watch it and that holds true for small budget indie films more than the big-budget ones.
Can there be something called ‘Test shows’ where the film-maker gathers ‘his’ audience (and not fellow film-fraternity people) but from the common junta and show them the film. Take their feedback and if possible (this might sound like I am pushing it) but can parts of the film that don’t go down well or don’t get the point across as the film-maker intended to, re-edited (by adding something from edited footage or editing something that isn’t required) for making it more effective?
(ii) ‘Expectation management’. Another truth is that our audience is conditioned in to expecting a set of things from a film which if they don’t get they dismiss it immediately. The most recent example that comes to mind is Delhi-6. The first half of the film was set-up and it (arguably) had the most timid intermission point ever. So much money goes into promotions. Can’t some money be spent in giving the audience some idea about the content and manage their expectations in some way.
(iii) Last and definitely not the least. The critics. They have all the right to give their point of view but cant they make it explicit that its only a single person’s opinion and comments to the effect of ‘waste of time and money’ are avoided. I’m sure they understand that there isn’t a single film-maker who decides to make a bad film. You may or may not agree with the film. That is it. Can some sort of an understanding be arrived at that they don’t publish reviews over the first weekend and the reviews only come out monday or tuesday. I dont’t know how many people go by the critics’ word but I have a lot of such people around me (both family and friends) and am sure all of you will have too. Now it is difficult to make them understand that one should form one’s own opinion after watching a film and then you may not watch another film by the same director if you don’t like one. But first the critics need to realize that a lot depends on any film. (It isnt just the big-budget ones) And the most recent example that comes to mind is Chandni chowk to china. It was a bad film but every other radio jockey in town who doesnt know shit about film-making commenting about it just sounds absurd. They should think of better ways to find content and fill slots.
Anurag I would like to know how feasible limited release and ‘Testing’ a film can be. And is it possible to make changes to the film based on feedback from the test shows?
Methods can be developed to select the audience for the test shows.
Every film cannot appeal to anyone and everyone. And it’s about time films got termed hits or flops based on their effect with the audience targetted.
For example DEV.D. I havent met one person who was the target audience (the fast food generation according to Anurag, please correct me if i am wrong) completely dismissing the film. Now that’s the core target. Anyone outside of this (I remember a post that said an elderly lady who I beleive was the author’s mother loved the film)who likes it is the fringe audience.
Can something be done on these lines?
I don’t know if you are aware of this but Torrent/BitLord downloads have completely destroyed the idea of community viewing. The big screen is out, loneliness in.
But what do you think when you see a pirated copy of the film Aamir with the UTV logo water-mark on the screen..? And this on the day of it’s release..
So piracy is as much an internal problem as it is external..
Apropos the Tagore controversy,
One good way to make amends would be for Gulzar or someone equally secular to write a better national anthem (in sanskrit ~ or some non-regional/original indian langauge) and then have it vetoed by Parliament to a tune set by A R Rahman.
By George! Given the oppurtunity,I’m sure that a country of a billion people can come up with something better than a Bengali song that speaks of Sind and is acutally a homage to a foreign king.
Till then, everyone should just learn to grin and
bear another burden of history.
Oye Raja Menon, are you the same guy who made Bas
Yun hi!
Anurag, we know that saare jahaan se achcha was to be the national anthem, but muslims back then (like today) applied their political and actual dadagiri to see to it that this was not chosen. Instead Jana Gana Mana was chosen. Pseudo secularism!
Good luck Anurag.
I am really heart broken with the response given to NDTV Films & LBC.
Esp NDTV ones I emailed atleast 50 people in Bombay delhi & Bangalore to go watch these films. Hardly anyone went. And these same people sit around & bitch about the state on your cinema. No one wants to get out of their comfort zone. And each person has a very good excuse.
Its like democracy. We will get the films we deserve. Sad but true.
@Mainak
Yes very true indeed ,people call me cynic when I say that we only get the kind of movies we get because we deserve it.
We also deserve the politics that we have in our country ,because the intellegensia that bitches about the state of affairs in our country are just a miniscule percentage of the population while the majority are uneducated , religious , racist ,hypocritic fools.
“It happens many time, a creative person does not feel to object such petty things as he finds it below his stature. But its also true that this point was discussed with his friends and well wishers. He should have better things to do than handing such a petty issue all the time.”
A poem written in praise of God is passed off as a poem written fora King..and it is a petty thing? Then I wonder what is sacred! And if you know the volumes of letters tat Tagore has written to countless people, on countless subjects, this won’t have been below his station to comment on. And even if he did not have the time, his friends to whom he is supposed to have confided, could have written to the paper, clearing the confusion. Did any friend do that? No. So based purely on facts, one can say quite fairly, that even if the poet did not write it for the king, he did not mind it being thought as written for the King. Or he thought it a ‘petty’ mater not worth his rebuttal. I think we can agree on that and end this debate here. If you ca give the email address of the professor at JNU I can correspond with him to check what additional fcats hehas access to.
@Utkal Mohanty,
I or anybody can not break your sleep if you dont want to do it.
You are believing in allegations which is based purely on speculations, you dont have any proof. I am telling you there is other side of truth also. I am giving you clue, if you want to know the other side, you have to do efforts. JNU is not Sahara desert where you wil be lost. It must be having only one history deptt. it must be having few professors.
This is quite funny that I should give you email address of JNU prof. and you sitting at your home, will do corresspondence with him, to check credibility of his research.
You are believing in allegations against a creator of very high standard, and in a way you are making allegations against the Tagore. you dont want to do efforts to opt a more justified approach.
It depends on what you want. If you are happy in still believing in what you have been believing, its your life, if you want to see material from other side also, please do the needful and walk that one extra mile.
@ Vinay, Deepa Gahlot writes for The Afternoon.
Hello Sir,
I have been trying to get in touch with you, but things are not working out. Infact got a number from frend of mine but its not wrking…
Sir I m looking forward to assist you, Desparatly need a film to assist…
Sir is there any way I can get touch with you, I am sure there must be for Cinema lovers.
I am a great fan of ur all films ..
I would apperciate if I would get an oppurtunity to prove my self..
Wish you the best..
From : Sachin Vinod Modi
Hi Anurag, I saw your both works- Dev D and Gulal day by day and still have in impression with those movies. I come to know that you are working with the character Doga. I have some written work on Doga, about the characterization, environment etc. I’d like to share with you. No need to post my comment. Please whenever you have time reply me, on shrinet@oneindia.in
Rony Thanks. Will google if AFternoon has an online version
@ Sonal: The multiplex owners are the exhibitors. Typically their revenues from their theatres are distributed as: 25% from eateries, 20% from advertisements and parking, 55% from ticket sales. From these ticket sales, they have a sharing pattern with the producers/distributors. The biggies have no problem to sell the film, as soon as it is made. So Yash Raj, UTV, TV9, Reliance would only distribute the movie. Meaning they buy the rights outright. So a Ghajini may be bought for Rs. 90 crores and distributed, all profits/losses made are distributor’s. However the smaller producers with lesser known actors dont have this luxury. They have to enter into a sharing agreement with distributors. In case where no distributor is willing to touch a film, the producer turns distributor himself. In case of Percept film’s Jumbo, this is what happened-Percept distributed the film itself.
Oye you people were right about monthly pass by multiplexes. Cineworld in UK offers a monthly pass costing 12 pounds for unlimited movie viewing. Those UK people are lucky. If introduced in India, these greedy multiplex owners would sell the passes, but put lots of restrictions about not “booking” the ticket onliner or on phone, etc or for select days or something making it unviable. I have heard that the total cost per seat in a multiplex is Rs. 13. Imagine the profits they make.
Why the hell should I spend 250 bucks on a ticket just so that SRK can build another building near the sea? Bring down multiplex ticket rates. WE wish to make sure that when we go with the family we need to have a good experience. So we read reviews, etc and then book tickets. It would be great if ticket prices of multiplexes are below Rs. 120 level.
hi anurag….
i hav a few question to ask regardin GULAL…….
1>why there a man coloured as ardh nari….what does it symbolise….
2>what was the use of mahi gill……..just for glamour….
3>2nd half was like half backed cake???
The best way is to push the multiplexes to loses, kinda boycotting them for their costs. I don’t remember going to a multiplex for over a year now. I just can’t afford multiplexes twice a week with my dad’s money
hmmm..i never knew i was suppossed to be part of a revolution just because i like some movies…
i’m gonna watch DevD, Gulaal, Firaaq, Little Zizou all before the strike…Little Zizou 2morrow itself…yes, obviously in a theatre…
Not sure about this entire Jana Gana Mana issue…
But the question that comes to my mind is why did he not oppose the use of that song at that moment if he din’t write it for that purpose?…
Anyway…unbiased history is difficult to find…Rightists might blow things out of proportion…at the same time JNU is known to be a leftist bastion…
multiplx owners sharing ratios say, 50:50 with d distributor..this is d only equation or multiplx hs got also d fixed rent thts must like 20 k per show..i mean multiplx gets fixed rent + 50% share both? thts huge man.. impossible to run d film there
Historiography is anything but unbiased.
One of the most famous historians of our time, once argued with a very knowledgeable acquaintance of mine. It was about something in Manu Smriti(my acquaintance is an atheist and abhors Manu Smriti), that historian told him to check a particular part(Page number to ) of a volume of Max Mueller’s Sacred Books of East, to which my acquaintance tried hard to explain to her that Mueller’s interpretation is wrong and every other historian writing about it have taken a contrary view, that’s including D.D. Kosambi, the celebrated Marxist Historian.
But she was steadfast in her belief even after she was shown other authorities about the subject.
Rabindranath Tagore was no atheist. His other song is still being sung as school prayers, as the opening song of theatres for more than six-seven decades — “Devi bhuwana manamohini,” here like the regular conception of Earth as our mother is used, nature is praised.
Why would he use the male gender in the anthem?
He was not averse to occidentalism, he did tour the west lecturing, even took hefty fees for doing that, he was never averse to western habits, dresses.
He also had difference of opinion with Gandhi about the civil disobedience movement.
It is not surprising if he had himself wrote/modified Jana mana gana for George V’s visit.
That would not make him any lesser patriot too.
@Ravi,
an individual can always be biased depending upon his/her limitations and opportunities. But then every kind of material is available and one has to read all possible, if making conclusions based on writings of others about a period, event, person, when he/she was not even existing.
If Romila Thapar provides one kind of facts, then one has to go beyond text books based history material and he/she will search Dr Ram Vilas Sharma’s writings on ancient India.
Plenty of literature is present and one has to see what he thinks seems right and justified. self knowledge matters.
I saw Gulaal twice in the theatre. The last Hindi film I had seen twice in the theatre was Kishen Kanhaiya, which should be discounted in all kindness. I hope there will be more films in this country I would want to pay for.
Hi Prashant,
We did a lot of the things you speak about. Thought about a platform release but thats not a possibility in India right now for 2 reasons 1) Piracy and 2) advertising spend. You are also forgetting the distributor and programmer. these are the guys who give you the show timings and in all probability if you aren’t going a certain size you will be relagated to the afternoon slot whcih pretty much means the film is sunk.
As for testing we did a lot of it. Middle class call centre workers to mid management multiplex viewers who make between 20 and 50k a month, to rickshow and taxi drivers. Did a small sample survey and it did teach us a lot, some of whihc we actually incorporated into the film. Some people have asked us why we call the film a real life comedy when in fact it is a dark comedy. This came out of the testing. 75% of the test audience called it things like comic capers etc etc and so we felt rela life comedy was the closest bridge.
I hope we are close to the day when a platform release is feasible in India as that is the right way for an Indie. Slumdog released int he US with 10 prints!!
As for critics we ahd a couple who wrote very nice things about the film and then ended the review saying that although they liked the film, they did not believe mass audiences would, while one was positively vindictive. Why this is the space for reviewers to take out their frustrations I have no idea but India definitely has the most vindictive critics in the world.I think they believe that is what sells. In the bargain many a decent film fall by the wayside. It is the universal judgements and
their belief that they know what the audience wants is one of the reasons that keep Indian cinema immobile. Not that the so called industry bosses and distributors want anything new.
Saw Barah Anna, and I must say, Indian cinema is going great. All hails
thanks Ronnie. Need more people like you to go buy tickets or else Indies won’t get made. cheers
Hi Anurag
Its was gr8 Pleasure to see you in guwahati. Perhaps one of the gr8 moment of my life is to meet you. I saw Gulal and fallen in love with it. though there are one point you have missed.I would like to bring you attention to it . Bhati while standing on the pan shop called Ranja and Dilip by mobile but when the Duki was shot he was looking for land line to get to Kiran. One more thing i could not get is though the movie is produce by ZEE its even not on thier cineplex FUN. I desperatly want to see this movie on big screen
congrats AK. I stay in Assam and recently u were here for an international film fes . i wanted to share a few ideas on cinema.however i don,t have ur email ID . please give me the ID . and as far as these low budget films are concerned they are here to stay. and we need to patronize them.yes we can.
Hi Raja,
Thanks for your reply. It’s sad that a platform/limited release isn’t yet a possibility. Like you pointed out, slumdog released with 10 prints and look at where the film is now. (Oscar worthiness debatable)
As far as Barah Aana goes, I think that the lighthearted comedy bit created certain expectations for me and I’m talking only about myself here. Like my first and only interaction with Barah Aana was the poster with Aamir Khan’s comment on it. The good thing that came out of it was that I decided there and then that i am watching it not because it was Aamir Khan saying it but the nature of the comment. Such a film hadn’t released this year and with the cast it looked like it’d deliver. Not that it didn’t completely but like i said expectations were wrongly created. It was more of a black comedy.
Anyway, there’s this one thing I’d like to ask you though. Actually two. First is why was Naseer’s character quiet for most of the film? I’m sure you have your reason for keeping it that way and to be honest I didn’t quite get it, (although I’ll also admit that maybe I felt this way because one always wants Naseer to be doing more than what he was doing here.)
Another thing was the ending.. Yadav gives up Shuklaji in the end, and it looks like all part of the plan in the last scene but as the police raided the spot I am assuming they confiscated the Rs.20 lakh and gave it back to Benjamin Gilani’s character.So these guys didn’t get the money right?
Did Yadav give up Shukla ji knowing that he will get acquitted because of his non-existence or was that something he also discovered later..?
Hi Raja,
Thanks for your reply. I’m happy that testing is already happening and shall hopefully become a norm with time. It’s sad that a platform/limited release isn’t yet a possibility. Like you pointed out, slumdog released with 10 prints and look at where the film is now. (Oscar worthiness debatable)
About piracy I beleive, at least internally it should/can be taken care of. And what’s the law on cable operators? That’s like the final nail in the coffin as people don’t even have to buy pirated copies to watch the film.
