Think This Could Be Done

With this Electronic Journalism course I and my class-mates have went through a number of assignments, both written and practical. Now in the concluding stage I feel that along with the usual classes and assignments, maybe the stundents should also be assigned works wherein they will have to visit community homes like ashrams, juvenile homes, orphanages and the like so that they take the opportunity to mingle with people and understand the kind of living which they would otherwise never know.

This could be taken up as a weekly assignment- one organisation each week. This would bring them in close understanding with versatile lives and might also prove effective against corruption to some extent in these organisations, if at all they prevail.

The History Of Malayalam Cinema

an exhibition


A film festival is not just an occasion to view films, but also one to remember and bring to life the past of cinema. This is exactly what the retrospective and homage sections do in a film festival. As an attempt in a similar direction, as part of the IFFK 2008, the Kerala State Film Development Corporation (KSFDC) and the Kerala State Chalachithra Accademy (KSCA) had jointly organized an exhibition of photographs on the history of Malayalam cinema. The exhibition was inaugurated on the 13th of December by the eminent Indian film director and jury member of IFFK, Dr. Jabbar Patel, at the Kanakakunnu Palace in Thiruvananthapuram.

The exhibition displayed memorable images of stars and celebrities, photo stills from landmark films, shooting stills, and the albums of events from the past IFFKs, providing us glimpses into the history of Malayalam cinema and IFFK. There were also exhibits describing the timeline that maps the long and colorful journey of Malayalam cinema. In addition, also on display were some of the earliest pieces of equipment used in filmmaking, like the old 10 KB lights that were used in studio floors, a 16mm camera, the once very popular Mitchell camera (the one that was used in the making of the Malayalam blockbuster of all times – Chemmeen), a slide projector, a Moviola editing device, and so on.

The arrangement of photographs took the viewer on a journey through history, one that begins from black-and-white images and progresses to the colorful images of the near present. It was a nostalgic trip through the various facets of Malayalam cinema that also captured those great narrative moments through the luminous expressions of great actors. For the admirers of Adoor Gopalakrishnan, there were some impressive working stills from his sets.

Undoubtedly, putting up such an exhibition was a very good way to familiarize cineastes with Malayalam film history, especially on the occasion of the film festival. But unfortunately, the way it was organized left much to be desired.
Though more than 50,000 pictures were on display, the majority were from the festival albums of previous years. One would have expected more and more varied images from different spheres of Malayalam cinema. Another shortcoming is the lack of bilingual captions. Even in cases where they were provided, the information given was sparse, typically just the year, the title of the film and its director. A few captions also mentioned the names of the actors. More detailed captions would have been of great benefit to film lovers and students of Malayalam cinema, and even for the general film viewer. Even the exhibits dealing with the various achievements of Malayalam cinema were written only in Malayalam.

Another drawback was the remoteness of the venue of exhibition from the theatres where the festival films were screened. This could have been one reason for the low turnout of visitors to the show.

Despite all these shortcomings, the exhibit was a significant attempt and something to be pursued and expanded in the coming years.

Rohini Kumar© FIPRESCI 2008

The Photograph

It was the second screening of The Photograph by Nan T. Achnas at the 13th IFFK, and from the long queue of audience and the full house, one could make out that a lot of expectations were in the air.
This Indonesian film is about a bar singer, Sita, who comes to live with a photographer, Mr. Johan. In order to support her sick grandmother and a daughter, Sita is forced into prostitution. Mr. Johan is at the fag end of his life and has three wishes to fulfill before his death. Both help each other and the story proceeds with their growing understanding of each other. This relationship between two helpless people gives a new dimension to Sita’s life and a fulfilling end to that of Johan.
The movie works its way through different shades of human emotions in a poignant manner: the helplessness of a mother who is forced into a profession not of her choice, and the pain that she undergoes, both driven by the love for her daughter. This split within her – what she wants to be and what she is – is embodied in her conversations with her mirror image during moments of pain and inner turmoil.
Through her relationship with the photographer she gradually comes to learn what it is to live in reality, or in other words, she realizes the difference between the image and the real. While Mr. Johan’s last wishes are fulfilled, she ends up learning his profession and becoming his successor, as it were. The photographer on his part holds a surprise that is revealed at the end, which turns out to be a story of selfishness and tragedy.
In other words, The Photograph is about Sita’s journey from the confusion of the mirror image to the specificity of the photographic image. In the end we find a blank wall with the photograph of her and her teacher on it, a wall which will be filled with the photographs she will take in the future.

