My TEDx Talk at IIM-Indore

Sometime in May I received an email from IIM-Indore, inviting me to deliver a talk at their upcoming TEDx event. They wanted to know if I would want to accept the invitation. I was overwhelmed and despite the doubt if I was worthy of that stage, I accepted it. That was the only reasonable thing to do.

I was then informed of the theme: "Inscriptions on Sand". This is how they explained it to me: "Norms help us against the chaos and structure our life. So it becomes tough to stand up against the existing norms and bring about a revolutionary change. But these transformations are inevitable and necessary as they lead to the betterment of the society, washing away our current perceptions as new waves wash away the 'inscriptions on sand'."

When I had agreed to the invitation, I didn't know that I'll have to speak on a theme. From here to receiving the strict TEDx instructions and eventually working on the content of my speech, I constantly wondered what I am getting into. I must mention that the support that I received from the organizers was phenomenal - they literally helped me figure out my talk for myself. When I saw the list of the rest of the speakers, I felt so honored and humbled. There were seven of us. Apart from me, the rest of them were:

• Anu Vaidyanathan: Athlete (swimmer, biker and marathon runner), PhD in Electrical Engineering and CEO of an IP Consulting Firm
• Navin Gulia: Guinness Record Holder Adventurer, Author and Social Worker
• Vijay Padaki: Psychologist, Behavioral Scientist and Theatre Guru
• Abhishant Pant: Fintech Enthusiast, Explorer, presently on a Cashless Endeavour
• Swapna Sundar: Entrepreneur, Lawyer and Author
• Padmashri Dr. V. Adimurthy: The Brain behind Mangalyaan

Finally on 26th of June, we had the event in the beautiful campus of IIM-Indore. I decided to talk about "the Essential Ingredient of Your Life-Changing Moment". What is that? Watch the video below and see if it is of any help to you. For me, it was a privilege to be there and listen to my fellow speakers and an experience I will never forget. I cannot ask for more.

Our New Film-Poem

Recently did this web-ad. I adapted the classic O. Henry story into a script and wrote the Hindi poem. My brother, Devanshu, directed it. Hope it adds a smile to your day! :)

Perks, Perspectives

Last month, Devanshu and I enjoyed, perhaps for the first time, the perks of being film-makers, during the first film festival we attended as participants in competition, rather than delegates or film-buffs. The event, International Children's Film Festival, was held in Hyderabad where our film, Tamaash, was competing with 15 others in the International Shorts Competition. To be honest, we had no idea how wonderful the experience could be, until we reached there.

Okay. So, I haven't travelled much by air - only thrice before this. The festival organisers took care of our air fare and hence I got the chance, once again, to feel the excitement of being hundreds of metres above the ground, silently revising the concepts of physics - relative velocity, frame of reference, etc - that we had learnt in school, and marvelling at the achievement of man. On reaching Hyderabad airport, we received a traditional welcome with flower garlands from the festival volunteers that left us amused and awkward at the same time with everyone in the airport looking at us. Then a car took us to the hotel we were supposed to stay in for the next eight days. To add to this, my Mom joined us that evening, and for both her and me it was our first stay at a five-star hotel. Our meals were taken care of, and we were provided with vehicles to travel from the hotel to the festival venue and back. Interacting with film-makers from abroad, with the audience during the screening of our film, and with the media followed. Personally speaking, the biggest highlights of the trip were to make Mom meet Gulzar Sahab and Amol Palekar, visiting Ramoji Film City and other places of interest in Hyderabad, and having a one-hour informal lunch meeting with Raju Hirani. This last meeting was amazing, with Raju wanting to hear from me my poems from 'Udaan' and we talking about his approach towards writing and editing his films. I'm sure Mom will cherish that forever. And then, on the last evening, our film won an award, as I have mentioned in a previous post. The most beautiful thing about it, of course, was that it happened before my mother. As if this was not enough, soon after this trip ended, our film won the Audience Award for Best Short Film at River to River Film Festival, Florence, Italy. The win also secured two more screenings in Italy for the film, one each in Rome and Milan.

Through my brother's FB account, we have shared this news with all. And we have been receiving congratulations from all our well-wishers. And the first thing most of them ask is - you must be partying hard, right?

Well. No. We did celebrate in our own little way, but our degree of celebration would disappoint most of our friends' expectations. The most important thing at this moment is not all the accolades that we won, but the desire to repeat it again, and more importantly, do that with a much better film. The most important thing, in fact, is not a repetition of all the perks and praise, but to ensure that our next film is a better cinematic work - with only the two of us, Devanshu and I, being the judge of the same.

Each film, I believe, results in three different kinds of results that the film-maker should respect and be aware of. The first is the maker's feeling toward what he created. In our case, we are proud of the film, mainly because it taught us more about film-making than anything else, and we know that a lot of things fell in the right place to make this happen. But the merits of the film are equally glaring in comparison with the shortcomings, which we feel are many and need to be taken care of. However, the second result is the way audience reacts to the film. If they love your film, you have to respect their reaction, as much as you have to accept their disapproval for it. And the third result is - how you can use your film for professional gains - from monetizing it, to using it as a PR tool, to anything and everything that may help you as a film-maker. Even if I hate my film, and the audience hates it, I should still try to maximise my returns. I cannot abandon the film, because costs involved in film-making and lack or availability of opportunities are as important as our craft and the specific successes or failures. These three results are and should be mutually exclusive of each other and a wiser film-maker will never try to mix the three and hope for the best in all these fronts.

At times we will click. At times we won't. The only way forward is through this maze of differing perspectives and the hide-and-seek opportunities play with you. And the only real tool you have is the desire to create something new, and hopefully impressive. All the past projects - good or bad - and memories and learnings associated with them are only the building blocks of the next. Celebrations included.

The Blog Turns Five

During what can be safely called the most stressful and emotionally challenging period of my life, a little over five years ago, I was struggling with my inability to create something worthwhile. It was the time when I had just shifted to Mumbai, and was trying to arrange a massive sum of money to buy my freedom from the Indian Armed Forces. Giving up the service liability was expensive in more ways than one - not only was I letting go of the job as a Doctor in the army, I was embracing a life of "struggle" - in the conventional sense - as an aspiring writer-director in the Mumbai film industry. Emotionally isolated by all my family, all trying their best and ineffectively so to make me change my mind, I was going through a stubborn, confident, but difficult time. And could hardly do anything productive and fulfilling. Then one evening, I chanced upon a blog by one of my juniors, and thought of starting one of my own, dedicated to cinema. That was how, in November 2008, this blog was born, to celebrate cinema as a film-buff.