Advertising budgets can be optimized once a limited/platform release becomes a norm in our country as today there are enough and more cost effective/innovative methods of reaching out and I say this as an advertising professional. In fact I have been toying with the idea of approaching every film as an individual brand that has its unique set of target audience, positioning etc. It’s happening already but in a very haphazard and PR dependent way where random stories about a big budget film in production start appearing even before the movie goes into production. (recent one that comes to mind was for ‘Blue’ and especially the whole kylie minogue shor-sharaba that happened) Treating a film as a brand can make this more organized and goal oriented. Of course at what stage it begins and the scope and reach depend on the kind of budgets again but can be done.
Coming to Barah Aana, I think that the light-hearted comedy bit created certain expectations for me and I’m talking only about myself here. Like my first and only interaction with Barah Aana was the poster with Aamir Khan’s comment on it. The good thing that came out of it was that I decided there and then that i am watching it not because it was Aamir Khan saying it but the nature of the comment. Such a film hadn’t released this year and with the cast it looked like it’d deliver. Not that it didn’t completely but like i said expectations were wrongly created. It was more of a black/dark comedy.
Anyway, there’s this one thing I’d like to ask you though. Actually two. First is why was Naseer’s character quiet for most of the film? I’m sure you have your reason for keeping it that way and to be honest I didn’t quite get it, (although I’ll also admit that maybe I felt this way because one always wants Naseer to be doing more than what he was doing here.)
Another thing was the ending.. Yadav gives up Shuklaji in the end, and it looks like all part of the plan in the last scene but as the police raided the spot I am assuming they confiscated the Rs.20 lakh and gave it back to Benjamin Gilani’s character.So these guys didn’t get the money right?
Did Yadav give up Shukla ji knowing that he will get acquitted because of his non-existence or was that something he also discovered later..?
Sorry, some error so got posted twice. Ignore the first one.
PFC posted the review- http://passionforcinema.com/barah-aana-count-you-chillar-before-they-change/
Cheers!
Rk, Yes Sir.
My acquaintance is a linguist and he specialises in the language used in Vedas, I was really surprised when he explained that Ashwamedha Yaga originally had nothing to do with Horses!
Though he dabbles with religious scriptures, he does not practise it.
The scholars especially those bent towards right, dislike him for, he will not only debase their claims and will also do it conclusively with documentary proof.
History writing has got highly compartmentalised into ideologies and people no longer collaborate or even argue and display their dissent academically.
Annurag,
Its great that you have pointed this out. Just loved the way you have put across your points and subsequent arguments / comments and your answers were touching. A true post not abt gulaal or dev d…but abt the industry (the extended family)
I dunno abt others, but i watch almost every movie which comes across..be it gulaal or barah aana or firaaq or be it victory, dhundhte reh jaoge or Aloo chaat or wudever.
Sometimes (cos of multiple releases) its difficult to watch every movie. Still i make it a point that sooner or later, i am going to watch it (be it on a DVD…and mind you I wait till the time DVD is officialy released and not on a pirated one)
Even i felt sometimes that PFC is too kashyapian…including reviews, posts, trailers, deleted scenes etc. May be, you are the only guy among other celebrity authers who is most active on PFC, and people just love to see u replying thm.
Anyways..great post anurag..and hope it will make some differece in people’s viewing habit.
~Ashu Bhai MAPRM Wale
Prashant , if you look at the comnents I’ve posted under udtahaathi’s reveiw, I think you will find the asnser to the 1st question.
As for the ransom, Mr. Mehta actually picks up the bag as that scene cuts. And no it wasn’t a plan, Shukla actually betrays the others first by pulling off the blindfold, and in return Yadav does the same as his survival instinct kicks in. Shukla knows that he might well have caused Y to do what he does which is why they are still tog at the end. Shukla has already found redemption in his life just by havings Mrs Mehta on the floor begging for her life, and rather self centeredly chooses to sell out the trio, albeit inadvertently by reacting the way he does in the truck.
@167>> Ranjeet, Without going into what exactly you mean by a ‘better national anthem, may I ask”
A> What do yuo mean by ’some non-regional/original indian language’? Is Bengali a foreign language?
B> ‘Gulzar or someone equally secular’ '³ Is there any reason to suspect that Tagore was NOT secular?
@167: fyi our National Song Vande Mataram is another ‘Bengali song’ written by another Bengali named BankimChandra Chattopadhyay in his book called “Anandamath”.
We have traditional morons sitting in our administrative positions, and all of them are uncannily biased towards regional Bengali’s like Tagore & Bankim !
huh
~uh~
“One good way to make amends would be for Gulzar or someone equally secular to write a better national anthem (in sanskrit ~ or some non-regional/original indian langauge) and then have it vetoed by Parliament to a tune set by A R Rahman.
”
This deserves the Darwin award.
#167 has lost it’s mind
Just when I was beginning to lose faith in PFC’s commitment, Anurag reurrects my affection. Indeed, it was beginning to look like “Coffee with Kashyap”, who I know and I do not need to be reminded, is a rare talent. But like he aptly mentioned, guys, please realise No individual is ever bigger than the revolution itself. When that happens, it ultimately leads to failure.
That is the least we can learn from Robespeare and the French Revolution.
#167- Awesome:-) some non-regional/original indian language????????? English.
Hi Anurag,
I am a big fan of your cinema and you as a person. I write some stuff myself…If you ever have the time, please reply…I will send you some stuff I have written….I need your honest comments on it…
@201 udtahaathi and udders,
In case you didn’t get it, I was just playing
devil’s advocate. It is not the fault of the bengali people that the cultural/literary output of the country gets Nowhere close to that of its own.
No ‘administrative morons’ are ‘uncannily biased’ towards Tagore and Bankim Chandra.
All said and done, Tagore was the greatest poet of the 20th century and the first Asian to be awarded the Nobel prize.
And I guess you’ll have to exorcise the ghosts of those who died fighting the Brits to understand what Bankim and Vande Maataram meant to them. Our generation is too blithely unaffected by it all to even begin to fathom the havoc caused by the British Raj on the collective conscience on the people of the sub-continent.
anurag, jeete raho sada..
ek honest sachche aadmi ho aap..
‘jis kavi ki kalpana mein zindagi ho prem geet..
USS KAVI ko aaj tum nakaar do’
sachch baat kahu toh firaag,barah aana were not very well promoted.. film like aloo chat was promoted very well.. i saw 13 b, little zizou and ofcourse gulaal..
anurag… im waiting for PAANCH. please call me for PFC SCREENINGS PLS.
haha awesome post man
will do!
lots of people here talk about promotion. Remember promotion means money, and smaller films like Barah Aana can only put up that much money.What we hope for is that when someone does look at the creative (posters trailors etc) whenever they get the chance , they get to see something that makes them want to sample this film. Anurag was very helpful in allowing us to attach our trailors to Gulal. True Indies need that kind of support. The money put into publicity by a studio can never be matched by an indie, for 2 reasons 1) A studio has more of someone else’s money and 2) they release multiple films a year so they get better bite for their buck. This is precisely why we so called supporters of Indies must support the less publicized films so that filmmakers and producers begin to start feeling more comfortable about treading into these waters.
Hi Anurag,
I stay in Assam and i wish i could meet you when u were here for the International Film festival. we need to see more of these movies and patronize them.
As for multiple Indies releasing together, honestly we don’t have much of a choice. Firstly I don’t think there are too many Fridays when fewer than 3 films are released, and secondly we either go up against big bollywood which means we get swamped by their promotion and/or get really bad show times. Btw Show times are in the control of programmers at the plexes who go by the buzz the film is creating. Buzz in other words generally means promotion budget or in the case of Aamir Khan , big budgets with out of the box thinking. Somehow out of the box too only works when supported with a big promo budget.
Hi Anurag! Just after watching your two movies, Dev D and Gulaal, I become your hardcore fan. I believe you truely depict India as no other director can and there are so many little behaviours and expressions that normally directors miss out in their movies, but you dare to show them. The core thing of each of your movie is maintanining the naturality throughout the film.
I am engineer by profession and work in an MNC in Gurgaon and always stopped myself to go to Mumbai for joining films. But after watching your movies, I am very much encouraged to do this now. How should I proceed to work in your movie?
An Indie usually is more talked about once it tastes some level of success with the audience as then it’s news and therefore content for various media. I agree.
I remember another friday from last year where as many as four films had released. Maharathi, Dil Kabaddi, Oh my God and one more, I forget the name. None of them worked. While Aamir released alongside the mighty Sarkar Raj and still managed it’s fair share of audience and success. The same holds true for Shool that released with Hum Saath Saath Hain years ago. Isn;t there some sense in releasing a small film with another big one. Of course a Ghajini or a Rab Ne is better left alone although I believe a decent enough small film wouldn’t have done that badly if released with Rab Ne. I am yet to see the film but I know for a fact that it really wasn’t the big success it was made out to be nor was Singh is King for that matter. A Ghajini is a once a year phenomenon. And the way I didn’t get the tickets for Ghajini at four multiplexes on the first and the second day I am sure there would be others in the country who would have faced a similiar situation. If at that time there would have been a Bheja fry, Barah Aana or an Aamir sort of a film released alongside, chacnes are quite a lot of people would have gone for it. (there still exists a good number of people who don’t like returning home without watching a film. That’s the idea of a multiplex. to have options.) I have actually watched one of the most ridiculous Govinda films called Rajaji and it was housefull as most of the audience was made up of people who didn’t get tickets for Biwi No.1.
Billu Barber I don’t know why was left alone. Even Luck by chance. Agreed, they were both from big production houses but an earth shattering start wasn’t expected as the main lead were Irfan Khan and Farhan Akhtar respectively. The public could have done with an Indie option during either of those weeks. In either case, whether the blockbuster of the week is doing well or not, both scenarios are capable of helping the smaller Indie film at least in the multiplex circle where most of its audience is. And the limited release that we were talking about is also achieved in a way ‘coz you don’t get too many shows. Anyway when four indie films release together, each gets four maximum five shows at a 4-5 screen multiplex.
Maybe becoming a second option to a big-budget film ain’t that bad. At least we try harder that way.
(Please take this as a viewpoint of an outsider, so i know it’s easier to be a fence-sitter and comment from here while what you experience is the reality. I only want to know how all this works and how feasible/viable my thinking is ‘coz as an aspiring film-maker it’s important to have realistic ideas.)
dear Anurag,
I was left agape as I watched Gulaal. One of the finest peices of work in Hindi cinema and certainly your best after Black Friday. I knew you were a weird genius but this intricate and complex film with its absolutely new treatment and intense heavy duty dialogues cuts across mediocrity in the landscape of films , small or big.
As the plot weaved through incidents I was trying to work out how you and the writer could conjure up stuff enough to cram into three films.
The frustating cowardice of the pivot character and the throbbing intensity of the now inimitable KayKay Menon are interlaced so beautifully. The best characterisation was of Piyush ( guess the name is right) who plays the misunderstood genius ) His dialogue delivery is absolutely marvellous.
Lets admit you have gotton yourself a marvellous ensemble of actors, writers, thinkers,musicians who surpass themselves without stepping on each others toes.
Great !
warm regards
nd
Anurag,
I am new to this website.
I watch a lot of movies, in theatre as well as off theatre. To beat the price I wake up sometimes early on Sunday morning to catch up early morning show.
You have to admit one thing boss, the staggering prices of the tickets right now. How do you expect someone having interest in cinema and who is from the working class to go and watch a movie and come out criticising it when there is such a shortage of time in lives and the prices are so high? Why are the prices so high man?
People outside cinema work equally hard and in the end they are left with some time in Saturday and Sunday. Do you really want them to go and watch crap movies like straight during that precious time?
I think it should be the quality of cinema that should determine the audience and not just for the sake of criticising, debating or mulling over it. I myself have seen Gulaal twice in theatre. Once at a super high price of Rs. 250 in a multiplex and second time in a sidey theatre near my house for 50 bucks. But I am sorry, I am not going to waste my precious time on something like straight.
I would rather like my preferred critics to go and watch it and recommend it to me rather than let myself waste my precious money and more importantly my precious billing time;-). Thats what there job is.
And yes Gulaal rocks!!
Dear Anurag,
I don’t consider myself worthy of opining on this, but here we’re talking about a man who renounced the privilege of being addressed ‘Sir’ (Knighthood) in protest of the barbarity at Jallianwala Bagh, came up with stuff like ‘Chitto jetha bhoyshunyo…’ (Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high….Into that heaven of freedom, my father, let my country awake), and went to great lengths to solicit Japanese support for the Independence Movement in India…I THINK THIS THROWS SOME LIGHT ON THE RELEVANCE/ACCURACY/BIASEDNESS OR OTHERWISE, OF RESEARCH IN THE MEANINGFUL CINEMA OF TODAY….
“I should only insult myself if I cared to answer those who consider me capable of such unbounded stupidity as to sing in praise of George the Fifth as the Eternal Charioteer leading the pilgrims on their journey through countless ages of the timeless history of mankind” – Rabindranath Tagore
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jana_Gana_Mana#Controversies
http://homepages.udayton.edu/~chattemr/janaganamana.html
http://www.ivarta.com/columns/OL_050424.htm
Amborish.. I think that ends the discussion. Atleast in my head, and i am glad that censors asked me to take it out. I would not have forgiven myself.
Thanks.
I read your interview with Rajat Kapoor on MW…
Ii really enjoyed reading that one…the amount of struggles you went through and how u were so adamant to write and write and just write…there was this another interview that I saw on Zapak.com where u revealed the importance of writing…it could be anything. Anything at all. That is inspiring, Mr. Kashyap When i heard you speak like that in that interview; it reminded me of the movie “Finding Forrester”. That is how Jamal Wallace class began with Mr. Forrester. (I am pretty sure you have seen this one by Gus Van Sant'–I liked his Good Will Hunting and Drugstore Cowboy besides his other works'–Milk, his most recent one, was good too)…i know I'Âve already mentioned to u, that i wanted to get into writing. to tell you the truth, I'Âve already started doing that and it has a lot to do with u. but, I guess, I still have a lot more to learn from your experiences…To tell you the truth, you really inspire me be it films or writing. Thank you for being there.
hey, by the way…when is your next project starting…i wanted to work with u again…please..
money isn’t the criteria…in fact,i am ready to take care of my expenses…as far as traveling from delhi to mumbai goes, like shloak mentioned, i am ready to do that…except that i can’t guarantee on my punctuality (coming from delhi to mumbai), cos i can easily afford traveling by train..lol…but i’ll surely make it without wasting time. Do let me know..thank you
[i know i bug you a lot..it's just that i wanted to do more than what i did in Dev D]
@208>> Point taken Ranjeet. Sorry if I hurt you.
