Warning- contains spoilers. I had seen invictus a month back. After that, I did not think about it, pretty intentionally for sometime. I saw it again last night. After I finished watching it, I saw it again, and again. On my third viewing, at about 3’ o clock in the night, I suddenly started to feel cold, very cold, when I could see my room partner sleeping half naked cause of the heat. I started wondering why I was feeling cold and why i... 

Alright, this is super exciting! I am one of those people who lurk around the PFC site, gulping down every post and never bothering to make any valuable contribution other than some stray comment here or there. More than lack of interest, it’s the lack of having something interesting enough to share that had kept me away from it. But today, here I am posting something after more than two years of religiously following this site!  A... 

My immediate reaction to “The Hurt Locker” was confined to a mere 140 characters . It was not because I was too overwhelmed and was at a loss for words, nor because the film didn’t deserve any lengthier mention. Swept over I was, totally. But what prevented me from writing about it then was that someone had already done it with so much elegance. The revered old boy didn’t even stop there, but carried on his effusive praises... 

It’s been a while since I wrote my last post for PFC. Nothing particular, just normal roji roti kept me away from the site. I was settling down in a new job and for a while I thought “Oh, I am going to be so busy. How can I write?” And then, the new job effect was over and I realized that, at least for now, I have more time on my hand than I used to in my earlier job. So before PFC admins throw me out and take away my access as an author,... 

“Like a well-made film, it all went according to the script: Kathryn Bigelow scored a historic first for female film-makers, and an eagerly anticipated David and Goliath-style battle saw the little guy triumph as The Hurt Locker walked away with six trophies and most of the headlines at the 82nd Academy Awards in Los Angeles.” The Independent . In spite of the apparent brave choice (independent, medium-budget art film with a woman director)... 

Continuing my previous post on Song Packaging , I thought I’ll follow up the post with some new additions, many of which have been suggested by my readers and some that I might have missed out in my earlier post. To reiterate the disclaimer, I may have missed out on a number of songs that have cinematic excellence attached to it. These are the songs that came to my mind off the top of my head. I did not conduct an extensive research, or... 

Recently I had gone to a friend of a friend of a friend’s place for a get-together. As is typical for such occasions, there were a number of things being discussed. One of the topics that came up was favorite trippy movies each has seen. What I noticed is that most of the movies thrown up were pretty obvious ( The Big Lebowski , Fear and Loathing , Wizard of Oz on Pink Floyd d etc). This prompted me to google it. And I was surprised... 

Way too many noises in my head. As if 1000 cheated scriptwriters are congregating & wanting to be heard, each with a bound script of his/her own. They scream as dreams when I try to sleep. Everything I see, everyone I meet gives me a new idea for a scene or a film. Did I ask for it? Should I be thankful for it? Can I press the mute button? Why doesn’t my mind just crash the hell off? The above has been my state of mind for the past few... 

French filmmaker Jacques Audiard has written over 20 films, but he’s better known for the six films he directed – from Self Made Hero (1996) which won the best screenplay award at Cannes to last year’s much celebrated A Prophet .  In between he directed two other refreshing thrillers Read My Lips (2001) and The Beat My Heart Skipped (2005).  A Prophet won the…  Read More →

Director, The Hurt Locker The media is abuzz with the two contenders in the Oscar race to the top. The gossip mongers are delighted at the delicious scenario hotting up the air. Kathryn Bigelow was the first woman director to win a Bafta Award for Best Director and might win the top prize at the Oscars. Her ex-husband is James Cameron (Titanic) who won a few minor awards at the same function. Now both Bigelow and Cameron are nominated for the... 

Sometimes, one does feel the need to slip into a character and play somebody else. Impersonate a role that you may never attempt to do in your real life and mouth dialogues that may leave you blushing if it ever came to real life! Sometimes, you just feel the urge to let go of yourself, to feel mad and whacky and expect an applause all at the same time… better if they’re also paying you to have a ball. And sometimes, you just want to switch... 

“Movies that have a social message and entertain are bound to work.” JAT CITY 2 DREAM CITY What happens when a gaonwala comes to the city without money but only dreams? “A realistic inspiring comedy with a difference . . .” After finishing writing the scriptment of Malati Ko Bhatti, a feature film which is under production and working on another film for a Whistling Woods student, I have returned to the city with one full…  Read More →

Crime and Punishment has never been an easy subject to watch or read. There is always the shadow of duality – Right Vs Wrong, Hero Vs Villain, Hero Vs The System. Mainstream cinema (atleast in India – my exposure)has delighted itself with playing with this easy duality for so long for easy heroic payoff that worked in the name of ‘accessibility’. However, just like any other facet of society and legal constructs, peoples... 

Remember the times when you have looked at all the other things in the theater worthy of your sublime attention except the film? When you waited and waited and the film didn’t end. Because what you thought the film would turn out never happened, and you didn’t get any pay-off either. And your hopes died a distant death, or pretty much looked like it would, pretty soon. Then some flashes happened here and there, an odd fight sequence, a highly... 

Don- The Title Says It All Almost as much as the films themselves I am fascinated by their titles. No wonder then that I have some observations. Let me share those with you right here right now. Everyone is aware that film titles come in several varieties. There are short titles, long titles, and those in between. There are titles that are meaningful, sensible, catchy, indifferent, misleading and even repulsive (subjectively, of course). Hindi... 

The war is hotting up between those who weave magic with their ideas and words and those who use them. A popular tabloid hesitantly alleged that a certain ‘Bollywood A- List Actor’ was allegedly plotting to sabotage the Union Ministry’s move to amend the copyright Act of 1957 to benefit writers and composers. [http://www.mid-day.com/news/2010/feb/140210-bollywood-actor-copyright-amendment-sabotage.htm] Today it is out in the open. Like... 

Suhail Tatari, Yuvika Sharma, Sikandar Kher, Atul Pandey The following is an anguished write-up that I received from Atul Pandey (extreme right in the photo), the producer of Suhail Tatari’s (extreme left in photo) Summer 2007 . What Pandey says will find resonance with many first time producers/directors who walk into Mumbai dreaming of making good cinema. Which is why I thought I would share it with all here on PFC: Over to Atul Pandey:... 

To me style is just the outside of content, and content the inside of style, like the outside and the inside of the human body. Both go together, they can’t be separated.- Jean Luc Goddard If i  had  to  pick  one  movie  that  was  completely  representative  of  Michael  Mann’s style  of  direction,  for me it  would  be  The  Insider .  For  quite  some time,  Michael  Mann…  Read More →

Shamiana Launch At Ahmedabad The first tagline for SHAMIANA said “Keep it Short”. Yet it’s been anything but that for the exciting journey the Short Film genre has witnessed in the last nine years… It’s been a long, eventful road since short films first came into the spotlight sometime around 2001 when Bombay saw perhaps the first dedicated short film club in India – The Blewnote Film Club . Born with an audience of just about 15... 

//Spoilers   ahead in  the  post. Sultry and hot  small town  somewhere  in  the Deep  South,  the  local  Dy. Sheriff  Clinton  Pell( Brad Dourif) ,  taking  a shave  at  the barber shop.  All of  a sudden,  the  barber is asked  to step  aside,  and  Clinton  feels  the  razor stiffening on  his cheek,  holding it is  the  tough  FBI  agent  Rupert  Anderson .    For  the  next  10  minutes,  what ...