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Michael Haneke is Back with ‘Love’.

May 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The Austrian ‘Master of Pain’ is back. Only this time he’s talking about ‘Amour’ ( Love ) . Michael Haneke’s new film ‘Amour’(Love) which opens at the Cannes Film Festival this Sunday seems to be a transition from his trademark themes of Violence, Surveillance, Obsession and his indictments against the media. From the French trailer, which was released recently its evident that his film bears the mark of a humanist drama.

The synopsis of the film is as follows –

“a pair of cultivated, retired music teachers, George and Anne and their daughter, who is also a musician, and lives abroad with her family. One day, Anne has an attack, after which the couple’s bond of love is severely tested.”

The trailer is without subtitles, hence the comprehension which comes with language is not there but that in no way proves to be a deterrent to the feeling the mood of the film evokes in us. The film does bear the look of the Hanekian universe, the large mansion seems like the belly of a monster, within the walls of which the characters are confined. The distance has a dominating presence in each frame and it probably highlights the gap which grows between people in relationships with time and the desperate attempts they make to hold on and tie the ever drifting bonds together. The brooding tone pervades the atmosphere of the film , but despite the melancholic tone we can see a very un-Haneke like element of hope. There are moments sprinkled with tenderness. The symphony which plays in the background lends an optimistic tone to the film and seems to suggest that love might be hiding in one of the many corners of the house and all it needs, to spring back to life and keep the cover of gloom which is descending on the family at bay , is one look.

The movie boasts of great stars like Jean-Louis Trintignant , Emanuelle Riva and Isabelle Huppert. This is Isabelle Huppert’s third collaboration with Haneke ( ‘Time of the Wolf’, ‘The Piano Teacher’ ) and is certainly something to look forward to. From the trailer, much is not revealed yet one cant help but get the impression that this might be yet another master-class from the great actress whose immensely powerful performance in Haneke’s ‘Piano Teacher’, as a confident and assured piano teacher whose sexual regressions bordered on the extreme, was riveting as much as it was distressing. That performance had won her the Best Actress Award at Cannes.

It’s interesting to note that the lead characters in the film ‘Amour’ are named George and Anne, which is a Haneke trademark. In almost all his films there is a couple named George and Anne and the film revolves around them. Again , in all these films a tragedy befalls them, which wreak havoc in their family life. They usually belong to the upper class and have refined tastes, just like the couple in ‘Amour’ and they are often subjected to some sort of disharmony which tears apart the fabric of their lives and often it’s a violent one. Haneke uses this as a lens to examine the decadence of bourgeois life and the changes in the configuration of their relations which physical and mental violence bring about. For example : The George and Anne in Haneke’s first feature ‘ The Seventh Continent’ could not bear the weight of their routine daily existence and crumbled under its weight, resorting to suicide as the only option and ended up killing themselves, their children and destroyed their belongings. In ‘Funny Games’ , George and Anne are terrorised by two young kids who turn their holiday getaway into a trip to hell from where they couldn’t escape alive. In ‘Cache’ , Georges and Anne are haunted by video cassettes delivered to them everyday by some mysterious source, which contains footage of their house and daily activities and also some clues leading to the unearthing of a sordid past which was buried deep for long , the reaction to which exposes the chinks in the outwardly perfect relationship between George and Anne which destabilizes their family life in this brutal tale about guilt.

So is this the continuation of the same story in some parallel universe, which started with Haneke’s first film ‘The Seventh Continent’. Are these two people the same George and Anne who has somehow managed to escape and rise above the problems which plagued the other Georges and Annes ? Are they survivors ? Did their bond of ‘Love’ prove to be too strong for their problems until this point. Can they still hold on ? For how long ? These are the questions Haneke seems to be raising in his latest film which seems to be a departure from his playground in what might just be his most important film yet. The symphony playing all throughout the trailer interspersed with voices of the characters engaged in conversation suddenly comes to an abrupt halt towards the end when Jean-Louis Trintignant’s character of George switches off a music player and a haunting silence ensues. Everything is still and George’s expression is morose, like that of a defeated man, and then he veers his eyes towards us without being fully able to meet our eyes. Is he guilty ? Is Haneke lulling us into a false sense of security ?  ‘Love’  is opening this Sunday at Cannes and is vying for the ‘Palme d’Or’, the highest honour at Cannes. Haneke’s film, the devastatingly beautiful, ‘ The White Ribbon’ , which traced the origins of violence in a society , had won the honour the last time Haneke was in Cannes. Will he be able to repeat the feat again? We’ll have to wait for the answers.

About The Author

An incorrigible film buff with an insatiable appetite for cinema, Mehdi Jahan is the Assistant Editor of Long Live Cinema. He also runs a film club called ‘ Cinematheque’.

Follow on Twitter: www.twitter.com/MoodyMehdi


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The Journey So Far…Concluding Part of Ashvin Kumar’s Interview

May 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Read The First Part Of The Interview Here

Ashvin Kumar, the Oscar nominated director, whose much anticipated feature film ‘ The Forest’ releases today (11th May,2012), reflects upon the representation of Kashmir in mainstream Hindi Cinema , documentary film-making, online film release and his goal to become a hot-shot director, among other things.

What is your opinion regarding the representation of Kashmir in Indian Commercial Cinema ?

Indian commercial cinema has done a disfavour to both the Indian and Kashmiri citizen. Above, I spoke about Power and Responsibility. Our cinema could have played a vital role in disabusing the country of cartoonish notions of the Kashmiri conflict which have come to stay. This approach encourages the hero-villain formulation and discourages engagement with complexity. Cinema could have been the medium of social change here. Our people, so used to getting their news in television bytes, deserved a chance to understand the real situation in Kashmir and make up their own minds about the Kashmiri desire for self-determination, but our cinema has turned this hugely complex situation into a cop-robber movie. Good Indian solider vs. the bad Kashmiri terrorist. The good Hindu vs. the bad Muslim.

The indoctrination of the soldiers in their training camps is communal. This is explained by the fact that we have fought three wars against Pakistan. By now, it’s the unwritten part of the manual. It is their cynical masters who put them in such an untenable situation, which is fodder for a film on its own. It is conceivable that an army man sworn to defend his country would need all the motivation he can get to wage war upon his own people, but can we say the same for film-makers who have given us dangerously laced representations of Kashmir in commercial cinema? How did the subtleties and nuances of the very human condition that film-makers are spokespersons of, get the short shrift?

