Friday 27 January 2012
indian films are well known for their over-dramatization. the influence of early theatre on cinema continues even today. over the top expressions, loud dialogue delivery are all considered part of good acting. there is no denial that some actors have excelled in these things. modern sensibilities look for subdued acting and understated narrative which are not common in indian films.
it is in this context 'mayakkam enna' (selvaraghavan, 2011) impresses us. the film which starts on simple note announces its intentions once it shows the hero failing in his tasks. in an industry where heroes are gods in themselves seeing this is a revelation. a failing yet assertive hero and a understanding yet non-compromising leading lady are rarity here. the film though has some clichéd characters clicks because of these two characters.
dhanush is becoming an important actor of this generation. his skill set may not be vast but his resume is becoming more impressive. though he is repeating himself there is still an air of innocence he brings on screen everytime. richa gangopadhyay shows her calibre in the scenes where she is coming to terms with her husband's flawed genius. this lady has brought the touch of reality to her portray of a strong, modern women who is very caring at heart.
the notion that films are primarily meant to entertain is so strong that anything else is blindly rejected by makers. no-brainers thus flood the market fighting with each other for viewers attention. it is in this competitive environment someone should dare to do something different. to selvaraghavan's credit he has not only made a different film but has delivered it very effectively.
a brooding hero has a fixed template here in form of devdas. maker after maker always interprets devdas when he needs a fallen hero. such attempts always see hero succumb to his drinking habits. rarely have our films shown hero fighting his addiction to alcohol. even more rarer is the character of his wife who will silently urge him to come to his own terms. it is arguable whether this film would have had better end-effect had it not gone popular way in the climax.
this seems to be a general problem with films which deal with such themes today. 'rockstar'(imtiaz ali, 2011) can serve as a guiding principle on how to end such films. agreed that audience may be put off by excessive tragedy but such themes deserve only this treatment. these are minor issues which should not bother a serious viewer who has much to savour from this film which is bound to have a long shelf-life.
Wednesday 25 January 2012
what to do with classics? they can either be kept up there with all reverence or can be thrown out as old stuff. neither of these approaches will help enhance the appeal of the classics. the best thing to do is to interpret them in their own terms. this requires much effort as studying classics demand perseverance. but some extraordinary men try to do something else. they reinterpret classics in their way.
every good thing begs for attention and imitation. we like to dress like someone and be like someone we admire. when we read a good book we want to write in that way. after watching a good film we (at least for a moment) feel like those characters in the film. in fact studies have confirmed that riders crash more often when speeding in their bikes after playing adrenaline pumping games on computers.
we should understand the urge of a film-maker from this perspective when he is remaking a film in another language. though financial reasons are main motivations for remakes one cannot rule out this infectious urge to repeat something good. but imitations are often second grade and duplicates stand no place in creative industry. finding one's own voice after internalising various influences is the biggest challenge for a creator.
in india, ramayana and mahabharatha continues to inspire people till date. various sub-plots and minor characters in these epics are making people recreate the magic in a way only they can. but most of such attempts are tainted by religious or other similar vested interests. therefore they do not add any value to the epics and do not stay for long time. only few poets like kalidasa were able to stamp their individuality while reinterpreting the epics.
bringing a work from one form to another poses a differnt problem. a novel has a particular format; not only literally but also in treatment of characters and narration style. when someone has to make a film based on the novel the challenges are many. every individual creates his own private visuals while reading. now the maker of the film has to conform to majority of readers vision for his film to become successful.
reinterpreting a story in a different time and context is also highly challenging. to challenge established notion is not easy. mani rathnam tried interpreting indian epics in present times in two of his films but he tasted mixed success (thalapathi, 1991 and ravanan, 2010). raajneeti (prakash jha, 2010) became overambitious and failed to impress. there has been no other major attempt in this direction. the film makers of today can take advantage of this void and create contemporary interpretations of our epics to expand its appeal among today's film goers.
Monday 23 January 2012
the debates of constituent assembly meetings make for great read. they show the maturity and farsightedness of the leaders who rose to the occasion. writing a constitution for a large country like india where there is nothing common in 10 km radius must have been very difficult. in some ways constitution is the recognition of our oneness despite all telling differences. but for that effort we may have never become a nation state.
currently there has been a renewed interest on the way we govern ourselves. there are many alternates proposed for improvement of our governance structure which is believed to be down thanks to corruption. the so-called civil society is beating drums of total revolution. in such troubled times it is necessary for us to go back and see why those men choose this system and what caution they gave us for its good working.
in his concluding remarks on friday, 25th november, 1949 dr. ambedkar made some telling comments on the future of democracy in this country. pointing to the fact that india had already lost its democracy once, he reminded that it cannot afford to lose democracy again. with his deep study of the beliefs and practices of the people here he pointed three main threats to democracy. and reading them today one cannot but wonder how clearly he had seen the future.
