Regional Cinema in India

India is a large country where many languages are spoken. According to the 1991 Census of India there are about 10,400 'raw mother tongues' in India.If closely related and mutually comprehensible dialects are grouped, the number can be reduced to 114 main languages. These 114 languages are the ones surveyed in the Indian census. Indian film producers have made films in thirty of the largest languages. However, only the very largest language groups support major regional industries. These are: Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Marathi, Kannada, Odiya & Malayalam. Official statistics categories Indian films according to the languages in which they are distributed.

Masala movies are made both in regional and Bollywood film industry. But regional films constitute of high percentage in parallel cinema. The regional cinema, obviously in majority formed the alternate cinema. Ever since the decline of regional cinema throughout the nation, and the dying out of the parallel movement, the viewers have been feed with repeated image, sound and music. Indians do not watch movies made in other part of India itself but able to watch latest flick of Hollywood. Why?

Firstly, I personally don’t think language should pose a problem but it does, not a lot of work has been done when it comes to movies. Frankly people need to get over this as subtitling as an art has really developed. Still people are irritated & afraid at the though of reading subtitles. If we can watch Japanese, Chinese and Iranian films with subtitles, we can watch home productions too. If subtitles are available there is no issue in watching good regional films. Subtitles are not easily available for any films and it’s not easy for everyone to get access to any foreign or regional films through P2P or torrent client.

Secondly, film education is nonexistent in India. If we were to educate people in films studies Bollywood masala films might just be a subject of history. I believe that a lot of good regional films are not of excellent production (technical) quality like Hollywood or Bollywood. That is also where they score less... but unless regional filmmakers find financial backing, it is very difficult for them to produce good production quality.

Lastly Media has glorified Hollywood and Bollywood. Regional films are not given so much coverage in the media slots. The marketing and distribution system is under developed. The major problem is being lack of availability not due to the fact that such movies don’t exist but because they are not marketed properly.

Indian Cinema is thriving today thanks to an audience who is hungry for films, however, our works have degraded over the years, and regional cinema and few great filmmakers are marginalized to the film festival or art house circuits. Most of us had used to watch regional films on DD on Sundays. With the advent of cable and dish culture, the regional cinema has suffered huge setback. There is no information either in the print or electronic media about regional films.

Language Barrier:
Language controversy has nothing to do with the topic which is primarily a problem of socio-economic & cultural conditioning in which media is responsible to a great extent. Regardless of the language, a film is a film and must be regarded as a work of art. Some films are language less, soundless but are classics. The point is only this that statistics cannot determine quality of a film and regardless of how many people speak a language, a language is a means of communication and nobody can decide on a superior and inferior language.

A good movie is a good movie whether it’s being made in Hindi or Tamil or other foreign languages. But many talented directors like Hriskesh mukherjee, Basu chatterjee, Shyam benegal made many films in Hindi the reason being that it reaches over to larger audience. Many good directors make movies in Hindi or English irrespective of their mother tongues. Even legendary Satyajit ray made a film 'satranj ke khiladi' in Hindi.

I am saying Hindi is just like any other language and is grammatically similar to all devnagiri languages. The point here being that when someone puts his efforts in making a film it’s quite logical he expects it to reach more audience. I'm not getting into this language debate.Back to movies!!!

Obsession with Bollywood/Hollywood(Studied from above Link)
"Our bureaucracy and the ruling class (irrespective of political affiliations) are mesmerized by the glamor and dazzle of Bollywood, quite ignorant of the fact that it is the strength regional cinema primarily that the true picture /reality our vast country is reflected or represented. No doubt I.F.F.I. was shifted from New Delhi to Goa to create a carnival atmosphere on the lines of Cannes film festival oblivion of the fact that evolution, nature & utility of the two are entirely different. Besides after 200 years of domination by the Anglo-Saxons culture we still in our subconscious mind feel whatever comes from foreign/ Hollywood is superior(though technologically they are, yet cinema is not only about technology). "

Even Satyajit Ray’s "Pather Panchali" was appreciated only after it got recognition from abroad. A new and independent thinking pattern is needed with clever marketing strategy for upheavel of regional films.There is huge growth in overseas market of indian films. It provides basic investment needed for people working in regional film industry to move to other regions. Now, the good point is mobility and exchange of technical crews and artist with different regional background. There is a great deal of mobility between the regional industries. Many workers in other regional industries, once their talent and popularity is established, move on to work in other film industries, nationally as well as internationally.

