'FICTION'

I am an avid reader. It's been something of a childhood habit for me. To lose yourself in an alternate world, an alternate reality, getting to know people far away from you, some that don't even exist is an experience that has to be experienced to tell how it feels. Their points of view, their opinions. It is the best medium of escapism & just as visual as cinema, if written in the right way.

Of late, I have been developing an interest in this one particular author's books. I found an increasing amount of empathy in the stories. That they were based in real locations added to the empathy. Also, there are no fairy tale characters or fairy tales for that matter in her stories. They are people who you might meet today as you step out of your home, at your workplace, at a cafe, on the street, anywhere. Currently, I am reading a third book by this author and I have to say, this story has got me just as interested as the previous ones. It's also got me thinking & wondering about the parallels between fiction & non-fiction. When I am reading, like say this particular story that I am reading right now for instance, it almost seems to have happened in real life sometime back, real locations, real situations & people too who feel real. There is this amazing one-thing-leads-to-another string of events that is so coherent that I find it increasingly alluring to think that probably the best 'fictional' stories can arise from our very much non-fictional lives. Many people resort to books and cinema as a means of escapism. India can easily boast highly of this, considering a movie like 'Kick', which is as make-belief & superficial as it gets, becomes the top grossing movie of the year. But then if our lives are indeed such amazing sources of stories, why is it that we don't seem to enjoy it as much as we would if it would have been printed in 300 pages? Come on, let us not deny the obvious. We have fancied stepping into a certain someone's shoes & living a life that is in someway, anyway different than our own. Do we at times step aside & see our life, that which has passed & that which is ongoing & simply rejoice in it's nature, regardless of the calamities & catastrophes? Do we find it as fascinating as a 'fictional' story? But is it not? And would packaging your story into say 300-400 pages make you look at your life in a different light?               

I think that is why a book or a movie catches attention & makes us love it to our very core. It's only when the limelight falls on you, your story that you sit up & rejoice in the attention that you get. We all want some amount of attention to be paid. Can you imagine a theater actor reciting the monologue of his life on a grand stage, using every muscle & nerve of his body, with all his life in his voice to an empty hall? You might contend that he probably can, he can just vent out for a catharsis but even in that process, he is imagining a certain someone hearing him & probably smiling or applauding him. I had been maintaining a diary for 5 years until the last two years. Five extremely eventful years of my life have been captured in their true essence in it & apart from the one super embarrassing time that my mother got hold of it & read a few pages, it's privacy has remained sacrosanct. Initially, that's how I wanted it to be, just a reservoir of my feelings & emotions that no one should know about. But now I can't help but think that I indeed wish the concerned people read it, that they were indeed things I wanted to say but I couldn't & so I had this wonderful thought that someone would find this diary innocently, in my absence & just know what I feel, what I want, come up to me & understand & just do what I want. Even today, a remnant of this fantasy stays. Probably after I pass away someone could find it! We want our secrets to not be so sometimes!

Well, whether that would happen or not is completely unknown to me. What I do know & understand is that my life is just as promising & thrilling as any bestseller that have come or will come. I do see my life, whatever part of it has played itself till now, as an amazing journey & I look forward to writing an ending that justifies the journey up till now!      

TO YOU....

                                                                                                                             Sachin Phadkar
                                                                                                                                    XYZ
                                                                                                                                   Nagpur

 Hi,

Hey, do you remember this format of letter writing? We were made to practice this style of writing numerous times in school & this is supposed to be the 'informal letter' style of writing a letter. That is also the reason why I am writing to you in this format, because things had always been informal with us, regardless of how they are at present. I have always told you that I shall carry a certain image of you with me when we depart, and that image will be the reflection of the best times we've had together! So for me, you will always be that girl! :)

So, why am I writing to you? I can see the eyebrows in your mind narrow down, trying to find the whackiest reason there can be to write to you, not to forget my old school style of writing! Well, one, I don't know where you are right now so I couldn't mail this to you, if I could, I would have loved to! The old school charm of a letter never dies, does it? Hence the format. Secondly, I just wanted to speak, speak out rather! I understand that considering our highly differing schedules, we might not converse on the phone & probably we might fall short of things to talk about & there will be awkward pauses in between. Writing has always been our thing (mine more because of you!) and you have never spoken as clearly as through your writing. So I felt it to be the best medium to converse. Frankly, I have thought a lot before I wrote this letter, about many things. First was whether I should write it or not, will you or won't you read it, if you do how would you feel, if you don't, how would I feel. Also what impression would you make of me, what would I want it to be. Too much on the heavy side, isn't it! So finally, I decided to just let go & write regardless of all the mentioned factors. It's good to be like that sometimes.

