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Showing posts with the label Just pondering over...

मैं और मेरा टूथ ब्रश !

I come back to my blog afte may be a million...or a billion years. But thanks to my health getting better, I am back on my laptop, on the stage, behind the camera and every where which was out of bound for me. That morning I was brushing my teeth (like every morning) and I realised that I get the best ideas when I am brushing (PS: Albert Einstein had once said that he gets the best ideas, when he is shaving!). So, I realized why don't I give credit to the tooth brush which deserves every word of this Hindi poem... 'Main aur mera tooth brush' मैं और मेरा टुथ ब्रश सुबह-सवेरे, जब आँख खुल ही रही होती है, जब दिमाग में विचार आ ही रहे होते हैं, इन सबसे पहले आजाता है, मेरा दोस्त, मेरा टूथ ब्रश। यह कुछ कहता नहीं है, कोई राय नहीं देता, सिर्फ सुनता है, शांति से, मेरा टूथ ब्रश। पूरे दिन के शुरुआत की योजना, सारी परेशानियों के हल की संभावनाएं, सुनता है, आराम से, मेरा टूथ ब्रश। सुबह की चाय से लेकर, रात के खाने तक, सबका स्वाद चखता है, चुप चाप, मेरा टूथ ब्रश। कपड़े धोने बाद मे

My struggles... My fights

My struggles... my Life It all started with the famous author's famous author's equally popular lines that when you want something to happen and believe in the event, every element in the universe conspires that it happens and it eventually happens. My story begins with the fact that I wanted to work in a feature film right after I finished my course at NID. So I did the same. I finished my course there and joined Anand Gandhi's'The Ship of Thesis' in Bombay and the big struggle began. I started working on the film, but at the same time, I also kept trying to work at AKFPL (Anurag Kashyap Films Pvt. ltd). I got a call soon for Shlok Sharma's film 'Haraamkhor', starring Nawazuddin Siddique. I got a chace to work with my favourite actor. The story was ready and on the editor's desk soon and things were happening too soon for me. I did not even get to know and Fukrey happened equally fast and I shot the making. Amidst all this, I got to be Dibakar Ba

The whole whole 'Rural' film experience

It was a new experience for me at puttur, experience a film, which was definititely out of the world, compared to the multiplex one at Delhi or Bombay, compared to the smaller one here at Puttur, a much smaller hall, with a ticket which was super cheap and much lower in technicalities and other things. The film was also quite different to the ones at the ones at Delhi or Bombay or even at Hyderabad, or even the one at Tirupati for me. Not just the editing and the way it was shot but also the sound of the hall but also the toilets of the film, which definitely took me to a level which I can't write or talk about in this space. It definitely gave me space and opened me up to go back home and write more about my thoughts and gave me that big break which I needed from a long time. So, the hero (Allu Arjun) and the heroine (Shruti Hassan) definitely gave me the much desired space and the film gave me the much desired pakoda which my body needed and I went back home happy and satisfie

Puttur Diaries

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Puttur Diaries April, 2014 The beginning I had been diagnosed with brain hemorrhage in AIIMS in Delhi and things were not moving the way they should have been. Not for me, not for Kamaan, and sadly, for anything. Was really nice was that I had some people around who loved me and cared for me. Firstly it was people like Tushar, who was somehow really involved with my work, thanks to the woman who was always with me: My mother. Always supportive, always helping and suffering with all the journeys I had been sadly a part of. So we reach this place called Puttur miles away from Delhi, and periods away from a condition I was in. Pa was working in this organisation, letting people getting admitted in it and hence, he had got an accommodation in the village, which somehow reminded me of the way the British officers would come to India, long ago. They would come, reach this beautiful place called India and explore. More than the place, they would look inside and explore themselves. This is