However, in the following years, I kept updating almost every cinema-related event of my life in this space. From what I learnt from my self-study of the medium, and my experiences as a teacher, to all professional acts and achievements - articles of all kinds found its way into the film-buff's public display of obsessive affection with the movies. Today, despite any active effort to promote this blog, I have a healthy bunch of dedicated readers, some of them very regular, and the traffic of daily page-views has increased remarkably. With 300 posts in last five years, an average of one post every six days, I do not claim to be an avid blogger, but am happy to have stayed consistent, always trying to present something not too technical or academic, but informative anyway, hoping to share whatever little I know and discover of this amazing and magical art and craft of film-making. During these five years, I have also met people who have known me through this blog, and have even been approached by a studio marketing unit to attend their previews. Today, when I read some of my old posts, I smile at my own innocence and naiveté, closing to embarrassment. I continue to struggle with my English, and it is never easy to write on this space. Every time I attempt to write a post, I feel the insecurity of how it will shape up and how my readers will receive it. One of the biggest struggle has been to keep writing personal accounts without making them sound egotistical, as well as to balance the much-aspired modesty with the desire to share my achievements and successes. Despite all this, the only truth is that the blog continues to evolve, with me, and remains a very important inspiration in my life. I hope this blog remains alive as long as I live. After all, it is the only social medium I am active at.

On the fifth birthday of my blog, I would like to thank all my readers, regular or otherwise, who have constantly motivated me with their kind comments about my writings. And would also like to share some good news, that would also explain my absence from this space for more than three weeks. Well, simply put, my brother and I have just won our first award as film-makers - a Golden Elephant trophy at International Children's Film Festival India 2013, Hyderabad, for our Kashmiri short film "Tamaash". There were 16 films from all over the world competing in the category of International Shorts, and the Children's Jury adjudged our film as the best, over the Oscar-nominated "Buzkashi Boys", the Golden Bear winner at Berlin "The Amber Amulet", and several other beautiful films, many of them, according to me, being better than our film. The Jury thought otherwise and gave us this award that has brought an exceptional joy to all my friends and well-wishers. You, the reader of this blog, are also a part of this moment of celebration. I hope you keep witnessing this fascinating journey, as I continue the unending struggle to create something worthwhile, including the posts on this wall.

Tamaash: Our First Film for the World

Last November, I had written a post about the post-shoot blues I was suffering from after shooting a short film. Since then, there has been no mention of that film on this blog. Well, here it goes. We started editing in December, and our other commitments did not allow us to come up with a rough cut until March. We then started showing it to others for feedback, and realised this film is being received well. What had started as an exercise to learn film-making had turned into a pleasant surprise. But the bigger news was yet to come, and hence the film was not mentioned on this blog. Not yet.

Our 32-minute film in Kashmiri language, "Tamaash", has just been selected to screen at two international film festivals. It premieres at Seattle South Asian Film Festival on the first week of October. You can click here to have a look at its mention in the festival programme. And between 17th to 26th October, it will be screened up to four times at Heartland Film Festival, Indianapolis. It is a competition category and if the film wins there (it is impossibly tough, but if it does), it would be eligible (only eligible, not nominated) for the Oscar Award for Best Live-Action Short!

Perhaps this is the biggest news of our career, of my brother and mine. We wrote, produced, edited, and directed "Tamaash" that went on to become our first film for the world. (Our previously made not-so-good short films must be feeling so ignored!) However, this could be possible only with the enormous support of close to a hundred people in Mumbai, Kashmir and elsewhere, and several hundreds of best wishers, including you - the reader of this blog. The film was funded by close friends who did not even go through the story and became proud co-producers of it based on their faith in us. I hope we didn't let them down. And thanks to them, and to so many others, five years after moving to this city it's time for one of my very own works to play on big screen in a couple of cities far, far away. Until our debut feature film arrives, and it may take a while, let us offer you some short fiction. The first in the list is ready to be served! :)

P.S. I hope to write a series of posts on the wonderful journey of making the film. That Kashmir trip has all the makings of one of the most significant trips of my life. It would be fun sharing it with you.

Half a Decade of Freedom

30^th June, 2008. I got done with my Obstetrics and Gynecology (Practical) paper, took an evening train from Pune, reached Mumbai, and made this city my home. Today I complete five years of my life in Mumbai – a life full of adventure, uncertainties, hopes, opportunities, passion, and dreams, but most importantly, a life of freedom, from norms and conventions, and from the society’s expectations of me. Until recently I could not believe that so much time has passed, but today as I write these words, it all seems very normal to me. Five years have passed indeed, and I have sufficient matter to ponder over and be fulfilled with, despite the apparent continuation of the ‘struggle’ my life turned into that rainy evening.

Yes, I am yet to taste any major success. The poems in ‘Udaan’ remain my biggest achievement to date, something that helps me find immediate acceptance and admiration among strangers who have watched the film – and that number is not big. None of the numerous screenplay drafts I have written have taken me anywhere. I have written two films that never got made. I am still struggling with the script of a film that should be made sometime in near future. And one film I wrote the final draft of got made but never got released. I do consider myself a professional and fairly competent screenwriter, but there is no work of mine out there to prove it, except the scripts I have written for myself, to direct one day. My career as a lyricist has not taken off despite the song in ‘Ferrari ki Sawaari’. I have stayed away from television, until recently, and it is only now that I am going to have a weekly credit on an upcoming TV show that my parents can proudly flaunt to those around them. I have earned considerable admiration and respect at a personal level from some big names in the industry, from Shekhar Kapur to Sudhir Mishra, Irrfan, Vinod Chopra, Shankar Mahadevan, and Anurag Kashyap. Not that they will jump with joy to see my name flashing on their phones, but I know they will talk to me nicely if they eventually receive the call. The strongest relation in the industry I have, apart from several professionals, is with Vikramaditya Motwane and his family and it indeed feels great to receive the affection and guidance from them every now and then. But apart from this, what else have I achieved? My life has hardly improved in the last five years. I am yet to afford a motor-bike or get rid of the lakhs of rupees of loan I had to take while ‘buying’ my freedom from the Indian Armed Forces. In the thirtieth year of my life, I am still asking my parents to stay patient and not expect me to support them financially. I still move around without a wrist-watch, and with the cheapest phone available, and clothes that are several years old but have miraculously retained their sheen to protect my pocket and preserve my reputation. “Something big is just round the corner” and “It is only the initial phase of struggle which will be over once your time comes” are the usual lines I keep hearing from my well-wishers. And every time I take that turn round the corner, I realize the time has not come yet.