So, how are you? From the limited amount of what I see, courtesy social networking sites, you seem to be doing great! Your job, your friends, your books, your songs, everything seems to exude the same exuberance as you do! You haven't written in a really long time, so it must be all of these that are keeping you busy I guess. You are in a big city, a happening city. There must be lots that must be happening everyday, isn't it? Seemingly small things which are actually large?! You must have measured more than half the city by now, walking, visiting & exploring different places. You seem to have put on a little bit of weight. The radiant, good health types. But you seem more or less the same. That must have sounded as if I have seen you after ages but really, the truth doesn't seem too far. It feels so long ago that I knew you, that we used to talk. Time seems to have passed like those cloud time lapses they show on TV. My memories of you are becoming like those 'diary' memories which you open up once in a while and just smile at that time you spent, some instances sketched so vividly! So much has happened between then & now. I only smile at your memory though! I carry a bias when it comes to you, to just retain the good, forget the bad. It's simply not worth it, to carry the bad forward. I left it when we left. 

 I am doing great too!! The geographical & cultural transfer has again been significant, like it was when I came from Nagpur & we met. I am back to my hometown, but trust me, it feels like I am back in a whole new city! I treasure it more, I see more possibilities, I see more opportunity! Mine is what they call a 'small city' but let me tell you, there is huge potential & a lot of activity happening here. There is a challenge but I am confident of overcoming it! I have set off on a rather different road than the one that was planned initially. It is surprisingly great! I had never picture myself like this but now that I do, it's awesome! Now this is it & I have to make my vision come true! Do you know Jack Ma? He is the billionaire founder of this e-commerce firm called Alibaba. I am somewhat trying to walk his way. Do some thing different. Google him. It's what most of us dream of & well....stop at that. I am working on that dream! It seems all glossy & cool from far off but it's tough, really tough at times. There's just this anxiety or fear at times, there are moments of uncertainty & not to forget the practical challenges I face. But I can take it all with a smile. The calling is much more alluring than the gravity of the challenges. Apart from that, my social life is heavily compromised, it is nowhere & nothing like yours. Not a sad thing really. It's.....okay,nothing to frown about. :)

Well, I might be going a bit haphazard now or I might start getting so. I'll stop here for now. Do reply in case you read this. Bye!    

    

LOVE LETTER

If I had to confess, if you had to guess

What you mean to me; more or less

Nothing could have explained it better

Than this honest love letter.

                                                                                                                        

Why do I love you firstly you'd ask

Answering that is certainly no  task

There are no bullet points, one & two

I love you coz you are YOU!

Look within yourself & you will know

Why I'd never want to let you go

You are all that Love could mean to me

You represent everything I want to see.

It's been a long wait to find the right one

It's been heartbreaking, but all said & done

The wait has finally shown it's worth

  By the way that you came & bought me mirth.

It was all about the notions other people share

This is how you love, this is how you care

But with you, I know what Love really means

It means just Me & You, nobody in between!

A BOY IN BANGALORE

17 years. 17 years later I am back to this city that I have no recollection of in the present. Well, subtracting 17 years from my life would make me a 6 year old, so obviously when I stepped out of that railway station to the roads outside, I kind of already felt the mega-ness of the city. Buses, people, a lot of them, film posters with uncomprehendible names featuring heroines & heroes in all their glory, an address in my cell phone & a purpose in mind, I walked down to find a bus, the one that I was told to board. As I sat, a rather unfamiliar sound & music greeted me. It was a Kannad song. I was in Bangalore!

I wanted to be here, I needed to be here, I have been planning my documentary series called SUPER START-UPS for sometime now. And to be actually going on the floor to implement it, to make it happen feels amazing. So, basically this series, as you might have gauged from the title is all about start-ups, those outgoing, those adventurous, determined people who are made to make a difference, who have ideas, some quirky & extremely innovative/creative ideas & who, more importantly dare to step out & make them happen & click with people. I empathize strongly with their spirit as I too, kind of am an aspiring start-up and so I set out to capture that spirit & the stories behind that spirit. Bangalore is an extremely important city for such people as it fosters an entrepreneurial spirit like no other city in India and it gives them scope to share their ideas and make them happen. I had got a start-up who was willing to share their story with whoever wanted to hear & I was more than happy to help them. Today is the pen ultimate day of our shoot & now back from an exhaustive yet satisfying shoot, I am here sitting in my guesthouse room which is way too opulent for me, the window open with superb cool air coming from it & presenting to me a high, panoramic view of a section of the city with the lights & sounds of the traffic. 'Manva Lage', a song from SRK's next blockbuster Happy New Year (it WILL be one obviously as a sea of SRK fans await it's release!) plays soothingly in the room & goes with the happiness that I feel today! Now this song will always remind me of Bangalore! Tomorrow will be the wrap of chapter 1 of SUPER START-UPS:THE SERIES! I also received three-fourths of my costing for the project! I wish making money feels as awesome every time I make it! It feels great, to see this project come alive. I hope it sustains & sees the light of day as a series. It has been a great start & I wish to see it continue, to go to different cities, explore different ideas & bring them out in the limelight. I want this series to benefit the start-ups, get them their audience. 

I will be leaving the city on Tuesday but I really wish to come back soon and explore more ideas. This one week here has been simply amazing and eventful to the core, and it still hasn't ended. I also promise to learn to read & talk some Kannada the next time around so that I can at least talk to the bus conductors & auto waalahs and ensure I get down at the right stop, which I haven't been able to since the last 3 days! Cheers Bangalore! You rock!     