Puthur

Puthur, (between Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore): Loving the food, watch kharishsingh.blogspot.blogpot.com or Mycrowthinking.blogspot.com for more :) I like the fact that Kamaan has a boy who works at some cafe, another boy who earns from dance, a couple of students who teach tuitions, all this doing with doing the present play at Kamaan, which is beautiful. Ho Kamaan :) Loving the awesome telugu food (attus/ dosas, idlis and the awesome vadas. Heavenly!) Loving every part of this village, it is just beautiful, plain beautiful. Writing Gokul :) I am loving every bit about it. ..........................................
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So the big shift happened from the hospital to the new house, with new ideas and projects coming in. The theatre moving in directions unknown and unseen to mankind, may be to the living beings, but it kept happening all happy and positive! What is nice is the fact that the speed did not lower , and we continued the way KAMAAN had stopped, with the client-owned projects were encouraging us, to write and direct more documentaries and theatre. With the travel and the beautiful locations we moved and is still fun. But as we move amidst all the questions and doubts, what is nice is the fact, that somewhere, THE BIG SHIFT IS STILL HAPPENING...

Banaras... Phase 1

The recent trip to Banaras (Varanasi) is been recorded in my diary entries. here we go... 5th September '13 Simbhala, UP, 8:35 pm I am entering the interiors of UP, which I always wanted to do. Staying in Delhi does expose me to a lot of UPites, but when it comes to UP itself, no one else can replace UP itself. I just wanted to get a hint of the journey of the the way changed from the British United Province to the Hindustani Uttar Pradesh...both UP's. 'Trying' to get the UP accent is quite different from 'Getting' it. This is so peculiar, so effortless, so beautiful. There are different accents across India.  It is true that India has 18 languages, which is quite a lot for a nation. But what is stranger is the no. of  dialects which this nation has. They say that every 40 kms, the dialect changes, which makes the land multi-cultural and diverse. For instance, one one hand I have this guy in my compartment from Banaras, who is extra respectful and on

Monsoon travel diaries

And it was just any other monsoon with the same old stories of a somewhat 'Early' monsoon and I don't know what all. What was new for me was that I was in back in Delhi fter ages... having spent a nice and 'full' monsoon last year at Mumbai. I had worked hard there and was slightly confused whether is it fool-proof to start something new in a city which is famous for all the wrong reasons, or should I say, is notorious. What happened was not a part of my plan. The films on which I had worked last year as an AD (Assistant Director) had begun to release now, when I was in Delhi. When in Mumbai, I could not see a glimpse of anything of this. What I had seen always and still believe in is the fact that one should work hard for TODAY and forget everything else. First came BOMBAY TALKIES, where I was assisting Dibakar Banerjee, and I was the Da (Director's Assistant), then came out SHIP OF THESEUS (by Anand Gandhi), where we had all worked very hard and never kne

Just the fan, Bablu ji!

Delhi is super hot this year, I think much more than the previous years I have lived here. Also, adding to this is the fact is that I have been living in a room with the fan not working and the cooler without a pump, so what happens is that the cooler throws air, which is hot and killing! I have been staying alone in Delhi and I am liking the experience till now. It is nice and pleasant. But about 8 days ago, my fan stopped working and right on the next day, my cooler's pump stopped too. I stay alone in the room, so I complained it to my landlady about this and she gave me the no. of this electrician called Bablu ji.  Now the thing is that when Bablu ji comes to repair the fan/cooler, I have already left for office and when I come back (which is late), I can't get Bablu ji. Amidst this mismatch of time between me and bablu ji, I had started to grow accustomed to the whole concept of living in a room without a fan and a hot cooler! In the beginning, this was a hug

The joy of 6 am

6 am, Delhi. Post school, this has been a time I would never be awake at. But a recent trip to Jharkhand, changed things for me. When I am home in Hyderabad, this is when my parents would also wake me up for early morning chai and after chai, they would leave for the morning  walk and I would get back to my happy slumber. In Ranchi, I was spending a couple of days at my mama's. So every day I would get up at 6 and with my mama , my cousin and mai (mama's wife!) I would go for a walk. But this Jharkhand journey was one of those trips where I am open to everything new. Things which might have been happening in my life, since childhood, but in some of these trips, I leave all my beliefs on one side, and I UNLEARN. I had actually gone there to do some research for one of my documentaries, but I was open to everything coming my way. So, me and my cousin, Divya walked behind and my mama-mai walked forward. It was early morning and I could feel the freshness in the ai

