All the Critic Men

Well, if you judge a book by its cover and an article by its title, then you are my ideal reader! For this article is about discovering the critic within! Sounds spiritual? Well trust me, critique is an art form far from spirituality! That’s the least I can assure you at this moment!

Leaving all small talks behind, let’s go straight to the part where I am supposed to make a point! For i am no longer a viewer, i have moved on to be a film critic! My initial experience with the established film critic Mr. Mayank (Hindustan Times), revealed that i do not have access to a the text book titled ‘Be A Film Critic In 7 Days!’; neither do i have a formula or a paved path to follow. Wow! i feel like Einstein! i can however ‘adopt’ the style of an existing film critic (without paying him homage), yet i am open to invent my own style! Wow again! Now i can knit ‘good abuses’ in my own way and play with them the way i like! Sounds awesome! But hey, this isn’t the catch! So, what exactly am i? i searched the Pocket Oxford Dictionary, which defines a film critic as ‘a person who reviews the artistic attributes of a film.’; so i shall be reading the film for the masses? Ouch! My high suddenly dropped! Still unclear about my luck, i tried reading ‘All The President’s Men’- the film. Just incase you didn’t get it, reading in a critic lingo means a-n-a-l-y-z-i-n-g !

All The President’s Men (1976) by Alan Pakula appealed itself to me as a clean piece of art; the auteur was quite clear while basing his film on an already existing piece of literature and a true event in America’s political history. He knew exactly what he had to choose to show. The film is from the perspective of two not-so-compatible reporters and how they investigate the Water Gate scandal. Pakula was clear while conveying his point across that escaped (quite well) high dramatic moments or over powering background scores. The high points of the film were the moments when the reporters rejoiced (in an aesthetically subtle manner) after getting leads for the story. Pakula’s sense of translating the characters from the book to the celluloid medium established him as an artist; each and every character was detailed, irrespective of its importance to the script. The characters in the editor’s meeting were made to be so realistic that one might forget they are actors acting! The film appeals at a greater level with its sub layerings and references. Dialogues like “Half the country doesn’t care about Watergate!” (Bradlee) might be stating the film maker’s disappointment (or assurance) about the casual film viewing culture. Other instances like the scene where the reporters are seen searching through the library-requests by a top angle long shot, symbolize their meagre stand inside the labyrinth of the American red tapeism. The film excels as an art form as everything holds on to the complete synergy with the story. The long shadows (remind you of film noir) will definitely trigger a sense of eeriness; the use of silence (reminds you of Bergman’s films) pulsates the serious investigations; the colour patterns adds on to the moods of the characters- where the reporters interrogate in a warm tone, and ‘analyze’ the investigation in a cooler tone, the serious points are in darker tones; besides this, the constant use of blue, red and white in all the frames gives you the feel of the American flag and again states the patriotic character of the auteur. However, in spite of these high points, the film fails to match the imaginative power of the literature medium- the book on which the film is based on. But, cinema is still a nascent art, unlike the matured and experienced art form of fiction literature. So, kudos to Pakula for interpreting the novel to fit the dimensions of cinema beautifully.

As i went on thinking about the film, i just couldn’t relax for a second. It felt as if i was searching for a treasure. As if with each discovery, my adrenalines pumped ink to my pen nib! Strange- my passion for cinema was my only fuel, writing just followed. Ah! So, is that what a critic is- a passionate cinema lover who knows how to frame a sentence as well! And with that i just made my first definition! My style? Well, as the expert said, style comes with time. Wait a second! Cinema captures time; so the more films i see the better ‘critic’ i become! Wow! My high is back!

That was the memoire of day 1 of the journey called Mumbai Young Critic, where all the critic men (and women) shall unleash the film critic within.

NB- ‘i’ represents all the 24 young critics; ‘I’ represents my own identity.

Why Would Raktacharitra Make It And Hisss Wont ?- A Novice’s Approach Towards Film Marketing

As the film lovers are going bonkers over the posters and various creatives of movies set up by different bollywood film production companies (and their marketing agencies), it’s time for a simple novice to express his attractions and repulsions about the campaigns.