BLACK OR WHITE

This is becoming a habit now!! The last few posts that I have written have had only one excuse, that I needed to while time while a video gets uploaded on Youtube!! Not that it is the ONLY reason, I love to write at that time as well. Takes away the tedious waiting process & when you are not thinking about the gazillion things that cloud your mind and concentrate on one thing, that concentration is like the high you'd get at a party when you've downed vodka like water. Okay, highly under qualified to make that statement but I am guessing it must be similar. I remember the one time I had vodka, it felt like drinking nitric acid & I spit it out two seconds after it went in, unfortunately partly on someone's footwear! She must remember that experience better than me!
So, this video that I am uploading, it's about the supposedly 'next to life' level important thing for today's generation! First there was water, then air, food & now it's FAIRNESS CREAM!!! Yup, it's about that 'necessary evil'! I can't think of a more apt term for it! It seems so necessary for people who are in their most evident state of escapism & disbelief when they tell me how important it is for them! The power of advertising, I swear it has the power to manipulate generations. Although the majority of people in my video said that they find the very concept of a fairness cream stupid- forget the actual cream- it is not without reason that the Fair & Lovelies & The Fair & Handsomes are laughing their ways to the bank whilst I make this video. Back in the 90's, some legendary artist said in a song of his- It don't matter if you're black or white and he was the epitome of racial attack by the world! And today's morning newspaper told me that while an average Black guy has 4 black friends in a group of 10, a White guy has 1 black friend in 10 and an Indian shuns Black friends when in foreign land! An Indian is intrinsically White, it said. Shall we blame it on the 150 years of British rule? The succession of generations seeing as they did that the 'gori chamdi' always got the bow & the 'kaale log' the belt?I don't know, maybe. Anyways, I will let my video do the rest of the talking & please see it and give your honest opinions on it. :)

http://youtu.be/RpVmtcdThzM

RETURN....

A look into the past

So deep & vast

The way we talked

And the plans we chalked.

A smile on my face

And longing in my eyes

Could we just return back

Can you take me by surprise?

I thought we would stay

But something came in the way

It's been way too long,

Since I heard one of your favorite song.

                                                           I want to hear, I want to say

What we dropped midway.

I have changed, and so have you

But should we let our old friendship change too?

I don't want to push, I don't want to force

I just want to return to the course

Of a journey that was too promising to break

Where all was true, none was fake.

Can we let go off things gone by?

Can we get back to the smiles, forget the wry?

 The silly conversations, the random dance

When, for me, you took a stance.

I feel bad, yes I do

At how we let this thing let through

We should have got back up, sealed the creases

But its no use picking up broken pieces

Need is not what I need, Want is what I want

Our friendship is what I want to flaunt

  We can get back and you know better

And it should start now than any later.

 

WHEN THE RAIN GODS CRY/BATHE.....

The rain gods finally let their hair down yesterday! They set the house..... brimming with water! Almost about to retire for the day, the DJ up there turned up the party and before you know it, there was music & one of the best light & sound show one can see! When I was a toddler & I used to ask my mom as to why it rains, my grandfather told me that every time it rains, it's either because the Gods are crying or they are having a bath! Too naive to question the limited period for crying & bathing for the Gods, I soaked it up & today it has become a fond memory! One that reverberated as loud as the thunderous music! :) As I sat with Mom in the verandah, I could feel so many thoughts rushing to me. Frankly, I have never been a big fan of the rains. But such fond memories had to bring a smile to my face.

I also thought of my blogging mentor guardian. She loves the rains, I could instantly visualize her selfless love for the water drops from up above. It's been such a long time since we talked, or at least it seemed so. She's gotten busy, so have I. But we should talk na? I wanted to just dial her number then & there and talk out to her. But something told me not to. Ah! The pre- conceived notions of the human mind! The hesitation. Either she would be busy or she wouldn't want to talk. So I let it go. Sat there in the darkness of the night, looking at the rain and I don't know how, for a moment I went completely blank. Cinematic na? But seriously, can you imagine how hard it is for the modern netizen to go blank? As in, literally not think about nothing at all??!! We are always occupied. Work or the absence of it, relationships or the absence of them, dreams, ambitions, priorities. Anyways, the thought of talking to her died down and after sitting for a few more moments, I headed towards bed. As I prepared to bid farewell to yet another beautiful day, the hesitation sort of subsided. I looked at my cell phone.

CELL PHONE- What?

ME- Nothing....

CELL PHONE- You sure?

ME- Yeah...

CELL PHONE- Okay, good night then! :)

ME- (to the sky) Do you think I should....

SKY- Are you asking me or telling me?   

ME- I am asking! 

SKY- You want to?

ME- Yeah

SKY- So go for it man, what's to hesitate?

ME- But...we haven't talked much lately. We are busy in our lives. We weren't as great the last time we saw each other either.

SKY- (sighs)Are you done?

ME- Huh?? Uh, yeah?

SKY- Okay, then none of what you said has any relevance to your hesitation! All of what you said ended back then itself. Start fresh!

ME- Hmm, you make sense.(looks towards phone)

PHONE- :)

ME- I'll message for now, okay?