In end, simply it’s just that not a lot of smart people have invested themselves in this marketing and commercial aspect of film industry.

Quotable Quote

"Salim-Javed never went to a screenwriting school but still ended up becoming a screenwriting school for all of us. Too much education can kill a perfectly smart brain forever. But it's desirable in terms of craft, in basic things like creative writing classes in every university which most people in the west take for granted.

We spend our childhood dreading our Physics-Chemistry-Math scores and hundreds of entrance exams instead, which is a pity for those who are not so inclined.

It's strange, I always say I never went to a film school, I went to Jungle instead-and recently Anurag told me the same thing-that he never went to a film school, he went to Satya instead".

- Jaideep Sahni, in an interview to India FM

Blog :Creative Writing

A blog is a medium which can and does foster creativity and original writing on burning topics and bring up concrete reality completely ignored by the mainstream press. It can also be used for providing information and inspiration about career {in IITs & IIMs}. In my words a blog is a creative license in form of online journal, public diary or e-documentation of your thoughts.

You have to keep seeking and striving, learning and thriving. Reading and writing are in symbiosis with each other. Equating the writing of comments with writing a blog is misplaced but a potentially powerful idea. Its clever marketing, since the term 'blog' has come to stand for the unfettered expression of opinion. But blogging is not something that you do only as a reaction to what other people write! It is about being proactive than reactive.

The challenge is to hybrid creativity and commercialism. To achieve impact in terms of sales, or at least influence thinking / behavior is real goal of a writer. And never be creative for the sake of being creative, especially if it's for a 'creative' purpose or position. It takes extra time and attempt to come up with something creative and more sincere effort to become original. Or, wait for someone else to - and then promptly forward the mail to you!

Read Post by Steve Yegge and Post by Rashmi Bansal for good blogging.
PS: Dedicatd to Rashmi Bansal for her fundoo blog.

For Future Generation

The wishes of the children are never a factor when deciding their future, Even if the part of this creative little soul is dying everyday on that wooden bench, copying Q & A from the blackboard. Earlier the thought was that only civil services, doctors and engineers are suitable careers. Nowadays the trend is that only engineering +MBA degree combo is a sensible career. It can bring in the so called mega bucks. It is all for the welfare of the students. Never mind if the kids are battered by an uncompromising and ruthless system which robs them of any creativity they have had. Failure to get inside a top notch school is considered a family dishonor and enormous pressure brought on kids to achieve targets which they never really wanted to.

And yeah, this is motivational bullshit but you know what, the idea that an entrance exam or two at age 17 can make or break your future is horse manure. Use it - to fertilize your imagination!

Take a bit of a creative leap in your Life!!!
College is just a platform to move in a particular field. Use this time for recreation and climbing on the learning curve. The one-dimensional growth in grades can be good with academics but for long term benefits curricular activities must be done.One time failure cannot stop anyone from climbing the ladders of success.

Whether you join the ‘ultimate’ branch or merely the ‘ultimate’ college after beating neck to neck competition…
Whether you got your dream job on first attempt…
Whether you marry the girl of your dreams or the one your family dreamt of...
All that matters in the long run is how true you were to yourself.

As Oscar Wilde once said,"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry…"
Honest Advice: Find yourself. Be yourself. Love yourself. Everything else will fall into place.

Software Industry and Engineers

Engineers have always had to endure the "nerd" label, but some catchy phrase might change that image. RHDTM was such incident to me. A dialogue was delivered-“Mechanical Engineer mein fire hone chahiye”. Then in next scene,R. Madhavan ignites a lighter for smoking cigarettes. That snap makes engineering a cool career to me in school days.

I decided in 1s year two things: To get a software job and to excel in any field except academics. I completed this resolution successfully.

Apart from my story, the creation of over 250,000 white collar jobs is something to celebrate. For the first time in recent Indian history, the 'ordinary' graduate is in demand. If it took outsourcing to create this demand - so be it. But remember software industry is not about creating new things. Its all about client giving you work. Work that their IT team is NOT interested in doing.

