Black and white memories in colour

“She is a dark baby, but looks like a beautiful angel to me”, were his words in a letter written to my aunt. I lost him when I was three. It was a scary evening, but all I remember of that incident is my grandmother’s silent tears on our terrace. It’s strange my mother says, in spite of the fact that I was pretty much on the non impressionable side of my memory, I have vivid visuals of our times together. I remember his bottle of Old Monk, I remember him taking me to a nearby Tapri and smoking his lungs out, often under the pretext of walking me to the park, which never happened. I remember him lying on the armchair, with at least four books by his side. His collections of readers digest, now passed on to me just like other books he loved keeping. I still have the glasses he used to read with.
Him humming old classics while holding me in his arms. He used to call me a scarecrow, considering I was a puny baby, though no one can say that about me now. I remember how he used to stay up nights whenever I lay sick. I have heard many a stories about him, both good and bad. He was a handsome army man with a tinge of humor and oodles of intelligence. He was quite a ladies man grandma used to say. Though short-lived am glad I had him. He inspires me to be brave, to stand my ground, to be who I am without any fears. I love you a lot Tatha and will always miss you.

Karma scare

I am scared this time
Will I get back what I did to you?
Your tiny heart with a sewn hole
and your eyes piercing me through your glasses.
I can take it no more.
Do not curse, do not wish ill..
You know I did us good!

Its unfair I always knew,
but not worth a single drop of tear from my eye
I am returning back from my guilt trip
to colours and flowers, to the sun and the moon.

Do we hear it?

Ang Lee's "Taking Woodstock" failed to create the magic. In spite of a perfect recreation, the music failed him. People expect music and nothing else when they read Woodstock, but the film is more of a coming off age tale.

Young Elliot, loves his parents and is trying to get the dilapidated El Monaco Motel running. The sleepy town of Bethel suddenly wakes up to the news of a music festival being organised in dairy farms of Greenwich Village and thus Elliot embarks on a journey to witness the biggest and a life turning event of his life.

Woodstock offers a good backdrop to the film, but beyond that there is no much purpose, which I felt was equal to trivializing it. Elliot sees a whole different world through the eyes of many different people he comes across in the end coming out of closet and accepting who he is.

The film has beautiful visuals, but an incomplete feeling still lingers on.

Watch it for the amazing recreation brought on screen by Lee..

Wisdom tooth

A random conversation lead to a vital realization. I still have 28 teeth and am waiting for the other four. Wisdom come to me soon, need you real bad. Ha Ha... and The Boyfriend would agree with this.

M- I still dont have them
H- Get X ray
M- Haaaaa?
H- They might hide inside the gums

Do you fake it?
Yes.
Why?
Because I love her????
WOW

Are you sure?
No
When
Dunno

Questions

Why cant our minds be like slates? When you don't like something just erase it off, without a trace to remind you of what was written or what was forgotten. If only we could Ctrl+Alt+Del troubled moments, life would have been much simpler. Why do we seek honesty when we cant bear it? Why arent there pills to make our brains stop thinking about things that are not important. Why does life have to be black or white. Why dont we ever mean what we say and say what we mean? Why does it always have to be me?

Stu

I miss you when there is no one to understand my silence
I miss you when I look pretty
I miss you when images in my head speak
And it’s only you who can take a peek

I miss you when I have no one to take long walks with
I miss you when all I need is just a hug
I miss you when the little girl in me is scared
And it’s only you who can calm me down

I miss you when I have no one to hold my hand
I miss you when I am at crossroads,
I miss you when I long for those conversations
And it’s only you who can turn my brain on

BFF

Dollu, I love you

We have been through our ups and downs and I am glad we are still together. We might not talk to each other for hours, but after a stressful day I am glad I come back to my room and you are there. You stand by me when I need you the most. You bear all my stupidities, you put sense into me and get my brains straight. There to cheer me up with your silly antics and those fun gossips (Wonder how do you get to know so much, you are hardly here :P).
I love you my doll, please get well soon and come back, I miss you!
Xoxo

Huacho

Another piece for the bulletin..