PHONE- Okay. :)

I messaged her and she replied almost instantly. That was different. Maybe Sky was right! We talked some more. Work, life etc. expressed itself in bits & parts. I was glad we were talking. I could read her fatigue in between the lines. I thought of giving it an end. We stopped. It was a good day!

Probably sometimes, just sometimes we actually should act on instinct! Most of the times, you get a feeling as to how it will go. I made a mental note to remember that along with the various priorities awaiting me. 

PHONE- Better?

ME- Yeah. :)

PHONE- :). Good night.

ME- Good night! 

ROTI, KAPDA, MAKAAN AUR SOCIAL MEDIA

Heard about one of my friend attending an ORKUT  farewell party & I couldn't help but smile & sigh to myself. It is indeed a painful story, of the rise & then the downfall & worse of one of the social media sensations of the early 2000's. My teenage years would for sure be incomplete without Orkut & the scraps through which I chatted with this girl I had a serious crush on since the 7th to 10th standard. Those scraps were like the conversations we never had & what I always dreamt of in those four years. Of course, it killed all of my dreams when later I found out that she had a boyfriend from the 9th standard itself!

Speaking of killing, what would you say today's modern man & woman need for basic survival? Gone are the days it seems of the roti, kapda, makaan! Today it is the roti, kapda, makaan & social media! As FACEBOOK aptly demonstrated through its recent  survey when it peeped into users status' & comments & concluded that millions of users used the social networking website as a platform to release pent up emotions & voice themselves. As also the befitting example of social media outbreaks & revolutions in Communist countries such as China speaks volumes about the need for social media for the modern world citizen.

Let's talk about the roti & social media now. They are certainly two big weaknesses of the modern citizen. He can spend a lifetime gorging on either of the two. So can you imagine the cumulative effect they would have if both of them shook hands? Restaurants & hotel managers could well obtain their Midas touch!! But despite the amazing possibilities, we here in India don't seem to have embraced the idea as enthusiastically. Hardly any restaurant/ eatery or hotel can really boast of a significant online presence and taking that extra effort to bond beyond the banquet. But then if it is such a killer combination, why are they not embracing it? It's not about the money, they say. While communication with customers is crucial, the moolah does get priority! Plus, it's more of a marketing/ promotional thing, right? So they have got an entire team that handles all of this. They'd do the job of spreading the word. Some go one better, saying their taste & hospitality speaks for themselves & they have never & will never resort to 'such means' to publicise themselves! No wonder my neighbour had his eyebrows narrowed & an unfamiliar gaze when I asked him about what he felt about that restaurant in the suburbs. We might want to take a leaf out of The Nandos, a UK based chain whose Portuguese peri peri chicken has become a rage since the past two years, thanks to its own Twitter page. With activities like hashtag competitions, the page has had a super impressive count of 1.1 million followers, including many celebrity fans as well. The latest in line of their enthusiastic online endeavours is called #NandoGrills where certain celebrities are interviewed on film while relishing their favourite meal at the chain and uploaded on Youtube. Or on more familiar grounds, there's American food giant McDonalds, whose Facebook page has over 29 million fans and is used to announce various competitions, launch of new products, post pictures enjoying their favourite McDish and more importantly to further the image that McDonalds wishes to create of being the happy & health conscious brand in addition to its enter-exit strategy of serving food. There's also the example of New York based Latin American eatery Comodo that asks its customers to 'Instagram' their delicacies before they eat it & accompany it with the hashtag #comodomenu. In this manner, future customers' attention is drawn towards the delicacies offered at the eatery even before they visit it.  The use of Instagram enabled Comodo to catch the attention of the viewers, thereby increasing their customer & prospective customer base significantly. Also, with attractive photography of their products & infrastructure on a professional level & uploading the pictures on social media platforms, the restaurants would already be whetting the appetites of God knows how many netizens! Apart from all of the following, more personal measures taken by restaurants to communicate one on one with customers, understand their likes & dislikes, receive reviews on new additions to the menu, new schemes/offers introduced & updates in the overall management would make for the most valuable TIP there ever can be.  Interactions through blogs & chat forums can help in sharing & creation of new ideas within a loyal support group which would help in executing these ideas.  Events & parties can be aggressively promoted via videos, photos & posters shared on social networking websites & blogs.                        

And what is this all ultimately leading to? The very grouse that restaurants have against social media, facilitation of revenue! With an increased customer base, fan following, brand establishing exercises apart from the usual word of mouth & a virtual personal touch, the moolah is to flow in eventually. The Midas touch doesn't seem all that ideal now, eh? So you might want to go online now because I am already ogling at some food-gasmic delicacies of my favourite eatery online & making plans for the weekend! Bon appetit!   

SACHIN PHADKAR, REPORTING......