Well, here’s the deal. Practically every engineer – and not just from IIT but the top 200 colleges in India – can become a software engineer in a TCS, Wipro or Infosys. Regardless of what branch of engineering we study, you can get into them.
But, there is an elite corps which is recruited by global corporations for R & D jobs. And these are the jobs that even IITians die for: To work for a Google, Microsoft, Adobe or Yahoo on new and emerging technologies. To be part of a team creating new products and not merely fixing, maintaining or coding.

But if you’re the square peg who fits their round hole, more power to you!!!
I always remember this line:"Human beings were not meant to sit in little cubicles staring at computer screens all day, filling out useless forms and listening to eight different bosses drone on about about mission statements."(ref)

Test Cricket vs.20-20

The trouble with traditionalists is that they present themselves as protectors of the game's values but are actually doomed romantics. They lament the present state of affairs yet resist innovation.---Peter Roebuck

Title songs of Old Doordarshan Serials

Friends i got these title songs on these links.Anybody interested can download them directly from these links. Have nice time and old doordarshan serials were simply rocking

Baje sargam :--http://www.talkbangalore.com/braindose_dd/bajesargam.mp3
Byomkesh bakshi :-http://www.braindose.com/dd/multimedia/byomkeshbakshi.mp3
Duck Tales:--http://www.braindose.com/dd/multimedia/ducktales.mp3
Ek Chidiya:--http://www.talkbangalore.com/braindose_dd/ekchidiya.mp3
Hamara Bajaj:--http://www.braindose.com/dd/multimedia/hamarabajaj.mp3
Jungle book : --http://www.braindose.com/dd/multimedia/junglebook.mp3
Karmanyen:--http://www.braindose.com/dd/multimedia/karmanye.mp3
Malgudi days:--http://www.braindose.com/dd/multimedia/malgudidays.mp3
Milesur :--http://www.talkbangalore.com/braindose_dd/milesur.mp3
School Chale hum:--http://www.talkbangalore.com/braindose_dd/schoolchalehum.mp3
Srishti se pehle:--http://www.talkbangalore.com/braindose_dd/sristisepehle.mp3
Surabhi :--http://www.braindose.com/dd/multimedia/surabhi.mp3
Tipu Sultan:--http://www.braindose.com/dd/multimedia/tipusultan.mp3

Thanks to Rohit Gupta for providing these links on orkut.

My First Attempt For Scriptwriting

Notice: I will kill the guy who will plagiarize this creation. I am damn serious.

Walking Diary

1^st scene

Two Boys:One wearing che guevera t-shirt

1^st guy: You are wearing a T shirt with image of Che on it!!!

2^nd guy: who the heck is he in this world? I absolutely have no clue about this man except that it looks cool.

1^st guy: People should be banned from wearing ‘Ernesto Che Guevara’ t-shirts who absolutely have no clue about the man and his sacrifice.

2^nd guy: Did he was an important American rock star or soccer player….

1^st guy: Never mind about that stuff, lets go; Guru (3^rd guy) must be waiting….

2^nd scene

A beautiful girl on side ways and both boys on walk

1^st guy: What a beauty!!!!

1^st guy: Hey, you noticed that chic. She is hot…

2^nd guy: Do you only see the beauty of girls in this whole world? There is hunger, poverty and unemployment around you…

2^nd guy: I got sometimes mad by these sites. People walk with the ignorance and cold heart. I hate viewing those stony eyes.

1^st guy: (Giving Lal Salaam to2nd guy) Are you frustrated or someone rebuked you in the front of beloved one?

1^st guy: Be practical in life.

1^st guy: Go to China and Russia, see the oppression of people. Fussing about communism in this lighter mode! Hey relax, man...

1^st guy: (whispering) you cannot talk so loud in those countries…

1^st guy: You have really damned my mood. I am just priest of beauty like Keats...

2^nd guy: You bastard comparing yourself with Keats. I will die with laugh. Such an exaggeration!

1^st guy: Move fast, long road is ahead of you

(Both of them sigh at the long and unending road)

3^rd scene

In front of temple or religious place

2^nd guy: (hailing in front of temple) really marx was correct. The religion is opium for masses…

1^st guy: Not in India my friend, only cricket and bollywood are unofficial religion…..