“Message is the medium”, famous words by Marshal McLuhan came alive on screen in Huacho by Alejandro Fernandez. This film tries to capture the life of local Chilean peasants who make a living out of small jobs like making cheese and fencing etc.
The camera follows four characters, each a member of the same family with the determination of bringing them closer to the audience. “I used handheld camera and kept the subject close to the camera to make it appear real,” said Alejandro. He added, “The film is not about the countryside it is about the people living there, thus I focussed more on the people and used lot of indoor shots.” Use of dark lighting and jump cuts provide a sense of claustrophobia to the film.
His effort of breaking the stereotype of Chilean countryside is achieved not only through the script but also through his direction. “I wanted to stand up against the capitalistic attitude lurking in the cities. They are often misrepresented in bigger ventures, creating a mockery out of their lives. ” Alejandro believes that cinema should bring out the stories of the poor and oppressed.
Alejandro hails from Chillen and his upbringing in the countryside provided him with valuable insight for the script. “I interviewed a lot of people and would often follow these four characters with a small camera, he said.
Talking about his experience working with non-actors he said, “It was difficult explaining them certain scenes, but the fact that we didn’t script their dialogues helped us.” Alejandro further explains, “People who watched the film from these villages could relate to it, I felt I have succeeded as a filmmaker when one of them told me, ‘It’s a piece from my life’.”
According to him Chilean audience is still not open to offbeat themes. Even watching a movie is quite an expensive affair. Finding funds to make films based on unusual storyline can be quite tedious. But Alejandro’s luck favoured him and he found financers for his venture. “This film is close to my heart and am very happy with the response I have received so far,” he said.
Illustrious directors like Abbas Kiriostami and Maurice Pialat have been his inspiration. Having no formal training in filmmaking Alejandro has learnt his skills by watching and reading about cinema. Being a full time journalist in New York also helped him to save some money for his dream.
A comment by his friend on his Facebook page sums it, “This is a day in the life of a Chilean family after 25 years of capitalism."

By the way, this Chilean director was a delight to talk to. Its very rare for me to enjoy conversations with strangers, with him, coffee and cinema was the perfect combination.


Alejandro

Of love and madness

Recently I was a part of the Pune International Film Festival (PIFF), watched many films, met many interesting people. Will post reviews of films that touched me..starting with ......

The Man Beyond The Bridge (Paltadacho Munis) is a 96 minute Konkani film set in Quepem, a village in Western Ghats of Goa. Vinayak, a widowed forest ranger lives on the other side of the bridge that connects his world to the village. He is attracted a mentally disturbed woman who visits his house every night for food and shelter. Vinayak decides to marry her in spite of the fear of being ostracized by the villagers who outcast anyone with a mental illness.
Laxmikant Shetgaonkar tells this love story weaving it beautifully with the culture of the region. The film based on a short story by Konkani writer, Mahabaleshwar Sail, explores the dilemma of a sensible man against the social taboos that still engulf our society.
A message subplot introduces a village headman who builds a temple on forest land. It is Vinayak’s duty as a forest ranger to oppose this development risking his new love interest. The Man Beyond The Bridge takes audiences beyond the huge crowded cities and gives us a glimpse of rural India. Stuck between the dilemma of humanity and social ethos, Vinayak chooses to go where his heart leads him.
Shetgaonkar does justice to the narrative by keeping it simple yet visually appealing. Shades of realism reflect throughout the texture and bring the audiences closer to the characters. Chitranjan Giri as Vinayak brings out a perceptive portrayal of the character making it an endearing performance.
The film has recently been added to the “Films 101” database for the year 2009. It has also won an award in the "Discovery" category of the Toronto International Film Festival recently. It been screened at other festivals like the IFFI and Cairo International film festival. Not to mention, it is rare that an Indian film competes in the "World Competition" section at PIFF and The Man Beyond The Bridge has achieved that honour too.
It was surprising to know that the Goa state had rejected funding to this film four years back, but today it has brought international fame to the state. This film is Shetgaonkar’s second directorial venture and is produced by the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC). It is commendable that he could represent India in international platforms, creating a hopeful picture for many. The film proves that there is a lot of potential beyond the tinsel town which needs to be tapped.

coincidental

What is it that we have
I begin and you end
you feel and I express
I think about you and it beeps

Its our dona paula magic you say
its what we call magic
its our love

Is it you or me?