Nah! Not really changed gears as yet! But yeah, when heartthrob Durjoy Datta came calling to the Orange City, I turned journalist & covered the event for NAGPUR TODAY, Central India's first online newspaper! Would like everyone to have a look and say something if they feel like giving some feedback! Here's the link-
http://www.nagpurtoday.in/watch-video-durjoy-datta-launches-his-latest-book-when-only-love-remains-in-nagpur/

Please do comment on how it felt to you! :) 

KICKASS

I probably would not be writing this post if I was not a film student. I would be another drop of the ocean of fans our Bollywood 'superstars' command over. I would be whistling &, going a little ol' fashion, throwing money on the screen when Mr. Salman Khan or SRK or Aamir Khan came on screen for the first time or when the heroine is first seen sending her 'zulfe' whirling in the air in slow motion,  or 'accidentally' colliding with the hero . I would have been all this, but I am not. I am a film student. I have seen & known better.

As the first earnings rolled in, I decided to give my parents a treat by taking them for a movie, the movie being an only choice- Salman's KICK. Honestly, I was not too keen on it but with no other eye catching release, I thought my dad, who relishes Salman's antics would have a great time and I too would sail through it (although I realised my mistake later, there indeed was Ritiesh Deshmukh's first Marathi venture which I should have gone for), after all the trailer did promise some great cinematography and stunts that did actually look commendable. And it delivered too, but as with all Salman Khan movies of late, KICK seems to be promoting the 'don't dare to reason' philosophy that has currently gripped our industry of late, with a vengeance. Yes, I know what you'd think. What a hypocrite! First he goes and sees all his movies and then he complains about it's philosophy. When a nation of billions relishes it, what is this guy's problem? I felt it myself too. Am I a hypocrite? Should I be questioning the film's & Salman's logic ( it must have SOME logic to work on this gigantic scale) but I should as I feel I am not alone in what & how I think. Yes, they unabashedly promote it as hardcore masala, they say it's purely commercial & you know what you are in for when you step into the theater but is it the be all & end all of it? My argument goes not against films like KICK  but against the trend of ONLY movies like KICK circulating off late. Look around you, it's all the same!! Everyone suddenly wants to go macho, everyone wants the heroine to sing & dance and that's about it. Apart from Salman's repertoire of films that have struck gold at the box office, look at ROWDY RATHORE, R....RAJKUMAR, BULLET RAJA & HOLIDAY, THE SINGHAM FRANCHISE, even GUNDAY. It's all the same, an infallible hero bashing up the baddies like making his bed. and eventually getting the girl. Yes, this IS a genre of films and it has it's space, it should have it's space but then so should a HAIDER, which I am guessing in all probability will never have the kind of audience a KICK has. So should a LUNCH BOX & a MAQBOOL. Why are we hesitant to actually use brains in a film? Why don't we want a film to make us think? To question? As we returned home from the movie, I questioned my parents about this. They said which audience would like to think for a movie? They just want to have a good time! They are stressed & just want fun? Come on, it can't get that bad!

Read one of Bhai's interviews recently. The journalist happened to ask a very interesting question to him that I have also pondered upon for quite some time, " Will you never do a villain's role in a film? Why is it that your character always does the 'right' thing on screen?" to which he replied, "It is important for me to do the right thing on screen". Like really? That's like saying Heath Ledger was a criminal because he played Joker in The Dark Knight!! Are a SHATTERED GLASS, an IF ONLY or a SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION never going to be an option for Indian cinema lovers? I could really go on about this & we can have a great debate on it, but let me just rest the case with that question I just asked? What do you think people?           

SHAWTY GOES TARANTINO!! ;)

So, as I told in my previous post, the 'trailer' of my first documentary would be out this week, I hereby present to you THE FREELANCER PRODUCTIONS' first outing, A FAMILY OF 30,000. Written, edited & directed by Yours Truly. Your views & views( in both their meanings) would be greatly appreciated & in a slightly desperate tone, NEEDED!! The documentary releases on the coming Friday at an internet cafe or any other internet connection near you! 

So then, A FAMILY OF 30,000. Here we go!! Yay!! I am a director!!!

http://youtu.be/xIdjg9CzWU0 

Rake in the views people!!

SHAWTY MAKIN' DOUGH, GETTIN' IN DA FLOW

Yo!! So it's like this  y'all

M gettin' up finally, standin straight n tall

Gonna get right up everytime I fall

Imma make my own dough

Got that money in the flow

So everybody, everybody, listen up yo!

Shawty makin' dough. *Gangsta music follows*

Yeah, maybe I won't make such a good rap star after all!But then whose fancy don't they catch? They got the ladies, they got the money, they got everythin(g)! But yeah, all said & done I shouldn't be a rap star! 

It's again that time when my hands beg me to reach out to my laptop and write something. And I am more than happy to consent, because I actually feel more than happy. There are two types of happiness- one, where you are content & you tell yourself, hey this isn't bad & the other, when you feel it within you, when you dance impromptu on the roads( happens a lot with me!), you sing songs out loud & you enjoy work as much as getting wet in torrential rains(yeah, did that yesterday night!)I have transcended from the former to the latter currently. Things really seem to be working out great right now! A lot of activity is expected in the near future and I just seem to be in an upbeat, cheerful & enthusiastic mood! The following could be some of the reasons-

1) Got my first paycheck! Yeah, unlike most of my friends for whom the 'pehli taarikh' rakes in happiness, I have varying dates. So this month officially marked my economic independence. I am almost on the verge of completing my first project, a documentary on Asia' largest children's club!! Yup, that's in my city! Seeing the project come alive right in front of my eyes is so creatively satiating! More so because it is almost similar to how I envisioned it. Now of course every creator is biased towards his creation but somehow I feel this is quite sound, technically too. Work on two more projects is also in progress and it's going well. I think they are going to turn out great! I, on my part, am at least going to ensure they turn out to be the best! I am going to give it my all, just like with my maiden production & directorial venture! :D The trailer of the documentary will be out next week, please do watch it then!

