Director's Cut

The new generation speaks

// February 12th, 2010 // 3 Comments » // Trivia

When a generation decides to take refuge in its past and cast aside its present , you know that something is wrong out here. It speaks of the inability of the present to match its past and better it. This is called intellectual and cultural regression of a time.

2010…

// January 1st, 2010 // No Comments » // Trivia

wishing every one a very happy and prosperous new year..

Happy Diwali to everyone…

// October 17th, 2009 // 5 Comments » // Trivia

It’s been a long time since I wrote here, today is Diwali thought I should wish everyone and  start writing again, write at least  once a week or once in two weeks… let’s see how it goes. It is not that I don’t want to write, it is just that I am too busy writing my next script. Caught up in it so much that I don’t find time to do anything else in life.

When I am in a mood to write, I write for 10, 12, 16, hours a day. If I stop it takes me days and weeks to start again. So I was going with the flow.

I feel so happy after writing my first full length comedy script, not that it is best ever written or something like that. It just the discovery, that I can write comedy.

If the one dialogue from the movie “finding forester” taught me the art of writing, then it is my good  friend Aneesh who told me I am good enough to write a comedy, Thank you Aneesh for your belief in me and your encouragement, Happy Diwali.

Happy and prosperous Diwali to everyone, have a safe Diwali..

Back to my writing…

KALAVARAMAYE MADILO – About the cast and crew…

// July 6th, 2009 // 4 Comments » // Films, Kalavaramaye Madilo

They say casting is a very tough job…. was it for me? Not really.

I will start with my protagonist, as I said earlier, she is a girl and her name in the movie is Sreya…

Who can be Sreya? This was the question I asked everyone around me. Each person had a name to say, but none said Swathi. And that was the name I was thinking. When I suggested the name, everyone was very sure that she will carry off the first half without any difficulty, but the second half, they were not sure at all.

I was sure; something inside me told me Swathi is Sreya… my producer and my co director agreed with me and once Swathi agreed to do the film the project was on. Continue Reading

Music is the essence of Kalavaramaye madilo

// June 29th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Films, Kalavaramaye Madilo

Now that the audio is released and (I am sure) everyone is enjoying the music, let me share a few interesting titbits’ associated with the making of the music for Kalavaramaye Madilo.

My first choice of Music director for this film was Iliya Rajaa garu, second choice was Keeravani garu. Both did not fit into the budget of the film. The other name for consideration was Mr. Radhakrishna.

While we were discussing about the names, Mr. Mohan the producer of the film proposed the name of Mr. Sharreth. I asked him, is he the same person we see on ‘Asianet’ channel as a judge. He said yes.

Without batting an eyelid I said he is our music director (why? refer to my earlier article). Mr. Mohan immediately called him and I spoke to him… Mr. Sharreth was our music director.

In a couple of days Mr. Sharreth came to Hyderabad. I told him the story, He liked it very much. I wanted 8 songs in the film. He was excited, but there was a catch, it was, he has to compose the second song in the film with mistakes. I also told him, sir I need a song people can connect to, a song which sounds good to a normal audience. A song which can become very popular, yet it should have mistakes… He said, with mistakes, but why? I explained the need of it. He laughed at me but agreed, because he understood the need, for the story.

Next was who will write our lyrics.. Continue Reading

The idea of making Kalavaramaye Madilo came to me….

// June 21st, 2009 // 5 Comments » // Kalavaramaye Madilo

Two years ago this subject was born in my drawing room,   Tamma Reddy Bharadwaja garu and  I were sitting and discussing about the movie “million dollar baby”…  how brilliantly the director  portrayed the relationship between the   coach and  the pupil, and how wonderfully he managed to depict the aspiration and ambition of the protagonist and what lengths she was willing to go to achieve the goal. Clint Eastwood is a director par excellence; I am a great fan of him since my childhood.  With “Million Dollar baby”   the first seed for Kalavara maye…. was sowed….