It feels like the Indian government came up with a certain formulae by which to explain why we have to torture, rape and maim our own citizens in Kashmir. Then brought Bollywood in to sell the fiction. Seen ‘Wag The Dog’ by David Mamet? (hyperlink)

Bollywood has given an inaccurate and awkward shape to the desires and feelings of the ordinary Kashmiri. She is seen in self-deprecating terms. The smiling shikara-walla or obedient pony-walla. Red apples. Rosy cheeks. Fair complexioned dames in picturesque vales. We are kept at a distance. The image is a post card. We don’t see the barbed wires, bunkers and bullets for a child who crosses the road to go to school. We are not shown the tears in the eyes of a mother who has not seen her eight year old son for fourteen years and who may well be in one of the mass graves that the government refuses to exhume. We don’t get to see the bullet-holes in wooden living rooms of villager’s homes after a gun-fight between militants and armed forces or the charred remains of a house that has been ‘exploded’ by security forces to ‘teach a lesson’ to civilians for harbouring militants. These practices continue till today. In our secular, democratic republic while we speak about 9% growth and becoming global super-power. Ironic, no, that Bollywood as an industry is one of the industries that has profited greatly by the boom of the last twenty years. The same twenty years (1991-date) in which the Kashmir conflict has been raging. Not ironic perhaps that Bollywood would refuse the inconvenient truth when there’s so much money to be made.

So, how has Bollywood projected the Indian armed presence in Kashmir?

As a god-send for the Kashmiri. The forces are supposedly there for the protection of the Kashimri against the ‘foreign-hand’. This keeps the rest of India safe. You can sleep well tonight. This is misleading. It is a fiction. Go speak to any Kashmiri. From an eight year old to a eighty year old. If you can’t do the next best thing www.inshallahfootball.com / www.inshallahkashmir.com

The Kashmiri lives under a siege in a state of emergency that you and I will find intolerable. We have not only abdicated our responsibility to represent this conflict in real terms, but fuelled hate, distrust and misunderstanding between Indians and Kashmiris when it could so well have been just the opposite. It is using power without responsibility. Don’t you feel that it’s the duty of anyone who calls himself or herself a film maker to have some responsibility towards the people for whom the film is being made? It has made Kashmiris look like ungrateful recipients of Indian largesse, it has de-historicised a legitimate claim for self-determination and de-humanised the suffering of its people. It has read from a book given to it by our so-called independent national media and government propaganda.

Now thanks to YouTube and the internet, one of the greatest inventions for democracy, it is not so easy to hide mass graves, false encounters and thousands of tortured and disappeared people.

The screen writers of Bollywood will find such beautiful, poignant, heart-breaking stories in the most mundane household of Kashmir. I say to them, please go with your paper and pen, talk to people there, write screenplays about daily life. Reintroduce Kashmir to India. Movies can build bridges between the dislocated Kashmiri and his cousin here in India. The first step towards reconciliation is acknowledgement. Be the messengers for that acknowledgement. Let people here know what’s going on there.

I often get asked, can movies really bring about social change. I feel that in this context there is so much misunderstanding in India about the Kashmiri, that certainly there can be an opinion shift, brought about commercial cinema done with truthful intentions.

The titles of both of your films on Kashmir starts with ‘Inshallah’ ( God –willing ) . Does it signify that you are hopeful about things getting better there ?

No, things are not getting better in Kashmir. The basic cry is to treat the Kashmiri people as individuals with rights and liberties given to every citizen of our republic. It is not such an unreasonable demand.

Both of your films end on a hopeful note too. Are you an optimist ?

When you experience such despair the imagination can’t do anything else but hope. It is a desperate hope.

Is the documentary more effective a form than fiction in depicting the social realities of a place. Is fiction an element in documentaries too ?

The Inshallah films were my first attempts at documentary. I got to tell you, it’s a rush. Far more exciting, live and palpable filming process than fiction. You are writing the script as you’re rolling the camera. In this case, I shot most of both the films, and found myself choosing my angles and shots i.e. visual storytelling, as the subject was speaking. I had some vague idea in my mind how this would  relate and be edited with something. The beauty is that you are right there, then, things are happening, you have to make split second editorial decisions, script-writing decisions – where should I stand to make the best visual use of what’s going on in front of me.

My style of making fiction has changed. I tend to incorporate that immediacy, using much more improvisation both from actors and the camera than I did previously. My film Dazed in Doon which I directed school kids aged 13 – 19 at Doon School, was done almost entirely like that. The scene was written on the page, dialogues learnt but then the kids started playing their parts and we had something very tender, very precious, very true that was happening. I still feel it’s my best work till date. But digital technology allows that sort of freedom.

Do you believe involving certain amount of staging in documentaries to obtain the required effect ? Does it render the reality of the situations less real in any way ?

There is a certain amount of staging but I don’t do it in terms of ‘go here sit there’ sort of thing. I do it to precipitate and catalyse events that could be used in the film. I still don’t know what’s going to happen. You have to be prepared for disappointments. They are inevitable. Failed attempts at doing something. But you send the subject into a market place for example to ask a few questions about a certain incident, you know you need that background information in the film, but rather than a title card, you want your subject / protagonist to discover it for himself. In our case, Basharat knew very little about the history of his own people, was a natural interlocutor. He was genuinely visiting the places we took him to for the first time. He was speaking to people about certain things for the first time. That is the sort of staging that I am interested in. Very similar to what I did with my fiction film Dazed in Doon that I discussed earlier. You set up the scene, give the actors some basic motivations then let things happen. When they do, it’s your job to shoot it well.

I’d imagine that if one was not to follow a rigour, a set of rules, one could lapse into easy solutions which always look fake. Even in fiction, an easy solution such as an actor telling you what is happening rather than you as a film-maker ‘showing’ it, is an easy solution. It feels fake because we don’t talk like that. We don’t behave like that. We want our film makes to work a little hard only then will we reward them with a suspension of disbelief. That is how I feel audiences in India have changed over the past four or five years. They are getting slightly more guarded about their suspension of disbelief, film makers can’t take them for granted anymore. It’s a good thing. It’s a coming of age for independent cinema in India, if indeed my hypothesis is correct.

Did the idea for ‘ The Forest ‘ start as a documentary idea. If yes , then how did it evolve into a fiction ?

No – it was conceived as fiction from the word go. I had just made Little Terrorist and Road To Ladakh before that. So it was to be my first fiction film. I had no clue that I would ever make a documentary film. It was furthest from my imagination. I was very ambitious at that time when I made The Forest, my goal was to become a hot-shot director, much-in-demand, burning up jet-fuel working on a global stage.

Documentaries didn’t quite fit into that dream.

Artistically, I think after the set back of The Forest, the Inshallah films led to leaps and bounds of growth , thanks to the documentary medium. Plus, I learnt how to be a cinematographer.

Have you ever considered making a fiction film on the issues in Kashmir ?

Oh yes. That’s how I went to Kashmir in the first place. When the release of The Forest didn’t happen for two years, I was in the dumps. I started writing this film. It was a re-make of my Road To Ladakh, except it was about a Kashmiri militant and so on. I got to Kashmir in the autumn of 2009, and within two weeks of meetings and travels around the valley, I burnt that script. It was terrible.

Then came ‘Inshallah,Football’. I have always wanted to make a fictional film on the issues in Kashmir. You can read between the lines of my response to one of your earlier questions regarding Bollywood’s role in Kashmir.