So what does this over-romanticized portrayal of the unending miseries tell you about me? Well, it might be over-romanticized, but it is definitely not miserable. If I know one thing about my life for sure, it is this – it will never be smooth, I will always be continuously seeking things to fulfill my ever-changing ambitions, success will only leave me wanting for more. I clearly do not see this quest ending, ever. And, to be honest, perhaps I don’t want this quest to end. As far as the comforts of life are concerned, I have never complained and am pretty contented with what I have. I will not say no to pleasures, but am in no rush to achieve them. My only concern is, and has been, the desire and aspiration to perform at a certain level, without giving too much attention to my successes and failures. This is not a pseudo-intellectual, fake statement by an insecure, unfulfilled man to impress others. This is the only way to survive in this life, as understood by a rational man of limited material attachments. Because if you ignore my lack of material possessions, you would agree with me that I am a pretty rich man.

The first year in this city taught me two things – one, if I keep working hard, I have sufficient talent to make a place in this industry, especially because they are keen to accept ‘outsiders’ if they see any benefit in that. And two, my biggest strength and motivation lies among my enormous support system, which is not my family, but my friends. Friends from school and college have stood by my side throughout these five years, at times even at the cost of their own personal lives, to make sure that I stay strong and motivated, and keep working hard to fulfill my dreams. And then there are some relationships that I have made in this city, few but precious, who are always there for me, to help me in all possible ways, to give me, apart from the financial support if I need it, the emotional support that I crave for at times. Hundreds of new faces have joined this list of my well-wishers, in the form of my present and ex-students, who are available with me as a raw human-resource waiting to be utilized, and as the most uninhibited and ruthless motivators, cheering for me, and smiling at my success. In the third year as a teacher, I have already realized that this is something I was born to do, and even if I fail as a film-maker, I know I will live a fulfilled life as a teacher. The efforts are on to make myself a good film-maker, and the amount of theoretical and practical learning that I have had in these five years has been way more than my five years at the Medical College.

Amidst all this, my personal romance with the movies continues. If I look back at the close to 1000 films I have watched in the past five years, and the film-makers I have discovered and worshiped, that alone would justify the time span. One thing that has not changed is that joy of watching a great film, that moment when I forget what I am – a writer, a film-maker, a teacher, or a medicine graduate trying to live the life of his dreams – and happily relish in the state of being what I was since I was a kid – someone in love with cinema.

Five years have gone. One day, these will look like a short span of time. Today, they are the sum-total of my life as a free man. I don’t know how well I’ll do, but flying with my wings spread wide is all that I want in this life, and I know I won’t give up trying, because giving up trying would actually mean giving up this precious and rare freedom.

Do You Have it in You?

The title of the post was the tag-line of the adverts for Indian Army during my school days. While thinking of the title as I write these words, it just flashed into my mind. Five years in an army medical college, and several army doctors as close friends, have given me a good idea of what life in the armed forces is. It's tough. Very tough. And still, I am using this tag line to mark a post that talks about the attributes or qualities of a screen-writer. The reason is simple. Writing, too, is an extremely tough profession. I think it is one of the toughest in the world. Those who disagree have no idea what writing is. Those who agree, well, please send me a cheque. I badly need one.

I recently chanced upon this website, which is an amazing source of inspiration and knowledge for a screenwriter. It is so vast that I am struggling to keep up with my daily subscription of its posts. Every day, it gives me something that rejuvenates my spirits. A few weeks ago, it ran a series on the attributes of a screenwriter, the skills and traits one should possess if he or she is bitten by the film-writing bug. For long, I wanted to share those traits here on this blog. Finally, I am doing it:

1. TALENT: This is the most insignificant of all qualities. Insignificant and overrated. How can one ever tell that he has got talent? How can someone else do it for him? If I believe I have talent, don't I have it? If I believe I have talent, do I really have it? This quality is insignificant because there is no point in dwelling into it. But still, you've got to have talent. I wish I were a good cricketer. I really do. But I just didn't have the talent. So, if you can assess your writing skills the way I can my cricketing skills, ask this question to yourselves. If not, just forget it and believe in yourself.

2. PASSION: This is also insignificant. Because passion alone can take you nowhere. But this is essential. The passion you have for movies and writing will help your longevity in this tough industry, will heal your wounds, will keep you on with an empty stomach and worn out shirt. If you are not doing it for the love of movies, quit NOW. But how do you know if you've got passion? Well, I think just ask these questions: Do you eagerly await the release of some movies? In your conversations with friends, do you often bring up movies? Do you think of movies every day at least once? If you haven't watched a movie for some time, do you feel a void within you? In my case, a big YES is the answer to each of these questions. Hope the same for you.

3. COURAGE: It takes courage to isolate yourself from the entire world, trying to create something. A couple of years flash by and people start asking - what about that script you were writing? It takes courage to answer that question. It takes courage to tell your loved ones that your time will come. It takes courage to tell yourself that the usual pleasures and conventional life enjoyed by others will have to wait. It takes courage to spend months and years on a script, knowing very well that the film may never be made. It takes courage to finish the draft and send it out to others to judge it and take their feedback. And it takes courage to start all over again, re-writing, and giving your all, again.

4. CONSISTENCY: Can you consistently come up with good ideas? Can you willingly and sincerely go into the research for your script and work hard on it? Can you get yourself to the chair and write every day? Can you write a fresh script after one you have just finished? Or every time you do one of these things, you feel the need to take a break and go on a vacation. Quit NOW, if that is the case. Writing, as I always say, is manual labour. You have to churn out work hours. Or you will go nowhere.

