Saturday, September 25, 2010

Caged


Cage of mind is a perspective.
Even a giant can be caged if looked in a different angle,
a perspective...
Why caging the mind...!!!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

A little away



Away away

A way,a way

Again, again

A gain, a gain

With winds I flow

With waves I glow

Words of Hello..oow!

At world’s window

Alone alone…

A long I’ve gone…

Life of my life,

Left, I hope safe...!

Will you say,

With a will to stay !

"If you get me,

Few forget me..."

Away away,

A bit away.

A way again

Alone alone...!

I see me packing my bags for the journey from my home in Chennai… I see every single moment of it... The most sweetest day in my life. I can hear Mary Aunty and her last words to me. I did delay my journey to Kerala for a day, as she wanted me to be with her family on the day of Christmas. I never knew then, it was her last Christmas. Today when I rewind the time, that day’s delay remains so precious than anything else in this world. Yesterday, while video chatting with a wildlife filmmaker, I was saying why most filmmakers or videographers don’t venture into wildlife filmmaking. It is all about right action at right time capturing the right content for right audience. Cannot wait for the perfect light to arrive and subject to pose for the camera. I guess, doing is more important than a decision, for such people. I am one among them. Whether life or film, that is my way. Right or wrong, I don’t trust second thoughts. No regrets about life, while following the heart and intuitions, fully…sincerely. Doing is my decision, than deciding to do and then do. Mistakes remain experience. Regret of losing a moment eats me more than a possible mistake at that moment. Today, sitting back in my room in Newcastle, alone, I did rewind the time. Have I changed any bit? Not at all… I am not far, just a little away... to my true essence, in all sense.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Thursday, September 09, 2010

Screening at Teeside



Yesterday, at Concept Film Night by Teeside University, Teeside we were asked to perform the task of telling a love story in 5 words. It was interesting to hear the imagination of various people and their one-line stories. I too quickly scribbled one –

“Wind Brought Waves to Beach.”

While coming back home I reframed it this way–

“With Wind, Waves Reached Beach”.

It was quite interesting to be a part of the fest watching some thought provoking short films by filmmakers from Northeast, sharing ideas with each of them and the audience. I was invited to the fest to present two of my own films and another one that I edited for my good friend Brijilin, under the banner of Cockroach in Cocktail and one in collaboration with Trinity Pictures and Rolling Coin. The films were My Paper Boat, Mission Escape and Face or Fall.

While seeing the films on a big screen - seeing it being enjoyed, understood and appreciated by a good set of audience - memories of the making of each of them, the cast, the crew- all flashed in mind so loud and clear. Even those tiny bits of fun and fights we had among us while realising them. Shooting of ‘Face of Fall’ at the street in front of my home in Chennai at mid night hours with an unknown autorickshaw driver as an actor, making fun of my good friends in Hexaware Technologies on their life with mouse by showing all the mice escaping from the computers in ‘Mission Escape’, travelling with the my film crew stuck behind me on the bike seat and the Paper Boat boy ‘Arjun’ in front of me on the petrol tank of my good old Yamaha Crux bike, and the camera bag and the tripod hanging on each of the sides – Well, I have answer to the audience to who asked what filmmaking is about and how much it cost. Filmmaking is sharing thoughts, love and ideas. It cost me nothing but friendship and a collective passion and vision.

As the other filmmakers who participated in the event James Harris, Richard MacLeod, Chris Bailey also suggested films are about passion and it costs nothing but passion. To be honest, one of the most thrilling moment for me was, hearing from Chris that he had seen 'My Paper Boat' in shooting people website, much before. It did surprised me on how far and wide internet can take short films. Glad to meet a filmmaker friend who even went one step ahead creating a campaign film to protect the only green space he claimed to have left in the middle of the city Middlesburgh with the film ‘Beacon of Hypocrisy’. While the animation film ‘Answer Yam’ entertained with jokes, films like Life for Life, Passing and Untitled left questions to think about. I truly enjoyed the evening. It was equally interesting to travel back with filmmaker friend Matthew Burge in his car learning more about the history and geography of North East of UK.

I did say this - I like it when films are not made, but happens from nowhere, the way it was always been in my life.