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!