Now I am thinking of an international co-production with two A rated Latin American stars, I won’t take names but you can guess who they might be. A fictionalised feature of ‘Inshallah, football’ set in Kashmir. I also have another film set in Kashmir, it’s a story about two little girls in a remote little village that everyone seems to have forgotten. Deep, near the border. The story of Kashmir, in my opinion, is best told from the eyes of children. For two reasons, one because there is an innocence to the guile of the world, that’s difficult with older protagonists. All good actors spend years training to be able to return to that moment of truth in their performances that children are so effortless with. Two, because they are the future, they are the hope.

You released ‘Inshallah, Kashmir’ on the internet , free of charge . The new media is increasingly becoming a platform where new directors can showcase their works. What are the pros and cons of that ?

It was commercial suicide. So that’s a con, for you. Pros are innumerable. I felt it was my duty to show this film to the ‘rest of India’. And as predicted, people were shocked at how little they knew about what is happening in their own country. We had close to 100,000 hits and 50,000 full views. These are staggering numbers. Consider : this is a 80 min documentary film watched on the terribly slow internet connections we have in India. If this kind of interest / audience exists in India (all the above were from India) then why are we not seeing more documentaries in the theatres and on TV? It is a democratic medium. I released the film on a symbolic date 26th of January 2012, Indian Republic Day to celebrate the fact that while guns were being put on display in each state capital and armed forces were being paraded, here was something unflattering about those forces for whom we all have the highest of regard. I will be proud to live in a country where I can do that. I will be still prouder when we will be able to do that without the need for sanction and permission of the government by way of the Central Board of Film Certification.

It helped me bypass censorship that had plagued ‘Inshallah, football’ – due to which I lost 6 – 8 months of precious time to release that film in India. I also think that a limited digital release builds a profile for a film. I am thinking of approaching a distributor like PVR with these figures and saying shall we try to release in theatres? Use the internet as your publicity campaign.

Do you think the importance of the censors will be made less relevant due to this trend ?

The Indian censor board should cease to exist. It should be replaced by an industry constituted organisation which has to certify films in terms of ratings as is done in most western countries now. Staffed by reasonable people who’s sensitivities are not inflamed like prickly heat whenever someone says f*** or puts a tongue into a hot woman’s mouth.

I do not want kids to be watching things that they are not ready to see, and would like to warn parents if such things are contained in a film. Other than that I would respect the right of all film makers to make the kind of films they want to without extending my perception of decency and propriety on them and curtailing their freedom of speech and expression thereby. The practice of imposing arbitrary cuts, titles is out-of-step with the times…

There is all sorts of nonsense that comes on TV, some of it I find deeply shocking and objectionable. Do I ask for those programmes to be censored? No, I simply switch the channel. If something offends you – don’t watch it. But you are not in a position to decide for your neighbour nor should you use state instruments to deny someone the right to livelihood – i.e. me, the film maker.

Self regulation is a good way to proceed. The same argument was made for television and the internet but there is enough scope under existing laws to have recourse in case something is deemed objectionable. This idea of censorship is made totally impotent and redundant with the presence of You Tube. It should go.

Can it be dangerous if people choose to exploit this liberty ? How can one generate a revenue through releasing their movies online ? Your take on this new Phenomena .

Generating revenue online is still a mystery. Have not thought about that enough. I think in today’s day and age, if we can release a film online at the same time as theatrical release, you may get good revenues cause the buzz is there. Conventional distributors think of the internet as a threat, where things are pirated and stolen not without justification.

Perhaps we need to start thinking of it as another territory. Like we have Delhi, Bombay, Chennai, international, now we have the internet. If we can release a film this way and have  good digital social media campaign around it, it could do very well indeed. The audience who is going to watch your film online is not the same as who watches it on the internet. As far as piracy is concerned, once you release your movie is out anyway. May as well take advantage of an untapped market no?

Read The First Part Of The Interview Here

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Ishaqzaade: Romantic Saga in the heartlands of Hindi belt.

May 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment

ISHAQZAADE releasing today is a film from the banner of Yash Raj Films having many firsts to its credit. When a film is from the banner of Yash Raj Films, obviously, it would be oozing with romance, but ISHAQZAADE is romance with a twist. First twist in the tale is that it is a film which is a Hindu-Muslim love story, and that too situated in the Hindi heartland. The subject of a Muslim girl and a Hindu boy romancing each other has been a taboo in the world of Hindi cinema and one has to think twice before venturing into it. However, Yash Raj films experimented with this genre through VEER ZAARA and after more than a decade is returning back to it once again, now the focus is shifting to the hinterlands of UP.

In the world of Hindi cinema, whenever they have used the subject of Hindu boy- Muslim girl love story, it has mostly been in reference to the background of partition. Be it a TRAIN TO PAKISTAN, or GADAR-EK PREM KATHA (indeed the list is scanty), the setting of such romance has been through undivided Pakistan and VEER ZAARA also had the background of partition and Punjab. Partition was chosen as a convenient prop, as otherwise the justification of a Hindu boy and a Muslim girl falling in love with each other was difficult to contextualize. Scars of partition on the psyche of the girl are obliterated through the love that eventually blossoms between the savior and the hapless.

Without using the backdrop of partition, but using the story line of a Hindu boy and a Muslim girl falling in love with each other was attempted with success in BOMBAY ( but it was again a film that was based in South India and in Mumbai) and with BREAK KE BAAD- which was sort of upper middle class. ISHAQZAADE from that perspective has a social background of normal middle class young people who fall in love with each other, without giving a credence to their religious backgrounds. Though we talk of ‘Ganga Jamuna Tehzib’ in our discourses, this discourse has never found expression in the form of love prospering between a Hindu boy and a Muslim girl, and from that perspective ISHAQZAADE is a bold attempt forward. From the social context it is coming off-age cinema in the world of Hindi films as it is situated in a mofussil part of India in and around Barabanki and talks about romance of such kind happening in such places.

Another salient feature about ISHAQZAADE is the fact that the lead female actor of the film Parineeti Chopra has not been shown as a soft, protected damsel, who is least bothered about what is happening around her world, engulfed in the mystique and aroma of her youth and beauty as conventionally is the norm, but she is a fearless girl who does not think twice before wielding a gun, using cuss words, and even getting involved in brawls and chases. It is from this perspective, its a first debut of its kind for a lead female star in Yash Raj films.

Shakespeare would indeed feel proud that his ‘Romeo and Juliet’ continues to find manifestations in myriad forms in the world of Hindi cinema. But Shakespeare would also find it amusing that Juliet of his times, and Juliet of ISHAQZAADE are studies in contrast. While the position of the female has not changed much in the Hindi heartland, films like ISHAQZAADE should provide some confidence to young girls to take on the male centric norms and try to create a new social order.

Girls of the present times are developing a bold and brash attitude, and through the medium of cinema and a film like ISHAQZAADE the winds of change are being carried to the mofussil towns of the country and one only hopes that it would facilitate in instilling a sense of confidence in the girls of the present times in the Hindi heartland.