The 'Perspective'

Sometimes or should I say once in a lifetime, you go through a phase where there are so many changes happening in life, that you start going crazy! Some of them are unwelcome but some of them are welcome changes, which you somehow want to take place. During these times, I have just realised or I have been 'enlightened' with this technique which is absolutely marvelous  It is called 'stepping back' and analyzing your life. I was in Mumbai. I have been busy exploring the developments I was making career wise but I had just stopped looking at my own life. How stupid could I get! I could see the whole race I was a part of of, I could see my competitors competing with, but how could I not see myself running in the race. That is the technique. When I come out of the race and look at myself with the competitors. I ask the existence of my own self. In fact when I concentrate,I ask the existence of the race in my life! I am in Delhi, miles away from where the mad race w

Freedom!

February 2013, Jungpura, Delhi. This is the weather I have always loved about Delhi. The February sun is like the best thing you could ever get. It is comfortably cold and I am very happy that it is COLD. I had missed the cold ever since I moved to my days n Ahmedabad and Mumbai. So I am back! The one year spent at Mumbai has been quite rewarding in terms of work experience. I just want to be free now. What is freedom? How do u define it? Freedom is defined as being able to do anything anytime, irrespective of the timing, or the place where you are. That I believe, is freedom! I wanted a change of space, which I have. Will (hopefully) get a nice place to stay. And I want to write and keep writing... "In this nice and lazy weather, with sleepy eyes,  I write and get lost.  From the lost world, i hear sounds of Delhi I have lived in.  It is the same city which has survived ages and still stands upright with all the walls and the gates.  As I write, I wonder what is r

The Terrible Ear ache and the Education system!

I have a terrible ear ache now, because of the cold.   It is quite a childhood thing. Whenever I would have a cold, I would have an ear ache and I remember as a kid, it would be bad. As a kid I would never cry easily, but this ear ache was terrible, making me cry the whole night, in pain. I remember how my mom would get me books (at night) with pictures of exotic animals, to deviate my mind but I would continue crying. I remember my mom’s sad and helpless face. I remember what the doctor would say back then, holding my ear, “ It is a child’s membrane. It would stop as soon he is 10!” I am 24 and it is still there, pretty much like the way it was back then, when my mom would face the ear ache of her only son, while her husband was posted in the field guarding the nation. Tonight, just to deviate my mind from the terrible ear ache, I decided to write on my blog and you know what, it’s helping! I can have pain-killers and sleep, but I do not taking allopathic medicines o

Mumbai Film Festival - 2012!

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MAMI, as it was called till last year was changed to Mumbai Film Festival (Thanks to the change in the sponsors) and it was on. I went to the movie hall to find out more about it. Before going to the hall I had heard that if have an AD's (Assistant Director's) Card, I would have to pay less. I reached the counter. So I saw the categories: Normal- 1400/- and IFTD (Indian Film and Tv directors) card: 1000/-. I was about to go for the 2nd option and I saw the third category ( Students- 800/- ) I saw this and I was happy. I took out my expired NID card and got entry. The joy of a film festival apart from the films being screened is the fact that I could watch any 'n' number of films for 800 bucks. With that excitement I entered cine max. And what was better was that the films were getting screened at the Gold class halls. So unlike the Osian's (Siri Fort, Delhi), there would be halls with a better sound and better chairs too! The joy was amazing and indescriba

Mumbai diaries continue

So I am back to my blog. I don't know why or why not? I am just back! So the stay at Mumbai has been getting better and the more accustomed I am to the city, there are new and interesting places I see. There are slums, there are tall skyscrapers and then there are PEOPLE. The city is filled with people, and too many of them! The city is what it is just because of this gem which it has...ITS PEOPLE! People fighting, people competing, people getting lost, people smiling...they are everywhere. You cannot imagine a frame in Mumbai without it's gem...its people! After staying in Jogeshwari for the last 6 months, I am moving to my new house in 4 bungalow (Andheri). Staying here alone is what is fun. I make coffee, I watch films, I sleep, I sketch,I read, I think, I write, I do anything, there are no schedules I follow according to the world, No time-tables I follow...I just need money to sustain a living. That's it. Why do i need more? There's no need as such. I just