(warning: This post is going to be too disparate to understand, just like my brain)

At a time when I am supposed to be writing about (German Expressionism- a pretty cool concept btw), I have been sitting and staring at my blog and hers. I compare. I check. I read and I put the jigsaw puzzle together. Is this an obsession or just my way of messing things up for us.

Narcissist that I am, I had two mirrors in my old house, Mum has promised me she will buy me a vintage piece.

I go over it again and again, trying to figure where did I mess up? Why do I feel like an old junk, why do I feel as if I am a mid-stop, a station that comes and passes without anyone realising it existed.

Should I take a shower or wait for you to clear my head? Is losing coupla Kilograms over it really worth the effort? What has beauty got to do with it, my eyes speak so does my tongue.

Should I quote you here? but wait, am I so shallow and dumb that I need your help? oh hell these lines on my laptop screen need to be removed.

We conclude- its not me.

this is where it started.
below
expressionism

Me a Fairy?

Turn me into a fairy,
with a little white dress
washed wings over my shoulders,
and a love wand of stars

"Do I look pretty in this new garb?"
I ask my mother with ever curious eyes
"you are my angel, my sunshine" she says
Her lips blow a kiss and I smile

She knows her beautiful girl inside out
her soft hand clutching my palms
we walk away we walk far
None know where we are?

Aunts and uncles who always know it all
"green eyed monsters", I wish I could call
they bark and they scratch
they look and they stare

Me the little fairy with broken wings
me the prey to the monster's grin
"Save me mama" I cry

Hiroshima Mon Amour- a paradox on celluloid

Overwhelmingly passionate, true Resnais style, HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR is the story of a French actress and a Japanese architect interspersed with the place as a background. Hiroshima acts as a solid base for the story, leading to a tale of tragedy, longing and tries to ask a philosophical justification to the bombings that we witnessed in history.



Elle and Lui though happily married with their respective partners, but this chance encounter leads Elle down the memory lane drawing parallels between her first lover and Lui. In the passionate encounter as Elle narrates her story of having seen the bombing, Lui tries his best to nullify her claim.

The film throws many questions like whether it is best to have loved that to not have presented oneself the opportunity of being loved? Whether what one thinks is the reality may be negated to being just a figment of imagination. Based on Marguerite Duras novel, Hiroshima Mon Amour (Hiroshima My love) is a paradoxical journey through Resnais lens.

The Director:

Alain Resnais was born on June 3, 1922 in the town of Vannes, on the western coast of France. His career as a filmmaker began when he made his first amateur film at age 14. He studied his craft at the Institut des Hautes ètudes Cinémato-graphiques in Paris, and began his professional career with a series of short films, many of which focus on art and the life of artists, including Guernica, Gaugin, and Van Gogh, which won him an Academy Award in 1948 at the young age of 26. His documentary Night and Fog is regarded by many as the most important Holocaust film ever made.

Hiroshima, Mon Amour, his first 35mm film, won the Cannes Film Festival International Critics Prize in 1959. His later films include Last Year at Marienbad (1961), Muriel (1963), La Guerre est finie (1966), Stavisky (1974), Providence (1977), Mon oncle d'Amerique (1980), Life Is a Bed of Roses (1983), L'Amour ê Mort (1984), Melo (1986), I Want to Go Home (1989), Smoking and No Smoking (1993).

R.I.P. my favourite denims :(

It was the best pair I ever owned, with little swarovski right at the place where they were needed. It could read my mind and gauge my mood, it acted the way I wanted it to. I can even call it my lucky pants, because I always got lucky with it on ;)

Till last night I thought there was still some chance of getting it back, but after the tailor refused to even acknowledge the fact that something can be done, I had to give up hope.

I can never get a pair like that ever again. Will always miss it.

<3