2) AMAZON is going to delight me with another joy.The book that I waited impatiently patiently for two weeks will finally be delivered today! YOU ARE NOT ALONE: MICHAEL THROUGH A BROTHER'S EYES!! It's a biography on the King Of Pop by his brother, Jermaine Jackson. Having read sections of the book at Crosswords in Pune, the toying of the thought of buying it ends today. And of course there is the pride of ME paying for it! Speaking of purchases, I am also investing my money in a tripod for my new DSLT, demands of the profession you see! ;)

3) Work seems to have occupied my life completely and I am so not complaining! It feels great to be weary & tired after the day's work & have the soundest of sleeps only to get up, early in the morning feeling fresh & optimistic about the day ahead! Sometimes, I feel nervous that I am actually so happy and though I don't really believe in the 'nazar lag jaegi' nonsense, I do pray that I feel the same the next morning & the morning/s to follow. Time never stays the same. But as long as it is the way it is right now, I don't care. I am actually doing stuff, planning & shooting & editing & running around to get more & more work! It's insatiable, not to forget necessary as well! It also makes me value my Sundays, though not all of them are holidays.

4) Completed reading a nice book, THE ONE YOU CANNOT HAVE by PREETI SHENOY. It was a good read, quite empathetic though certain scenarios in the book are again typical of Indian fiction authors, they are so unreal. Okay, I understand that we all love escapism but the way it's depicted makes it too 'convenient'. It's there to make all the pieces of the jigsaw fit perfectly whereas I feel there should be some irregularity, something unconventional, something that shouldn't have happened. Also, some characters in the story were reminiscent of some of my friends. I particularly thought of the female lead character, Shruti & of the person she reminded me of, The One I Cannot Have. I missed her for some time after that. I also told her that Shruti reminded me of her.

5) Heard this amazing, amazing track by current heartthrob Arijit Singh from a blink & miss movie called JACKPOT. It is so uplifting & melodic! I have already heard it in a loop umpteen number of times. Heard it in entirety for the first time while driving home from work yesterday. Oh the feeling! The wind, the cloudy weather and the song, there is something so magical about music which when fused with the former two elements makes it out of the world. I am posting a link for it here. Please do listen to it, the tune on the mouth organ is my favorite part!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGjx1wxzp64 

             

THE CONFESSIONS OF A FREELANCER

Okay, so finally this comes after a lot of attempts at logging in and actually managing to find time and start writing. I had to eventually, it's been so long since I last wrote. And there has been so much that has happened, has been happening & will happen that I look forward to! And of course, a chat with my guardian mentor of blogging makes it all the more tempting to type it out vigorously! :)

But as much as that is, I somehow seem to be keeping more & more to myself. Okay, not in the sulky, negative, depressing nature of it but to put it sincerely, pragmatically. I have nosedived into work and that is all I am doing as of now, and hey....I am not complaining! Two reasons for that, because it is something that I want to do and it is what will fuel that swanky car/bike that I have my eyes on in the next few years along with all the luxuries money buys you, happiness at times included! Second, because it is not a JOB job that I do! I freelance and that has it's own share of perks & vices. You have to create work, talk to a hell lot of people, think fast & act faster & basically, brand yourself. You are your own company and your own responsibility. But that makes it better, no one to play the blame game with. You let your work talk for you.

So, well I have been making some progress. It's been more than a month of slogging, meeting people, explaining them what I do, how it will help them. Proposals, presentations, meetings, deliberations, it almost sounds corporate, doesn't it! After all of the above, I have landed myself a few projects that I am at work on. Initially, the pace was a factor I was worried about. Things don't really happen swiftly you know, you have to continue to send reminders, pester, pester some more & then irritate to the point of submissiveness to get that project. But now I understand that that is the way it is. Probably everywhere. Also, the fact that I have work for now keeps me invested and hopeful. I know this is unlike my plans in college, which either fizzled out or were unreal. This is real life! Where you make or break yourself. Also, I refuse to call it a 'struggle' anymore. How can it be one? Nothing can be served to you on a platter. If you want something you have to want it bad, right? And you have to work to make it happen. Else, how would you realize the value of it. So, this is is not a struggle, this is, putting it terribly philosophically cliched yet true, LIFE! And just like McDonalds, I am loving it!

I remember the moment I decided to freelance. When I closed the very last door of a job that was open. There was so much of unstability in me. The risks of it, the fact that I would be doing it in my hometown which is not really famous in the media circuit, the feasibility of it and of course, the great Indian society which raised eyebrows, went silent or boldly enough at times, simply discouraged me about it. But somehow the possibilities of it were enticing enough to fight all of the above. And it seems to be working as well! 