First thing to be noticed are the large hoardings near the Juhu Chowpatty or the 4 bungalows. Hoardings of Hisss and Raktacharitra shall definitely catch your attention if you are driving through the linking road traffic. If you ask me instantly, both are quite repulsive. I believe myself to be the ideal target group for both the films; a fantasy horror (hisss) or a gory political action drama (Rakta)- they do are the kind of films which I would like to see in a theatre. But the point here is, what shall I choose, if I was shown both the creatives-

Hisss...
First of all, the badly photoshoped image of Mallika standing with her arms stretched up and her hair covering her (supposedly) naked torso, makes her look like a malnourished naagin (which might scare the WHO) that doesn’t scare me a bit. Mallika’s looks are not at all suggestive (if that’s what they are meant to be) but are more like “Oh god! I am naked!”. This might be a straight slap on the face of the ‘experienced’ photographer, but that’s the message being sent. Moving on to the next issue- the copy or the tag line- Revenge has a new sound. This drops the whole positioning of the film and makes it a cheap B-movie. Adding on to these hilarities, the ‘catch-phrase’ to attract viewers to theatres is, Scary, Sexy, Go for it! Well, that I guess reminds me of Kaanti Shah’s movies. What is to be noticed in this kind of positioning is that the film lacks a content that can appeal to its right target audience, and hence has degraded itself to be a B-movie (with stars) and is begging the crowd to watch the film.

Something that separates the good and the bad campaigns is the way in which they hold the subconscious attention of the viewers. A simple example that can help me support my point is the Taashi store campaign carried out recently throughout the Linking road stretch. A week and a half long teaser campaign with bon mots did catch the attention of passer bys and made them wonder about the brand, the gathered inquisitiveness accumulated in the subconscious minds of the target groups, later would attract them to the stores after the campaign revealed itself to be of a Shoe store at Linking road (notice the brilliant media plan as well!). Now, some might argue on my dare to compare a film with a shoe store brand, but isn’t a film a brand for the marketers? Brands, only have wider horizons in comparison to a film. How will a campaign’s lucrativeness drive the viewers to the theatre is million dollar question!

Lucrativeness can go to any extent. Talking about Hisss, the teasers and theatricals that went out couldn’t really portray the ‘essence’ of the film. I shall like to talk about a concept what scholars call the ‘pakad’ (origin Sanskrit) of the film. In other words, this is the essence of the film, the soul of the film that need not be shown in the film, but is the essential adhesive for the organic unity of the film. The promos, theatricals, creatives and the overall campaign should be a part of this organic unity, respecting the pakad of the film. A fine example of a trailer that goes with the pakad is the theatrical of The Legend of The Guardians (animated, 2010). The more the marketers move away from the pakad, the more the campaign moves away from the subconscious minds of the target group. The pakad can be anything, from a simple emotion of the character to the brilliant usage of time and space. Say, in Hisss..., the pakad might be the revival of the age old myth of ‘revenge of the lady cobra’. Instead of positioning the film as the story of revenge and the sexiness of Ms Sherawat, a campaign revolving around the traditional hindu myth could have been more appealing. Instead of Mallika dancing to the naagin tune as PR stunts, a serious awareness campaign could have been carried out where the myth could have been discussed both scientifically and mythically. The sense of inquisitiveness of the target group could have been exploited. Instead of piggy banking on the controversies about ‘topless Mallika’ (that’s passé), some serious work could have been done. But again, the script is the super power. The campaign would fail if the script doesn’t stand up to the campaign.

Raktacharitra
Raktacharitra is based on a real life story of a naxalite turned politician, set in a gory plot of cutting heads and blood dripping axes. The tone of the film is dark and sepia-ish; while the story is said using ‘punch’ dialogues and glorification of characters. One can easily compare the style with Sarkar and Sarkar Raj. The plot also speaks about the feeling of revenge. Are these messages transferred through the creatives also? I would say a definite yes. The creative looks gory, cluttered and portrays the central characters- Vivek Oberoi and Shatrughan Sinha (minus his moustache) as ‘dirty’ politicians. Analyzing the creatives, one look at the hoarding would definitely convey that it is a period film (yes), a heavily loaded gory action film (definitely) and uses a language that is certainly not for family audience. The clutter indicates the winding plots and the ‘stories within stories’ structure. The photos of the cast (movie stills) goes well with the essence of the film- revenge and hatred. If this is the pakad of the film, then definitely the positioning is well done and can grab the target group’s attention. However, it does have flaws.