5. PERSISTENCE: The more you get into screenwriting, the more you realise the truth behind the mantra: "Writing is Re-writing." Can you write several drafts of your screenplay? Can you keep working on it for months and years together, trying to perfect it to your heart's content? Persistence, according to me is the most valuable quality a screenwriter can have. Read about David Seidler. His first widely recognised work 'The King's Speech' (2010) came when he was 73. He received an Academy Award for it and today he must be proud of his life that was spent in order to create that one magnificently inspiring screenplay. After all, it might just take one week of magical inspiration for a writer to create a masterpiece of a draft. But no one can say when that one week will be bestowed upon him. The answer to this is persistence. If we keep looking for it, working hard, may be ten years down the line, or twenty, or thirty, we will get that one week of magical inspiration and we will create our masterpiece. If Seidler had given up after reaching the age of 65, we wouldn't be talking about him here.

6. FLEXIBILITY: The script evolves as you work on it. Do you have it in you to acknowledge that evolution? Do you have it in you to evolve as a person with time or you are too rigid to change? Are you open to feedback? Can you take feedback without being defensive? Can you consider each feedback with an objective mind? Can you acknowledge and accept all kinds of emotions that a writer feels in his journey with each script? If you are not flexible, writing a great script is still possible. But will you be able to survive as a great writer, all your life?

7. VOICE: Have you got anything to say? Do you have a world-view, a perspective on things? Have you experienced life in a way no one else has done? Do you feel the need to interpret things in your way and make it accessible for others? In short, are you an author? Or you are someone who is interested in churning out genre films, doing the same thing again and again, not bothering about finding your own, unique voice?

8. KNOWLEDGE OF THE CRAFT: Screenwriting has to be learnt. It's not poetry that you do for yourself. It's an art and a craft, and needs to be structured in such a way that hundreds of people can use it to work as a team and create a film, that financiers back it, that distributors buy the film it results into, that audience loves it. A musician who says - I don't give a damn about the theory behind the musical notes and rhythms is saying no to the valuable information his predecessors have accumulated for him. Screenwriters who believe there is no need to learn the craft know nothing about screenwriting.

9. EXPERIENCE OF WRITING: How many pages have you written as a writer? How many drafts have you written? Until today, in the past six-seven years, I have written around 25 drafts of various screenplays. It would be roughly 2500 pages, not counting the short scripts. I know I could have done more. I know the more you write, the easier it gets. Every time you start a fresh draft, after a gap of a few weeks, writing the first page is so damn difficult. And once you have been writing regularly for just about seven days, the eighth day is that much easier. There are a lot of 'writers' who have a lot of ideas and concepts, which they believe are 'kick-ass'! But when you ask them if they have ever completed one 100-page draft of a screenplay, their face says it all. Like all things in the world, experience of actually doing it always helps.

10. CONVICTION: Do I need to say more. Conviction - this one word tells it all. Self-belief. The funny thing is, if you have got conviction, you can afford to ignore all the above mentioned qualities. "I do not have too much of talent or passion. I don't work hard and I'm not disciplined. I can not take criticism, and I fear failure. I do not have anything unique to say. I don't know the craft and I have never written a word. But I believe in myself and one day I will prove it to you!" See, conviction works even for this writer friend of ours. So, if you have any one of the above mentioned qualities, you should feel lucky! But if you do not have conviction, then all the nine qualities mentioned above will fail to take you anywhere. I believe conviction is the soul of our profession, persistence is the body, and passion is the heart. If you have these three, all the rest can be learnt or acquired. After all, what makes an artist other than a journey of seeking forever? Who said this? James Joyce? Perhaps.

Test Your Idea

The first idea I had had for an original film script was when I was seventeen. I am yet to develop that idea into a screenplay. In the years that followed, innumerable concepts fascinated me, and I thought I was going to be one of the greatest film writers, versatile and universally loved.

Today, I understand that most of those ideas can not be made into commercially viable films aspiring to find an audience. And several of those which fascinated me are not good ideas at all. Storytelling in cinema is different from writing a novel or a play or a nostalgic memoir of a distant past. Storytelling in cinema is different from social activism and aspiring to change the world. But still, when a new idea strikes us, we are excited and inspired, and believe we have a film in hand. What works and what does not, in cinema, is an elaborate argument and let us spare it for later. For now, I have come up with a list of 15 questions that may help you judge whether your idea is good enough for a film.

Not all, but most of these questions should be answered in affirmative, if you want to check the promise in your idea. Take this test. See the result. Then either believe in this questionnaire or reject this post of mine. The least I promise is - it will enhance your understanding of the film 'in your head'.

• Have you got nine other ideas with respect to which this is the best? Remember - the best way to find a good idea is to have a lot of ideas.
• Are you really inspired to tell this story? If yes, do you think you can work on it even if the script may not see the light of the day and the film is never made? Developing a script is the riskiest phase of film-making. No one can guarantee that the film will be made. You should not regret later if it's not made, because if you are inspired with your story, you will 'make it in your head' as you write it and you can 'watch it' all your life when you read it.
• Is it original enough? Have you not seen this idea flourish into films/scenes from films/ soap operas/plays/novels before? Beware of the subconscious influences!
• Do you have an appropriate ending in mind? It is important to determine the ending of the story before deciding to work in it. It's not absolutely essential. But it is important.
• Is it emotionally involving? Will most people relate to it? An emotionally involving story is universal, unlike an 'intellectual' or 'cerebral' one. An emotionally involving story is also more likely to be made.
• Are you sure you do not have predictable elements or cliches in your story? If there are, can you find solutions to get rid of them? We hate cliches in others' films, but we somehow do not mind them in ours! Please check and re-check.
• Do you understand the world your story is set in? If no, can you shift it to the world you know? Or, are you willing to understand the world inside out? This can be taken as an opportunity to learn and experience new worlds. But it will require a lot of effort.
• Do you know the characters well? If no, can you take inspiration from characters you know in real life and fuse them to create the characters of your story? Characters around us are amazing. Start with yourself!
• Are you sure your characters are not stereotypical? What can you do to make them 'original' and interesting? Instead of creating characters as seen in films, try to create characters as seen in life.
• Does the idea have the merit to suit the running time of your intended film? The story of the clever crow managing to quench its thirst is good for a two-minute animation, not for a two-hour live-action film.
• Are you sure that in your story, you are not relying too much on chance events? If no, can you change them to character-driven events? We cringe as audience when too much is dictated by chance. Even in our favourite movies, such moments are the least favourite!
• Are you sure that you are not relying on evoking the sympathy and pity of the audience for the characters? If no, can you find ways to make the audience empathise with and admire your characters rather than pitying them? No one wants to see a cry baby on screen!
• Do you have a theme to guide you through whenever you need it? Is the core philosophy of the story something you believe in? The theme need not be something as profound as the Aatman-Brahman Theory. It can be something as simple as - Life is Beautiful! Whatever it is, it's important that you believe in it. Otherwise, you won't be true to yourself as a writer.
• Do you see the film as a conflicted journey of the protagonist(s) that causes some significant change by the end? If there were no conflicts, 'Lagaan' would have been a 30-minute short film that everyone would have hated. If there were no change, most stories would appear sterile and ineffective. Conflicts and change are the body and soul of your idea. 
• Do you have the courage to fail and the conviction to succeed before starting on this journey? If this is the only question you have answered in affirmative, go ahead even if the rest fourteen have been negative. If the answer to this question is 'No', even fourteen positives will not help! This last question is also the disclaimer for my post: You may choose to ignore the entire post if you don't believe in it. But in any case, believe in yourself! I would be most happy to read a good script that is born out of an idea that did not conform with most of the questions above.