With the new breed of actors coming in, more so in the female category, the manner of portrayal of woman characters on screen has changed from being relegated to two-three songs and some romance to having meatier roles, wielding guns and matching word for word and sword for sword. Therefore , in ISHAQZAADE, in the song –“main Pareshan Pareshan” as well, there is an element of determination and firmness in the expressions accompanying the song, though the song is purportedly supposed to connote the celebration of falling in love.

ISHAQZAADE would also be the first film from the Yash Raj films banner in a long time where romantic landscapes do not feature prominently in the songs, rather the songs have been filmed in mundane locations such as a forlorn wagon of goods train, the element of romance being added to it by adorning it with decorative lights. Perhaps romance now does not need the catalysis of the background, which in effect is the reality, so why hype it with romantic settings. Let it be as close to reality as  possible! For a change therefore, the girl kisses the boy to express her love than the other way round and the manner in which Parineeti Chopra kisses Arjun Kapoor on the screen, by closing his eyes and then planting the kiss, again showing an element of assertion  while entering into a relationship, it has to be dealt on an even keel.

ISHAQZAADE is the story of the new India, India of the youth who has aspirations, more so that India, outside metropolitan cities, which is the real India, and it has definite potential to be one of the biggest hits of 2012.

ISHAQZAADE

Release Date: 11th May 2012 (India)
Genre: Romance
Starring: Arjun Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra
Producer: Aditya Chopra
Director: Habib Faisal
Music: Amit Trivedi
Lyrics: Kausar Munir

About The Author
NALIN RAI
Passion for cinema is a quest which the writer tries to fulfill by interpreting it in as diverse ways as can be possible, so that cinema indeed becomes a serious business.
Follow on Twitter: www.twitter.com/nalinrai

 

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NO MORE HIDING – THE GANGS OF WASSEYPUR HAVE ARRIVED.

May 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The uneasiness which comes with prolonged anxiety has finally received a kick in the gut and boy it’s a wonderful feeling! The trailer of Anurag Kashyap’s latest film ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ screams with badassery and the coolness quotient of it all adds to its deliciousness. At the moment a greater reward than this for one’s painstaking anticipation doesn’t seem to exist. The trailer’s explosive in the truest sense of the word. Right from the first moment which is reminiscent of a western movie style train robbery the trailer never loses its steam for its entire duration of 2 minute 59 seconds. The trailer seems to be a lesson in announcing the arrival of a movie and reiterates the fact that cutting a trailer is also an art in itself.

We are thrown right into the heart of a village called Wasseypur and given a glimpse of the chaos which prevails there and in an inexplicable way, the enigmatic charm which emerges out of it. We hear Manoj Bajpai announcing in a bone chilling voice – ‘Humare zindagi ka ek hi maksad hain- badla’ ( My life has only aim – Revenge ) and during the entire course of the trailer we see the characters of the film mostly acting out their savage desires engulfing the village with smokes of disorder and anarchy . What’s interesting is that all this is set against a playful music which lends a touch of humour to the madness and possibly hints at the absurdity of man’s actions and the comic circus it reflects when seen from an objective standpoint. It’s good to see Manoj Bajpai roaring back to form and yes, the man of the year Nawazuddin Siddique hasn’t been given much time in the trailer in what seems to be a smart strategy. After all you don’t reveal your trump card right at the start. And oh, it’s nice to see Tigmanshu Dhulia who gave us Paan Singh Tomar this year, play a character which seems to be pivotal and he’s given cool dialogues to mouth too, which he delivers in style. So yes, it can be safely said that Anurag Kashyap is back with a bang and the resultant noise can be heard from Dhanbad (where the movie is set) to Cannes!

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The Dark Knight’s End: Will the trilogy close with the fall of the caped crusader?

May 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Long Live Cinema_Batman Comics Strip

The symbolic breaking of Batman’s back in issue #497 of the Knightfall series of Batman comics where the genetically enhanced Bane , a super villain with super-strength complimented by super intelligence ( a rare combo for a monstrous man ! ) hands a merciless beat down to a weakened Batman,rendered extremely fragile and exhausted physically and mentally as a consequence of his battles against the villains freed from Arkham Asylum by Bane at the starting of the story,  breaking his back and crushing his spirit. Bane then throws Batman off a rooftop to assert his dominance. With Batman crippled, Bane assumes control of the Gotham Underworld.

Will the trilogy end on a similar note? With the fall of the Dark Knight? With the destruction of his body and spirit at the hands of a monster? Will his end lead to a change in the order of things? Or will the dark knight find a way to rise like the proverbial phoenix? Let’s have a look at the latest trailer unveiled on Monday night and look for clues to make an attempt at unraveling some questions which are cranking up the anxiety level of Batman fans to a fever pitch .

Vapours of foreboding pervades the atmosphere, signaling the inevitability of all beginnings – the end. A weary, worn-out and slightly wrinkled Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) looks away with an emotion which seems to be a mix of guilt, helplessness and defeat. We hear a female voice proclaiming the coming of a storm, heightening the ominous mood. The menacing face of the ‘storm’ is revealed. ‘ You sound like you are looking forward to it ‘ , Bruce Wayne questions Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway) , the apprehension in his voice making Selina’s confident reply ‘I am adapted more‘ sound condescending to the point of making a mockery of the doubts over his abilities etched firmly on the face of Bruce Wayne. He looks defeated even before the beginning of the fight. What follows is Carnage. The storm, which goes by the name of ‘Bane’ (Tom Hardy), blows away everything in it’s path. Chaos descends over the city. The apocalyptic tone of the film reaches a crescendo. Things are falling apart. Buildings, bridges, football grounds are destroyed along with hope and faith. Can the Dark Knight rise from the rubble? Fans of the comic series would know (as the illustrations above depict) that Bane is the man who not only broke Batman’s back but also his spirit. No wonder why Christopher Nolan chose Bane as the villain to bring an end to the trilogy. Is this really the end? Or will destruction give birth to creation and we can expect to be treated to a new saga probably or maybe I am being too wishful. As of now, we have no option but to nourish our patience till the 20th of July to find the answers to these questions, and if this trailer is anything to go by the answers might just blow us away with the intensity of an unmitigated storm.

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THE JOURNEY, SO FAR… By ASHVIN KUMAR

April 23, 2012 By 1 Comment

From having the distinction of being the youngest Indian to be nominated for an Oscar to courting controversies and facing troubles with the censor board, Ashvin Kumar reminisces on his journey so far.

Long Live Cinema_The Forest_ Director Ashvin Kumar 2

The learning that one takes away from what you flatteringly call a ‘journey’ is not dissimilar to what Krishna tells Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra: do what you need to do, do it the best way you can but try not to take yourself too seriously. I think that is the best piece of advice anyone ever gave about ‘making-it’ in life.

Of all careers, film-making seems particularly dangerous for the soul.  It can become the pursuit of self-aggrandizement and a misplaced sense of one’s importance in the universe.