Was seeing HOUSE, the series last night when I heard Dr. House say- "I have always endorsed working smart, not hard!" and how true did it ring! The thought of working smart, it itself is so refreshing! Think about working HARD  and then people talk about burning the midnight oil, walking that extra mile, sweating it out, giving it blood, sweat & tears and all that jazz! Yeah, I mean it was inspirational, it still sounds so but it's also heavy, so heavy duty. On the other hand,work smart. Light, fresh & intelligent & most importantly practical. I want to work smarter. Yeah, I know, I am making this sound like some big ass veteran when I am practically nothing professionally. But I see sense in it, I see reality in it & I have started to follow it. I think of my friends, people I count and how they must be sincerely working in a serious office right now while I am out on the streets, at home sometimes & working differently. But then I realize that we are essentially still on the same highway. I just have taken a detour and probably branched out into an alley. We will converge again & race each other, metaphorically & well, wishfully actually!!

Alright, enough of it for now. Got a couple of meetings lined up. I am not free you see, I am just freelancing!  

          

SUR"REAL" CELLULOID

APARICHIT- THE STRANGER, THE STEP UP FRANCHISE, NEVER BACK DOWN, KILL BILL (1& 2), YES MAN, KYUNKI....MAIN JHUTH NAHI BOLTA, RAB NE BANA DI JODI, RIGHT YA WRONG. Just naming a couple of films here, films which are not actually merely films for me, these are pieces of art that I can keep watching endlessly over & over again! Yup, I know they are as diverse as they can get but I can never get tired of watching them! I have even lost track of the number of times Dad has seen me engrossed deeply in watching something and thinking that it's a new movie, come along only to find out it's the umpteenth time I am watching the same movie with the same excitement. He is highly amused at this obsession of mine with these films. How can the same subject, which I know so well as though I am the scriptwriter/director of the film, still hold the same amount of attention drawing power after countless viewings? I couldn't answer him initially, but now I think I got an answer! Dad, this one's for you!
I am a Media postgraduate and for the last two years, films have been as common a part of my life as eating food and sleeping, though I have lesser of the latter due to films.The length & breadth of films that I have seen over these last two years is something like, to give a very horrible metaphor, like Buddha attaining Enlightenment under the Bodhi tree! There are so many stories to be told, there is so much that happens around the globe, there are so many types of people and most of the times & most importantly, it's the escapism that these films offer or the cathartic release they give that is the most satiating experience! Until now I have had such a restricted definition of a 'Hero' or a 'Heroine' is. But now I see a hero in everyone. I see a villain in everyone, I see everything in everyone, including of course myself!
We think of our lives to be so mundane at times, everyday from getting up from to sleeping back on the bed we have pretty uniformly structured lives. The structure may change from time to time but the uniformity remains. Every lifestyle is permanent for a temporary span of time, if you know what I mean. But it's only when the camera zooms into one such character who leads an almost similar lifestyle as ours that we begin to view the same lifestyle differently. We want our lifestyle to follow a similar trajectory, we become the character just as the character becomes us and for those two-three hours, we enjoy the spotlight shining on us. Yes, we all want the spotlight on us, don't we? We do want our stories to be told, we do want our experiences to be shared, our views to be aired, our dreams to culminate in that ultimate realization which possibly we might not realize. And that is the most endearing quality of cinema for me. That is impartial to people and societies. The most remote part of the world also gets its place here, be it an eskimo in Antarctica (Nanook Of the North), a boy in a Brazilian ghetto ( City Of God), the hip, modern New Yorker who walks by the street with a hotdog & coffee in his hand, dreams in his eyes and money on his mind(countless movies), a slum boy from India, strugglers, winners, losers, people rising from rags to riches & vice versa, a wronged civilian, an 'eccentric', all have a chance to tell their story and express themselves. And we identify, we identify with each one of them, because we are all of them. We probably would do what they do in tat situation, at that time even though we might detest them initially. I remember one of my teacher looking at me straight into my face and asking me, " Do you think you could be a rapist? Do you think you can commit suicide someday?" and I was blank. A brief silence and some subtle laughter in the background later, I softly mumbled, "No sir". "No?! Of course you can be!! You can be a rapist and you can very well commit suicide as well! It's a just a matter of time & a mental conditioning that is a result of that time!" and I couldn't deny the veracity of his claim. It was surprising yet true!


Chetan Bhagat says, "The world's most smart person & the biggest idiot on this planet are both you". So take your pick, you can be Daniel Ocean, Bruce Wayne, The Joker, Peter Parker, Macbeth or whoever you want to be, they are all in you.

BACK & FORTH....