Writing for Others

A student of mine asked me this question today: "How do you keep your vision (as a writer) intact and continue to have a conviction behind your chain of thoughts when you know that the depiction and sensibility of the film (by the director) is going to be different than the script anyway? As a writer, does this bother you... and if it does how do you fight it, and still maintain the quality of the product?"

I can very confidently tell you that the issue mentioned above does not bother me at all. But I understand that there will be writers who will be struggling in this regard. I'll share my take on it. And I'll present it in the form of certain facts that I think a writer should keep in mind:

1. Accept that you are a writer, and not a director: A writer is not naturally capable of directing, unless he has those qualities in him. Creating a world on paper in solitude is difficult but also very different from re-creating that world working with hundreds of people, getting things done in the midst of chaos, and especially dealing with technology and egos of people. So, the writer should understand that he or she, despite being the creator of the story, need not be the best person to direct it.

2. Your script is your film and your only opportunity to seek fulfillment: If you were a famous popular novelist, and you knew that the current novel you are working on will definitely be made into a film by someone, you do not start making the film and doing the shot division and meeting composers for the musical score. You do what you do best - writing the novel. And even if you visualize things, you have accepted that the film-maker might change them, and that this novel alone is your own space where you can do what you want to. Similarly, a screenwriter should write the script he wants to write - and make that film in his head. But he should know very well that the film from his head will be 'remade' by the director. That does not mean he should feel demotivated. The script is the writer's space - and he should do all that he wants to in that space. Consider this - the script is the only opportunity for the writer to 'make his film'. So, he must use it uninhibitedly. This is the only version of the movie he can say he created on his own and take pride in. (The only exception to this is a scenario when the director is attached to the writing process and you are writing to fulfill his expectations. In that case, you have to make a choice whether you want to write as per his instructions, which, according to me, is completely fine and a fair professional decision, or you want to convince him to let you write your way.)

3. Detach: Once your script has been approved, the writer should detach himself from the process. He should learn to let go. Mothers and fathers let go of their daughters (and in some cases their sons). Teachers let go of students. Artists let go of the art-works they have sold. Even directors, at times, let go of the films they have made. So there is no reason why a writer cannot do it. This is a part of his job. If he cannot do it, he should write only for himself, or better, write and keep the script in his closet. However, detaching is not the same as disowning. Depending on the film that is being made, and the way the director is re-interpreting the script, detachment can be of different levels. You can be present on the set and help the director with all he needs, knowing very well that you will have to let him take the final call. Or you can choose to never visit the set, and possibly even not watch the film when it is out. Between these two ends is a wide spectrum, and a writer finds himself attached (or detached) with the film by trying to find that place in the spectrum that suits him as per respective projects. In any case, I think the trick is to trust the director initially. And if things are not happening the way you had visualized, wish him all the best and detach. Start working on the next script, the next 'film in your head'.

4. You are not alone: All creative individuals working on a film struggle to achieve this balance that we have been talking about. A cinematographer might have a certain vision and style that he willingly modifies to suit the director's vision and style. An editor does the same. Even actors wish to work within the director's interpretation of the characters, or at least seek approval from him regarding their interpretations. Musicians, lyricists, choreographers, production designers, sound designers - all strive to achieve that balance. Film-making is a collaborative process and the director is the head of the pyramid. If all creative individuals can come together and become a part of his 'film', there is no reason why a writer should keep sulking in a corner. Perhaps the only reason would be that writers are most used to solitude, and sulking in a corner is something that comes naturally to them. But otherwise, they should understand that they are not alone, or are being 'sidelined' by the director.

In the end it's all a matter of readjusting expectations, and constantly doing so. Being a part of a team and maintaining your individuality and giving the best from your end is a question of character. It is not easy. But so is life. If wedded couples can do it, if sportspersons can do it, if soldiers can do it, why can't a writer - who is doing one of the most difficult jobs on earth? How he or she manages to achieve that detached attachment will finally depend on his or her character and priorities. A start, however, can be made by accepting some facts, like those mentioned above, with faith and the right spirit. After all, "A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do." ( from Takashi Miike's 2007 film 'Sukiyaki Western Django')

Five Facts of Fact-based Fiction

This news is big. Steven Spielberg is about to create a mini-series on Napolean Bonaparte. But the fact that actually makes it such a big news is that Spielberg is basing the series on the script which is often termed as the “greatest film never made”, the most ambitious unrealized project of the giant that was Stanley Kubrick. Kubrick, who with his 13 films over a career of 46 years is the biggest cinematic illustration to the cliché of “quality over quantity” had reportedly studied close to five hundred books during his research for the film. And I, as would all other die-hard Kubrick fans, always wondered what that film would have been. Well, now is the time to look forward to it and hope Spielberg does justice to the vision of the master.

This brings me to my topic of this post. I’m presently working on a screenplay based on true events and real people and it’s such a great coincidence that most of recent releases I’ve seen recently have been ‘fact-based fiction’. Just check this out: ‘Argo’, ‘Special Chhabees’, ‘Lincoln’, and ‘Zero Dark Thirty’. Watching these, and reading about them, and simultaneously working on my script has led me to these five broad observations about fact-based fiction.