@RK sir (186) and Ravi (197)
Yes. I truly agree that we should look on all the possibilities before making any conclusions. Last year I was fortunate to attend a lecture by Michel Danino on the Indus Saraswati Civilization where he provided some evidences against the Aryan Invasion Theory. I’ve always been believing what was taught to me by the history books in my school days and it never struck to me that there exists other side of the coin as well.
He did point out that there will never be a consensus because there always will be the people who can go to any lengths to support the theory because they have made their careers out of it.
@Jahanpanah(223),
Thats true. An individual is developed inside a system and when s/he is young, fellowships, offers etc shape the directions of her/his career and once taken a line then later its quite difficult to deny that particular line as that goes against self ego and they fear that such acceptance may harm their career.
Its an occupational hazzard of living in an developing or under developing economy because funds come from sources which want a pre decided direction of the research and an individual is simply a tool. Its so true in scientific and especially medical research. Scientific talent and energy is hardly utilized in the fields suitable and viable for own country and its people but they are used in creating something what funding agencies want.
In History, particulorly, and especially in Indian context, its very complicated, because British did not want History as it was but they wanted to shape it in a way which should have helped them making this country their slave.
Before that Islamic rule, also might have twisted the history written in that era.
In such circumstancs, history of India has to be controversial.
Aryan theory helped Britishers a lot. This was their way of imposing self made theory on India.
In recent time also many people have made their careers out of Kashmir problem. But they are not seen at this particular time as voters this time have silenced them.They did not expect that local people will cheat on their propaganda based theories.
Literature so many times produce more authentic and feasible looking version than what historians write, because vision of historians is small. at a time they are handling very small portion of an event and their egos dont allow them to admit that what they have searched may not be true. Moreover, if one is expert in the things availble from excavations then he has no knowledge in the research based on language. Gaps have to be there in the vision of a particular historian. funding makes them biased. Thats their bread and butter. All those who want to make comparatively better judgement they have to read material coming from all sides and only then a good conclusion can be taken.
AnuragSa,
Saw Gulaal today. Wonderful story. Of course takes time getting used to everyone’s accent. I was getting a feeling that it would have made a terrific novel, rather than a movie. Rananjay Singh, Dukhibana, Rajinder Bhaati and Aditya Srivastav were absolute treat to watch.
@RKji
In fact, I wanted to read the famous book ‘Volga se Ganga Tak’ [you may have read it:)] by Rahul Sankrityayan (A renowned thinker taking care of both literature and history).I’ve heard that the book recounts the migration of Aryans and Indian History but I had this fear that if one thing in it is loosing its credibility, I may find the whole book incredulous and this thing has prevented me to read it.
@Jahanpanah,
. If nothingelse you would enjoy the format in which every thing is presented through the fiction. Its an interesting read.
Why to have false fear
Rahul ji died in early 60s and we are living in 2009. We have seen many things, many of which were difficult to be imagined at that time so reactions, which may happen in your mind after reading a thought may be entirely different. Your mind can go on the journey of thoughts which you cant imagine now before reading the book. Mind has enormous possibilities. A very good understanding can be generated.
as you are interested in these areas, please search works of Dr Ram Vilas Sharma which he did in last two decades of his life. and in general to start reading Dr Sharma`s writings if you have not read any till now, biography of Nirala written by Dr Sharma will be a very good thing. you would love it.
Sir,
I See that this post is of much personal interest to you.I see almost all the movies screened at near by multiplex pfcourse there is a factor called the time of the show..so i see almost all the movies which are palyed at the time comfortable for me. i have watched gulaal and was not able to understand one thing in the movie …who is the character who plays tabla beside prithvi bana …and also why does prithvi bana who is shown with a guitar adna rock star hair style act weird all through the movie except for that one scene.And also does raggin happen tht way i have never heard of a scene where a girl was made naked..pls do not mistake my queries as negative remarks towards the movie it was a movie i enjoyed thoroughly…Should commend your music sense sir it was an experience in all the three movies( black friday,dev d,gulaal)..Simply loved the character of Duki Bana,Ransaa and Bhati The scene where Dilip shoots Duki and the dialogues there were awesome.Never expected a movie like gulaal after seeing Black Friday and Dev D,it was neither as expalining as Black Friday nor was as fast as Dev D it was intricate.Do u have any idea of making a gangster plot ala Criminale Romanzo..i have sent my mail address sir pls inform me in case you are doing wanted to follow everything it takes to make a movie Anurag Style.One more question all the short songs or poems to be accurate sung by prithvi bana in the movie will they be relased in a special edition of music CD..if so please tell me …Expecting ur reply..
Dear Anurag,
Not at all…do visit Santiniketan if you can…fascinating experience for a filmmaker (if you can separate the wheat from the chaff)…and hey, LOVE your work! Er, what say you about a two-disc special edition – packed with commentaries and bonus material and what not – of NS, now that everybody can’t stop raving about it (how they liked it the first time they saw it), with Dev D/Gulaal being such a huge success….possible???
Hi Anurag,
Firstly, congratulations on Gulaal, which I think is the best thing to have come out of ‘Bollywood’ in the last many years.
The target audience for the kind of films you have talked about, is usually the urban, educated young professional. These people are well read enough, and exposed to world culture to an extent where they can figure out good art when they see it. Since this group is only going to explode in number over the next few years, it is imperative that the Karan Johar type films will soon become extinct. Hence I can assure you that 5 years from now, all films we see will be of the Gulaal variety, with strong scripts and performances. For now, you belong to the early wave of people who have figured out the truth… only a matter of time before this becomes mainstream.
Once again, congratulations on Gulaal. You must make a full fledged film with that guy who played Rannanjay!
@mk
“people are well read enough, and exposed to world culture to an extent where they can figure out good art when they see it. Since this group is only going to explode in number over the next few years”
TOO GOOD !!!
GK
sigh….welcome back anurag….kinda disappointed that you never got back to your previous blog entries…i must have put in 5-6 comments but there wasn’t a single reply….*i want my candy mommy booo-hoo*
but then its all good….watched gulaal..loved it!…god damn you!….loved it :D …
haven’t yet watched the other movies that you’ve mentioned here in this entry…time nahi mila…but i will watch em pretty soon….n yeah…true it is tat ppl should watch these movies and then comment…rejection or disappointment should be a reaction and not deterrents to an action…sm1 at my office asked me how was gulaal…a female walks by and says dekhna mat,phaaltoo hai….you know how do i feel about people like her?….i feel like shoving up the reels of om shanti om and rnbdj and race and tashan and singh is king up their you know what!but then i try not to be reactive for i am someone who is into writing scripts/stories with existentialist themes..i too will have the same fate if things don’t change….such comments impede the development of experimental or world cinema…modern day indian cinema is yet to make an impact on world cinema…lost are the days of satyajit ray or hritwik ghatak…would love to have them back but with a pinch of modernism…i love it when directors use metaphors to narrate a story..or when they use everyday objects to tell a story….gulaal and dev.d are full of em….god damn you! :D
indeed, our new age movies are in the nascent stages….we are still learning to hit the right spot…but its a beginning nevertheless..a beginning to which there should never be an end…cuz if there is an end then our “commercial” actors will raise their ugly head again to look into the eyes of a common man,hypnotise him for a good 180 minutes and JUST sell him dreams …i may take the liberty to say that you would definitely not want that to happen…but for myself i want to say i friggin don’t want it to happen to the majority of the masses….n i will do everything in my power through the stories i want to tell/put up on the big screen.someday………..
phew…i wanted to let out me anger…love you n your work mate..
-Arohi Chakraborty
~~~~rejection is a film maker’s dope of hope~~~~
make that previous blog entry..the golden age one…
RK,
Happy new year to all!!
Two things:
I cannot agree with your view on the scientific research and other researches and the way funding is done for the projects. Most of the breakthrough discoveries and inventions have taken place by chance. No funding agency, be it in a developed country or in a developing country, invest for a breakthrough research. Further, I would tend to believe that a developing economy offers much more scope for experimenting rather than a developed country where most of the systems are in place, research is too streamline to be experimented with, the absence of chaos, the abundance of funds etc. To be in a developing country is more exciting. Developing is a better word than developed. It signifies a process and a continuity. How we grab the opportunity rests on us. I am assuming here that Developing countries and underdeveloped countries cannot be kept in one category in the same way as we cannot keep developing and developed into one.
Regarding your views on history, I agree to the point that literature on any day provide a better sense of time rather than a history book written by a historian of the period. However, just one question, is it right to generalize views as British or Indian or anything else? One thing that bothers me much is that we tend to get judgmental and in the process sometimes tend to reject a theory per se. I am referring here to your references to the words like Britisher point of view of making us slave or Islamic history during the middle ages. The problem lies in the fact that there is a complete lack of objectivity if we take this kind of view. I mean whenever a historian took a view on aryan invasion in India, he did that on the basis of his own hard work and studies and the prejudices he developed during his studies. Isn’t the view that a particular historian wrote a piece of history under instructions not far-fetched? I don’t think anyone who invented the theory of aryan invasion was doing it for the purposes of making Indians slave of Britisher. Its a choice we made after reading his theory.
I am just intending to put one point across, we shouldn’t really get prejudiced by any point of view so as to tend it and reject it completely. It would be beneficial to rather read such piece critically. Criticism is different from prejudice developed.
Regarding your point on the way system shapes us in deciding our course of action, the same system tends to sometime overdo itself and in the process the by-products are people like AK and RK.
Cheers!!
Amit
P.S.: Not sure if the aforesaid make any sense to anyone, I am just writing under the influence of intoxication of long weekend. Thanks Gudi Parva :-)
@A Lawyer,
A happy day to you.
Re: Scientific research.
If an under developing country and a developing country is involved in the research which may find place in the international journals but which may not find any application in own country then its like misuse of the funds at a given time. Fundamental research is at back seat and mostly its sponsored research and sponsored research means scientist has to provide solution to the needs of the sponsor.
Common people suffering from bad quality of drinking water, because industries have polluted not only ground water but whole atmosphere also, are not sponsoring the scientific projects. They are at the mercy of Industrialists, politicians, economic funding agencies and scientists. If research is oriented only to increase the yield of the process but funds are not released to make this technology environmental friendly so that all people can live healthily on earth then its a research done to satisfy the vested interest of few people only. and it has been happening since many decades.
Energies are limited in a person, his intelligence is at peak for few years only in a certain field because after that passion starts facing a decline, other things start affecting him and if those fertile years are spent in a research which has no application in his own country rather which has very limited scope for a mankind in general then you have to think about the directions of the research.
A country where people are immune to certain disease but who are highly prone to get cholera, diarrhoea, Malaria, TB, Polio etc, if best of the scientific pool is invested in doing research on that particular disease for which people have immune system in their bodies then what can be said on such conditions. Its simply a case of following something blindly. And under developing countries have to suffer from these things. Allurement to publish papers in international journals, mutual competition, jealousy with colleagues because funds are less and everybody wants to shine in a confined space at a given time, all factors stop doing a fruitful research and in spite of investing some funds in science, country stands at same position where it was 30-40 years ago.
If you are involved in software Area, what is the scene? If you take three biggest software Co. of India and see their works done in last 20 years, what you find. Did they remain simply service providers or they could do some fruitful research viable for the country also? Their services brought huge sum of money and thats one part but if we talk about R&D in software industry, what is the scene among Indian Private sector? And if CDAC kind of structures are compared with them?
Under developing also means, things can be manipulated with the effect of money. UC could not have been escaped from severe punishment in USA or any developed country as they have enjoyed in India.
Under developing also means, drugs are tested directly on human beings because doctors don'Ât mind doing it because they are getting money from wealthy sources. Thats different we don'Ât make Constant Gardner here.
These things don'Ât happen in developed countries. So there is a difference among developing, under developing and developed countries. Developed countries do all the works for the benefit of their countries and their inhabitants while developing and under developing countries do majority of works to satisfy the needs of those developed countries. They are forced to do so. People are hypnotized to do so.
And sometimes its known but still this is followed because there are many restrictions in modern world when there is so much interaction among countries. Some things are necessary evil but thing is, developed countries don'Ât do anything which go against the benefits of their people and countries.
This makes a difference.
Rest about history part in second comment.
@A Lawyer,
Re: History.
First, You have to search when Aryan invasion theory came in to the existence.
Historians are writers also. They have got material enough only to write a 20 pages long article so from where material to write a book containing 200 and more pages come? It comes from past references and through their own imaginations. They are following a tradition. They are doing things academically; they have to justify their positions in the universities etc. Not all of them are die hard lovers of searching the past. It may not be a passion for many of them. Its just an area for many of them. Many of them might have been attached with some socio-political ideology.
We can not impose today'Âs scenario on past as far as history is concerned. My friendship with today'Âs British people can not change the history of British Empire. This is true I will not (and I should not) try to drag them down for the doings of their forefathers but at the same time I don'Ât have to glorify the doings of their forefathers just because I have good relations with them. These two things are two different things. HISTORY IS HISTORY, it can not affect and it should not affect the present era'Âs understanding and relationships.
So many people and some learned people like VS Naipaul also complain that people should not criticise British Empire. This is a very narrow approach. They sound holy and liberal but thats not the case. They are trying to impose modern relations on older times.
We will be naive to deny the effect of Cold war between two powerful countries in the last century and we will be blind if we dont accept that many things might have been done by these super powers to make things in their favour all over the world. Spying is not done through Bond and Bourne type filmi characters only but history, literature, art and cultural things also become the tools in changing the mind set of people of target countries.
It will be naive to accept that British historians were writing the history of India for the sake of registering it. Its like saying Robert Clive was not working for the EIC but for the benefit of Indian subcontinent.
First outsider has not been grown up in the Indian atmosphere; he has no connection with mythology, and doses of ancient culture since childhood. In some way he can have objective outlook but so many times its very harsh and too alien to understand the things properly. Naipaul is grandson of Indians but if you go through his trilogy on India you may find yourself in disagreement on so many of his observations about India and not to mention he is a keen observer of high degree, but still he is an outsider as far as ideal conditions are concerned.
Mother India may come quite natural to you but Americans sitting in panel to decide its fate in Oscar, were puzzled when they saw Nargis declining offer of KanhaiyaLal. Many had commented that he is rich, and she is a poor widow and why she cant accept his proposal to live with him?
When one is not known to the tradition then one can make any kind of opinion.
Not a single Indian TV anchor will ask questions from Oprah Winfrey which she had asked from Aishwarya Rai on her show. Do Indians think Americans are fat? How the hell Aishwarya can know it ? Is she representing whole of India? Moreover Its hard to find as diversified country in the whole world as India is. Its hardly represented by same ideology.