The sketch of questions

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So when I sit back and go through the books and thoughts I was lost in, it is quite crazy! I happened to be stuck in situations which kept making me question the unquestionable! Questioning someone is a good thing, but before you reach the stage of questioning, you nee to know the data really. You see, it is always nice to know the facts well. It won't help you win an argument or a debate, it just helps you grow. When in Ahmedabad I came across this book called 'Debating Gandhi' which is quite an interesting read. It is a nice compilation by A. Raghuramaraju. It consists of essays by known scholars, Gandhians or anti-Gandhians. but nice read it is. There is a chapter called 'The assassination of Gandhi' which talks and questions the killing of Gandhi. Was killing him the ultimate thing? Raghuram Ghodse or nathuram Ghodse as we know him, was a very educated Hindu himself. Hailing from Pune, a konkanastha Brahman took up this job of killing the 'Father

SAPNAY- the music video n the story behind!

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So the story behind this video is slightly funny. This is how it goes... We were taking part in the '48 hour music video competition' at Kala Ghoda arts festival. They gave us a song and asked us to go and shoot n edit a video in 48 hours. So, Sangram, Sukriti were all set and we shot, animated and edited this video. But our house (in Jogeshwari ) was quite far from the venue (Colaba). So in the process of fighting traffic jams and other related issue we were 2 hours late. And our video was never accepted! So, here it is- the music video we came up with. We thank all our actors...and all of us too! (Sukriti, Sangram and me- we were the JOINT effort!)

वो छोटी सी लड़ाई।

क्या गलत था, और क्या सही, क्या बड़ा था, और क्या छोटा, इन्ही उलझनों में तो फंस के रह गयी, मैं और तुम, तुम और मैं। आज भी हम यहीं देखते रहे, कि क्या-क्या है तुम्हारे पास, और क्या मेरे पास, और इसी में सिमटी रह गयी, लड़ाई तुम्हारी और लड़ाई मेरी। बस इसी लड़ाई में, फंस्स कर रह गई, सोच हमारी, ज़िन्दगी हमारी। क्या मेरा, क्या तुम्हारा।

The Parsi story...

"Nahi saamne...ye alag baat hai..." This is the song which plays in the background as of now. It's 01:13 AM at night and it's raining outside my house.It is slightly humid but it's nice and wet in general. I traveled across the city last night to shoot my first ad. The time was not exactly night, but it somehow looked like night. It was 4 am when we got into the taxi, and the feel of the sleeping city felt more like night than an early morning. With the cold monsoon breeze touching me, I would like to call it 'Night'. The place where we went was an old Parsi colony in Byculla in Mumbai ( formerly Bombay). I must tell you that we had to meet the rest of the crew by 7:00 am but we reached there at 6 and the place was beautiful. It was not completely day-break, but there was enough light to admire the beauty of the place. There were just a few close knit buildings of the old times architecture- neat and clear. The buildings were made in 1908 but the fr

The 'shift' phase!

So, now there is a new phase. The moment I had finished my diploma film, I had started working in Delhi. It was nice to come back to Delhi (especially in the winters!). I seriously had no idea about the 'industry' in Delhi. There were many things I saw and learnt in these last 7 months of working in Delhi. Now, the problem is that I am getting bored of this city. And moreover, the kind of work I want to do happens in Mumbai. So, very recently I took this very important decision of SHIFTING to MUMBAI!  (As if there are people waiting for me in Mumbai to come and join their PROJECTS! Ha!) As I try to figure out things for Mumbai (I prefer 'Mumbai' over 'Bombay'. You see 'Mumbai' sounds very raw, pretty much like the city!) I am in the process of wrapping up my work in Delhi. I have been burning the midnight oil to finish the edit of this documentary which I am making for an NGO. I'll be very honest...It's a BORING topic! But  you know, Work is W