1. You do not have the liberty to do whatever you want with historical characters, and the story’s plot points and resolution, unless you decide to do an ‘Inglourious Basterds’ (2009) and assassin Hitler in a movie hall. So, the structure of the film is more a matter of selecting that period of the concerned history that makes for a compelling film. For example, ‘Lincoln’ deals with just one major achievement of the president and finally his assassination. There can be a separate film on the childhood of Lincoln until he becomes the president. It is up to the writer to choose what part of history he wants to recreate, as he can hardly ‘create’ something original.
2. However, you know that you’re not making a documentary. In feature films, you have to make sure that the larger appeal of the film is not compromised. Cinematic liberty is not only a tool, but often an inevitable necessity. And you always run the risk of losing the credibility if you barely cross that thin line. Watch the climax of ‘Argo’ to understand what I mean.
3. The bigger fight is internal. As a writer you do not want to lose your integrity. In most cases, you chose a certain character/event because you are personally fascinated by him/her/it. It becomes increasingly difficult, then, to alter facts to make your script spicy. You want to portray the truth in the most truthful way, but understand that point 1 mentioned above will always conflict with your intention to achieve something using point 2. This ethical and moral dilemma is something that you can never escape when you are writing fact-based fiction.
4. There is this predictable risk of the controversies and legal issues. After all, how can you ever make a film on the real CIA agent who helped in nabbing Osama Bin Laden? Hence you create a fictitious character, Maya, and symbolically portray the determination and efforts of all those who had contributed in the real life. Going by that, I think, the protagonist of ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ is a smart achievement of the writer. Otherwise, it was impossible to make a film on this remarkable historical event.
5. And then there is the limitation of the budget. When you’re writing about a certain historical period, you painstakingly recreate that world in your screenplay. Knowing that when seen on film, it is the details of art and costumes that will actually make things look ‘real’. As a writer, if you start wondering about whether the budget will allow your director to achieve everything that you are trying to imagine, chances are you would be failing to do justice to your product.

So, what is the answer? In my opinion, the only way out is to take pleasure in these challenges. Working within defined parameters can often be enlightening for the writer. And to be honest, similar challenges are faced while adapting a novel into a film script. Being able to deliver a good script under these circumstances is difficult and rewarding at the same time. Difficult and rewarding – perhaps this is the only similarity between this kind of adaptation and creating a completely original work!

P.S. Today, incidentally, is the death anniversary of Kubrick. Some people deserve immortality of flesh and blood!

Few Years and a Day in the Life of a Screenwriter

A couple of days ago, I had a long discussion with my director on the craft of screenwriting. We talked about the ‘rules’ that are advocated, and ‘the need for a structured approach’ to screenwriting, something I have always believed in. My director accepted that this is the ‘right’ approach, but that is precisely the reason why film-writing is not as fine, or superior a form of expression than, say, prose or poetry. I agreed, but the discussion left me a little insecure, until after one day of pondering over it, something inside me gave me the solution. That day, I believe, has become one important day in my life as a screenwriter. But in order to understand that, let us go a little back in time.

In 2006-07, I started to learn screenwriting by adapting two novels into their respective ‘first drafts’. And then, my brother and I started working on the first original script of ours. Next year, when I came to Mumbai, that script paved my way into the industry. It was liked by almost everyone who read it, and it brought us more opportunities. Until then I was not aware of any screenwriting rules and all we had were our instincts and imagination. We adapted another novel, and worked on several drafts of it – and that too was well-received by many.

And then, everything changed when I attended a Film Writers’ Association conference in December 2008, where I saw people mouth words like ‘Three-Act Structure’, ‘Plot Points’ etc. It terrified me. I felt ashamed to call myself a writer! That kick-started my learning of the grammar of film-writing. In the four years that followed, I read several books on screenwriting. But in sharp contrast, struggled with writing a film-adaptation, re-wrote the final draft of a film that is yet to be released, and worked on another original screenplay for more than two years, that is ‘still not there’ after multiple drafts. In six years of my experience as a screen-writer, the best works have been created out of instinct, intuition, and complete ignorance about the rules of the game. How then is my obsession with ‘the need for structure’ justified? Am I going in the wrong direction by ignoring the spontaneous imagination of my mind by resorting to tables and graphs and calculative construction? I hope it is evident how troubling and baffling this doubt can be, and I was truly troubled, until a miracle eased my mind. Out of nowhere, a thought came to my mind – “the structure and the rules are tools, nothing more, nothing less, and trying to perfect the structure should be a lesser concern for the screenwriter.” I will try to elaborate it.

When we have an idea, we need a structure to help us explore it. That does not mean we are limiting the idea within a structure. If we are flexible with the structure, it will take us a certain distance before we realize it is inadequate and we re-structure everything and explore the idea again. Without a structure to guide us, we might never know the story we want to tell, and the reason behind our fascination for the story, and the merits and limitations of it. Without a structure to guide us, we might never understand the ‘best way’ to tell that story and might settle for the first thing that comes to our minds. But if we are flexible with the structure, and keep trying new ones, we are actually allowing spontaneity that can instinctively help us find that ‘best way’. We can safely conclude that ‘the structure’ is never the most important or determining factor of the process, it is only a tool that we should learn in order to explore the possibilities as a storyteller. To succeed as film-writers, what we should really obsess about is creating fascinating characters caught in interesting situations and the perspectives we can share through the characters’ journeys in the film. These perspectives arise from our experiences, insights, sensitivity, convictions, and sense of morality that we have as human beings practicing a form of expression. Dwelling on that increases our chance to come up with good screenplays, where the rules remain the tools that we should use to their fullest in order to succeed, and ignoring which might just make our jobs a little more difficult and luck-driven, though the possibility to do a great work despite ignoring all rules can never be denied.