Its like Karan Johar asking Richard Gere, Do Americans think India as country of snake charmers etc etc.
Which country and its people are not opinionated about other countries and their people?
But there is a difference between countries and countries and their cultures and histories. Outsiders can not understand it.
It will be naive to accept that Britishers were laying railways for the benefit of Indians. Several things are by products of steps taken and one can not control these by products. No reaction gives 100% yields and selectivity and side reactions always happen. Its pure science. Our vision is limited hence we try to see things in a straight manner by taking assumptions so things are true within some boundary conditions only.
Historians are handling very small area and they have to justify that particular piece at the time when they are writing on it. Its possible either they are not exposed to bigger picture or they don'Ât have means. What they are writing is not ultimate truth and it can never be.
After a time has gone in the past, phenomenon w'Âd come in different shape, and format before other people in a new time.
Historians can judge the things obtained but they can not judge the motives of a person. They are not psychologists. They have not seen those people about whom they are writing. They are heavily dependent on the things available to them at the time of writing. But still they apply imagination to justify their own approach for the sake of their academic careers.
From economics point of view also, It was not possible that Britain became rich and India became poor during British regime, if Britain was so generous towards India, If they were so civilized and had accepted India also as an equal part of their empire then Indians should have also given rights to select government/s in Britain. If India was their dear land then same equal civil rights should have been to India and Indians also.
Give a better rule and who complains then? Bring a justice and no rebel will take place. Since centuries foreigners have been coming to India but they came and accepted the country and became part of it. Their allegiance was not residing outside the boundaries of India and they were not sending wealth and resources of India outside.
It happened only during British regime and their imperialistic attitude pushed India back as far as economic growth is concerned. They exploited India as Madame of a brothel exploits the new and beautiful woman till her youth and beauty is saleable and once she becomes old, having a sick and frail body, she is thrown away to suffer for the rest of her life. India was a prostitute for Britain, nothing more.
Its beyond my comprehension that how British Imperialistic approach can ever be justified in the history of mankind?
If some things looking good have come out then they are by products. Britishers did not want these side reactions to take place. They did every possible thing to suppress these side reactions.
1. Amborish, the sources you have quoted are full of holes. Take Gidwani(http://www.ivarta.com/columns/OL_050424.htm)
'¬Gidwani is convinced beyond a shadow of doubt that Lord to which Jana Gana Mana is addressed, is the Bhagya Vidhata who is India`s eternal guiding spirit, and certainly not the temporal king of a colonial empire. In any case, the Song Jana Gana Mana is larger than the National Anthem and in that extended Song there are images of the Bhagya Vidhata who is also India`s eternal Mother '± and surely Tagore knew that King George V was not a female.'®
How can '¬Bhagya Vidhata' definitely a male be '¬also India`s eternal Mother'®?
2. Take the quote from the purported letter to Pulin Bihari Sen, '¬”A certain high official in His Majesty’s service, who was also my friend, had requested that I write a song of felicitation towards the Emperor. The request simply amazed me. It caused a great stir in my heart. In response to that great mental turmoil, I pronounced the victory in Jana Gana Mana of that Bhagya Vidhata [ed. God of Destiny] of India who has from age after age held steadfast the reins of India’s chariot through rise and fall, through the straight path and the curved. That Lord of Destiny, that Reader of the Collective Mind of India, that Perennial Guide, could never be George V, George VI, or any other George. Even my official friend understood this about the song. After all, even if his admiration for the crown was excessive, he was not lacking in simple common sense.”
So why did Tagore not refuse his friend to write any such poem? Why this wilful deception? Any answers Amborish and Rk?
3. I have studied extensively on the subject and I stand by my interpretation of the event: Tagore did not want to displease the '«high official' and wrote this song with deliberate ambiguity. On the surface it could be read as a paean to the King. It also could be interpreted as written about God. Mind you he did not object to the impression gaining ground that it was about the king. At least at that time. That is why he did not rebut the newspaper reports. Rk talks about the bias of the English newspapers. Can anyone site any report in any language journal or any correspondence of the poet with any friend rebutting the report?
4. People site his returning the knighthood after the Jaliwanawalabagh massacre. Big deal! Did he not hold on to the knighthood till then? Was he still not a '¬Sir' when he wrote that song? Just ponder for a moment: To what kind of people was the knighthood given in Britis India? Not to a Gandhi or Nehru, right? Why return it after Jaliwanawalabgh? Because any child could see that the tide against the British would turn stronger now. And the incident was too much of a human right disaster for anyb sensible man to ignore.
5. Quite apart from all this historical facts, I have subjected the poem to literary analysis and that reinforces my interpretation. There area lot of contrived metaphors in the poem which are born out of the necessity to force fit the double interpretation. Who is this '« lord of India'Âs destiny'Â? Is there any such figure in any Indian mythology, or Brahmo thought? Or in the poet'Âs own world view? Why talk of Punjab, Sindhu Gujarat , Maratha to the Lord? To a king these might be relevant. But to the eternal God? Bharat was nota nation until the British empire. If there are '«BHagya Vidhats' for a land, there would have been a Punjab Bhagya Vidhata or a Kalinga Bhagya Vidhata as well, because these were independent states and cultures not too long ago. For a poet of such sophistication in his concept of divinity this was pretty shoddy. This again , I deduce, was born out of the need to write something that fits both the king and God.
6. I have my own problem with the song being used as a national anthem. It is quite another matter to praise Bharat as a mother ( Vande Matram) or think of it as incomparable in the world '¬ Saare Jahn Se Achha'® but why seek the blessing of some imaginary '« Bhagya Vidhata'Â. Do Hindus, Muslims and Christian agree on who this Lord is? And what if I am an atheist or a rationalist and don'Ât believe that such a decider of destiny exists, and believe that nations make their own destiny? Even if I grant the song the poetic license of an imaginary Bhagya Vidhata in whom I need not believe literally, what is the main content of the poem? Praising this Lord of Destiny rather than the Motherland or the values Bharat stands for ( Like say in the poem. '¬Unto that land lead us our Father'Â.
7. No. We should not accept all that is written by fans of the poet just because he was a great poet. Yes he was a great poet , one of the greatest from India,for sure, but not without human foibles and not above analysis or historical scrutiny.
Hi Anurag,
Extremely glad to read this. Admittedly, I’m the naive suckers that wants both types of cinema from ‘Rab Ne’ to ‘Firaaq’ to both succeed in parallel. I think there is room for both, but you’ve hit the nail on the real problem.
I live in the UK & we haven’t had a Hindi film released since Delhi-6. The cinemas didn’t consider it worthy material & why should they? If it’s showing at empty screens in it’s own country?
Even in Jan/Feb we missed out here on:
Bad Luck Govind, Kaashh… Mere Hote, The President is Coming, Aasma – The Sky is the Limit, Chal Chala Chal, Dev D, Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye, Jugaad, Kisse Pyaar Karoon, Siddharth – The Prisoner
We get Aa Dekhen Zara today & though it looks mediocre at best I’m excited to go see it, as it’s all of Desi cinema I have. I would pay to see Firaaq & Barah Aana & Dev D, but am not given the privilege ..
So I too urge people, go appreciate films, so that our industry can flourish & find it’s audience .. we’re waiting & need a unity .. it IS a team effort’
Utkal, Bow to Thee…as I said, I am not worthy to opine on this; just happen to know a couple of old folks who’ve spent lifetimes studying his work…still aren’t even halfway through studying/interpreting the ocean of literature/music he’s left behind – this stupid old man you find so easy to reject!
I’m sure you’re a scholar in your own right, having understood the song so well, and you make the interpretation soooo simple! Bow to Thee…
Well then I’m sure you’re an expert at the language (Bengali) too, help me out here…can you give me the female counterpart/gender (stree-linga) for Vidhata, which, according to you, is “definitely male”?
hey anurag,
how does one approach you if he has a story idea or script with him…do you meet such people at your workplace…i mean are you accessible if one wants to meet you? well, at one point there was RGV’s FACTORY and i think now is the time for you to start your own FACTORY to encourage new talents…what say?
Amboris, one female counterpart of “Bhagya Vidhata’ which can be roughly translated as destiny is “Niyati” which is basically destiny in a feminine form. Of course in Indian cosmology, can be no such thing as ” Bhrat Niyati” as indeed there can be no ” Bharata Bhagy Vidhata”. Decider of destiny is the decider of destiny for the enire universe. There is no destiny minister in charge of India alone. Therefore I find the coinage as applied to God quite contrived. While it is quite natural to call the king or ruler of a country to be the arbiter of that country’s destiny.
And Amboris, adding to my discomfort is the basic question, Why a paean to a ‘ Bharata Bhagya Vidhata” as our national anthem? It is ok for people of England to sing,” God Save The King’, because it was historically a Catholic country, with the King ruling on the behest of the Catholic Church. But why such an anthem fora modern nation like India, which is supposed to be a secular, democratic, republic? The song does not resonate with me at all, the way Vande Mataram or Saare Jahan Se Achha does.
Anurag,
I enjoy your movies and I watch them 2-3 times in the theaters before buying the DVDs. I believe in the funda that every ticket makes a difference so I make it a point to watch cinema I like , including indie cinema in the theaters before buying the DVD. As for commercial mindless cinema I do not like, I try and avoid watching in the theater. Thats my little bit of consumer power at work. My way of telling the film makers- make better cinema. I agree that we cannot encourage good cinema by talking about it, but have to watch it and then talk about it. Word-of-mouth plays a big role in promotion of a movie. I try and do my bit in spreadint the word. Speaking of costs and piracy, Moser Baer I think did the best job in recent times. Bring down the price of DVDs and why would anybody really buy a pirated one. Otherwise producers talk of piracy cutting their business but continue to make crappy cinema, release it only in multiplexes and over-price the DVDs. They are more keen to make money than to have people watch their cinema in good format. I understand the need to make money. It is business after all but pricing a DVD which offers nothing special but just the film at RS499 is nothing but an in invitation to buy pirated. Do not think all film makers realize the responsibility they owe to the audience. Promotions are done to get people into theaters for the first 4 days, so they recover money, whether the film is worth it or not.
Wah, enlightening things. :D
@Rk
“India was a prostitute for Britain, nothing more.”
What a line !!!
GK
Rk,
With due respect to you, I must say that there is lack of flow in both the posts and it seems a conandrum to decipher and link it to earlier posts and my response to the same. I will respond to them for sure in some time but I would need time. Prima facie, it seems to me that the main points have been lost somewhere. Thats what I call theory of chaos. It can only exist in a developing country.
I am only taking liberty to put some other points across.
Britishers are gone. They left in 1947. Sixty years have passed since then. They cannot be and shouldn’t be blamed for the lack of capital, drinking water and other things that exists. So many other countries more particularly in Asia gained independence at the same time as us. They grew. We didn’t. Not because their masters didn’t loot them, but for the right decisions they made at opportune time. We didn’t make right decisions. Britishers were not responsible for them. But again there is no point in being stressed coz of couple of decisions that went wrong. We failed to generate capital enough for research work. So the selective research. That needs to be plugged. Doesn’t matter that the money comes from selling toothpaste to a random person in Australia!!
Software companies, the way they are making money being a service provider itself is an innovative idea. That very money generated by these service providers going into research. They wouldn’t have been able to do that if they had not generated money in the first place. There are stages that needs to be followed. Finacle (Infosys’s universal core banking solution) wouldn’t have been possible without their first making money from working on EPMs and generating cash out of it.
Look what Anurag is trying to do at this website. Is this not an innovative idea? Or is it not an idea at all? There is no dearth of Anurags in other fields. They are working. Trying to find solutions. What if Anurags get bogged down by Yashraj’s and others big bulls that exists in other fields and start cursing Britishers (i am using it just figuratively) for the existence of Yashraj (figurative). Does it make any sense?
It be software company or anurag, we cannot expect them to get huge budget in place straightaway. Software company needs to generate money to put efforts in research work. Anurag needs money to release his creative energies.
Make money. Make capital. Their lies one of the solutions.
I am a lawyer and not someone who deals in software. I work for a law firm and not LPO. Similarly I know people who are working in research centres and not BPOs. In last few years, many of my colleagues who worked with me left India and went to work in top 5 law firms (Magic Circle they are called) in the world based in London. Their experiences have shown me that there is somewhat lack of innovations (yeah lawyers do work to find solutions to problem and sometime they are innovative. That is what excites us and keeps us in the profession. Pity that we do not have even a single good movie made in India to reflect that. Anyone listening?) in the developed market, they do not have enough regulations to work around. There is a system that they are following and are darn bored out of it. It is just the money that is keeping them there.
But I shall respond to your posts. Not now but someday.
Don’t know about you but I am eternally hopeful.
Cheers!
hi this is neeraj shetty, an aspiring cinematographer, i just want you to
give your views on the two videos below. and tell me if i have any scope of
getting into cinematography!
the first link is to a music video.
the second is a link to a basketball sports promo video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q2X6gv5Rrg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX5H1HVXeyo
do let me know about your views!
grateful,
Neeraj
Anurag Sir…
I completely agree with u.. we must support the kind of films which we like n want to make. I’ve seen some of these films but did not know where to discuss about it..i also did not know that i can discus it in the comments of some post.
Anyway.. my opinion on GULAAL which i post everywhere -
“Anurag Kashyap’s GULAAL is an intense political drama which isn’t for the faint-hearted. Its an hard hitting intellectual film and a rare film which disturbs u completely!! You will have to use a lot of brain while watching it.
Watch out for the mind blowing performances of Kay Kay Menon, Abhimanyu Singh, Mahie Gill, Piyush Mishra and of course Deepak Dobriyal!
Piyush Mishra’s music, especially music is innovative.. i’m sure u must have not come across this kind of thought provoking lyrics before!!
Anurag once again proves his calibre with GULAAL.. but frankly GULAAL lacks that ex factor which his BLACK FRIDAY has.. still this film leaves a major impact!
3.5/5 <<<<<< ” …….. [a small review of mine had also come in Times of India Mumbai March 21 page 6]
13 B -
Vikram Kumar’s 13B is awesome.. not entirely flawless but wins ur heart. Its a totally out of box concept that u can’t imagine. 3/5
Firaaq -
Frankly speaking, i really HATED Firaaq. There are too many reasons for it..it shows the after effects of riots but none of the story touched me.. where in Mumbai Meri Jaan it touches u deeply n u immediately connect with People n the shocking incident.. MMJ was a great film! [i'm drawing parallels with MMJ coz both films show the after effects of a major tragedy on people..]
