Seminar On Careers in Film and Television – Anurag Kashyap and Sankalp Meshram
A friend who knew of my admiration (read fanaticism) for Anurag Kashyap messaged me that a talk on Careers in Film and Television is scheduled on Saturday (18 July) at Mumbai University, Kalina. Digital Academy has tied up with good old Mumbai University to provide a P.G. Diploma in Film & Television and hence the event (Folks interested can go to http://www.dafilmschool.com/mumbaiuniversity.html for further details). Now I had no intention of enrolling into this course but the fact the Anurag Kashyap would be there was an allurement big enough for me to attend it.
So I went there and am glad that I did.
I reached the venue sharp on time only to find that the event was delayed by an hour. The place looked a bit mismanaged but then we expect that from a Mumbai University event. In the meantime we were shown a short film by one of the Digital Academy students on the life of a bar-dancer in the aftermath of the ban on dance-bars. I forgot its name but it was a fairly decent watch. A certain Mr. D.N Walters then spoke about the curriculum of the one year old course. At around 3:30 pm, Anurag Kashyap and Sankalp Meshram arrived and they were greeted by a thunderous applause. The applause was accompanied by whistles and it lasted for a long time. I can go on an on about the high I felt on seeing him for the first time but lets leave that for another day.
I have tried to recollect and reproduce the happenings during the course of the talk and the Q & A though I might have missed out on a lot of things thanks to a bad memory. Also quotes attributed to the speakers are not exactly identical to what they said
Sankalp Meshram
I am embarrassed to admit that I did not know who he was. A stranger turned friend at the event informed me that he was the maker of the national award winning film ‘Chutkan ki Mahabharat’ and also a prolific film editor (http://www.cfsindia.org/colors/1633.htm ). He was the first to speak and he spoke wisdom. Reminiscing of the time before he had become the part of the film world, he spoke about how he was in the midst of completing his CA.when he gave his FTII exams without the knowledge of his parents. He topped the exam and dropped the bombshell on them and the rest as they say is history. The heartening fact is that after a 16-17 year old journey he does not regret his decision one bit.
“Filmmaking is all about storytelling. We all are story-tellers. The difference lies in the language. When we are conversing, we are continuously making choices about what to speak and what to omit. Similarly, filmmaking is about selection. About imagination.”
He stressed on the variation in storytelling by making two of the audience members speak on their lives in the last six months. While one of them gave a single line ‘life was good’ response, the other described her mental state throughout the six months extensively. The point was made in a simple and succinct way. You tell your own stories, tell them in your own way but in a visual language marked by a different syntax.
He also made an interesting revelation. Around in the mid-90’s he made a film on Family Planning and guess who the lead actor was – it was Anurag Kashyap. Now that’s one movie we all would love to watch.
It’s a shame that in spite of getting the highest honor that a film could get in this country, ‘Chutkan ki Mahabharat’ has not made it to the theatres. I don’t even think they have released the dvd. Now if a ‘Papa the great’ or a ‘Double cross; can have a dvd release why can’t CKM. Even the AV guys in schools are bored of playing Home Alone and Free Wily over and over again. What should be shown in schools around the country is rotting in a bureaucrat’s cupboard.
Let’s try to get Mr. Sankalp Meshram to blog on PFC. He would be a welcome addition to PFC’s illustrious list of exclusive authors.
Anurag Kashyap
When Anurag Kashyap talks, you don’t have to even try to listen. His words are powerful enough to command your attention.
“There are two ways to go about a career in films. If you want a career with all the perks like job security, money etc, you have the option of joining news channels, production houses. Look at Tarun Katiyal (COO BIG 92.7). He is a success story. You could follow that path. But if you are straight away delving into films, don’t expect money during the first 4-5 years. Ram Gopal Varma asked me asked me how much do I expect for Satya. I told him that he was making the film that was enough for me. He hired me for that one line.”
“Filmmaking is about imagination and people management. You make people believe that you are making their film but in the end you make your own film. Good liars make good filmmakers. For my short film ‘Last Train to Mahakali’, I made the actor steal the camera from channel V’s office every evening (He was working there). We hijacked the train till virar, we secretly shot at the airport and we made the film. You lie, you cheat, you con, you steal, you do everything to make your film but remember, don’t lie to yourself.”
Q & A
The Q & A session was cut short due to time constraints but nevertheless they were full of anecdotal replies inspiring enough for guys like me. Most of the questions were answered by Anurag.
Q. RGV writes in his blog that you need film school education for becoming an assistant director but for being a director all you need is a good imagination. Do you identify with that?
A. “I agree with that but then the time frame comes into picture. Film school education reduces the time frame. You have filmmakers as young as 23-24. It may take much longer without it. I mean you guys are lucky to have these courses. All we had was FTII which was impossible to get into. I paid 100 bucks to just look into the camera. This is like a tradition. Your film school background reduces your fear of technology. Even a producer or a director would prefer that while hiring his team.”