As you can imagine, I went through such a roller coaster ride: triumph at the Kodak Theatre, the red-carpet in Los Angeles from being a nobody;  to euphoria, making my debut feature film at a scale I had no idea I could handle. Then, shuttled across the spectrum into deep trauma, it becoming clear no release was forthcoming. Then, finding myself in Kashmir, getting deeply involved in the situation there resulting in two docs in two years, en-route being banned not only by CBFC but by Doon School(!) watching one year of work go down the tube, and now here.

On the face of it, film-making encourages individual creativity, rewards those who follow their instinct, who go against the grain, who stir the pot a little; it gives one the scope of following ones dreams and delivers triumphs in Cinemascope. These are great things but they are neither permanent nor should they be taken for granted.

With great power should come great responsibility, in the film industry, with great power comes a greater sense of who you are. You create a make-believe world, yours is the power of playing God.

Can you blame us?

Something you dream of in your head manifests on a huge screen with people watching it spellbound, entranced, transfixed. The first few times it happens, you pinch yourself, ‘shit! are these guys really buying it? You mean it’s really working? That means, I am a film-maker now?’

As an aside, if only all film-makers could recall and hold onto that sensation of wide-eyed wonder right through their careers… But that doesn’t happen in real-life. It goes. Very quickly, in-fact, as soon as one’s efforts are appreciated, they slide on a slippery slope of feeling superior. The end of that ravine is arrogance. Soon, the reaction to a similar situation becomes cynically casual, ‘they are fools who can’t appreciate good cinema’ or ‘I clearly am way ahead of my times’.

You can’t blame the human ego. It is frail. It hungers for appreciation, recognition, and self-worth.

Power over audiences is a religious power, a cultural power, the power of communion. The power that witch-doctors and shamans have wielded upon groups huddled around campfires of antiquity. It has the power to heal, to fortify, to endure hardship and pain. To understand the world and universe we live in. It is the power of mythologies. It is the power of stories on the human psyche, it has helped human beings over time to deal with the vicissitudes of life.

Cinema is only a modern avatar. The power of the storyteller is ancient.

As a movie maker, the new-age storytellers, you have other mundane powers. That-of making or breaking people’s careers. A lot of those are very beautiful people. You use your power to give expression to the darker side of your ego. The quest could be similar : appreciation, self-worth, recognition. But now, its one-on-one. That is what the casting couch is all about.
Then there is the megalomania that infects film-directors and producers particularly. Due to the high visibility of this industry, every time you blow your nose someone writes about you.
As an interesting aside, it also means that everyone has a go at giving you career advice. The number of times I have been accosted on a flight, by some random person who hardly knows me, ‘dude you should have just gone to Shahrukh after the Oscars man, he would have met you and maybe you would have..’ a sense of disappointment in his tone, when India is shining I am the one not-reflecting. He sees the hurt on my face, so covers up ‘…that’s what you need to do man, go to IPL attend the parties, become visible, you’re a brand now dude…!’ He means well. I wonder, though, if I’d dare to advise a management consultant on the moves he should make.

Film-making as a career is public domain. For if successful,  your myth is inflated many times beyond your capacity to absorb the flattery. Armies of sycophants willing to become assistants. A cup of tea appears magically in your casual palm, your ass journeys floor-wards in the assurance that a chair shall check its descent magically. They are there to tell you how good you are, don’t listen to the audiences. It lulls you into believing that you are really the end and beginning of the world. Not just the filmy-world, but all of it. There is a huge premium on perceived success, others’ opinions of how cool you are. And then, inevitably, the beginning of the end.

You start second guessing your audience. You think of them as the lumpen. Idiots waiting for your intervention, as if a new cinema would be born at the moment you unleash your genius unto the world. You make cynical moves. You add scenes and songs in your film that have no business to be there. You cast those who can’t act but who can get you distribution / finance. You forget that storytelling is why people will come to watch your film. You spend too much time on muscles and tits. Too little time figuring out motivations and objectives. You make a flashy, overlong music video without a plot.

Then your creation releases. It gives off a bad odour that smells to you like roses. People from the industry pump your hand but there are whispers around the men’s toilet – the urinal is never wrong. ‘Lost the plot man..totally’ they say. ‘WTF was he smoking??’ ‘I read the first draft script – it was killer, but very little of that on the screen.’
You fail in your basic job to be the guardian of your own instinct.

Instinct.

The tools given to all film makers are more or less the same. Most film-makers who’ve worked a few years are competent. But what separates me from you is my instinct which isn’t going to be the same as yours. That which makes your vision of the world particular to you. That which audiences would like to share, why they watch your film.

Instinct is also the first thing the sycophants will disabuse you of, will try to strip off you, will try to smother into conventionality. Why? Because it is ephemeral. And non-tactile. Not like muscles and tits which you can squeeze but fleeting sort of stuff. A sixth sense. Intangible, without form. Illogical. Not excel-sheetable. You are the guardian of this precious, invaluable thing – your own instinct.

You fail in that – your journey into generic mediocrity has begun.

It happens to us all. It must happen to us all. How will we know otherwise? In the film world, it happens in full public display. It can be devastating to a carefully constructed vision of the self. But this is not the bad thing. It’s necessary. It’s a coming of age. You are dropped earthwards, cause you made a lousy, cynical film.

The real tragedy is that now – so used to the highs and pampering – for the rest of your life, all you can think of is how to get back up there again. You need your fix. You’re hooked.
If I’ve learnt one thing from this journey, it is this : to be a good film maker you have to work on being a good human being. This career is filled with temptations to the contrary. Arrogance and exploitation of others’ circumstances being two crippling sins. When a beautiful girl walks into your casting-room, willing to do anything if you’d only give her a speaking role in your film… now, that’s the shit…

That’s when I tell myself : be non-attached to the result, meet failure and success with the same smile. There will be ups and downs, don’t take them too seriously. Take yourself even less seriously.

And please stop giving her the idea that you’re f****ing interested.

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4 years after Ashvin Kumar made his feature debut , THE FOREST finally releases in India on the 4th of May by PVR Director’s Rare. THE FOREST is an ecological thriller starring Nandana Sen, Javed Jaffery and Ankur Vikal.

For more details about the film  visit
http://www.theforestmovie.com  /  https://www.facebook.com/theforestmovie

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THE RAT RACE by Miriam Chandy Menacherry (In Cinemas April 20) A Tribute to the Unsung Superheroes of Mumbai

April 17, 2012 By 1 Comment

Long Live Cinema_Rat Race posterLong Live Cinema_Filmmaker_ Miriam Chandy MenacherryA chat with Miriam Chandy Menacherry, whose film ‘The Rat Race’ paints an unique portrait of Mumbai through the lives of a community whose activities , despite being indispensable , largely goes unnoticed.  ‘The Rat Race’, which won the co-production challenge at Cannes, is the second documentary in recent time after Jaideep Varma’s ‘Leaving Home’ in 2010 to receive a theatrical release.

The genesis of this idea.  Your film references? Were you influenced by fiction films made on this topic in any way during the development/research phase, most notably Lynne Ramsay’s ‘Ratcatcher’ .