Barah Aana -
Bad luck.. i couldn’t watch it yet, i’m eagerly excited for it. I’ll watch it as soon as possible…
Anurag Sir… i hope u were expecting this kind of discussion, pls correct me if anything went wrong.
………… i know u are addressing this article for the members n visitors of PFC… but at the end we are one of the audiences only.. as far as film lovers are concerned, we do watch these kind of films which we care for. But IF a common man doesn’t even know what the film is about/does this movie exist..how do u expect that man to put his 100-150 rupees in it! This surely not audience’s fault but its because of lack of awareness. Firaaq stared its promotion 12 days before the release, now everyone can witness the outcome. Producer’s job is of not just amking films but to promote them too! This is the reason why these kind of movies go unnoticed… n some cheap crap film doing reasonably well JUST because of its awareness n promotion. Some amazing films like (2008) AAMIR, MUMBAI MERI JAAN, FASHION, ROCK ON, A WEDNESDAY…(2009)DEV.D shows that audiences are ready to accept film on diverse themes n different fresh subject..we just have to make them aware of it…. after all we put our blood, sweat n all energy making our kind of film! :-) :-)
It’s a problem all over the world. We have now BollywoodFestiwal in Poland. A lot of people came to see “Dostana” and “Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi” but the cinema was almost empty on magnificent “Water” and “Taare Zameen Par”. I don’t understand it but it’s a sad fact. :/
P.S. Greetings from Poland, Anurag Sir. You have group of devoted fans here.
I am a NRI living in the MiddleEast. Movies like 12Aana, LittleZ, OMG, Firaaq are not released here. I am a family man with small kid and cannot go to see movies like 13B, Gulaal & Dev D. So the only option remains piracy. We have to see the downloaded movie only if we get time to download/watch. There is no rental DVD store, within 15 kms radius from my house.
I make a point to see almost all other movies , mostly one day before it is released in India.
Anurag,
dont u think..our indie cinema(called so experimental films) are little expensive to watch..
I would never like to spend 120-150/- INR on such films…I would always always prefer to download torrent for indie films…
If indie cinema really wanna survive then it should be available for 50-75/- INR…
-KM-
This is not the place to post this, but there appears to be no other way. I need an interview with you and I’m told you change your number every few weeks (certainly all the numbers I have do not work). If you are interested in the interview and would call me, I’d be grateful. My number is 9867902593.
Thanks
ashley
I have a very high respect for Anurag Kashyap as a director, and I am someone who is still hooked to the experience of watching movies in the theatre, so my first preference in watching any film would be in a hall. But I live in Cochin where most of the Hindi films which come over are the big starrers and the most pop ones. Small and medium budget movies especially of the ‘alternate’ kind is rare. I saw Dev D in the theatre and have been waiting patiently for Gulaal to come in the theatres here, but I doubt it would come here. So I am fairly dependent on piracy and am thankful that atleast gives me the chance the see films i would really like to watch. I often end up buying the original DVD of the movie once I really like it.
However, I would also put forward that I give little credence to ‘Piracy’ of music and films, than most, as to me good music and films (like books, or for that matter any creative work) are to be shared as openly as possible and this whole business of copyright is a way to keep all these things restricted to only people with some sort of buying power – which makes it elitist and exclusive. I see no ideological conflict in ripping good music, and sharing it amongst people – just as i feel good cinema should be accessible to the person who can afford the 15 rupees for DVD rather than the 50 (or in multiplex cultures – 100 or 200) rupees for a hall ticket.
I also feel that if someone likes a film or a kind of music, they would feel obligated to spend some money in enjoying it as a token of appreciation for the creators of the things they so enjoy. Not all, but a lot of people. This also comes from the fact that I work in a creative profession myself where copying is rampant (and mostly from people who can actually afford to pay me instead), and while it might hurt sometime, I can either choose to see copying as a form of appreciation or a form of plagiarism, and I choose to see it as the former.
Anurag – all the films you mentioned are yet to be released in Singapore. Any idea when gulaal might be released here ?
Ok…so “Vidhata” is “definitely male” and now “Niyati” is “definitely female”…you are way too learned for me to argue with, since ‘Vande Mataram”resonates to you’ as more appropriate for a ‘SECULAR, democratic republic’. Origin of the song: A wonderful hymn to the Motherland (in this case, Bengal) which served as a war-cry for the Sannyasi uprising as depicted in “Anandamath” By Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, (predominantly dwelling on attempts to drive out the British from Bengal – not India), the song is a mix of Sanskrit and Bengali, and here’s one of the stanzas (6th) from it:
TVAM HI DURGAA
DASHA PRAHARA NADHAARINI
KAMALA KAMALADALA VIHARINI
VANI VIDHYADAYINI NAMAAMI TVAM
NAMAAMI KAMALAAM,
AMALAAM, ATULAAM
SUJALAAM SUPHALAAM MATARAM
VANDE MATARAM
Here…the Motherland is being compared to Durga now….so, tell me if I’m wrong: a Sanskrit hymn to the Motherland/Bengal (equated to Durga) ‘resonates to you’ as being more appropriate for a “SECULAR democratic republic” than an ode to “Bharata Bhagya Bidhata”!!!
Hey, let’s end this once and for all. Here’s the 4th stanza of “Jana Gana Mana” (Depressing how one has to defend one’s National Anthem):
Ghoro Timiro Ghono Nibiro
Nishithey Pirhito Murchhito Deshey
Jagrato Chhilo Tabo Abichalo Mangalo
Nato Nayoney Animeshey
Duhswapney Aatankey
Rakkhaa Koriley Ankey
Snehamoyi Tumi Maataa
Jano Gano Duhkho Trayako
Jayo Hey Bhaarato Bhaagyo Bidhaataa
Jayo Hey, Jayo Hey, Jayo Hey,
Jayo Jayo Jayo, Jayo Hey
Well…what say now? George V: Snehamayi Maata? Please…let’s at least READ Tagore (originals OR translations) before we sling mud at this giant of world literature…read him, and I assure all of you, y’all will see the world differently. In his own words,
“Bigotry tries to keep truth safe in its hand
With a grip that kills it.”
Well done Amborish. Dhonnobad
SPECIALS@10 – Sony TV
I was really disheartned to watch Heroin – Zindagi Ke Panno Se, on Saturday on SPECIALS@10 -Sony TV. That too by Madhur Bhandarkar. It was true copy of ‘Dear Frankie’. Hope not all of the specials are specially copied & pasted.
After a loong wait I managed to watch Dev D this Saturday. I am really disappointed to watch a movie like Dev D which was praised so much by almost everyone at PFC.
I was disappointed that I risk my job and visit PFC at least once or twice in a day for couple of minutes. I do it as I consider PFC to have credibility. Dev D the movie is 2.5 hours but I must have spent atleast 5 hours just reading reviews finding something on the net / reading interviews etc etc.
In Devdas from Bimal Roy and SLB I managed to connect with the protagonist. I thought Devdas is all about guilt and a guilt driven character who feels guilty for his weakness of not being able to marry Paro as a result of which she had to marry a much older zameendar with grown up kids. In Dev D I did not feel that Abhay felt the guilt or remorse for any of his actions. I would have been happy to see an animal like Dev D portrayed by Abhay to die a death of stray dog in the movie and give lesson to all youngsters that leading such life is wasting it.
depicting reality in movies has become a joke. In the name of reality we are subjected to abusive language / drinks / coke with vodka / drug abuse / brothels. Not a single character has any moral compass.
If Chanda’s mom is Candaian then there was no reason for her to send Chanda back to India to live with her paternal relatives. Tehy could have settled in Canada.
This brand of realism is to show that it is perfectly fine to act irresponsibly and then even don’t be ashamed about it at all. Rebels without any justifiable cause.
Gulzar sahab / Hisrishikesh Mukherjee / Shaym Banegal also show reality in their movies I think there is a need to learn from them.
Watching Dev D reminded me of my engineering college days where every batch has couple of studnets good for nothing just their to waste money of their parents and induldge in smoking / drugs and beer and feel good about it.
How many instances in your life can you experience based on which you get to know what is correct. There remain many situations where its very difficult to judge what is right. Movies in a way put the lead character in situations which then make you wonder what he will do. Invariably, either the character does what is right or later repents, proving to the sub-conscious mind of the viewer that he should always be on the correct path. No father, mother, teacher or friends (learning means) exposes the viewer to as many situations as the movies do. Thereby, the viewer gets to improve his judgement capability every day.
I dont want you (path breaking directors) to adopt a trend that stops reinforcing to the general masses the idea that a person has to be always on the right side.
The second argument is similar, but the point is different. This time its that “Truth always wins”. However hard it is for you to write scripts of this nature, try to still stick to it. Gulaal, though not a message oriented movie sends a message that you can win by whatever means and that is how it will end. Guru, has the same flaw. Understand that the movies subtly play a role in shaping the mind of viewer. So, if the viewer mind has not yet fully taken a shape, then your view is likely to shape that mind. Reiterating – try to end your movies with the “truth always winning” note (although not necessarily the lead character).
The last argument…. never play with ideas that not in the national interest. Rajputana aazadi is not a simple idea. It has the power to influence. May be it will never influence Rajasthan, but it could influence other states. All you have to do is to light one hope some where and it will spread like fire. No one likes destruction, but to bear the guilt of destruction will be much higher. I dont want you to play with more complex subjects to come out with such themes that are against the national interest of our country. Again… remember,,, you could be shaping some little head some where.
Dont ask me why there is so much corruption and greed while the same public has stood witness to thousands of movies with great moral values… I dont have an answer. But history has shown that extra ordinary greed will lead to an extra ordinary downfall. Whether its Hitler, Rome, american financial system or anything else.
You just do your part for this world.
It’s interesting that a post by Anurag about how PFC shoudln’t be an Anurag Kashyap Fanclub has comments reaffirming just that.
@Anant Raina – Word. It’s amazing how a post that seeks to veer conversation away from the poster and his films has comments bringing it back to exactly that. I guess there’s no cure for this sort of rabid fanboyism. I’m not against it per say but what’s frustrating is that AK is the only man with such a following here. We can only hope some of it flows into other deserving filmmakers’ kitty or all we will do is bow down to the trade analyst gods and accept that big star glitz and glamour films are the only ones that work here.
Amborish, I dont see why King George V cannot be a snehamoyee mata. After all it is a metaphor. “If Vidhata which is male can be mata , why not the King? As I said it is a metaphor. What is meant is that the king is like a affectionate, compassionate mother,who relives the pain and grief of the multitude.
If this line could not be about the king, how could Tagore give this poem to be sung in praise of the king? Does he lack that basic aesthetic sense? Or is he that dishonest? who is degrading the poet here?
Amborish, I am not denying the Hindu antecedents of Vande Mataram. But I am saying the first stanza which is sung as our national song, resonates better with me as a patriotic song. Because it talks about our motherland and its attributes, not the attributes of an arbiter of destiny. That is why AR Rahman, an ardent Muslim if there was one, did not find any problem in coming out with his beautiful interpretation of the song in the form of ‘ Maa Tujhe Salaam”. I will repeat the first stanza and its translation to show its beauty:
vande m?taram
sujal?? suphal?? malayaja??tal?m
?asya ?y?mal?? m?taram
?ubhra jyotsn? pulakita y?min?m
phulla kusumita drumadala?obhin?m
suh?sin?? sumadhura bh??i??m
sukhad?? varad?? m?taram
My obeisance to Mother India!
With flowing beneficial waters
Filled with choicest fruits
With Sandal scented winds
Green with the harvest
O mother! My obeisance to you!
Ecstatic moonlit nights
The plants blooming with flowers
Sweet speaker of sweet languages
Fount of blessings,
Mother, I salute you!
Which lover of secular, democratic India would find problem with this?
Sorry, the Bengali/ Sanskrit version came out jumbled.
Vande Mataram
sujalaam
suphalaam
malayaja sheethalam
shashya shyamalaam
Maataram, vande maataram
Shubhra jothsana pulakitha yaminim
Phulla kusumitat drumah dala shobhinim
Suhasinim, Sumadhura bhAshinim
sukhadaam varadhaam, maataram
Vande mataraam
Thou art Durga, Lady and Queen,
With her hands that strike and her
swords of sheen,
Thou art Lakshmi lotus-throned,
And the Muse a hundred-toned,
Pure and perfect without peer,
Mother lend thine ear,
Rich with thy hurrying streams,
Bright with thy orchard gleams,
Dark of hue O candid-fair
In thy soul, with jewelled hair
And thy glorious smile divine,
Loveliest of all earthly lands,
Showering wealth from well-stored hands!
Mother, mother mine!
Mother sweet, I bow to thee,
Mother great and free!
Even in these lines, featuring Durga and Lakshmi, The poet is still talking about the motherland, investing her with the attributes of Durga and Lakshmi, attributes like valour and creativity. Thou art Lakshmi, thou art Durga it says to the Motherland. The protagonist is still the motherland, unlike in Jana Gana Mana.
Here are the missing stanzas. I cant think ofa better love song to one’s mother land. It takes a genius like Rahman ( with his deepest for his own mother) to grasp the essence of the song.
Mother, I bow to thee!
Rich with thy hurrying streams,
bright with orchard gleams,
Cool with thy winds of delight,
Dark fields waving Mother of might,
Mother free.
Glory of moonlight dreams,
Over thy branches and lordly streams,
Clad in thy blossoming trees,
Mother, giver of ease
Laughing low and sweet!
Mother I kiss thy feet,
Speaker sweet and low!
Mother, to thee I bow.
Who hath said thou art weak in thy lands
When the sword flesh out in the seventy million hands
And seventy million voices roar
Thy dreadful name from shore to shore?
With many strengths who art mighty and stored,
To thee I call Mother and Lord!
Thou who savest, arise and save!
To her I cry who ever her foeman drove
Back from plain and Sea
And shook herself free.
Not to say that Tagore could not or did not write a heart-felt paean to the motherland. But that song ” Amar Sonar Bangla” is the national anthem of Bangladesh..
My Bengal of Gold,
I love you.
Forever your skies,
Your air set my heart in tune
As if it were a flute.
In spring, O mother mine,
The fragrance from your mango groves
Makes me wild with joy,
Ah, what a thrill!
In autumn, O mother mine,
In the full blossomed paddy fields
I have seen spread all over sweet smiles.
Ah, what a beauty, what shades,
What an affection, and what a tenderness!
What a quilt have you spread
At the feet of banyan trees
And along the
O mother mine, words from your lips
Are like nectar to my ears.
Ah, what a thrill!
If sadness, O mother mine,
Casts a gloom on your face,
My eyes are filled with tears!
