Sunday, March 19, 2006

Anurag Kashyap's workshop & "GULAL"

Late Saturday evening, saw an event listing on Ryze

Satya, Shool , Nayak, Yuva.... and Black Friday
You have loved the movies, Now meet the man...
BAISCOPE ENTERTAINMENT
presents
a workshop * by writer - director ANURAG KASHYAP
on
Sunday, March 19, 2006, at 3pm
at 5th floor, Fun Republic, Andheri (W)
Entry fee: Rs 100/- per person (for non members)
Rs 20/- per person (for members)

Well, because of problems with the Censor board & then the Supreme court, I haven't had the chance to watch Black Friday, but I do own a copy of its audio casette, since music was done by "Indian Ocean" another favorite of mine. But, I digress.

As I was saying before, I am a huge fan of Anurag Kashyap's acting. Yes, he acts in theatre. Mainly with Makarand Deshpande's troupe "Ankh"

With the cast of Sir Sir Sarla III
So although I had never heard about BAIScope before, my interest was piqued and off I trooped to Fun Republic on Sunday evening.

After a harrowing expedition all over the complex, up & down escalators, elevators and stairs, gathering more lost souls along the way, we all finally found our way to the special screening theatre on the 7th floor with a rear gate entry.

The session started a little late, but most didnt mind since the setting was informal & kinda cosy. The special screening theatre has its own mini concession stand which will serve you at your seat inside, once you place an order. The theatre seats about 100 or so, I think.

baiscope then proceded to introduce themselves as an NGO for the film fraternity. Their initial endeavour is to provide a platform for interaction and information for budding actors, directors, script writers, anyone who is trying to get a foot in the door in films and media. the core group consists of some energetic young members from every range in the media spectrum. From CNBC to ad agencies and onwards. This was their first public event, so maybe I will have more info on them in future.

Anurag was then given centre stage. He introduced himself saying that he had made 2.8 films. "Paanch" which was scuttled by the Censors. "Black Friday" which was halted by the Supreme Court and "Gulal" which is currently under production.

He started out by showing us the raw version of "Gulal" his new film. I have never watched a Raw Version before and it gave me huge appreciation of the reason that there are seperate Oscars for Sound editing, Film editing & Sound Mixing.
In a raw version the colors are bad, the sound track goes all over the place. When characters talk loudly or shout, it results in screeching effects and so on.

Inspite of all this, the story line was interesting and quite gripping as it progressed. Having learnt from previous experience, he has now set his film in the future. With the breakdown of the government & democracy, the maharaja's in Rajasthan are trying to wrest control back to form the princely state of Rajputana. The movie is a simple love story set against this backdrop.

We just watched a section of the film, but it was enough to whet our appetites for its release. There is some brilliant music with excellent lyrics including some incredible poetry woven into the story line.

The floor was now open to questions which flew thick, fast & furiously. What emerged was that the man himself was a sensitive soul with strong views and the courage & conviction in his beliefs which helped keep him going through all adversities. Some of the most interesting things he said over the evening were :
"The struggle is not to make it to a producer or to find a star or to tell a story, the struggle is in your head."
"You have to be willing to risk everything"
"Only when you have lost everything, then can something good come out"
"MF Hussain can express his art anyway he likes because he uses his time, his supplies, his creativity, his money. A director is responsible to the people who lend him the money to make his film and he needs to keep their sensibilities and viewpoints in mind too"

One of the few interesting individuals I have had the pleasure of interacting with recently. He clearly knows what he wants & is not afraid to do what is necessary to get there. I do hope that "Gulal" is released properly in India so that the country gets a chance to see what a great Director he is and listen to the wonderful stories that he has to tell.

Now, I've to go find me a copy of "Black Friday" or maybe attend an International Film Festival where it is being screened.

Support for Anurag on the blogosphere:
http://easyreview.blogspot.com/2005/10/black-friday-haunting.html
http://crossstyx.blogspot.com/2005/06/black-friday-director-anurag-kashyap.html
http://middlestage.blogspot.com/2005/04/waiting-for-black-friday.html

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Desi Train in Conversation with Anurag Kashyap :

http://desicritics.org/2006/04/24/044123.php

Anonymous said...

Dev D is a modern-day love story. Dev, Paro and Chanda of Dev D reflect the sensibilities, conflicts, aggression, independence, free thought, exuberance and recklessness of the youth of today. A generation that is jammed between eastern roots and western sensibilities.
Dev D is set in the rustic and colourful Punjab and also explores the dingy, morbid, dark underbelly of Delhi. It takes us from sprawling mustard fields to a riot of neon; from Punjabi ballads to mayhem in rock.
It's been written and directed by Anurag Kashyap and produced by UTV Spotboy.
The film stars Abhay Deol as Dev, Mahi Gill as Paro & Kalki as Chanda.
To know more log on to www.devdthefilm.com

Anonymous said...

I heard Gulal holds similarities with a Kannada movie "Neela"? Is it true? Is Gulal a remake?

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