The genesis of the idea was a very small article in the paper which said the municipality was conducting ‘auditions’ for rat killers as 2000 people had applied and there were only 30 vacant posts. I wondered what auditions could you have for a rat killer? This is a film where fact is truly stranger than fiction…the auditions turned out to be an eye opener. More than that the people who apply for the post who are graduates and post graduates moonlighting as rat killers gave me the chance to explore the thin line that separates the `rat race’ of surviving the city and still holding onto ones dreams.

I have heard of Lynne Ramsay’s ‘Ratcatcher’ but never managed to land a copy.

The elements which drew you towards the theme. Did the fact that the Rat-catchers assume an almost mystical like quality akin to a team of superheroes , going about their business when the whole of the city is in deep slumber appeal to you in any way  ?

Yes ‘superheroes’ rooted in a gritty urban context, the film had underlying violence and tenderness and an underlying dark humour that unfolds through the characters in the film and in their context. The fact that it happens every night as the city sleeps gives the documentary a still, eerie, canvas that has not been explored before and visual unfolding is something that draws me to a subject. The other element is people and their complexities. I try to tell a story through my characters , so understanding their personalities and giving them the space to come into their own is something I do through the film, where the filmmaker is almost invisible.

Is it a favourable time for documentary film-makers in India?

Yes it definitely is. We have an earlier generation who has built a body of work that is inspiring and hard won. People like Anand Patwardhan and Deepa Dhanraj, Gargi Sen who found the passion to produce, direct, distribute and literally create their own audience for documentaries. Today there is a very vibrant culture of watching and sharing documentaries but happening in separate pockets here in India. I think exploring options like a theatrical release only makes the whole movement more accessible to the general public…because there is a wealth of films being made that is young, edgy and definitely compelling.

Indian documentary filmmakers are today in a good place because the stories were always here but now technology is more accessible and internationally people are looking to India for stories as India is way too big to ignore. There is scope for international co production and distribution for Indian documentaries. There are concerns that this may lead to filmmakers selling their souls to earn in foreign currency but I think this is one line where honesty has the biggest premium and most buyers and audience today can see through ‘exotica’ and attach value to what is truthful.

The processes leading to the release of a documentary film in theatres. Do you think it’s fast becoming a trend in India .

I hope so…the time is definitely right. The Rat Race would be the second documentary in recent times after the documentary on Indian Ocean. I do believe that Anand Patwardhan and Madhushree Dutta also experimented with a theater release years ago but it was in a single theatre. The Rat Race is getting a release in 3 cities simultaneously and I am curious about the outcome.

The perils of filming which you might have had to face.

The biggest challenge is to shoot in public spaces over 2 years. The canvas of a documentary filmmaker is not a sterile studio or set but the city itself. Shooting in Mumbai where I live is harrowing because shooting itself is so `commercialised’ because of the film industry. Every cop and shop keeper wants to be paid if you a point a camera in their direction.

The worst incidents were when we tried to shoot garbage dumps in the city. My crew was roughed up and footage deleted. I was told I needed to get official permission to shoot the Deonar dumping grounds where the rats are finally disposed but I was denied permission twice.

I hear that the grounds are a minefield of illegal activity that authorities do not want exposed…so I think getting access and a sort of state censorship is the toughest thing to tackle.

The profession of Rat-catching and the social life of the Rat-catchers

Imagine having to bring back the dead bodies of 30 rats you have bludgeoned to death, every morning to be counted to earn a daily wage? Even one rat means a pay cut…it seems bizarre! Almost everyone who has seen the film, even people who have lived years in Mumbai have said they had no idea about this whole world of the rat killer or that even such a job existed. The irony is that these are municipal employees paid by every tax payers money so it is a telling reflection that no one knows.

The film in a way is a tribute to these faceless superheroes who work whilst we sleep and vanish when we wake. Their lives and dreams in every other respect strike a strong chord with anyone coming to terms with surviving the urban jungle.

The telling of a city tale, capturing the essence of the city through this film.

We had spaces in the city never explored, the true underbelly of mumbai, dimly lit and astrue with garbage in the night and in the day it was the almost chaotic orchestra of mundane living, busy railway platforms and crowded market places! Capturing the two rhythms was exciting and juxtaposing them in a sense. Through the film Mumbai itself keeps changing from the romance of the monsoons, the vibrance and energy of Ganpati celebrations to the cobwebs, files and stillness of a municipal job

Romanticizing the characters and the profession , which they deserve in a way to draw people’s attention towards them . Tell us a bit about the characters included in the film.

The principal narrator is the Parsi Superviser, Behram Harda (57years) who counts the bodies of rats every morning. He always wanted to be a dancer in the film industry but chose the security of a government job instead. Our documentary in a small way allowed him to explore his screen presence with his natural humour and one liners like he compares himself to James Bond with ‘a license to kill’ (rats).

The other characters are more grey and not as comfortable with what they do for a living…getting them to open up was a process of trusting and believing that we had their interests at heart. My wish is that we can have a special screening for the BMC and the rat killers so that they stand to benefit. We were working towards it before the theater release but am still to get a date commitment from the BMC.

“And in shooting a documentary I’m drawn to fictitious elements. Like Buena Vista Social Club: that was really a fairy tale, much more than a music documentary. Or in Pina, where with all our documentary approach, and certainly with the attitude of a documentarian, we still had a fiction in front of us” – Wim Wenders. Your views on this ? Is fiction very much a part of a documentary?

I love the documentary ‘The thin blue line’ just because of the way it is made, it forces one to explore this very debate of fact versus fiction…but ultimately I think it’s about ‘truth’…the quest of every documentary filmmaker is to find the aesthetics that best suit him/her to represent a greater, undeniable truth.

I think my own style is to tell a story through very strong visuals and characters which is itself a hallmark of good fiction. Also I look for stories with a beginning…a dramatic story arc and an end, again how fiction is structured.

The difference is the people, the situations and locations are all true life and I end up shooting more than 50 hours of footage to make a one hour long film.

Tips for aspiring documentary film-makers.

Don’t start shooting on a whim, it is easy to shoot nowadays because technology is cheap and accessible…but spend a little time thinking about your story before beginning. A good concept is the foundation of a strong film and then give it a lot of time to unfold and enjoy the process every step of the way, most likely you’ll end up with a good film.

Projects in the Pipeline

An Indo-Pak documentary. I have a co director based in Pakistan and we have begun shooting a trailer. It is very young, high on energy and I am very sure going to get a lot of attention in both countries.

With Pakistan bagging an Oscar for best short documentary this year , do you think that it’s only a matter of time before India achieves something similar ?

I think Anand Patwardhan’s films are better than Michael Moore’s and the latter got an Oscar! Awards help but I do not think they are the best gauge…Just like I think AR Rahman’s best work is not necessarily for `Slumdog’ but he got the Oscar for that one as against other brilliant tracks…

The time has to be right and the Oscar will surely come to India but I think we as filmmakers just have a simple commitment to ourselves to make good films.