Zaid@259 Aapne mere munh ki baat chheen lii. I was also not very happy after watching DevD. Gulaal also is very good in parts. But the carefree(less) dialogue delivery in AK’s films are getting on my nerves :P ( even though they depict reality, sometimes )
Hi Anurag,
Please reply on my email id posted along with this mail. This is regarding a thematic festival of films at the NCPA in collaboration with the Enlighten Film Society.
We have a list of films lined up which we would like you to choose from- to introduce at the festival for a month that suits you. The films are all-time classics ranging from a Fritz Lang Retrospective to biographies like Mandela to Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window.
Will discuss in depth once you get in touch.
Regards,
Kavita Ogale
hi this is neeraj shetty, an aspiring cinematographer, i just want you to
give your views on the two videos below. and tell me if i have any scope of
getting into cinematography!
the first link is to a music video.
the second is a link to a basketball sports promo video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q2X6gv5Rrg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX5H1HVXeyo
do let me know about your views!
grateful,
Neeraj
AK->”Amborish.. I think that ends the discussion. Atleast in my head, and i am glad that censors asked me to take it out. I would not have forgiven myself.”
bhai vo gussa ho lia…
please be on the topic Amborish…
vaise matlab jo bhe kahen film to tagri banatae ho Ak…
Well said. Totally agree. Thank god there are films like this coming out, so that those of us who are sick n tired of the song n dance routine can actually see something meaningful. hats off to you film makers who are taking this step. sadly, i see hardly any people in the cinema halls of such movies, which is a depressing fact. I dont know what the ‘educated’India is upto. Maybe they havent grown out of the crappy films like ‘Rab ne..’But i hope that doesn’t stop u guys from making such films. Films are a reflection of the culture and society, and lots of people dont like looking in the mirror, and just want mindless escapism.
Hi Anurag sir..
I read this article of writer Aseem Chhabra in Mumbai Mirror on March 29 (VIEW section)… Its about Gulaal n the indie films like Gulaal… i feel sad for ppl like these…
……
Check it out if u want…
Go to date MARCH 29-VIEW section-PAGE 26
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=MMIR&showST=true&login=default&Enter=true&Skin=MIRRORNEW&GZ=T
Anurag, did you know that Danny Boyle, the director you take up cudgels for constantly, was single-handedly responsible for wiping out the precious eco-system on the Koh Phi Phi islands in Thailand after the release of his movie ‘The Beach’ which was shot there? It led to tens of thousands of ignorant tourists descending upon the pristine archipelago and wreaking havoc on the fragile eco-system there..it is now a mere shadow of it’s former self..However it may have benefited the locals through tourism..that financial gain has been wiped out by environmental damage as the place will not be fit for habitation, fishing, diving in a couple of years…all because of stupid movie about dumb hippies running away from the world…
By the way why are people so against movies like RAB NE why is it a crappy movie if it shows the lighter side of human emotions…why arent we able to take innocence or joy in little things as natural feelings why does a movie have to explore all the darker feelings of a human being in order to become a masterpiece..RAB NE is not as bad as this blog potray’s it to be …we are famous for a style of movie making….if a movie is able to give a viewer a good feeling then it is defnitely not a crappy movie…why should intelligent always mean shunning anything famous…and commenting against it.SRK is a star and defnitely he does a good job at being a good actor..why should he be deprived the credibility of his skills just because some people think in a narrow minded fashion…i am not against gulaal or DEV D or Black Friday..in fact i loved all the three and also think anurag kashyap as a very talented person…but that does not mean that darkness is the only thing that is present in the whole world and being angry is not the only thing a person can do.. i guess PFC is infested with people who love things dark and whose only fun is to see betraying,angry people on screen and oozing blood on screen gives them the kick to shag. ……pls accept good movies…RAB NE is one of the good movies that were released in 2008..it is an entertainer..with a very light hearted subject……please try and accept things as they are…dont be biased
ma kasam,
275 responces.. and still counting.
Dear Anurag,
Can’t find an email address for you so trying to contact you this way. Did you know that the MoserBaer DVD of Dev D has the MOSERBAER logo on the top left of the screen for the entire movie, thus destroying the visual style of your film? Did you know that they flash an ad for their company at the bottom of the screen multiple times during the film? How can this be allowed? I was truly horrified to have my viewing experience destroyed by this defacement of your film. You should look into this and stop it. The people who waited and bought your film, instead of getting a pirate version, are getting punished for it. Terrible.
dear anurag,iam amar dayal singh,your fan and elder brother. want to your e mail id for sent some story and ideas.i saw your latest movies-dev d and Gulal.
[mere dimaag me kai khayal aaye in dono filmon ko dekhakar.tumhari puraani id par mail bhejaa lekin wo deliver nahin huaa.kya tumhari dusari email id paa sakata hoon taaki apane vichar tumase baant sakoon? anurag filmen main kaafi gaharai se dekhata hoon isaliye unapar comment karane se khud ko rok nahin paataa.kahaniya kuchh aisi hain jo mujhe pareshaan karati hain.unhe tum tak pahoonchanaa chahata hoon.maine bhi blog bana rakhaa hai,EK PAAGAL AADAMI naam se,blogspot pe.jo chijen pareshaan karati hain un par likhata hoon.
your—
amar dayal,benaras
i just saw this and it’s totally disappointing for me & for many others. Dev.D’s dvd is releasing on moserbaer…. i mean wtf is this. never expected this. just saw its clearity, bhenchot itni acchi film ki cinematography hai iss chutiye jaise dvd clearity ki wajah se pura banta dhaar ho gaya hai. i mean mujhe toh yeh samjh maine nahi aa raha hai ki utv ke pass paise nahi hai kya acchi film ki acchi dvd release kerne ko. i think we should think about this first.
do something AK
i believe it has suddenly become uncool not to talk about anurag kashyap, so ppl are doing it whether they have seen ur movies or not cos ‘janta wahi karti hai jo janta karti hai’
anurag cngrts for gulaal but this time its not just you i am i awe of, its piyush mishra as well. though i have seen him before in dil se and maqbool, never knew he was such a tremendous artist.
the way he recites his poetries, his conviction makes you believe in those ideologies. the whole theatre kind of feel he created was tremendous.
i have grown up watching and doing theatre (my dad is a theatre artist and i have done some theatre too), so for me this film was a real treat.
btw i have got one question, i read somewhere that every actor and crewmember in gulaal worked for free. is it true?
Absolutely loved Gulaal. Pure genius. Curious to know what the Rajput (ergo) banna community thinks about it. What say Mr. Kashyap? Any feedback? And any chance of enhancing your global distribution networks so that aam junta abroad can watch it on the big screen?
hi anurag, ur post inspired me to watch movies for myself, i loved zizou,enjoyed 13B,missed barah aana. firaq is good in subject but i felt it misses grip. as about ur movies, they dont need any recommendation. dev d is simply superb, but gulal had many distractions…
Thanks for those three words. “Ignore the reviews.” When I read Taran Adarsh’s review of Dev D, I was shocked, even though I hadn’t seen the movie by then. If such ‘Experienced’ reviewers can fail with the new cinema, I don’t think one can go by them.
Hello Anurag
make a film on Recession! ur references in gulal abt twin tower blast, afghanistan are quite old and vague. the world order(actually disorder) has actually has emerged precisely after recession. i think a film is must .
helo anurag sir,
i read in ht blog that u have appologise with karan johar or made peace with him,is it right coz i don’t think any body should appologies with karan and in the case you sir coz u are far better film maker than him(he is moron,he is just manipulator of media), so isr u shudn’t apollogies to him or yash raj
Anurag,
I saw GULAAL recently and i have a hypothetical question for you..
If you were to make GULAAL again now ( keeping aside the monetary outcome of the movie) ..
Would it be the same movie.. If not what would you change.
anurag,
people usually “feel like it” if they want to watch a movie before they actually watch it. when its your movie, mostly people go to watch because its yours. i felt like watching dev.d and gulaal of course because they seemed really interesting, but also because you made those. i felt like watching little zizou because sooni taraporewala wrote it and there was boman irani and the trailer was fun. “Seemed” like a good movie. frankly didnt feel like watching the other movies.
you probably watch movies because you are an eternal student of the art form. not everyone goes for the same reason. if people “feel” like watching these movies, believe me they will watch. And most of them will watch only if they feel like it. I don’t think there’s another way to make this transition happen. but i guess its already on its way, good cinema is not too far.
for example, i was literally compelled by my sensibilities to buy dev.d audio cd after seeing the movie. it was so frekkin awesome. AMIT TRIVEDI IS SIMPLY A GENIUS!
hello anurag
i am gc bharat from ima dehradun
your dev d created storm in ima
we really enjoyed the movie
our enjoyment lead us to a session where whole academy was at ima helipad from 9am to 5.30am on ram navmi holiday
now you see what surreal cinema does
when he says he’s done here, he means?
and he’s so right u guys. if u don’t support these movies despite of all waxing lyrical over indie cinema, who will? and tickets are so fucking cheap in India too!
Hi Anurag
Pls. let me know how can I contact you if I would like to assist\intern you and was unable to win the PFC one and two.
Just to add I am also a music composer
Pls. watch my indie films on http://www.youtube.com/ashwanithakur
Thanks & Regards
Ashwani
ashwanithakur[@]gmail[.]com
Hi Anurag,
Read in facebook that Paanch will hit the Indian theatres in June this year…. Is this true??
Loved Gulaal! Especially the songs!!
time it is…. sir need diffrnt story
i had one
do rply me once
may be it can wrk for both
i agree Anurag completely… i personally have stopped watching all the pretentious cinema the big wigs kepp doling out to the unsuspecting public but the fact is that it might just take more time than one thinks because people are not really sensitised to the idea that even and indian film can delve into the deppest darkest side of the charecter and not relegate itself to eye-candy. A case in point, this friend of mine came out of the screening of DEV D and said that it was a useless movie because it was not funny at all. I asked him why he went and watched the movie, he said that he thought it was an out and out comedy and what they showed on screen was just nonsense. I personally love the movie but the fact is that out of a billion people only say 0.9% of us actually would like to see something different. We don’t care about the concept or anything of the sort. All we want is value for the 200 odd bucks we spend at the local multiplex. I loved the concept of DEV D for a simple fact that it was ready to challenge the usual norm of film-making in India. There are other films like Mumbai meri jaan, Bheja Fry, Firaaq and others which are setting the trend but the plain fact is we need to get more people to watch these innovative ideas and watch a movie for the performance of the actors and most importantly admire the balls that the director and the producer had to make a different film. Until that happens which i doubt will anytime soon, we will just keep talking about these brilliant concepts as Indies.
I truly hope that there are producers who are ready to take the risk of financing a picture which strives to tell a different story than some fucking cliched romcom. As long as we venture beyond cinema that challenges the norm, there is hope for people like Anurag Kashyap, his fromer assistant Raj Kumar Gupta, Nishikant Kamat and many others who dare to think beyond “conventional” cinema. Hope there is more to come from all you pathbreakers. Peace Out
I wish these films you mention are offered on-demand on my DTH service (Tata Sky here). Because I am too shy to go to theaters, and almost as shy to ask for some of their VCDs/DVDs in stores! (call me weird, I don’t care). So Mr. Kashyap, consider DTH to be another platform where you can shower your movies, and also spread the word to your new-wave filmmaker colleagues! And by the way, the second half of your Dev D blew my mind! I still feel like I am Dev D 3 days after watching it! That’s the power of good cinema…it sticks! Wish film-makers like you take over Indian films!!!
Nice to be able to talk with you!!!
Take care!!!
I was watching this old movie of Rajendra Kumar, “Jhuk Gaya Aasman’, really love it.
Any plans to make a movie similar to this. I am sure you’ll give some new dimension to this great movie.
I would lve to watch a ANurag Kashyap movie on re incarnation and all [:P]
hey Anurag,
I’m ready to quit my job if you would let me work as an AD (2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th!) on your next film! I really enjoy your films and would love to be part of one of the story-telling processes!
Cheers!
This is rediculous coming out from you.. I wanted to see both Dev D and Gulaal in theatre but I couldn’t.. It didn’t released in the US.. How come we see movies like this or what we support, if you guys don’t release it here.. No wonder people see these kind of cinemas in pirated copies..
Nik
Completely agree Anurag
Hi Sir
I want to work with you in your Films.
Please give me an appointment. My email id is varunishnanda@gmail.com.
Thanks.
kashy when is paanch releasing?
Write about paanch…..in your blog…..
hi anurag,
I was playing powersoccer today and I suddenly got this idea.How about a movie which is told or presented in a upside down fashion.The complete story of the movie should go backwards or in a reverse direction.But the audience should not know about it coz the script will make sense in the reverse fashion also(but not exact the original story).At the last we shall reveal to the audience that ths s the way the story goes. Have movies been made in ths fashion b4 and if so then could u tell me the name of it coz it will be a mind boggling experience.
@Ila
It’s been done. Memento, Irreversible, and a few others.
Hi Anurag,
pls new blog post!…nothing new to share?
Hi Anurag,
How about organising a special showing of “PAANCH” before it’s official release for PFCphiles? Coz it all started with”PAANCH”! Just a thought!!
Regards,
Santino
thanks deven,
But it should nt be a flashback sort of thing.The story must proceed in a reverse fashion giving an altogether totally different sense from the real one.It should be a two way story.The movie should make sense if u see from first to last or from last to first.
Brilliant film. Every character is interesting! :-)
Hi,
Saw a lot of films this year.
Best movies of the year so far
LUCK BY CHANCE
GULAAL
FIRAAQ
Regards,
Santino
hey boss,
Jus happened to read a book called “No God In Sight” by Altaf Tyrewala…it is an interesting read and also if possible to make a movie out of it …it would be agood one…..jus chk it out if possible….
Hell Anurag Sir
I was there at the screening of Italian Film “Solino” at Blue Frog
But I was reaaly disappointed to see that u din stay back for the whole time.
I would PFC People to upload more infor regarding screening of the films.
I would also like to ask that y these days anurag’s presense on PFC is almots nil.
Coz he is busy giving interviews and telling that he has boook of dirt jokes.
I mean waht is that.There is raely any discussion about the films you made.They seem more interste in ur relation with kalki.
Now where is ur idealism?
I’m very disappointed with Bara Anah.
Screenplay, editing, direction were absolutely horrendous. Even the great Nasiruddin Shah was surprisingly muted (pun intended).
Hi Anurag
believe it or not, I saw both movies on the same day and posted my review on both also on the same day!!