4^th scene

View of a dead man (corpse)

1^st guy: I hate seeing corpses on the road. It gives me a draconic feeling.

2^nd guy: Man, you live in India; A place with 110 crore population. People born and die here on streets. Listen...

2^nd guy: Life, disease, and death have always been more visible in India than in another country of west. Children play cricket on the road; shirtless elders chat sitting on the front deck of their houses. Everyone is free to piss on the road. Death is a visible event. You talk like a tourist from west.

1^st guy: It is not originally your words.

2^nd guy: Just lifted from a blog. It was good lines so just delivering dialogue as a hero of parallel cinema.

(Laugh with deep sense of respect of each other)

1^st guy: Hey, I am fultoo Indian from heart. Do no inspect my foreign brand T-shirt. Do you really have met any foreigner in whole life except Bangladeshis and Nepalese?

2^nd guy: Nope. I find them disgusting. They are just bunch of escapists - floating through life on the strength of a favorable exchange rate.

1^st guy: But my heart feels otherwise. They all could just as well be lying on a beach in Goa sipping tequilas. But they are here in spiritual places on some kind of personal quest.

2^nd guy: (urging voice) Correction needed here. They are traveling at religious places not spiritual.

1^st guy: (Hands and head bowed) ‘mai baap sarkar’.I am just a simple “aam aadmi”. I have pinned down a hornets nest. Do not open the pain and sufferings of artistic cinema in front of me. I am seeing enough art in life. Let me emphasis on mine entertainment while you work on society development.

5^th scene

(Two guys and Guru in open place near tea stall)

Guru: Welcome ‘Changu’ and ‘Mangu’. You seem to remind me of contrast characters in life. One walking left in theology and other right wing activist.

Guru: Take a sip of this royal tea and enjoy the beauty of nature. Transitory world add charms to this dusk.

2^nd guy: Sun rise and Sunset are optical illusions. The earth revolves…..

1^st Guy: life is simple time span to express you. Why to waste a beautiful scene with scientific views. Just have a belief in what you observe with open heart.

Guru: Life is not about facts or fiction or about right or wrong. Roles of person are interchanged in his short cinema of life.

Guru: Life is full of paradoxes and mysteries. I do not waste my breath in decoding these puzzles of philosophy. There are certain times in our life when world appear to be nostalgic, insomniac and full of chaos. Identity crisis surrounds you. The world is nothing but mirror of desires and work of all people. Everyone wants to change the world from his point of view.Then,why so serious....

Guru: (Lighting a cigarette & smoking in space): To green world.…

1^st guy & 2^nd guy: (Cheering tea kulhads): To world peace (A serious laugh)

The End

By Himanshu Rai

Dedicated to Varun Grover

I ink,therfore i am.

Who am I?
May be a tramp, vagabond, bohemian, stranger, amigo, nameless traveler, stalker, pauper or faceless identity in a lost world.

I am sure that I am not an artist of abstract and reflective thinking.

Then, Who am I?
I ink, therefore I am but really there is no purpose in asking question to the abyss called as soul.

I write this blog for expressing my feeling and inspire others.

Quotes for Cinema

Cinema is the most beautiful fraud in the world..
All you need for a movie is a gun and a girl..
Photography is truth. Cinema is truth twenty-four times per second.
--Jean-Luc Godard

One man writes a novel. One man writes a symphony. It is essential that one man make a film.
--Stanley Kubrick

Suggestions for improvement of ITBHU

Suggestions for improvement of our institute

Note: The following article is written by Himanshu Rai (Mechanical 2008), who feels there is a need to make improvement in the various fields for our institute in particular and for IT-BHU community (students, alumni, faculty, administration) in general. Particularly, it discusses about the issues of conversion to IIT, foreign collaborations, industrial linkage, campus life, curriculum, websites, branding of institute, steps needed for improvement, etc.

He has collected and compiled the information from wide range of sources, including from online discussion groups and by talking to different people. All views expressed are his own, and they are stated in a positive way. He can be contacted at: himanshurai.mec08itbhu@gmail.com)

Below is the excerpt from his article. To view his full article, click:Suggestions_for_improvement_of_our_institute.pdf