As I write these words, I have a feeling that people reading my blog, especially my students would be surprised to know that this is a recent discovery. Perhaps I always knew this. But during that one day of insecurity, when this thought came to my head, it reaffirmed my faith in method and helped me understand how I can enhance the possibility of spontaneous creation within my structured approach. I called my Director and told him about my Eureka moment. I was not surprised when he told me that even he had been thinking about the same for the past one day, and he had also, and independently, come up with the same resolution to the debate. He further added, with examples from music and dance, how it is difficult for the beginner to learn and master and keep faith in the dry ‘rules’ and ‘methods’ of his art. He repeatedly questions the relevance of the same. Later, when he has grown into a practicing musician, he goes beyond the rules and the grammar of music which have become a part of his instinct, some of which he even breaks in order to achieve his expression.

Earlier I believed that film is art for only genius film-makers. For people like us, it is a craft to be learnt and perhaps all we can achieve is being good craftsmen. And that is good enough an achievement. But now I can think beyond that. All of us are aware of the hard work, dedication, and pains a musician or a dancer takes in order to achieve the label of an ‘artist’. So who can deny the assumption that the same amount of effort by a student of screenwriting, and its rules and grammar, may eventually take him to a stage where he starts expressing in a way that is above and beyond all rules? Are not we, as screenwriters, striving to reach a stage, where the ‘structure’ remains the means to an end which is a pure, uninhibited, expression of the soul?

An Unforgettable Trip

I had heard a lot about the post-pregnancy blues a woman goes through, but hardly understood the reason behind it. The obstetrics I learnt did not tell me why it happens; the question within me was never answered. Recently, I had a great conversation with a friend, a new mother, who told me what it actually was.

As the baby grows within the womb of the mother, it’s a long, gradual process, occurring over months, and the idea of impending motherhood is sustained in her head. Labor, or the act of child-birth, is a matter of less than a couple of hours, within which the woman undergoes a drastic physical transformation, apart from giving birth to a new life in flesh and blood. The physical ‘loss’ and exertion is phenomenal for the woman, but something she can cope up with, given proper care and time. It is the mental exhaustion and anxiety that keeps her troubled for a longer time. One, she does not feel very sure if she is prepared to and capable of bearing this enormous responsibility, especially if it is a first child. This insecurity and doubt may give rise to guilt – that a little being’s life now rests in unsure hands. Two, the responsibility in itself is not very pleasant, and requires extreme and sincere effort, patience, and dedication. Add to this, some subconscious factors like the following. Throughout the gestation period, the child was intimately and exclusively associated with the mother. As soon as it is born, it is out there for people, all of them, and the mother would obviously feel possessive for it. Some of people around them start judging the child immediately, commenting on its looks and features, the rest of the world would judge it as he grows up. She is not sure how the world will receive the child, and since her identity is now irreversibly attached to it, she knows she will be judged by the way her child shapes up. To top it all, she also knows that all the attention that she had been receiving all this while will soon wane out, and this is a big personal loss. There must be several other factors that can not be discussed, shared, or written. But thanks to this conversation with that friend of mine, I had understood something about this experience. For me, post-partum depression was no more an over-hyped myth of the urban, educated woman.

This month, and this will explain my prolonged absence from this blog, I made perhaps the most unforgettable and hopefully the most significant trip of my life. My brother and I wrote, produced, and directed a short-film in Kashmir. It was an 8-day shoot fighting freezing temperature, ill-health, depleting resources, sleep deprivation, and fluctuating motivation of the cast and crew. The budget doubled, worse problems kept cropping up and it was truly stressful. But it got over fairly well. Thanks to the dozens of people who helped without any expectations, including some very dear friends, and thanks to the wonderful hormone called Adrenaline, we managed to finish the shoot, almost matching our expectations with the film and ourselves, and at times even exceeding those. It was a few hectic weeks and then we were back to Mumbai last Saturday, on the 24th.

The physical exhaustion was soon over, with some sleep, and the state of ‘not doing anything’ for hours. But before I knew, the mental exhaustion started over-powering me. Since the second last day of shoot, for the next ten days, I had this very disturbing dream about the shoot being continued, with more problems cropping up. Imagine, having the same stressful dream for several days every time you sleep, including during afternoon naps. And whenever I was conscious, all those thoughts, discussed above experienced by a new mother troubled me. Have we shot sufficiently? Is the coverage exhaustive? Is the footage visually good enough? Have the performance beats of the actors been registered? What all has been lost invisibly? And then as we assembled the shots on the editing table, more insecurities and anxieties stepped in. Is this good enough? Have we done a good job? What will the world say when they look at it? Should I ever share this film with the world? And so on. It was the time when I didn’t feel like doing anything, not even watching a movie. There was actually one afternoon when I felt miserable and helpless. And I wanted this nightmare of a depression to end.

That evening I watched Ang Lee’s latest spectacle – ‘Life of Pi’. I will not write anything about what an experience it was as the entire world is talking about it. But I thank the cinema Gods for sending this movie to me at this point in my life. Nothing could have been as inspiring and uplifting as it was. The incredible journey of Pi has now become the inseparable epilogue to the unforgettable trip I just had, where I, in my limited understanding of the medium, practiced cinema in the lap of what is deservedly called the heaven on earth. Life is beautiful, despite those freezing temperatures and stressful situations that occasionally test us out.

More Big Lessons from Short Films

A few months ago, I had written this post on what all I could learn while making a short film. This summer, we shot another. And I can proudly say that none of the mistakes committed earlier were repeated this time – at least none as far as my conscious mind can pick up. We made sure to implement all lessons learnt during the last shoot. As a result, we ended with a film much superior than the last, though not good enough to share with everyone. But most importantly, this time we committed mistakes which were more complex and sophisticated than the last time. The lessons we learnt this time were of a higher order – and they greatly helped us evolve as film-makers.

That the resulting film wasn’t great is a fact of lesser importance. The more important and crucial truth is this – we can back-track all these months and see how we have grown. I just wish this process continues. Some day we will be able to make a film for the world to see.

Here are some more lessons learnt in the process. I’m documenting these here, and would definitely go through them before making the next short-film.