I like your frankness – trust me, even I saw rab ne so that I can bitch about it…
Someday, we shall be sitting and talking about it all
Peace
@ Anurag Kashyap
I had been a fan of Hindi mainstream cinema when I was a kid. Gradually, as my sense and knowledge developed, I moved to popular hollywood titles and liked the technical finnesse in them. Then I moved to Hindi movies again, specially the 60’s, 70’s one directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Basu Chatterjee, Sai Paranjpye, et al.
My hunger for movies was not satiated so I jumped to more unconventional and acclaimed directors like, V Shantaram, Bimal Roy, Guru Dutt, Fredricco Felini, Stanley Kubrick, Akira Kurosawa, Sergio Leone, Billy Wilder, Satyajit Ray, Speilberg, Coppolla and others.
I researched regularly on all the titles, that were recommended by various magazines/critics/portals/Institutions and have watched most of the listed ones.
To me, one can not force anyone to go and watch a movie. It’s the internal hunger that drives the urge. I used to love Mithun da when I watched Disco Dancer as a kid. Then with age, Sanjay Dutt, Amol Palekar and Amir Khan and nowadays the likes of Kay Kay Menon and Irrfan Khan.
At one point of time I used to hate Bollywood Film makers and other technicians, coz every second movie was lifted from an English or other foreign language movie.
In the recent past, things have surely changed for the better marking improved scripts(well thought and read), more experimentation (a breather from the cliches), some brilliant researched plots and astute direction.
I have adored movies like Dharm, Black Friday, Shwaas, A wednesday, Dasvidaniya, Khosla ka Ghosla, Gulaal and counting.
The crux of this long essay is that, even for people like me, who are willing to see movies like these. It is not possible to go n watch every film, unless we are paid to do that.
The idea should be that, more avenues of revenue generation model should be explored. I am a Marketing and Analysis professional and movies run in my blood. I dont want this reinvigorated art to die before resurrection in India. So what I would suggest is that as theatre or cinema are no longer the only medium to communicate hence, it is better if we could find out other sources of earnings for these kind of movies which have niche audiences.
Like through involvement of Special Interest Groups who can become a part of the movie right from the word go. Atleast the interest generated from the beginning would result in ending them being a part of the movie and surely the First Day First Show reservation.
I would do, if I know its of my interest.
Like the one you have announced: about Raj Comics Super Anti-Hero Doga. I know coz I research and follow religiously, do u believe every Doga fan also knows?
Fellow readers, what say?
i agree with gulal,evd,little zizou but film like firaq is not so good,they just made film to get awards.
i think that movie contians wasnt good too.
hey anurag great to see u on top dont know if u vl remembr me old pal from hansraj seems devd as ur own reflection miss those great times keep doing well i am at nag pur these days add 333 missile brigade c/o 56 APO PH 9423077183 AND 0710-282652 HOPE 2 HEAR FRM U
First of all to let you know anurag that i am one of your biggest fans like the others in this column,i have been following your work since the days: “paanch”,”black friday”,”gulal”,”no smoking:(my fav film of yours)and if i am not wrong when the likes of you,shriram raghavan used to be the brilliant directors of teleseries:”star bestsellers”,have been a fan of all such kind of path-breaking cinema.
I would also like to mention some other noted directors and films who are still under-rated:Vishal Bharadwaj(maqbool,omkara),shriram raghavan(ek haseena thi),nishant kamat(mumbai meri jaan,Rajkumar Gupta(Aamir),Dibaaar Banerjee(Khsla ka ghosla) but such films have started geting rave reviews lately and the respect for such kind of cinema is also growing.
I in my own small way have started promoting such kind of cinema by dragging my friends for all these movies and they are now fans of a movie like”no smoking”,”gulal”,”firaaq”,”luck by chance” by educating them about the nuances that are taken care of by the director in each frame,and sensibilty behind them.
Its a matter of time when people will start understanding good cinema with some efforts by filmmakers like you start geting recognition that you have always deserved.Also with many short fill making contests,world movie screenings being held,and studios like UTV,and STudio18 showing interest we will see an upward trend.
Also i do not agree with some gentlemen out here who did not like “firaaq”,here was a film without any propoganda,no pretences,(and dont go by the controversial topic chosen)just showing the after effects on the minds of the people after a riot,brilliantly captured!!!!
Now some positive comments on your movies:
No Smoking:Brilliant is an under statement for this movie,i rate it even more highly than dev.d because of the sheer concept and way it was directed
Black Friday:Had seen both the unedited and the released version,loved it both.
Gulal:Loved Piyush Mishra’ modern john lennon character commenting on world politics,loved the story but i feel(correct me if i am wrong) the plot veered a bit after the interval where you dont feel the same sense of purpose with the main character(his love and the betrayal)
Dev.D:my second most fav film of yours,have seen all devdas’s and the present day context is brilliantly captured.
I also have a question on “no smoking” and “dev.d”:
In no smoking i understand why you had that character who k kept on seeing everywhere to show the loss of sense identities,ayesha takia’s double role and death to show the guilt angle,but similarly in dev.d what were the three characters in the same suit portraying,was it to mellow down the dark parts of the movie(by adding the 3 monkey angle-bura mat dekho,suno,kaho) or what was it for?and what was written behind their black suits??
Also why was there 12midnite angle at which you lose your soul exactly trying to say in no smoking??
First of all to let you know anurag that i am one of your biggest fans like the others in this column,i have been following your work since the days: “paanch”,”black friday”,”gulal”,”no smoking:(my fav film of yours)and if i am not wrong when the likes of you,shriram raghavan used to be the brilliant directors of teleseries:”star bestsellers”,have been a fan of all such kind of path-breaking cinema.
I would also like to mention some other noted directors and films who are still under-rated:Vishal Bharadwaj(maqbool,omkara),shriram raghavan(ek haseena thi),nishant kamat(mumbai meri jaan,Rajkumar Gupta(Aamir),Dibaaar Banerjee(Khsla ka ghosla) but such films have started geting rave reviews lately and the respect for such kind of cinema is also growing.
I in my own small way have started promoting such kind of cinema by dragging my friends for all these movies and they are now fans of a movie like”no smoking”,”gulal”,”firaaq”,”luck by chance” by educating them about the nuances that are taken care of by the director in each frame,and sensibilty behind them.
Its a matter of time when people will start understanding good cinema with some efforts by filmmakers like you start geting recognition that you have always deserved.Also with many short fill making contests,world movie screenings being held,and studios like UTV,and STudio18 showing interest we will see an upward trend.
Also i do not agree with some gentlemen out here who did not like “firaaq”,here was a film without any propoganda,no pretences,(and draw opinions on the controversial topic chosen)just showing the after effects on the minds of the people after a riot,brilliantly captured!!!!
Now some positive comments on your movies:
No Smoking:Brilliant is an under statement for this movie,i rate it even more highly than dev.d because of the sheer concept and way it was directed
Black Friday:Had seen both the unedited and the released version,loved it both.
Gulal:Loved Piyush Mishra’ modern john lennon character commenting on world politics,loved the story but i feel(correct me if i am wrong) the plot veered a bit after the interval where you dont feel the same sense of purpose with the main character(his love and the betrayal)
Dev.D:my second most fav film of yours,have seen all devdas’s and the present day context is brilliantly captured.
Dev.D is my second most fav film of anurag’s and i was finally glad to see the audience in the theaters loving and appreciating this kind of cinema,something that i supported since the time of black friday,no smoking,and even the over rated critical acclaim this time(4 to 5 star rating),(was outraged when no smoking had got just 1 star in those stupid reviews).
And as some people rightly said two most important high points of the movie,with the brilliant background score,crisp editing,and some brilliant camera angles and depictions(specially the one where you have the fire chamber(bhatti) burning in the background where dev is seen looking at paro’s wedding card)is something you have never seen in Indian cinema before-truly pathbreaking.
I also have some questions on “no smoking” and “dev.d”:
In no smoking i understand why you had that character who k kept on seeing everywhere to show the loss of sense identities,ayesha takia’s double role and death to show the guilt angle,but similarly in dev.d what were the three characters in the same suit portraying,was it to mellow down the dark parts of the movie(by adding the 3 monkey angle-bura mat dekho,suno,kaho) or what was it for?and what was written behind their black suits??
Also why was there 12midnite angle at which you lose your soul exactly trying to say in no smoking??
u’ve vanished completely….
entered in your writing zone?
Ok Trivia Time!!
Does any of you big Anurag Kashyap fans know which brand of Sunglasses is K (Played by John Abraham) wearing in No Smoking?
If possible please forward this message to Anurag kashyap.
Just now I watched the “X rated Video of Emotional Atyachar” on youtube which was suggested by a friend. Many people loved it but I found it stupid and couldn’t manage to watch it completely.
Its sad that many filmmakers take no moral responsibility on their shoulders while making a film.
I was a fan of Anurag Kashyap but no more. Yes no more. I don’t think there was any need of this x rated video and gain cheap publicity. Better are those who make C grade films as they have a reason for it. They know their audience and they know who will buy the film and for what reason.
Please I am not acting Moral Police here. Its not about Indian culture or anything. I am also a filmmaker and am talking common sense.
@Ashwani
Take it with a pinch of salt. It was brilliant marketing!! If ur a film maker, buy some sense of humour..might come handy
i wish u hadn’t taken so long to write another one…i like reading your stuff…
@ Cliff
Pls. don’t take this reply personally, its a general response but followed by your reply to my prev. post.
Its no doubt a brilliant marketing trick but the film got 5 ratings not bcoz of this. Those who liked the film never saw this x rated song. Not even 1 % of the people who went to watch the film saw the x rated version b4.
This type of trick can be tried by a newcomer in order to gain cheap publicity or by a low budget filmmaker.
There can be two reasons for making this:
1. Marketting
2. Joy
Did Dev D required this type of marketing
Point 2 means he just wanted to make this kind of video.
Its possible that its both….marketing and joy.
The makers like x rated humour (frankly I dont see what the noise is about, alot of ppl love non veg jokes).
the movie is made for an adult audience, nobody asked anyone to take their family to watch it.
I dunno where you got that 1% figure from, but every self assured adult who has heard the x rated version, has enjoyed it…the hypocrates wont.
Non veg jokes r part of every culture, grow up is all I can say.
The video is the same as the one in the movie, there is no explicit video at all, its not visual tittilation!!
It doesnt matter why the film got 5 star ratings (frankly although i loved dev d, it doest deserve 5 star rating, 5 stars means the tops…and its not the tops…its a good film, its brilliant but its not the greatest film i’ve ever seen)
Dont go by reviews, u’ll feel robbed most of the time, packaging, marketing and instinct is wut shud make the decision for u.
I actually heard the x rated after watching the film, loved the film anyway…but the x rated is solid fun man…i guess u dnt have that bone in you, which is cool. to each his own, but dont file a PIL yet…lol. take light dude, teri bhi picture kabhi na kabhi chalegi…thoda hasne ka, thoda logo ko jeene dene ka.
***This type of trick can be tried by a newcomer in order to gain cheap publicity or by a low budget filmmaker. ***
dat by far is the stupidest argument i’ve heard in a while. ak is a newcomer and is a low budget filmmaker :P, its not abt the film makers resume, its not about past record…movies like any form of art is about brilliance, past laurels dont count for candy. film making is about connecting with the audience, and there is a whole generation of people in india who love this kinda humour, google bhenchod sutta or gaand mein danda! I think u r totally out of sync with the pulse of ur audience.
anurag kashyap is 100% right…all people do is talk..all big fucking “mitti ka madhaos” or “mitti ke shers” and when its time for real action?????…..
its the entire mass of the country is like that…
check out any churgate bound fast…you will meet ek se bad kar ek sherkhans..and when bunch of terrorist attacked…all these sherkhans were seen finger shoved in their arses and holding candles with the other…
the same with the socialising outdoor places….
first each one is super macho dude from planet testosterone,then they try to dump that macho shit on you…
and when you beat the shit out of them infront of females of the species…they directly go and shove their heads in their “papas” arse.
the same goes for movies its the same psychology
all fucking flock of double standard indian sheep
i guess this runs in our indian blood..thats why from 1000s of years we are slaves
forget liking these movies…you cant even laugh full belly on some truly depicted parsi eccentricity, or some cold blooded dark humorous scene
for if you do..the people in the theater give you strange looks subscribing to the fact that they are here in the theater becuse they have similar likes there is a subtle bond to these kind of films……
the golden era of indian cinema has started..no doubt..the proof is the quality of production value look at most of the 90’s film how fucked up it looks on the tv screen.
its just that somehow we need to get over this double standard system…..cuz in our poor country of rich people and broadminded country of narrow minded people “cult cinema” is a big word we are too poor country to accept parallel…
but life goes on “padelikhe gavaron ke desh mein paida huye hain toh yeh saab to sehna hi padega”
im so amazed to hear about DOGA infact DOGA was the only Raj comic charecter design which had actual,substance,darkness,blood,humansuffering etc
PFC screenings??? i didnt know such thing exists
@bokojoo
I wouldn’t go as far as calling India a country of gavaars. Just becoz u like AKs movies doesnt mean ur intelligent. Anurag Kashyaps movies r not cult or neocinema at all. Its been done for donkeys years abroad, trust me…nothing new.
Infact if anything, Indian Popular Cinema atleast has its own soul and its own way of being, this dark cinema is only aping whats been done outside for years now.
You have to understand the psyche of movies first, India is by habit not a dark country. We r a joyous nation, we celebrate not mourn, we celebrate everything, even death. Dats the reason AKs movies dont find an audience across the board, coz ppl dont sulk as much as he might believe they should.
I personally love his movies, but is it the greatest cinema in india…no way in hell!!
By the way, every movie dat anurag mentions in thia article is a flop, even at its low budget it has no recovery. says alot abt how connected anurag is to the audience.
Indian Popular Cinema works, the audience loves the song and dance and family oriented films. Hum toh aise hi hain bhaiyya. Aapko “International” cinema banaani hain, put ur money where ur mouth is and try and get an international release.
Every movie dat u think is wow, is absolute crap in the international market.
Its like saying, you guys r gavaars…you cant digest such wonderful continental food, you still want ur stupid pav bhaji, which is laden with fat and has zero nutritional value, u guys r gavaars.
Sabse bada gavaar r these so called messiahs of indian cinema, coz they dont understand the art of serving to the audience.
Well-said Cliff, your comment has brought a touch of moderation and level-headedness to this list
Hi Anurag,
I need your email id. I represent a movement called Swaraj Abhiyan started by Arvind Kejriwal (Ramon Magsaysay Award winner and founder of the Right to Information movement) in Delhi. The movement seeks to decentralize power through the institutions of public assemblies at the local level in both urban and rural areas. The website is www.lokrajandolan.org.
We need some very specific help from a filmmaker, and since I’m a big fan, I thought of you and your commitment to having a social conscience. If you can revert with your email id, I can describe our needs in more detail, and you can let us know if you’re interested.