Your favourite Documentaries

Burma VJ
5 Broken Cameras
Born into Brothels
Supermen of Malegaon
The  life and times of Harvey Milk
Thin blue line

The Rat Race releases in India this Friday, the 20th of April.

 

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EXPERTS ARE FUNNY PEOPLE AND SHOULD WATCH “LOVE, WRINKLE-FREE” AND RELAX A BIT!

April 13, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I should be chewing my nails nervously since my first film as a Writer-Director is releasing in 40 days(on the 25th of May). But I am not chewing it since I have never enjoyed the taste of nails, though I have heard that it is an acquired taste. Another thing that I have never enjoyed is ‘expert opinion’. I can’t help but smile when I hear an expert – be it in films or cricket. I always find them funny.

In my profession, as an independent-spirited scriptwriter-director, I come across a lot of Experts. These are folks who talk so well that you wonder what they are doing in films. They would give Rahul Gandhi a run for his mom’s money if they joined politics. Also an amazing thing about these experts is that they know exactly “what does not work”, but not “what works”. If you ever get to meet one, mostly they reside in Andheri West, watch them speak passionately about why it is critical that your first film is a ‘safe’ one. They also smartly let you know that once you are more established, you can then make the movie that you always wanted to. Of course they don’t factor in for lifestyle diseases like Diabetes, Cancer, BP, High Cholesterol, and road accidents that have been known to play spoil sport with these plans. When I told them that the Mumbai potholes remind me of my wrinkles and impending death, and I wanted to make a few not-so-safe movies that I believed in, before one of these nicely designed potholes takes my life, they laughed at my ignorance. Experts laugh at ignorant people for a living. I love it when humans laugh. Even when the experts laugh, they look almost human to me. The sound of laughter is always a stress-buster. These experts need it the most. I hope they watch Love, Wrinkle-free, smile and go home happy.

Love, Wrinkle-free is a light-hearted comedy about how Urban Indian society is getting more and more obsessed with looks and smooth skin. I will be honest when I say that if not for these Experts, “Love, Wrinkle-free” wouldn’t have happened. I will always respect them for being so consistently negative since it used to have the opposite effect on me. Right from school days, I have believed that authority is to be rebelled against. Rebellion is fun. For a cause or for no cause. And naysayers like these guys had a role to play in pushing me, a simple middle-class guy staying in Vikhroli West, to try the impossible – to go ahead, raise funds, cast, negotiate, scout locations, get together a like-minded team, and direct my feature film. Adding to the experts’ worries, I wanted to make an Indian English movie. Recipe for Perfect Suicide, they said. I relaxed; at least I managed to extract one positive word from them “Perfect”.

Walking around in cities, and cities are where I have grown up all my life, be it Trivandrum (peaceful but limiting), Mumbai (crazy but potholes worry me), Bangalore (beer, girls and advertising days) or Pune(loneliness), I saw that the world around me was evolving very fast, but the movies and movie makers were mostly unable to keep pace with these changes. I remember closely watching advertising commercials and wondering how these guys are able to get it so right – the right language, the right casting, the right tone, so in touch with the times we are living in. They had their ears on the ground. Unlike in the film world. Here, the producer moves from his home to office to locations to home in cars without his feet touching the ground for more than a few steps. At times I wonder, it would be fun to find out as to how many steps they actually walk in a day. They might be walking more on their treadmill than on the ground. So that should possibly explain the lack of grounded scripts getting their investment!

So we should not be too surprised that Goa is shown the way it is in Hindi films. Goa for many of these “Experts” is a getaway to a world full of bikini-babes, free sex, drinks and drugs. When in Goa, these guys worry about the sun, their wrinkle-free complexion, and rent cars. Renting a car to escape the sun in Goa when you came all the way to bask in it and have some fun! So like I said earlier, these are seriously funny people. Except they are yet to realise this themselves!

Except Kabhi Ha Kabhi Na, and a few other films, can we think of any other movie that got the world of Goa right in the last 10-15 years? It has been my dream to make a Goan movie, and do justice to it. So I listened to my heart, used the collective power of my indie heart, brains and groins to write and direct a Goan movie. This fun-movie is releasing through PVR Directors Rare at a PVR near you. Please do go watch it and let me know what you think of it. The micro-mini budget and the 22 days of shooting didn’t stop us from bringing out a Goa which you would have never seen in Indian movies in the last 10 years.

Now, the Experts say, why make films in English in India? Britishers have left long back. I realised that too. In Love, Wrinkle-free, we used English since the characters are mostly from the Roman Catholic world. And they speak this language there. No rocket science! Also, I google searched and found that India has the second largest English speaking population in the whole world. And an Indian English newspaper, Times of India, is the largest circulated English language newspaper in the whole world. Not to forget the amount of ad commercials that is made in English. The reason one makes a film in Indian English is because many of us speak and understand this language. We might speak with an accent, but the fact is we get it and are moved emotionally, provided the story-telling is Indian. Love, Wrinkle-free is an Indian indie film in Indian English. Let the funny experts stick to their opinion, but the truth is that there are a sizable number of people who would not mind watching a well-made, fun-filled, entertaining Indian English film. That is my belief. If we had more advertising funds,we would have created more awareness about the movie. But I refuse to complain. I am thankful that my first movie is getting released. I am happy.

So the point of this blog is this. Do listen to the experts in the film world and in the media with a smile when they say why something “won’t work”. And use your own brains and heart, and come watch “Love, Wrinkle-free” in the first 3 days of its release. I can guarantee that you and your friends will have a fun time and will come out of the theatre with a smile on your face. Take care, rebel against experts, chew your nails only if you like it (and not because they say it improves your sperm count!). And yes, Love, Wrinkle-free always…Now see you on the 25th May at a PVR near you

Visit www.lovewrinklefree.com for more info.

Long Live Cinema_Sandeep MohanAbout The Author:
Sandeep Mohan is an independent-spirited screenwriter-filmmaker based out of Mumbai, India.  Love, Wrinkle-free is his debut feature film as a Writer-Director.

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SEX AND SENSATIONALISM: TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN Interview with Vivek Agnihotri, Director of HATE STORY

April 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The trailer for Vivek Agnihotri’s ‘HATE STORY’ , which is releasing on the 20th April , has generated a deafening buzz and grabbed quite a few eyeballs owing to its unabashedly bold content. Long Live Cinema posed a few questions to him regarding the movie which has its date with the censors today. Here’s his take :

Long Live Cinema_Hate Story 3

Long Live Cinema :  From the trailer one gets the idea that Hate Story is essentially a revenge story of a woman who uses her body as a weapon to inflict pain upon those who scarred her once . Is it a very conscious effort at making a pro feminist statement ? 

Vivek Agnihotri :  I wouldn’t say that there was a conscious effort to make a pro feminist film. In fact this is the first time this term has come up in my point of reference. The effort was to make a film about the power of woman.  We wanted to probe as to what happens if a woman uses her biggest weakness as her biggest strength.  Hence everyone is finding it bold. You will be surprised to know that it’s the men who are getting shocked , not the women. Because somewhere in their DNA they have this idea.