the first thing ambedkar wanted was to abandon the method of civil disobedience, non-cooperation and satyagraha. while justifying that they were necessary while fighting an enemy, he urged that they be stopped now. he argued that constitutional methods be followed in raising and addressing grievances. his strong dislike to these things came out when he labeled these methods as "grammar of anarchy" and said "the sooner they are abandoned, the better for us".
his second caution was against hero worship. knowing very well that indians are prone to over-respecting everything and thereby blinding their reasoning, he advised strongly against it. liberty, he argued, should be at forefront and not blind following. by quoting john stuart mill his final comments on the matter were very effective - "in politics, bhakti or hero-worship is a sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship".
lastly he envisioned political democracy blooming into social democracy. he defined it as a way of life which recognizes liberty, equality and fraternity as the principles of life. having personally experienced the traumas of rigid social hierarchy, he took leadership in making constitution all-inclusive. ambedkar's words have turned prophetic. today, more than ever, there is a need to read these words and understand them better. else we will have democracy only on paper.
Friday 20 January 2012
there are only two predominant models of detective films. one is the high action genre perfected by james bond on one end and shabby b-grade thrillers on other end. second is the hyper-thinking spy copyrighted by sherlock homes. in every part of the world film makers of every kind have tried their own versions of detective films based on these two templates. but a third alternative has remained unexplored.
between bond and holmes an intelligent man would want a detective who can solve cases not by guns or deductive logic but by careful analysis of facts themselves. instead of stylish bond and outwordly holmes it would be nice to have a detective behaving like us. a common man's thinker is rarely tried by film makers mainly because there are not many novels employing such a character.
tinker tailor soldier spy (tomas alfredson, 2011) for one gives us the much needed break from high action detective films. based on highly complex novel it already had successful television adaptation. the bbc production for tv (john irvin, 1979) had alec guinness living the role of george smiley. the laid back and detailed series had remained very faithful to the original work. the seven part series was considered too long to be made into a feature film.
but the makers of this film have taken the challenge and delivered a quality product with very few compromises. the first credit should be given to writers because they have compressed a five hour story into 1.5 hour film. yes, someone who does not have an introduction to the story may find the film a bit complex. some pieces may seem missing to understand the entire breadth of smiley's approach. but the film clicks thanks to some wonderful acting and excellent making.
gary oldman had the tough task to re-interpret alec's portrayal of smiley. he being an actor that he is easily brings his own charm into the character. while alec's smiley was more human, oldman's smiley is a tad reserved but he brings a new dimension to this character. he will surely cast his spell on first timers but does not disappoint hardcore fans also. somehow one cannot but feel that casting is hugely influenced by the television series.
the film is going places with multiple nominations in major award circuits. the film had a niche audience to begin with but has done a lot good to popularize this genre. maybe at least now local film makers will think out of box and give us intelligent detectives. gore and gravity defying action are enough; let us have some realistic detectives who can solve cases using facts and not superhuman tactics.
Wednesday 18 January 2012
i am busy
- i am jobless
i am really busy
- i am jobless and i don't plan to work
this is an interesting question
- i don't know the answer for this one
we can work together
- you work and i will take credit
i am easy going
- do not bother to come to my classes
you should be self-motivated
- read on your own
behave like mature people
- don't complain to principal
today's students are awful
- they gave me bad feedback
this is an important topic
- i have understood this one
this topic is very difficult to understand
- i don't know anything on this
very few material are available on this topic
- i searched in google but did not find anything
Monday 16 January 2012
a company with a global footprint wanted to challenge another leader in its home turf. it invented the better formula and thought it had a winner. the product was launched with much hype. though initial trends were encouraging the product was soon declared unworkable. today the leader still occupies the coveted position and the challenger is long forgotten. do you recall the name 'savlon'?
savlon was strategically positioned to challenge dettol. what its makers thought would be its core strength turned out to be savlon's single cause for failure. unlike dettol, savlon gave less burning sensation when applied on wounds and it had a pleasant odour. but people equated absence of burning sensation to less powerful action. they were also used to the typical dettol smell so much that anything else was unacceptable.
now who told people that antiseptic lotions 'should' smell like dettol? no one exactly. but everyone started thinking so. the same thing happened in other scenario. when pepsi was catching up with coke's market share coke decided to change its trademark formula. it went pepsi way and diluted its drink and made it lot sweeter. what was considered as master-stroke turned to be a dud. coke was forced to bring back its original offering to remain in the contention.