With these simple examples it is definitely clear about the importance of creatives in luring the audience. Besides these holistic approaches, there are certain intrinsic aspects as well. The font face of the film is an important aspect. Raktacharitra has a unique font face that says the story’s motive in a nutshell, while Hisss fails to do so. The font background is also quite important, while Raktacharitra(written in red) uses a darker background, improving its visibility and making it to stand out; Hisss written in black over a darker background that doesn’t make it stand out. This intrinsic detailing sends a positive signal about the seriousness of the film as a whole and strengthens the organic unity.

A special mention about Raktacharitra 2 and why did I say both the creatives were repulsive. Raktacharitra 2 has a catch phrase that reads ‘after Rajini the Robo, it is Suriya the Ghajini.’ This obviously drops down the expectations after the creatives of Raktacharitra 1. Such a creative won’t really attract the crowds in Mumbai who are pretty serious about the films they buy tickets for. Whereas this kind of positioning will be quite effective in the south territory where the stars rule the script and the story formula holds no good. Interestingly, building the positioning of a film over the star power, doesn’t help to lure the audience to the theatre. Say a film that has Sharukh Khan playing a street beggar; obviously the creatives cant have Shahrukh’s large cutouts portraying a smile; the motive and the pakad go for a toss and so does the film’s revenue! But what Rakta-2 has done is different, the creative is a movie still of Suriya and it has just introduced Suriya, pretty decent thought but the copy lets you down, never mind the other creatives might just bring back the organic unity.

Why were both the creatives repulsive? At the first look, both the creatives appear cluttered (except the single face of Mallika for Hisss.). A single message doesn’t come across. Comparing the creatives with those of The Dark Knight (English, 2008), which had a single character- either Batman or Joker and Joker’s mark was there in all the creatives. The message that came across was the film would be a serious battle between batman and joker- bang on! While Hisss as discussed earlier confuses the viewer as what the story is, so does Rakta which sends out more than one signal regarding the story, rather it tells the overall plot in a nutshell! (Vivek Oberoi, Shatrughan Sinha, the men on bikes, crowd, blood, swords, axes....that’s the story!) The pakad of the film doesn’t come out clearly and effectively. Thus a perfect creative will be the one that sends out a single major signal which is the essence of the film.

Marketing is like building a bridge between the viewers and the film. It’s up to the marketer what kind of bridge he wants to build that would suit the right kind of viewer to come for the film!

i AM C.I.N.E.M.A

PROLOGUE:

This volume is dedicated to all who think Movies are just not "anything else"...rather a medium filled with emotions, passion and hunger. Again a medium filled with drama, lust and starvation.

VOLUME 1 : It’s easier to eat an apple than to write an apple

Chapter Une

Come with me, i shall take you to my world. My world of slow motion, where you will see doves flapping their wings. So slow...2000 fps. You can see each feather vibrating. Giving rise to a new pulse of hope called flight. So moderate and seducing in its action, which will drive any fanatic to an eternal orgasm. You will see all possible colors in her feathers. The dove unaware of the statement it makes, flies high in the orange sky... magic of my world, she appears black against the yellow sun setting in the shimmering mirage created by the smoking seas. The seas’ waves so subtle- so gentle like The poets of fall whispering carnival of rust in my ears. Yeah...come feed the rain...cause i am thirsty for your love dancing under the skies of lust...cause without you my life is nothing but this carnival of...

i capture this picture de perfect and dissolve it with your dreams.

i make you fly..perform martial arts you never have thought you were capable of. Words and grammar fail to run the race with my emotions. Words are nothing but hurdles to tell you how aroused i am at every moment i live here.i black out...it’s time to pretend (MGMT)...for i miss the playgrounds and the little puppies playing...i miss my father and mother’s lap...i miss my brother’s arms and my sister’s jokes...well...now that i sing my blues to you...let us have some fun...i fake you to pretend!

I put a warm filter and make you see...my world is yellow...filled with colors that portray a face macroscopically...For my world is filled with passion, where the rain drops wait for my command to fall and the drops break with equal juice of passion and love for being a part of this world. i make you see what you always wanted to watch... but i make you observe what i always wanted to infer. i sing you the lullaby that doesn’t make you go into slumber...but makes you dream. You are never fast asleep, but you are a fast dreamer. i, Freddy, am your dreamweaver.i am the one for whom you will say “good” morning...kiss your boyfriend with a lot of passion, unhook your girlfriend with magnified imagination...a hunger to make love in the rhapsody of love. Oasis- i don’t believe that anybody feels the way i do.............................about you NOW...!! there are many things i like to say to you but i don’t know how...

