Movie Murmur

The last time I met Dr Verghese Pulickal, it was around four years back when I had gone to conduct a workshop at the Kuvempu University in Karnataka. This year too Dr Poornananda DS from the Mass Communication department invited me to hold a similar workshop; and of course he wanted to screen ‘Haal-e-Kangaal’ (The Bankrupts) to his students. I reached Shimogga at about five in the morning; Dr Verghese received me and took him to his house. A couple of hours later we were driving down to Shankarghatta, where the University exists. There is now a brand new four lane road built enroute. This is laid specially for the airport that is being planned in Shimogga. I was told that the planning itself is in the initial stage, but the approach roads are ready. At one point somewhere down the line, the road narrows down. Members of three houses here have refused to vacate; they have moved to the courts. Dissent… Dr Poornananda DS The workshops are always educative for me. You thin...

A sunrise at Telangana. It is only in Hyderabad that someone like Parushuram Singh can sponsor a Biriyani and listen to the Telangana VS Seemaadra argument initiated by someone like Upender Apparasu. If Parushuram had anything remotely to do with any Government in India, in present times he could have initiated a case of sedition against Upender. Elavarty Satya Prakash and I, who had wry smiles on our faces during this discussion, would also be liable, then. Fortunately, Praushuram and Upender are just two old colleagues from the film world - local Hydrabadies. We were sitting in a cozy roof top hotel at Hyderabad when we were having this discussion and after attending a screening at Lamakaan of my recent film ‘Haale-Kangaal’ (The Bankrupts). Lamakaan Lamakaan is a cultural hub in Hyderabad. Recently, there were murmurs that it would be asked to shut down, allegedly due to parking issues that were created when culture shows happened here. But a swift signature camp...

Sumit Ghosh Sumit Ghosh is an affable character.   Although he joined the Film & TV Institute of India a year after I did, we graduated together, as he was in the editing course, which was then just two years. For a year or so, he was even my neighbor at the institute hostel.  I had requested him to support me in arranging a few screenings of ‘Haal-e-Kangaal’ in Kolkata. Referring to the dates that I had chalked out he had mailed me, ‘Oh, why did you plan during those days?’ He was worried that we could not meet, as he was to go to the North-East for a workshop. But before going he had put me on to filmmaker Pradipta Bhattacharyya. Pradipta Bhattacharyya Pradipta Bhattacharyya had made “ Bakita Byaktigato ’ (The Rest is Personal), a film in Bengali language that is not only refreshing in it’s form and content but it had also broken away from the conventions of the ‘realism’ debate that Indian cinema has gloriously clung on to, over the years, ever sin...

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...