in kannada cine industry there were guys like ramakrishna and ramesh bhat who were extremely talented and were far more dashing than the heroes of their days. but somehow they never clicked. take praveen amre or sanjay manjrekar who had loads of talent and better technique. why did they fail to raise to their potential? and who can forget a self-proclaimed superstar management guru who claimed to have made a film in a methodical manner which did not survive the weekend of its release.
we do not pick up our favourite batsman looking at record books. our screen idols have nothing to do with talent or friday collections. when we enjoy the food in a restaurant we don't ask for health ministry clearance. we do not look for iso certificate while selecting products. we rarely think about classical correctness when we enjoy music. we never use a formula to calculate the compatibility while selecting a friend.
most of our decisions are based on instincts. instincts are based on perceptions. perceptions are beliefs accumulated and reinforced over a long period of time. they are shared beliefs of a community which are planted by its opinion makers. more than media stories it is personal narratives which spread these beliefs which after sometime becomes very difficult to erase from public memory. therefore organisations should take extra effort to create positive opinion about themselves in order to avoid the jinx later.
Friday 13 January 2012
consider that there is a new disease that has gripped the nation. who should decide on the best possible cure for that disease? definitely it is doctors and not any one else. professionals are trained to understand the complexities of the matter and should be left alone to take better decisions. general public, however knowledgeable they are, should limit themselves to giving as little comment as possible. that is the gentleman's agreement society should have with any professional group.
the problems in a dam should be resolved by structural engineers. dam building has rich history of few hundred years. there is no dearth of experts in country and outside who can give studied opinion on the matter. if ministers and public of both states are fighting about the matter in media little will be achieved. general public should be advised to respect the opinion of qualified professionals. otherwise sensationalism and slogan shouting will drown the scientific underpinnings of the issue.
this situation is not new at all. recently there was a debate on nuclear energy. starting a new reactor in any part of the country today invokes same set of debates. the arguments are sounding familiar and there is no fresh perspective offered. finally the government will do what it does best - postpone the matter. there are many committees and agencies in this country which are filled with qualified nuclear scientists. but by leaving the decision making process open, science is undermined and chaos prevails.
the same story repeated during genetically modified food debates. the well intending minister started open consultations. the result was all familiar chest-beating fight and not academic debates relying on proof and logic. again the issue was put into back burner and given silent burial. whatever may be ones stand on the issue, the process to reach the end was not encouraging. it shows how the people who should be taking decisions are being held back.
the matter is not simply about lack of scientific temper. this is a symptom of larger problem plaguing our society. right people are not taking right decisions. and therefore the entire governance structure is failing. in turn people who are desperate for change are taking up any alternate source of hope. so people who are using undemocratic ways are entering into bargaining with government.
krishna was in the powerful position while talking to arjuna in battlefield. but while arjuna pleaded helplessness, krishna advised him many ways to resolve his problems. but never did he propose a solution directly. his advice to arjuna was to chose his own path. the belief krishna had on arjuna is something we as society should have on qualified professionals while they are solving scientific problems.
Wednesday 11 January 2012
the book 'blink' (malcom gladwell, 2005) offers some interesting insights on human decision making. using a set of newly coined terminologies the author offers two important lessons. one, while taking trivial, everyday decisions use all the power of logical analysis and second while taking some important decisions go by gut instinct. the book is filled with instances where people took stands in crisis in just a moment without burdening the matter with dry logic.
momentary decision making is quite common to indian film audience. here screens are filled with stories of man and women falling in love the moment they see each other. businessman taking high powered decisions in a jiffy is celebrated as visionary. heart and brain are considered as two decision making authorities and going with heart, it is said, is always better than listening to brain.
people studying the brain will tell you that there has been much inroads in understanding how we think and take decisions. mostly all human activities are mapped to certain areas of brain. so a trained neurologist can tell you the series of predetermined processes that are followed before an action. psychologists will add that previous memories which are hidden deep in the mind is actually the force behind the instant decision making.
indian philosophy firmly establishes that there is a hierarchical relationship between manas-buddhi-atma which controls human life. but it is ones karma which determines who is the boss among the trio. so if manas is taking decisions it will listen to indriyas and act according to their wishes. buddhi will use knowledge accumulated via training and practice to decide upon things. atma which is purest form of existence will make one realise the futility of material world if awakened after rigorous process.
this issue is very interesting from software engineering perspective also. while automating an existing system there is always an expectation that it will lead to better decision making. in fact domains like artificial intelligence are involved in creating systems which can think and take decisions. many of the computerised systems today can take routine decisions on their own.
the issue becomes complicated when autonomous, thinking machines are proposed. they usually invite hostile reaction from everyone. decision making is considered to be sole privilege of humans. we want computers to do menial, repetitive, boring, time-consuming jobs for us. moreover we are no where near to understand the complete complexities involved in such things. therefore we can be assured that we humans will retain this special place for many more long years to come.
