PROJEKT iVIEW : Movies I wanted to make
iVIEW AUTHOR:
Evelyn Tu
As I oh-so-slowly approach the end of my masters degree, I’m grasping for an idea for a longer movie project. It has to be something I can throw my passion and all of my spare time into, and preferably something I can offer to festivals.
First, I wanted to make a doc on the creation of a Bollywood song and its picturization. That seemed sort of lame and unwieldy, though. Then, my concept moved on to a vox-pop doc on Bollywood and NRI/non-Indian fan identity. I haven’t let that idea go yet, but now I’m also dreaming of making a making-of-a-Hindi-film doc. (I caught the bug for this one by being an extra on some big Hindi movies that filmed in my area two years ago.)
I’ll probably surprise myself when this project finally gets underway.
The thought occurred to me to write down movies I’ve seen recently which I wish I could have made. These are the kinds of films that I could see myself making someday. (Wondering to self: Does admiring auteur moviemakers point to signs that I too am a control freak?)
Maybe this thought process will help others, too:
Black Friday (Honestly — no intentional butt-kissing, AK) — I feel a natural affinity for making documentaries, and so much about this movie sings to me. The really long, wheezing, handheld camera running sequence; the use of some non-actors; the whole grainy, immediate look. I appreciated KK’s character’s message, too.
Mixed Doubles — Rajat Kapoor’s singular vision stunned me. This is the kind of independent production that would probably have lost its focus and soul if it had corporate funding.
Born into Brothels — Yeah, I am aware that it’s from a Westerner’s viewpoint. However, it was Zana Briski’s personal reality that made this gritty topic into a manageable story and one that we would want to watch. This is true cinema verite, in that the filmmakers have changed their subjects’ lives and have not just presented their images to the world for profit, glory and entertainment.
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna — This one is different in that I’d change it somewhat if I made it. The low comedy has to go into some other movie, not this one. However, the bold topic was a good one that I’d like to see more of. There was a lot of care in the supporting details that I also admire.
And finally, three movies that are director-editor dreams, where half the story is told in post-production: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Le fabuleux destin d’Amelie Poulain and Jaan-E-Mann. Bluff Master almost makes it on this list, too. I just love editing — it’s an extension of my computer geekiness, I guess.
There might be a connecting thread here in that each of these directors took on a bold vision. I don’t have a real conclusion, or else I wouldn’t be writing up this exploration in the first place. However, I’d be very interested to hear what movies made others on PFC envious, and what movies you’d make but differently.
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
A different and fascinating post, Evelyn.
Would have loved to see a longer list of films though
Would like to know more about your ‘director-editor dream films’, and also about your film idea on the Bollywood Song. it so happens that I was working on a similar project last year, also did a post on it long back. But it was more of a theatrical excursion.
about movies I would like to make, I am fond of fixing up names for films and production houses, have a stack of them with me. Some films I would like to make are:
The White Squad: a transformatory tale of a student-teacher gurukul relationship, involves elements of samurai, ancient war arts, contemporary urban emotions…
Messiah: Two love-lorn, loved&split journalists trace back the roots of their lost love through an expedition to a fading tribe and their confrontation with Messiah, the tribe leader.
Happy New Year: a love story, a couple in a subway on new year’s eve.
and a lot more….:)
I wish I could immediately recollect all the movies that upon seeing I wish I have made them… even song picturizations or short stories or novels that I wish I had written… I’ll have to dig some to remember those moments… though the other day I saw The Astronaut Farmer and wished I could have made it a bit differently and in the Indian context…
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last watch: The Astronaut Farmer
listening to: Bella Fleck’s UFO Tofu
last read: After the Ecstasy comes the Laundry
A nice thought Evelyn.
Mixed Doubles…yepppie..i loved the movie…Ranvir stunned me in this one…his character development was A grade…the way he tries to convince Konkona at first and then coaxes her and then persuades her to threaten her….superb. Rajat was a cool cucumber in it..the master swinger.
Their are many movies that i thought i would have loved to be a part of….
Shakti, Kabhi haan Kabhi Naa, Maya Memsaab, etc
Tushar, Oz and OM, thanks for your comments. There are other films that I loved that I couldn’t dare hope to contribute the proper sensibilities to, i.e. Omkara, Shwaas, My Brother Nikhil.
I’m at work now and will respond more later.
Tushar, as a former journalist, I’m biased in favor of your Messiah idea. The journalists would have to be overly talky and introspective, of course. Have you thought of producing any of your ideas?
Oz, we’re adding Astronaut Farmer to our queue. How would you see it being done differently in an Indian context>
Om, Ranvir Shorey is a comic genius. I wonder how he’d be in a serious role. (Does he play it straight in Traffic Signal?)
Evelyn, Messiah would need a big budget, and I am hoping I get it some day, somehow. Like the idea was born, it will find its fate too, in the same surreal streak.
As of now, lots of work is required on the script. Its a lavish project from the second I dreamt of it.
Talky & Introspective – pefectly fine.
Happy new year is an almost complete script.
TWS is just a one page idea.
Tushar, thanks for sharing your thoughts so freely.
Y Tu Mama Tambien is another movie that seemed nearly perfect, but something I wouldn’t be able to help make. I’ve never been to a Spanish-speaking country and would have to do a lot of research to get in to the mindset of post-adolescent boys. Also, Ana’s motivation for taking that trip is beyond brilliant.
I loved the uncomfortable places the sex scenes take us to. Better yet are the bite-sized existential narratives that are tossed along the side of the road as they pass by in their car.
These brief asides are a good example of scenes that had to be envisioned by someone with directing, writing and editing experience, such as Alfonso Cuaron. It’s the editor’s responsibility to keep the pacing and imagery just so to create the sense of frozen time and disconnectedness, without making them seem like mistakes.
It’s a pleasure, Evelyn. You hardly get to discuss such things on a normal course.
Y Tu was a revelation for me, its one of those films where the forground is so in your face that you look for the subtextual elements in every little ‘pushed to the side’ thing. The whole night stay bits, the highway vagabond feel, the two friends moving along the highs and lows of their bond with the girl in the picture worked brilliantly for me. Even if the political and existential narrative through voice over was not sliced in, I wouldn’t actually have minded, it was still there. That kind of cinema strives on it. It is very deep and reflective, much like most of French & German cinema. I could think of Wenders & Antonioni’s Beyond The Clouds as an example. There are no plug-ins for the existential subtext, but its so much there all through.Godard would provide a fascinating study for this.
Talking about influences, my films would no doubt have that free-flowing conversational quality of Scorsese, the matter of factness of Allen and the surreal excursions inspired by many a greats…..It ain’t any bad to dream, is it?
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Reading: East is East
Watching: The King of Comedy
Listening to : lots of sufi music courtesy Abida Parveen, Ustad NFAK & Hans Raj Hans.