1. Working with good actors can be a greatly fulfilling experience. However, the key to that lies in developing a strong relationship with them, based on mutual trust and admiration. That human connection will save you during the shoot, and will make sure you have something beautiful to cherish even if you end up with a not-so-good film.
2. Listening to the actors since the day you meet is a great tool to understand them both as people and professionals, listening, as if they are the most important people for you on earth at the moment.
3.  Rehearsals do not mean reading lines and finding the ‘perfect’ rendering of each. Rehearsals should involve finding options – how differently each moment can be played – so that you and the actors can build up a tool box to be used during the shoot. The actors should work with the director to achieve truthfulness in their performances. The degree of performance varies with the genre and the flavor of the film, but it cannot have a false note.
4. Often, the director can come up with ‘images’ or ‘adjectives’ to help the actor find the truth of the performance. Instead of calling the character as ‘funny’, he can use the word ‘endearing’. Instead of ‘make the audience laugh’, he can say – ‘make the audience love and care for you’. Instead of intellectualizing emotions, he can say – ‘you are like a little boy with clenched fists, made to stand outside the classroom.’
5. So, rehearsals should not involve too much of line-reading. However, the actors must learn the lines one day before the shoot. You will save a lot of time on the shoot then.
6. Get the set ready at least 24 hours in advance, if you have the location. Do not leave the touch-ups for the last day – it will always cost you shoot-time, come what may.
7. You can shoot 15 minutes of screen time in one night (shooting for 12 hours). This can be done, although it seems impossible. The key would be to make sure you have worked well with actors before. Then you won’t lose time trying to ‘explain’ things to them during the shoot.
8. However, it is advisable to not target shooting more than 6 minutes of screen time in a day. I would suggest, it should be lesser, if you can afford.
9. The different options with which you shoot one particular moment of a scene constitute your Coverage. Traditionally, each scene is first shot in a Master shot (the widest shot to cover the entire action), and then we shoot Medium and Close Shots, followed by Inserts and Cutaways. Despite all plans you may end up with insufficient coverage. So please pay attention to it more than you normally do. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
10. Make sure you have good, effective, and visually appealing wide shots to show the entire geography of the location.
11. There can be hundred types of close-ups. Determine carefully which one you want for which shot. Determine whether you want the frame to be cut above the collar bone or below it, and so forth.
12. Be careful about the internal rhythm of a conversation in Two-Shots (a shot with two subjects). Those shots cannot be ‘intercut’ like two Over-the-Shoulder Reverses and hence the timing of the spoken lines and the actions must be well thought of. If you are not careful about this, you can only regret during the edit.
13. Staging should be repeated exactly when being covered from several angles. Or the audience will feel disoriented when you intercut such shots.
14. While framing, work on each frame to make it as visual as possible. Do not settle for ‘storytelling needs’. Of course, this starts with art direction.
15. Invest, if you can, on a focus puller. This is an amazing tool that not only gives you more aesthetic options, it also saves a lot of time during the shoot.
16. The cinematographer is the person working continuously during the shoot. Take care of his comfort. At least give him a shoulder rig if he demands one. Beg, borrow, or steal to afford such equipment if your pocket doesn’t allow.
17. Take several Inserts and Cut-Aways before you end shooting the scene. They are among the most powerful tools you can provide to your editor.
18. It is not difficult to find a friend who will just hang around during the shoot, without any major responsibility. Request that friend to take care of the actors and the crew. By just having someone to ask for tea or water can make things so much favorable for you. Thank that friend profusely, and never ever tell him that this is the job of a Spot Boy on a ‘real’ film set.
19. During the edit, prefer story and content over performances, characterization, and ‘moments’ for at least the first few minutes. The idea is to hook the audience into ‘what is happening’ by using screen time very economically. Once they are ‘into’ the story, they will take several times more interest in your characters.
20. Without replacing too many shots, without going too much into the full coverage, by just sticking to the shots on the rough cut line-up, you can drastically improve your cut. Like re-writing, re-editing is an invaluable weapon. Use it to your advantage.

Maa, I want to Direct Movies…

FADE IN:

Beta: Maa, mujhe director banna hai…

Maa: You think you’ve got it in you?

Beta: Of course, I’m the biggest cinephile I know. I have watched all the films on IMDB Top 250. I have read several books on film-making and I have a great insight into the medium. I can write powerful reviews and can predict awards…

Maa: Come on, son. Open your eyes to reality. You think that’s enough?

Beta: No. That’s not much actually… In fact, I need to have a feature film script – something mind-blowing, extra-ordinary. I have some ideas in my head. I just need to write it down. Or get a brilliant writer to do it for me.

Maa: Will that be enough?

Beta: Of course not. Directing is not ‘possessing a great script’. I need to prove my worth as a director. To myself, and to others, I should be able to prove that I have great command over visual storytelling, and I know how to work with actors.

Maa: How do you plan to do that?

Beta: By making short films. I need to make that one kick-ass short film that will help me convince everyone about my abilities. I also need to attend acting workshops, theater, or something like that to learn how to work with actors.

Maa: A great script, a great short-film, and experience with actors… that’s it?

Beta: No Maa… I need to work on a film set. Assist directors. I need to know how everything functions in a film unit. Or I would appear dumb when I take control of my own set… Also, I want to add before you ask a question, I think I should attain mastery over either of the three main aspects: writing, cinematography, or editing. Once I finish all of these, and what I mentioned above, I’ll be ready to direct.

Maa: Congratulations!

Beta: Not yet. I need relationships inside the industry. Not merely contacts, but relationships. I need to know, at a personal level, several actors, production designers, cinematographers, editors, sound designers, musicians, lyricists, choreographers. The more I know, the better. I can’t expect all of them to be free whenever I make a film. So I need to have back-ups, and good ones.

Maa: And then?

Beta: Then I need to look for a Producer and some funding. There are several producers waiting for people like me. And that means ‘me with all the above-mentioned resources’. Once I have all these, they will welcome me with pleasure…. The only problem is…

Maa: What?

Beta: Then they will scrutinize the commercial viability of my film. And will assign only a certain budget to it. They will make arrangements for the funds, but I’ll have to operate within that.

Maa: Is that a cause for concern?

Beta: It is. But so is life – all opportunities come with a price or a condition. But yes, that’s all I need, to turn into a film director…. Only….

Maa: Only…

Beta: If I think of the entire conversations we just had, it seems it will take me several years to be able to do that. I don’t know whether I’ll be able to do it.

Maa: You will, son. You are the most passionate and dedicated person in the entire world. And with such an amazing clarity about the process, I’m sure you’ll do it – sooner or later. I’ll wait for that day to see your name on the big screen: A film by Mera Beta!

Beta (tears in his eyes): I love you, Mom!

Maa (tears all over her face): I love you too, Beta!

THE END