Q. What do you make of the trend of co-productions, separate smaller branches of bigger production houses like UTV SpotBoy, independent cinema and stuff. Is it here to stay?
A. “Trends to best left to market watchdogs. I personally would prefer sensible films coming out. I would want my kind of cinema coming to live. My survival depends on that. That is why is support every small film that is worth supporting. That is why we created PFC.”
Q. Even after getting a film school degree we are not treated properly. People don’t talk properly and we don’t get chances. What are we supposed to do then?
A. “No one gives you a chance. No one is out there to give you chances. You have to create your own chance. Ashish Vidyarthi came to Mumbai but he was not able to meet a director. So he started performing outside the director’s office in the open. He continued performing everyday till the director took notice. That’s how he created his chance. I wanted to be at Prithvi but I had no money. So I took a waiter’s job there. Though there were enough waiters they hired me because I was willing to work for free and I spoke English which was quite uncommon. I was working there as a waiter and reading Kafka. Some of my friends were embarrassed. But then that was their problem not mine. They are still there wanting to make their films. You see I don’t meet people who just want to meet me. Do something that makes me want to meet you. Make a short that is good enough that no one can ignore.”
The time I spent there was worth every minute and much more. After the event, I was itching to go and approach Anurag for an autograph or even better a photograph. But then I had read somewhere that he doesn’t like signing autographs. Maybe some other place, some other time.
Tags: Anurag Kashyap, film school, Sankalp Meshram, Workshop
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
Thanks for this post. Very inspiring indeed.
It’s a coincidence you should mention Papa The Great. I’d seen the poster somewhere during the last few days…now I remember – I’d seen it in a scene in Paanch.
Thanks for sharing this akas…its entertaining..
Constructive criticism(ignore if you want to): Please do a spell and grammar check before you publish articles..it brings down the essence
@ Anurag…That’s very true opportunity never knocks your door,you have to push hard and break the opportunity door,sometimes it hurts you internally but that’s ok those who have seen the heads and tails of life can make every dumb think for a while.As we see in your film every person coming out of theaters remains quiet thinking some serious issue around his life.
Secondly very well said never lie to yourself then only your lie to others will be justified.
thanks for sharinng this bro…
“You see I don’t meet people who just want to meet me. Do something that makes me want to meet you. Make a short that is good enough that no one can ignore.”
even after this you were itching for that autograph, and did not go only because you read he does not like signing them and not go out there and make that short film which would force Anurag Kashyap to take yours?
And you mention early on “When Anurag Kashyap talks, you don’t have to even try to listen. His words are powerful enough to command your attention.”
kya suna tumhne? autograph aur photograph
@Kenny
Thanks for the appreciation.
Lucky you , you have seen Paanch already….As for Papa the great….you dont need to go beyond the poster though it has a few unintenteionally funny scenes.
@Om
Thank you for both the appreciation and the criticism. I will keep that in mind.
@Magik
It was my pleasure.
@Dr. Fu Man Chu
““You see I don’t meet people who just want to meet me. Do something that makes me want to meet you. Make a short that is good enough that no one can ignore.”
I think Anurag was referring to people who visit him for work.
The autograph and the photograph thing was just a wish of an ardent admirer not a budding director or screenwriter seeking work.
my bad… i meant *unintentionally*
thnx… for sharing, its always nice to read such articles, as it inspires you a lot..
“Do something that makes me want to meet you. Make a short that is good enough that no one can ignore”- very true…
“Ram Gopal Varma asked me asked me how much do I expect for Satya. I told him that he was making the film that was enough for me. He hired me for that one line”- this realy brought smile on my face.. class apart
thnx a lot for this…we need more of such posts about events..if possible please put the schedule of such events here, say on qwiki etc….
Thanks…….A person who’s dedicating his to just be a Film Director.
Is it not enough?
if its possible by one person, its also possible by all.
@Anurag
Why did your last blog post is removed? We dont want to believe that PFC is bogged down by threats from “Mighty multiplex owners”
We will appreciate if you update on the same….
Cheers
Abhishek
Seriously I have never heard about Sankalp Meshram, this post gave me info on him. Thanks.
Its always good to listen or to read what AK has to tell. BTW, wats up with Bombay Velvet?
hi guys, need ur help .. i just finished writing a film script and need to register/copyright it…how do i do it?i am a memeber of the film writers association but registering the script there doesnot give me any advantage legally..
i would like to register the script before i go around showing it to producers and directors…any one who has done this successfully..pls share your knowledge…
thanks
After reading the post, I felt that in life there are two options. Either you follow your dream and struggle to fulfill it, or you lead a vegetable “secure” life. The choice is yours. I opted for the second option, but I am not satisfied. My heart pines for more and my dreams tell me something else. I only hope that someday I make a film and fulfill my dream.
@all
Thanks a lot guys for your comments.
Lets hope these words keep us always inspired and enthusiastic in our respective endeavors.