My world is full of paradoxes...you wake up with a smile on your face you cry to your boss’s tantrums...because i wanted you to do so...you smack him up and beat him up to your satisfaction-i am responsible for your aggression. Cause, honey...here, you see and do what i want you to do.Never felt this passion in what i say...never felt this blood rush to my fingers before....Pixies- with your feet on the air and head on the ground...try to strip and spin it....yeah...you will ask...there’s nothing in it and you will ask yourself “where is my mind”. You are a duck, jaaneman...i say and you “quack-quack”!

i can take you to your history...i shall make you see Caesar ripping off heads of his enemies...i will make you see Siddharth ignoring his royalty and setting off on a quest for “within”, i will make your supper miserable- for i will show you Aslan’s roar reducing an entire army to dust, i will make your dinner go for a toss cause all i leave you with Simran failing to hold on to Raj’s arms and the train leaves the platform...for i all i care is your angst, your hunger, your love, your mind.......your...your...your... cause that is my fuel. I don’t starve cause you ask me for more.

I am smart...i have asked you for a date. You leave your husband and are bound to walk with me. cause, i satisfy you more than your lover...i make you feel ecstasy...i give you the orgasm and tingle the spot that your lover had never found. For i hold you with what gives you the goose bums.

Chapter deux

Who said i make movies, i make love to you. As i said, i don’t believe that anybody feels the way i do about you now. You remember the last time, i asked you for a cup of coffee, and then we were on bed. While i was slowly stripping you, you asked me a question, “I have left my husband, by this time he must be home...he must be searching for me through out the house...he must be hysterical by not finding me in the kitchen...he must be hungry...must have gone hay wire searching for food in the cold refrigerator...and my 2 year old baby...he must be crying...crying to get me...oh in the name of holy jesus, am i doing the right thing?” you looked at me....i was kissing your naked belly (oh those fast heart beats of yours were sending chills down my spine)....we looked into each others eyes and you smiled...you held me by head...smiled...widened your legs and said “Oh...dont you dare stop now..!” and for the rest....we made love like we have never had.

i again have asked you out tonight. You have come running, this time you are happy to leave your husband and your child hungry. You have no regrets. I am waiting for you at the porch of the restaurant. You ask me, “I don’t need food. Cant we just jump into the bed and rip each other apart?” i reply, “hold on honey, everything has its pace. Now please allow me to take the lady on an exotic dinner. The candles have been lit since quite a while now. The red carpet wants to taste the flavour of your high heels. Dont keep them waiting.”You smile again. Our arms knot and we walk up the stairs for the dinner of our lives. I ask the waiter to serve you the wine i have handpicked. We talk about our last time. You talk so much...i must say...you praise my approach on bed, you praise my harmony, my crafts, my choreography. i just look at you. i smile and continue staring at you.

Time flies like never before. You were so engrossed talking to me that your thirst to make love tonight had vanished. I walk you to your car. We kiss and you depart. While you are driving back, you realise that you didn’t eat a piece...you were so engrossed talking that you forgot to take a bite. You smile at yourself, being fooled by me. i have fooled you, successfully. i never made you realise that i wasn’t prepared for your expectations that have rose high since last time. I still have succeeded in giving you the best dinner date that you have ever had. Next time, honey...i will be prepared.

Come to me Freddy, i shall take you on a ride to a land situated far far within you. i make you forget your wooes, replicate your joys and multiply your emotions. i am who creates your being. For cinema has made you what you are.

For i *echoes* create C.I.N.E.M.A......!! *echoes*

EPILOGUE

This piece happened to me while i was traveling back to my place (in a friend's car, with deep purple playing its greatest guitar solo @ 107.10 fm ) after VD Sir's out-of-the-world trip inside the aroma of cinemas (cause smell is what deceives us the most). I would also mention Saha sir... for in those eyes i dont see lies, i see the hunger to gulp more..! and mujeeb sir...for i hear only what the notes hymn in togetherness..!!Madness is all what you need, madness is all i possess.Hail cinema.!!