One day my dear friend Ribu introduced me to a star singer show on Asia net channel. Though I did not understand a word of Malayalam, I used to watch the programme every day.  It is an amazing show because every one hour episode used to exhibit only two songs. The way the rendered song was dissected and the various nuances and subtle elements of music that the judges discussed with the participants, was phenomenal. As a Lay person with a musical ear, I was amazed on realising such subtle variations to music. I gathered that there is a great difference between the listening ear of a layman who enjoys music and the listening ear of an expert who understands music. What looked like a good song when the singer rendered it , became a song with mistakes when the judge spoke about it. Wow. That was something… on of the judge in the show is Mr. Sharreth ( kalavaramaye Madilo music director)  Another seed was sowed … Continue Reading

Writing was an alien art form to me…

// November 26th, 2008 // 3 Comments » // Trivia

Till a few months ago, writing was an alien art form to me. It is something I am learning now.
I have always wondered about how people write so much, so well and with such precision.

Writing is one art-form that i am keen to learn and have begun the journey. I can say that I am grasping the nuances fast. I know there is a long way to go, but what is satisfying and motivating is that I can feel the progress in me.

Without a slightest understanding of what I was writing and by plainly expressing what I felt the moment i came out of a theatre after watching a film i realised that i had written a review. That was my first review, and what’s more, people are reading it, assimilating it and responding to it. I realise with every passing day, that when people respond to your thoughts, it’s a great feeling and it makes you want to think more…write more…do more….

So I will keep off loading my thoughts and experiences through my blog…and PFC…Please keep reading, responding correcting and complimenting……If it is Bouquets or Brickbats…..I will take it with a smile and cherish…

Satish.., still a long way to go buddy…..

http://passionforcinema.com/anishs-avakai-biryani/

MAA recognises when the industry ignores

// September 24th, 2008 // 1 Comment » // Films, Hope

As the saying goes – Dair se aye durusth aye…. It is indeed a nice gesture on the part of the Movie Artists Association(MAA) under the leadership of Mr. Muralimohan to honour the National Award winners.

Dr. Dasari Narayana Rao felicitated us. It was a very emotional and a moment to remember my life long.

Getting an award is an achievement in itself’, but it needs to be recognised. Though the entire industry ignored the achievement, MAA thought it important to recognise.

From the bottom of my heart I thank MAA for the kind gesture.

I would also like to thank PFC for their kind words and compliments.

http://passionforcinema.com/hope-floats/#comment-226613

And the case rests

// September 4th, 2008 // 3 Comments » // Films, Hope

The dream which started in 2005 has been completed, on 2^nd September when the president of India gave me the National Award for the film “hope’.

That was a great moment of my life. It is a great feeling to achieve what I wanted to achieve.

The case is closed.

Now I am on to my next dream. A dream to make a commercially successful film, A film with lots of romance, emotions and drama.

I am on the job, will let you the details of who is producing, the cast, and the music. Right now I am busy writing the script, it is in the final stages… which movie… (Check the post dated 24th June – National Award)… Yes, it is the musical one.

One more dream, one more journey, one more frontier to conquer…. As I always say… I will…I will

There is hope for “Hope’…

// July 7th, 2008 // 4 Comments » // Films, Hope

Yesterday night on one sports channel, Rafael Nadal was giving a tough time to Roger Federer. On another sports channel Sri lanka unleashed an unknown weapon called Mendis. He was demolishing the so called strong Indian batting line up. While millions and millions of people where watching these people executing a clinically planned strategies to win a battle.

A local channel was butchering a loves labour called “Hope”. Yes I am talking about my film “Hope”. They were mercilessly destroying a National award winning film, just because they have a slot of one hour for a film. A film of 105 minutes length was chopped off to 50 minutes.

This slot might work with other commercial films. Because, even if they take off six songs, i.e. 18 minutes, 6 fights another 20 minutes gone. Minus some scene s taken off, still it will not affect the flow of the movie.

>At the time of making the film some one said make it 100 minutes movie. I could not cut five minutes of my film to make it 100 minutes. Here they chopped off 55 minutes of the film mercilessly…

This film was being shown for the first time, after it won a National Award.. I thought if the whole movie was shown, people could have seen it, after all it was not a commercial venture… we wanted people to see this movie and react.. I felt the purpose was lost.

At the end, Rafael Nadal won.. Srilanka won… Hope was butchered. I went off to bed thinking, there is still hope for “Hope”