Long Live Cinema : The basic plot of a docile yet successful woman using her sexuality to exact revenge on the people who blemished her once, bears an allusion to the cult hindi film Khoon Bhari Maang  . Did you have that film in the back of your mind anytime while conceiving the script for  Hate Story ?

Vivek Agnihotri : No. Never. But yes, I thought about Yashji’s Trishul many times. As Hate Story is also set in the corporate world.

Long Live Cinema :  Did you experience any run-in with the censors ? Do you think the censor board has become much lenient , less intrusive and more mature of late ? Do you , as a film-maker, think that the censor board shouldn’t come in the way of a director’s creative expression ? 

Vivek Agnihotri : We are sending the film today for censors with the belief that it’s more understanding about the new emerging Indian cinema. My personal judgement is that it has opened up and become more mature in the last few years. We had problems with TV promos but that’s reasonable enough as TV has a very open audience universe. I am sure Hate Story will have no issues as we are asking for an (A) certificate.

Long Live Cinema :  The use of sexual content , violence and expletives have increased in recent times to such an extent that it has almost become a trend . Has it contributed in enhancing the realistic element of recent films to strike a chord with the audience or does it’s usage only translate to shock value or is it a combination of both ?

Vivek Agnihotri : Both. If you do an academic exercise you will find that most of the U certified films have more sexual and violent content than a lot of A certified films. Problem is that a semi naked hero surrounded by 30 white girls in bikinis is not considered sexual anymore.  Cars blasting in the air, bashing up 100 villains is not considered violent anymore. When a woman says she wants to sleep with a man, we find it very bold.

Long Live Cinema : The amount of sexual content and violence in a film always raises the question that how much of it is enough , lest the film veers into exploitation and crass sensationalism territory . Your take on this ?

Vivek Agnihotri : When you use sex and violence just for titillation then it’s like an item number. Meaning it has nothing to do with the story. Since, our cinema is an extension of variety shows. We like to put in little sex, little double meaning dialogues, a fight, an item number. Exactly like Indian food. That’s why we call them ‘Masala Films’. I do not subscribe to that kind of cinema. In Hate Story you won’t find even one frame extra than required in order to tell the story in a very engaging pace.

Long Live Cinema : Satyajit Ray once said , in the context of sexual freedom in cinema , that cinema is more effective when it suggests rather than shows . Do you think with changes in the social scenario of a country like India with time , that statement is no longer applicable since cinema in a way is a reflection of a country’s social consciousness and accepted norms of morality of a particular time ?

Vivek Agnihotri : Yes and No. As Ray said, anything that is subtle and suggested will always evoke better response as the viewer is trying to comprehend the meaning of that particular dialogue, visual or the nuance of acting. When it’s said in an on the face manner then there is nothing left for the viewer to imagine and nothing is more entertaining or pleasing than an imagination in the right direction. Ray mastered the craft of leading his viewers’ imagination in the desired zone. If you do not understand the craft and the nuances of life and it’s relationships, same thing will become weird. Our society has always catered to both. Crass and subtle. Our mythology, poetry, art and literature understood that we need both. But it was always 90%  suggestive , 10%  crass. Now it looks like its reversed. It’s not that our cinema is dishonest. It reflects the morality and social consciousness of the country. It’s also reflected in our parliament, on the streets.. ..at least films have censor.

Long Live Cinema :   Do you think the making of trailers these days is a very specialized department since the unveiling of a trailer generates the maximum buzz for a film before its release and since it creates the first impression regarding what the film is going to be about ?

Vivek Agnihotri : With the advent of Internet and social media the opinion building, which earlier lay with press and TV, now lies in the hands of ordinary people. Films are made and killed in people’s perception.You don’t get a second chance to create the first perception. That’s why the first look determines where the film is heading in terms of business. In Hate Story we decided that we will be absolutely honest with the audience and show exactly how bold and different the film is, as its an erotic thriller – a new genre. We wanted people to know what to expect in an erotic thriller. We never knew that it will generate such response.

Long Live Cinema : Was the casting of Paoli Dam a very obvious decision based on her bold performance in the Bengali film Chatrak ? Do you think actors of regional cinema often gets typecast in Bollywood ?

 Vivek Agnihotri: In fact we had signed her last April, a month before Chatrak‘s premier in Cannes. Even Paoli had not seen the film before that. So we had no clue about Chatrak but I knew about her Kaalbela. That one film alone will tell you that Paoli as an actress belongs to some other zone. Perhaps, one of the best actresses India has ever produced.

Long Live Cinema : In a patriarchal society where men are still seen as dominant over women and where men gets to make the rules and women are supposed to abide by them or get ostracised , do you think the audience will accept the portrayal of a confident, commanding , uninhibited and powerful woman fully conscious of her sexual powers and has no hesitation in using it to her advantage . Has the Indian audience matured enough according to you ?

 Vivek Agnihotri: No, Indian audience hasn’t matured enough. Hate Story is a little ahead of its times like all my work. But that doesn’t mean we don’t create such characters. The intense reactions are coming from men, not women. I personally liked the idea of a woman using her weakness- her body or her physical strength to her advantage in a conflict. That too in a corporate world where men assume that they know best. That’s the best part of Hate Story.

Long Live Cinema :  Do you think the violent reactions of men towards women in a society stems from the need to wield the power and authority over women which society places firmly on their shoulders and the insecurity which comes with the realization of how dependent they are on the women in their lives which serve as a contradiction to their idea of power and with this unpleasant realization comes the violent need to assert their authority over women as an attempt to re-assure themselves that they indeed are dominant ?

 Vivek Agnihotri: Men are not providers anymore. That screws their self image. The DNA tells them that they are superior but the ground reality has changed. Women have liberated, changed towards more assertion and conviction. It’s not that men became weaker. Since women changed , men relatively started looking weaker. That’s the reason for much angst and physical violence towards women.

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Dibakar Banerjee’s SHANGHAI Official Theatrical Trailer

April 6, 2012 By 1 Comment

A small town somewhere in India is poised to become the next Shanghai. Billions of dollars are being poured into an upcoming International Business Park. On the eve of its launch a drunk truck driver mows down a prominent social activist. A lone girl believes it to be a murder, supported by a porn film maker who claims to have the proof that will bring the government down. A high ranking bureaucrat is brought in to investigate the accident. Shanghai, a political thriller, follows the journey of these unlikely heroes as they come together to find justice in the labyrinth of Indian democracy. It’s the official Hindi adaptation of the political thriller ‘Z’ by the Greek novelist Vassilis Vassilikos.

Studio: PVR Pictures
Release Date: June 8, 2012
Producers: Ajay Bijli, Sanjeev K Bijli, Dibakar Banerjee & Priya Sreedharan
Director: Dibakar Banerjee
Cast: Prosenjit Chatterjee, Abhay Deol, Emraan Hashmi, Kalki Koechlin

Official Website: http://www.shanghaithefilm.com

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