Mr.Guru Dutt:Genius Unparalleled?

This is ofcourse not going to be a micro-biography of Guru Dutt>>My blog is not a general knowledge bank :P plus you can readily find the relevant info from sites like Wikipedia. Rather, I want to write about my impressions of this man GD who has really enthralled me with his Pyaasa, Chaudhvin Ka Chand,Kaagaz Ke Phool and Sahib,Biwi aur Ghulam,to name a few.

His filmmaking style was bloody brilliant and he is credited with the invention of the 'Guru Dutt shots' (camera close-ups) among others.Although his autobiographical Kaagaz Ke Phool caused him a loss of Rs.17 lakhs in 1959,it gives us glimpses into his life.The movie has now become a classic in its own right and deserves all the recognition it has received now.I remember a scene which I especially loved.After GD has been thrown out of the film industry due to a string of 7(?) flops directed by him,he is shown walking on a beach and the waves washing away his footprints.Wow man,this is something....And there were many more such scenes in that movie.

Pyaasa(1957) is well recognised as a classic again and i especially remember it in the context of 'Ye Duniya Agar Mil Bhi Jaaye To Kya Hai.'The ability of GD to film tragic scenes or moving scenes is probably going to remain unparalled in the annals of Hindi cinema.Anurag Kashyap paid a fitting tribute to him with 'Ye Duniya' from Gulaal.And the respect this man commands even today can be seen when present successful directors name him as the director they would have loved to assist.There was also a race recently as to who was going to make a Guru Dutt biopic.It seems that Rakeysh OmPrakash Mehra(RDB,Delhi-6,Aks) has bowed out of the race paving the way for Anurag Kashyap.

Finally,the parting paragraph.Guru Dutt met a sudden and early death,generally attributed to his heavy drinking problems.You will usually find people saying that he could have scaled even greater heights had he not been flawed in his personal life.And I would like to lambast such people in general and not only in the context of GD.    Guys,why do not you realise that the level of success GD achieved was only due to his mentality as a whole and probably any attempt to mend his personal ways could have become a bottleneck on his creativity.Let flawed geniuses be, one because they make for great viewing and two because only then can they bloom to their peak potential,howmuchsoever it may be.

P.S-Down and grounded with assorted assignments and other related frustrating things,I can relate more to the pain he wonderfully exhibited through his brand of cinema.

RGVs blog:a real gem

Recently,I chanced upon Ramu's(RamaGopal Varma)blog on Windows Live.And man,I loved it to the hilt.He has dealt with a large variety of topics in a very interesting and informative manner-Films,Audience reactions,Life,etc. and they offer a minefield of data about this man who has been greatly loved and equally greatly hated by the critics and masses alike.His gangster trilogy-Satya,Company and D-are just wow and his duds like Aag,Nishabd,etc are like shitty.On one hand, he has created masterpieces like Sarkar,Sarkar Raj,Rangeela(to name a few) but on the other hand he has made Aag(it is so full of ***t that it must be mentioned again),James,etc.But,like it or not this man RGV has made a profound impact on Bollywood.

On his blog,he indirectly teaches some nuances of filmmaking and also explained hits and flops. There is a section where he has said 'sweet' things about critics of today and another where he has responded to readers' responses.And this list can go on...

All in all,what comes across is this man's honesty and true self.He hasn't minced words while describing how he manipulated his way in order to get a chance to direct his first movie(Shiva,1989) or the way he copies certain scenes from Western cinema. Do go ahead and read it because otherwise,you might miss out upon a real gem.

P.S.-Eagerly waiting for Rann as well as Sarkar-3(tentatively Naya Sarkar).

Hey guys,I just composed a song!

Yeah,the title doesn't lie.A couple of days ago,alongwith my buddy Somit,we were finally able to write and compose a song in its entirety.We have been at it since many months but either due to lack of will or lack of purpose,we were not able to get on with it.

What happened a couple of days back is that I had just taken a bath and was relaxing in my room,when Somit came over abd said that he had just composed a tune on his guitar which was really good as well as original.I was excited and immediately went over to his room.He played it to me and I liked it too.Then he told me to do the lyrics part.Well,I started with a couple of lines which were really good.So we both got excited and he immediately told me to start writing.

Finally,about an hour later,we had composed a song of fairly good quality.And the happiness one experiences after doing anything creative just cannot be expressed in words.

Dev D : Not a Review!

Well,as the title already indicates,I am not going to review the film.Firstly,because I do not believe that I am even 1% capable of doing so.To be a film critic,one must have a great knowledge and feel of cinema(hope our great critics like Khalid and Raja Sen understand my POV soon).Secondly,a lot of time has elapsed after the film's release and it would be totally meaningless to do a review.

Instead I would like my own impressions about a movie that I didnt like 100% in my first viewing but it took me another viewing to get myself convinced about its quality.A modern-day take on Saratbabu's Devdas by our very own Quentino Tarantino(AK-Anurag Kashyap) was always going to generate a lot of hoopla months before its release.I distinctly remember watching the trailer of the'Emosanal Atyachar' on TV and telling my Mom there and then-"Hey Mom,this is gonna be my favourite film,for sure.Just wait."

And my words proved almost prophetic.Although I shall not go that far as calling it my favourite film,it is surely one among the many of them.The brilliant filmmaking style of AK coupled with the great performances of Abhay Deol(the great unsung star of Bollywood),Mahie Gill,K K (cant get her full name) and others;then enhanced by the brilliant music score by Amit Trivedi(of Aamir fame) left me spellbound after 2 hrs 20 mins of my second viewing.The movie was critically acclaimed with TOI giving it a 5* rating.But,the collections were disappointing according to various sites.

Well,the box office results were to be expected because of the content presented in the film-The lead actor continuously drinking and smoking ciggs as well as cocaine.Plus,the dialogues were harsher than what we are generally used to.Some people might have found the story plots taken from the DPS RK Puram MMS scandal offensive. Basically,it is not a movie you can enjoy with your family.But,still such movies need to be made from time to time-as I heard from someone recently-'Most movies are for the masses,and some for the classes.'

The high point,for me,about the movie apart from the great script was the way Anurag Kashyap used the songs to take the narrative forward rather the stupid lip-sync songs involving the hero and heroine prancing around the trees in some exotic jungle.Especially,Pardesi,Yeh Meri Zindagi,Nayan Tarse,Duniya and Emosonal Atyachar were great to say the least.The camera movements and cinematographic effects used to capture the feel of a drunken and drugged mind are really,really praiseworthy.I could go on and on about the technical aspects but I think it would suffice if I just say that the movie was as close to perfect as cinema can be.

Finally a few words for Anurag Kashyap:After watching his first-released movie Black Friday,I was completely mesmerised.Then came No Smoking and I started hating this guy AK a lot.Finally,this year Dev D and Gulaal have made me full with his praise.Two final things--AK your blog on PassionForCinema is really great and I get to learn a lot about filmmaking from your blog.Finally,AK man,in all your movies the second half tends to become a bit boring and draggy.Try something and you will become as perfect as a maverick filmmaker can become.

Travel Experiences# 0

Thanks to my parents,I have had the wonderful and liberating experience of visiting very many places throughout India.So,I thought why not write a few posts about them.Atleast,they will contribute positively towards the population of my blog.

Some earlier memories as well as a few recents ones have become a bit hazy but I will try my best. After all,I do not have access to Prof Dumbledore's memory storing device(shucks,I just forgot a harry potter fact),so please bear with me.

Enjoy my travelogue if you can...