I am not sure why have I preserved this for twenty two years. I am not sure why have I uploaded this on my blog, now. I am also not sure how long I am going to preserve this.
(My foray into the short fiction format) Shooting of a Short fiction film Coming to think of it, even a shot thirty second advertisement film is a short fiction film. A not so handsome guy wears a cream and the girl falls for him - this could be the one liner of the story of an advertisement film on a fairness cream. Not that yours truly did not dip his hands into such versions of the short fiction film. An advertisement film on a bindi, a hair shampoo and a greeting card were some attempts that I had done in the initial days of my career in this format. The only 'non-neoliberal' solace that I have right now is that the companies that manufactured these products were not large multinational corporations - they were run by small entrepreneurs. In 2008, Sameer Mahajan the cameraman of my first fiction feature movie ' Suddha ' (The Cleansing Rites) gave me a call saying that he was facilitating the making of a short promotional film that will act as an eye op
Kundu Saab, as we called Virender Kundu, was on deputation to Films Division from the Haryana state cadre of government civil services. He is a film buff, the indication of it was that every evening he saw a movie in his home theater that had 5.1 speakers, so we were told. After taking charge as the Director General of Films Division, as the post is called now as against the earlier Chief Producer, he quickly realized that the system that Films Division had developed over the years actually put off the spirited independent documentary film maker or kept them out of it's range. He opened up the organization to people who otherwise would not have entered into it's premises at Peddar Road. Consultation with independent documentary film makers became the norm. One of the major reforms he had undertaken in his tenure was to streamline the online application process and make the process seem transparent. After the applicant submitted his / her proposal on line on to the
It was a 180 sq foot ground floor flat that I had purchased during my early days in Mumbai. It was just a stopgap arrangement, before I moved on to a bigger flat. I had planned to stay there for exactly two years. It took me more than thirteen years and a whole lot of persuasion to get out of 13\3, PMGP Colony at Mahakali, Andheri (East), Mumbai. Initially, when I brought the place, well-wishers had warned me that the number of the house was unlucky. But for me, the purchase was a huge accomplishment – acquiring a roof akin to making a film. In fact, my friend and classmate from the film school, Rajiv Katiyal did comment in jest, ‘Ram could not make a film, so he purchased a flat’. Yes, technically it was a ‘flat’. It had a living area, a tiny kitchen space and an attached bathroom cum toilet. Back home, my relatives were surprised and even impressed! This black sheep of the family had the presence of mind to buy a flat and that too, within a few years of moving into the city. But only
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