Movie Murmur

(My foray into the short fiction format) Shooting of a Short fiction film Coming to think of it, even a shot thirty second advertisement film is a short fiction film. A not so handsome guy wears a cream and the girl falls for him - this could be the one liner of the story of an advertisement film on a fairness cream. Not that yours truly did not dip his hands into such versions of the short fiction film. An advertisement film on a bindi, a hair shampoo and a greeting card were some attempts that I had done in the initial days of my career in this format. The only 'non-neoliberal' solace that I have right now is that the companies that manufactured these products were not large multinational corporations - they were run by small entrepreneurs. In 2008, Sameer Mahajan the cameraman of my first fiction feature movie ' Suddha ' (The Cleansing Rites) gave me a call saying that he was facilitating the making of a short promotional film that will act as an eye op...

(My foray into the short fiction format) The short fiction movie format, like the short story its counterpart in literature, is a very powerful mode of expression; and a tricky one too. The maker will have to be precise, the luxury of meandering or dwelling on multiple aspects of the subject matter does not arise, the extra detailing might have to be cut off; and many a times like in a typical O. Henry style, a twist in the end is what is longed for. Mention the word short film and the 1962 black and white film from The Netherlands 'Big City Blues' directed by Charles Huguenot Vander Linden, the 1964 French movie 'An Incident at Owl Creek' directed by Robert Enrico or Julian Bigg's Canadian film '23 Skidoo', immediately pops up in one's mind. So, do the films of the Dutch film maker Bert Haanstra or the one and only Norman McLaren, the prolific Canadian short film maker.  23 Skidoo from National Film Board of Canada on Vimeo . But the ...

Niraj Sah and Hemant Mahaur in 'Haal e Kangaal' (The Bankrupts) It was started off when friend Shrikant Prabhu goaded me to send a dvd copy of the film to Vidyarthi Chatterjee, a no-nonsense film critic from Kolkata. When I sent it to him, it was Durga pooja time.  After a couple of days when he did not receive my calls, I was worried. The meaning making machine that my mind is, thought that maybe the senior critic has not liked the film.  And then the next day came the call, that lasted all of forty seven minutes. He had not heard the phone ring as the Durga Pooja celebrations around his house was at its peak. After cursing the noise levels, he spoke about my film, Haal e Kangaal (The Bankrupts), the one that I had sent it to him.  During the course of the conversation he said among other things, "The film is unusual, perky, interesting, experimental and smartly made in a positive sense. There are a few films like this, and you should continue to...

To MK Raghavendra Greetings. I have today sent you a dvd copy of my new feature film called 'Haal-e-Kangaal (The Bankrupts)'. I was wondering if you could see the film at your convenience and give an opinion on it. ******* Dear Mr Ramachandra,  A still from Haal-e-Kangaal (The Bankrupts) I watched your film and found it very interesting conceptually. But here are some critical comments: a) It is a very personal film, I think, about the dreams film students have, the compromises they make and where they finally go. I would say that it is very, very pessimistic. It shows how most lives are actually wasted. 20 years after graduating people are forced to tell lies to those who were once closest to them – to look better than they are. It is also about the end of friendships . b) Its difficulty is that it is too personal. It is like making a film only for those who have gone through the same experiences. There will be very few who will feel what you feel by watchi...

Naveen Sunag is an independent film maker based out of UK. He is a graduate from the VGIK film school in Russia. His views after watching the film The Bankrupts (Haal-e-Kangaal):- Hemant Mahaur "The Bankruts ( Haal - e – Kangal), a film made by dear friend, film maker P.N. Ramchandra effectively narrates the intellectual, emotional , ethical, cultural, professional so on and so forth, bankruptcy of the society.  It is a productive piece that shows the decadence of the present world around us. A world of adjustments, easily jumping to conclusion and passing on judgements on one another. The jump cuts and the characters of the film going inside their characters, coming out of them at times to narrate the script as another character (This also reminds me of one my own scripts), a technique used in the film goes well with the narration .  Needless to say both actors have done good justice to the characters they have played. In all the film engages the audienc...