Regards
Nikhil Tripathi
@ bokojoo
Although cliff replied in such a nice manner that I don’t find any need to reply but just like to tell you that what you feel and what you wrote is not wrong and I appreciate that you shared your feelings.
You are comparing Indian cinema and foreign cinema. I am 100% sure that you have never been to anywhere outside India (there are lacks of people like you who have never seen the west themself, but by watching english movies they think they have become Intellegent and others are Gavars.
But I know and have met those people who have made hollywood films from which you are inspired and feel like a cool dude.
They all respect and appreciate the Indian Cinema. Not even of 1990’s but also of 1950’s.
Don’t teach me about what the Indian audience need etc. Because I give lectures about it in film schools.
The discussion here was about the need to make the x rated song for films promotion. (for which I am quite convinced by Cliff’s reply, thanks)
Have a good day
The biggest gavars are not those who respect their 1000 year old culture but those who pretend to show they are genius by blindly following the west.
Dear Anurag,
How a writer can protect his movie script. Is there any organization where it can be registered.
Please advice.
Thanks
Rahul
Oh! my God, what a man you are. I had watched Dev D and since then I was a big fan of yours. Also, I watched yor interviews on several tv shows too. What an angry man you are. Ok, jokes apart. Yes, its correct we do need a change and will surely follow such things as guided by you.
Warm Regards,
Nits…
Recently caught up on my 2009 movie backlog – watched both Dev D & Gulaal in a single day! Loved both. For the first time I feel I do understand Sharat Babu’s Devdas character and – dangerously enough – somewhat identify with him too!
Have to say though – I haven’t read the original novel but now am enthused to do so. Earlier, I just felt that this character was an impossible, unreal, A-grade loser. The whole authoritarian zameendar dad angle too was a bit difficult to sync with in modern times but in this modern reinterpretation it suddenly makes sense. Pride, obsessive love and self-pity are an explosive mix indeed and human emotion is indeed timeless. Kudos to the makers & actors!
Gulaal, of course, is still sinking in – so I won’t comment on it now.
Now having seen them off the internet – have no way of seeing it otherwise out here in my corner of the world – I am looking to buy both the DVDs. I have googled all in vain! When? Where? How? Anyone here have answers?
@Cliff (in 333/334 – haven’t cared to read the rest of whats going on here):
Dude – chill! Your comment about the joyous nature of India hits it on the head. But didn’t you realise we are all born hero-worshippers too? And who doesn’t want a bit vicarious fame/i-am-so-sophisticated feeling?
Yeah, so fanboys troll over here – big deal!
But that is no reason to diss AK or his movies. Yes its been done to death in Western cinema. Yes, it doesn’t sell in India. So, what? There are some (you, me and so many here) who like it – and I for one am super-happy that people like AK get to make movies which we like – in Hindi and in the Indian milieu. Whether its best/worst cinema in India/this side of the cosmological horizon.. , who the hell cares?
Sorry not related to the post :
Hollywood, Bollywood and other foreign language movies have dealt enough with romance, meta-philosophy, drama, and other stereo typical ideas. But there has hardly been experiments or have even approached the real ongoings in the world of academics. “Beautiful mind” or “proof” was more abt the dramatic life impact of the protagonist. There should be non-documentary type movies with scientific background/basis, something like “Contact”.Have u seen it ? When are we going to get some of those ? Is Bollywood ever going to leave romantic triangulars, life sagas and terrorism, socio-political stories ? Is there any film-maker who even has thought of treading up that kind of subject ? I have heard that you wanted to be a scientist once upon a time. So I felt like asking you these questions…
Anurag.. Your work is commendable. I stay abroad and watch what I can on D(e)VD. I have been a fan of yours from the time you came out with Black Friday. But the way the game is setup right now, businesses of scale are the only one to survive. Commercial cinema is under threat all over the world. Even in Hollywood, there are no surefire bankable ’stars’ anymore. I am amused by the fact that your ego believes this small cohort of films is getting the short end of the stick. Perhaps alternate streams of revenue can be conceptualized (although I’m not sure what they would be). But it’s silly to play kho kho and expect to score a goal. Either scale up or ship out.
@cliff for 333/334
thanks for whats what and whats what not of films, now i didnt said myself to be intelligent neither you have to be intelligent to watch AK’s movies nor it makes you one (i know one paan wallah of nerul who left his shop opened and watched satya back to back whole day in the theater) thats the kind of effect of his work.
its just that typical filmy type casting bullshit you people have which type castes everything in this case defining intelligence.
2ndly just like life of every human in this planet is a film to may be a supreme invisible intelligence call it god or whatever, movies are to us thats how important they are and i love movies but haven’t watched many because i want to pay for quality time not some “chunari-chunari” shit. me my india freak gora friends and people like me dont care for if its a flop or hit and fortunately people like Anurag Kashyap or the guy who made Oye lucky lucky Oye or jonny gaddar or bheja fry or khosla ka ghosla have that perception which captures true essence of human nature when they write a character
talking about popular indian cinema cliff its true it has its own “nachaiya-gavaiya” soul and there is nothing wrong in it ,which is also very fancy to a westerner or western filmworld but then dont bleme west if they still call it a country of snake charmers not IITians the point is a country with such a veried cultural heritage and over 2000 languages cant be all “nachaiya gavaiya”is a big magical mystical jukebox i mean the new millennium as started 9 years ago for god sake what kind of evolved culture this country got where they dont support individualist..where is the so called greatest democratic part where the person is not even allowed to express his creation unless its a bhedchal?
its true we are a joyous nation, we celebrate not mourn but its not the true celebration it roots from deep denial..and unconsciousness is bliss by itself…to not to accept reality as it is,no one wants to look in the shit and clean it..just deny it blame it….that is why despite of having number of riches in india which is equivalent to population of some European country we produce poor quality of sports,goods,films
. all the western people i know say they see containment and happiness in the most poorest person here.. true..how can you be tanned with reality of life when you can pass
the buck to 3million gods and goddess? the truth is its a very dark country my friend it used to be a well kept zoo before 1947 now the zoo keepers have gone leaving the cages open and the wild animals are out…there are no citizens in this country there are only kings.. which straight away brings me to the “Royal Indian Ego” sponsored by the great indian double standard middle class…and their great indian dream
someone had said india lives in its villages..not true..india lives in its middle class..they are the backbone of the country.and you are right again they dont understand the art of serving to the audience
u dont need a mega budget or a well drafted tight script even…just fuel the great indian royalass ego…show a freak sardar beating the shit out of 200 pakistanis with a hand pump at 12oclock…or show a six pack indian guy playing electric guitar “without lead” condescending richi simbora,keith richards etc etc or manipulate the double standard middle class fantasy of “bhabi ji breaking karvachaut fast at her lavish new york penthouse” and see how much your table profit is. its not difficult to make such film especially in the country of emotional fools…illusions, fantasy, dreams..thats what all the janta wants and why they want this is
because they are too fucked up to accept the reality so how can anurag kashyap connect with its audience?
think dude..what if the pav bhaji is really nutritious
ps: since i noticed some poetry in this article thought i should post few lines of my south indian friend who recently learnt fluent hindi
NOTE: keeping 335 in mind some words are chopped
AKHAND MADYAMA PAAT
hey bhartiya madhyam varg aap ko
koti koti pranam,
apna na hua toh dusro ke kaam ki
maar de g**nd.
society ke jaal mein fas kar hua
kaam tamaam,
paise ki kami mein pyaar se chal
jata kaam.
pyaar se chal jata kaam,faymily vaylue
ka geet gavey,
aap ke double standard ke saamne
bhoot bhi nanga naache.
apna phata chupa ke kare dusre ke
phate mein taak jhaink.
dusra bhuramane toh toot jave
aap ke gusse ka baandh.
aap ke sanskari bete karte,
mummy ji paapa ji ko parnam.
ghar se bhahar nikal te hi
roop badal jata unka tammam.
apni maa behen toh unko saraswati
sajhe,
ghar se bahar nikal kar soche,
ungli kiski ch**t mein daale?
aap bhacho ko karen competion
ke liya race ke ghode jaisa
taiyaar,
bhache apne se behtar dekhien
to jal jaati unki g**nd.
agar aap ke bachco ko na pasand
yeh bhedchal,
aap,padosi aur teacher mil ke kar dein
uska satyanash.
aap bole beta bahar ka mat khana,
par yeh kachra bahar zaroor fake kar
aana.
ghar hai taj mahal aur bahar gandagi bahoot hai
isliye joota chappal bahar utaar kar anna.
aap chalete desh ko mantri loot kar khave
aap ruk gaye to desh ka bantadhar ho jave ,
aap ki mahima aparampar koi sudhaar nahi pave
isiliye karte hai
iti akhand madhyama paat
thank you for missing my point…kher..
first of all u r no one to decide whos gonna be nice and whos not…
2ndly you dont pay for my visa neither i have to apply for education loan to get one so dont you u be telling me whats out there…and i know the vedeshi janta who watch stuff which people that you met and know make…and its equally fucked like over there its just that there’s is bit punctual,timely and with good infrastructure…
there not much of difference…its just that…what they do openly over there we do it inside the double standard way and what we do openly over here they strictly do it inside..that is the basic human things like shitting,pissing and fucking…and everything else on the same accord
they find it strange that we touch our poop..and we find it strange that they wipe it with a paper..
seems just like the other guy you also have typical filmy approach about people ignoring your own repression and conditioning
anyways…however..i know the type you mentioned
they are usually the born and brought up kind of fucked up cases the kind jinko hindi bolne mein sharam aati hai but wear a tri color tattoo on Independence day…and proclaim themselves great Indians..
besides im usually last in the line of the so called proud indians who boast kubirck,david lynch and all those kind of people.. dont you think i would have been your colleague if i were inspired by too much Hollywood films?….
dont you think? depite all the love that you industry people have for india..not even one reality show is original..and all copied from west…
music,films,clothings.all “inspired”..whos? being a gavaar now?
and when people like AK do somthing of their own…everybody seems to become decent cultured indians
im 100% sure you have not been anywhere else with in india..if u get time of ur lectures go see the real indian audience wholl make you feel like a foreigner in ur own country cuz they dont know any other language apart from their native language but know who sharuk khan is…
and 100% sure you must be on facebook too..showing off in bold how many hollywood people u know..and giving “lectures” in the “film schools” off course…….
the topic was mitti ka madao or the arm chair lecturer…not the “bhartia gavaar” lol agar aap ko gavaar wali baat par mirchi lagi to woh aap ka problem hai…becuse..this guy Anurag Kashyap is making films for and in the country of educated gavaars who although drive skoda and when dash someone..stop the whole traffic behind just to proove their macho shit….film makers like him must be having real courage
@Bokojoo
Your arguments have gone into a tangent, u’ll be welcomed when ur sanity returns :P
Chill maar yaar, u dont have to be right all the time.
AK is a good filmaker. lekin bachche ko sir pe mat bitha..kaam mein mutt dega.
I take offense when u call my nation a nation of gavaars based on their rejection of one mans labour of love. AKs films r not bigger than society, his problem lies between his ears coz he thinks hes a saviour. Take some time off PFC, watch some turkish, iranian, french cinema and U will realise that AK is just as guilty as Anu Malik. Come bak when u’ve put enuff research and the smell of aks arse is a distant memory. until then…keep sniffing
@AS
Dude I love his movies!! Im not complaining, but its a silly thing to say that the nation is a nation of fools becoz they dont accept AKs cinema…thats ridiculous. Cinema is 3 hours of entertainment, thats the basis of it all, entertainment. Sometimes movie makers in their overzealousness to ape film noire forget this basic principle.
@Bokojoo
Noticed u said something like “keeping 355″ in mind.
Do you think passing a sexist remark like that is tongue in cheek humour or AK style dark humour?
Seriously uncalled for mate, I think you need to get our more often..ur understanding of the society you live in is worse than the image that the west have of it being a land of snakecharmers.
Typo Corrections
kaam = kaan***
335 not 355
@Cliff
Sure – that might be excessive and uncalled for. But as I said, we are the melodramatic type aren’t we? Sachin ne ek century maari – he is the best cricketer in history. Sachin ne ek baar century nahi maari – oh he is so over-rated!
Aur vaise bhi – yeh internet hai – yahaan har gadhe ke haath mein microphone hota hai. Whether to engage with them is all you have a choice in. Btw, no offence to anyone else here – I don’t even know who called us all fools!
On cinema and entertainment – I think it is a much bigger debate which can be had about ‘utility’ of any art form.
As far as mass market cinema goes, the public finally votes with its money and gets what it wants and deserves. Now that kind of democracy does leaves some of us ‘alpasankhyaks’ a bit bored at times. So overhyped or not, aped or not – it can only be good for us that there is enough money floating around these days to make such cinema possible.
when is gulal dvd gonna be released
Yes, it is a good thought – let us all go watch all movies. I did it in 2007 and now repent – umrao jaan, partner !! So now a days I wait for something good in the promotions that can provoke me to go and watch a movie. Dilli6 had great starcast like Pawan Malhotra(i watched Jab We Met mainly coz of him-but now I am in love with this movie), Raghubir Yadav (of course, even hearing his voice in the Ramleela inspired me).
So what can inspire me to go watch Love Aaj Kal when it releases ? Or to go and watch Kambaqt Ishq now ? Nothing. Kaminey – lot of things. I consider Gulzar-Vishal combination to be the current version of RDB-Gulzar combo. Right from Maachis to Satya to Chachi420 to Omkara to Kaminey. But Vishal also has lost his Satya-ish charm in Kaminey songs. Number of instruments have gone up ;) He just needed a guitar for “Badalon ko kaat kaat kar” in Satya. Now needs lot more. Anyway, gulzar is still fantastic although couldnt make out the lyrics with all the news – the pamphlet coming with the CD helped (you know why i buy only original CDs !!). Of course, still waiting for Paanch and Bombay Velvet whenever they get released. Till then, am happy watching Satya, Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill, Black Friday, DevD, Ijaazat, Khoobsoorat, Choti Si Baath, Pyasa, Kaagaz ke phool and of course, malayalam classics like Thoovanathumbikal, Namukku Parkkan Munthirithoppukal, Nhan Gandharvan etc.Till a trailer inspires me.
I am a movie fanatic and i do make it a point to watch every movie possible. Hell I have seen Breaking news & Buddha Marr gaya first day in theatre… ;) I totally agree with you Anurag that these little gem of movies are really where we should move ahead in our cinema. hope more and more people watch it. Just watched Kaminey today and after Dev D I was again just in love with a movie so much… great work Vishal Bhardwaj