YEKE YEKE!! Mory Kante's amazing smash hit plays ecstatically in my ears & I can see Amitabh Bachchan on the yacht, heading towards Mandwa in his white suit on a sunny afternoon. looking heroically & almost awe-inspiringly towards the blue carpet of water spread vastly around him. Blue & white, the colours look resplendent. Oh, a small trivia: The song I talked about plays itself when Amitabh Bachchan is going to meet Kancha in Mandwa for the first time. It's this sleek montage of Amitabh getting ready & heading towards the island. From a chartered plane to the yacht & then on towards the island, his gaze is sharp, looking on determinedly. The song plays in the background, somehow brilliantly gelling with the visuals. Then a bomb is dropped on the yacht & boom! You think Amitabh's gone, or at least so thinks Kancha for a short while as Amitabh emerges from the ocean suddenly, his white more splendid, his persona even sexier. I bet Daniel Craig must have copiously taken down notes as a teenager then for that Casino Royale introduction he would do in the future. Now you know where it just might have come from! ;)   Although I can hardly decipher the meaning of whatever is being said, the Zulu language, don't know nothing about it. But that's the best part about music, right? You don't have to know anything about what someone is saying. Sometimes, the music just communicates with you. Some part of the composition just strikes you & you develop that bond with the song! 

I am just back from this fabulous semi-date with my best friend/semi girlfriend! We have caught up in person after quite some time, although we chat away to glory on Whatsapp almost everyday. It feels awesomely amazing & worth the week long wait & three cancelled dates. I am super fresh & energetic right now, although it's almost 11:30 in the night. I wanted more time, we needed more time, there was so much more to talk about! Anyways, we will catch up soon again. It's just her company that works wonders man! One time college colleagues, today we are still very much in touch despite all distances & work. Career concerns, crushes on girls & boys, amazing, silly & hilarious memories of college, problems, future aspirations, plans for fun, everything is laid out & tackled in quite detail.  I realise her value so much more now, never thought as much about it in college. I realise how much we have changed, except with each other that is. I think after graduation, we have got to know each other so much better than in those three years. It's like those three years were OCEANS ELEVEN & now its OCEANS TWELVE! She is pretty much the same, although a bright future looks at her from a distance. We both aspire to be these hotshots in the industry & then we will be giving interviews together telling the scribes the whole story of those foundation years in Hislop & then keeping touch, having stupid little quarrels in between but ultimately coming closer, planning all these glory days in lounges & cafes to then realising it. Hell yeah, we should make this happen, just the thought of it actually happening! Oh yeah!! There's a blockbuster story right there!

I am having this surge & urge to write, something I haven't experienced in a while now! This is good, like GOOD! This is how it happens every time it does, of the 30 blogs I wrote, some of the best (strictly personally speaking) have come from this kind of spontaneous surge & urge! There was this gloomy cloud in between over me, nothing felt like to write, to talk about. It was like yeah-so-what's-there-to-talk-about-it kinda thing happening with me.  I didn't care to explore the reasons behind it for the plain reason that it's fruitless. I have been waiting for just some things to happen, thinking that they will make things very different but maybe it's not only about those things.  Maybe it's just that I need to hang on a bit more & things will just fall into place. Too much contemplation, too much running around exploring things, probably that is not what I need right now. I need a calm, focused & steady approach. I am at home, and it already, like every time feels like bliss. College is just on the very brink of ending, yes it has been quite the journey I wanted! Seen so much, heard so much & learnt so much more, it's the perfect time to move ahead now. Which is why I guess I am not too sad at the prospect of leaving it now. Of course I can't be completely emotionally detached & say I won't remember it. It will be one of the deepest memories I'll ever have. And it will be the people at certain points of time, the sights & the experiences that will remain. But this departure doesn't seem heartbreaking, it doesn't. It seems logical. it seems natural. A naive, slightly clueless, dependent boy has given way to a not-as-naive, purposeful, mature-er, more open minded and stronger boy. 

On an ending note, I was seeing KOI MIL GAYA in the afternoon and nostalgia crept in wide & fast as I remembered seeing the first look of the movie as an amusing 14 year old. Hrithik Roshan was Krish for me right from Kaho Na Pyar Hai & then I see the first look of this movie, Hrithik sitting on some rocks, sobbing, an evening set up, looking as if something's wrong with him mentally & then the movie caption. It might be noted here that this scene was NOT a part of the movie! It was strictly promotional. And I was like, why is he acting like that? This is no hero! Make him the hero again! I was dead sure this film was gonna flop, of course it would, look at how they are showing Hrithik! Sweet teenage naivety! How wrong was I! The film not only truly heralded the Indian sci-fi genre but now in hindsight, but is the best of the trilogy. I think the Krish series doesn't have the simplicity of Koi Mil Gaya. There is some cinematic brilliance in the latter, which translated into technical in the former & the attention shifted from story to special effects. Rohit Mehra was the societal reject who any reject in any degree identified with, not to forget those who were not the rejects as well. We need to abolish this concept of the reject, it is very narrow minded of us. Look at Michael Jackson! The King Of Pop, a pioneer, a genius, a charitable, soft spoken, shy eccentric( not offensively but naturally), controversial, vulnerable & a bit indecisive. With literally the whole world at his feet for two decades, he was suddenly the biggest reject there ever was! And what did that result in? Yup, death! His rejection led to his death! The drugs were just a catalyst. Remember, you only despise someone until you become that someone!

Did I say something about an ending note? Uh.....well....yeah...it ends here.