Rohini Kumar© FIPRESCI 2008

The Yellow House

Music is always mesmerizing and it touches the mass audience despite their diversities. It is often the simple metaphoric lyrics or sometimes just the tune that works the trick and becomes the very soul of narration in a film.
To the audience who thronged Kairali Theatre (one of the venues for the IFFK screenings) on a Monday morning, the music director Saycal Salhi gave the lead into the fantastic movie The Yellow House through a piece of music played on oudh, a traditional Arabian musical instrument.
The film, directed by Amor Hakkar, opens with a wedding procession. But the merriments of this happy occasion are accompanied by a piece of tragic news which is about to shatter the happiness of a simple family. The only son of this family has met with an accident. This tragic news of the death of his son sets the father on a journey which is full of humane encounters, through which he discovers a world of kindness which is too magical. It is a world where grief is amply compensated by joy, and sorrow by music.
Already enticed into the movie with the charming piece of music, the audience at the end walked out of the theatre cheerfully humming the theme music. A gala conclusion to a wonderful fantasy movie. While coming out, I approached a viewer with the question, "What do you take away with you from this movie?" With a gentle chuckle he started with the song from the movie and walked away humming. The sense of the Arabic lyrics may have been lost, but the music was right there.

Rohini Kumar© FIPRESCI 2008

AURORA BOREAL

a review


Sergio Tovar Velarde’s Aurora Boreal is a video testimony of Mariano, a fourteen year old who is about to commit suicide. We gradually get closer to him as we discover the reasons that drove him to such a desperate decision. He is sliding away from his family as he is haunted by the guilt he takes upon himself for the retardation of his younger most brother, the beloved of the family.
The introspection upon the inner torments that drives him to that dark decision slowly unravels the opposite within him: the reasons why he should live. He ends up discovering that suicide does not solve anything. The visuals of the film vibe closely with the dark and disturbing, yet deeply humane, theme.
The narrative makes brilliant use of the documentary format to record the testimonies of people around the protagonist and weaves them together to deliver a positive, life-affirming message. The film reminds one of the words of Carl Gustav Jung: "As far as we can discern the sole purpose of human existence is kindly alight in the darkness of mere being."

Rohini Kumar.© FIPRESCI 2008

Cinema and Me

Cinema has always remained a fantasy to me. Like everyone else, I too grew up watching and enjoying cinema. It has been my ideal window to the world and the school I loved the most. I hardly ever miss an opportunity to watch a movie - good or bad, classic or popular. It is again, beyond doubt, the best entertainer I would always opt for.
Being a student of Electronic Journalism, as part of our syllabus, we are shown classic movies and experienced teachers guide us in appreciating and analyzing them.
The dedicated work of so many people and lots of technical and aesthetic elements go into the making of cinema. As a student of these processes at work, restricting myself to mere watching seems incomplete. An avid viewer of cinema, I believe that it is a vital medium that transcends borders and unites hearts.

Who is a person

Debates are high on the issue of promoting or not promoting GAYISM in India. Why is there so much fuss about it? Do we think that it is a fair trial? Where do the others stand. I believe that a gay, a homosexual, a bisexual..... are all hidden inside a so called normal person. Only that in some, one of these characters is dominant and the rest recessive.
The real problem is with our highly hypocratic and undemocratic society. Will someone endeavour to change it's face first?

Suchishmita

I met her in KV no.2, Itanagar. A quite soul, tender as feelings, she came to my school in the eleventh standard. We became friends, close friends.........soul mates. Between us, a gesture became enough to convay. She used to write me endless long letters. She wrote in one of them-

"U" are my
island in deep sea
oasis in desert dunes
constant in endless chaos
awakening from ignorance
sunshine on a cloudy day.

"U" inspire
the poet I could be
the rebel I want to be
the truth I want to tell
the wish I quitely cherish
the fire I hide in my soul.

Thanks Chish for these lovely words and for the honoured place you have allowed me in your heart. You make me feel worthy as a friend. I can never stop loving you.

WORDS THAT INSPIRED ME THE MOST

"It matters not how straight the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul."

These lines are from the poem INVICTUS written by W E Henley. I came across these while going through an interview of Nelson Mandela. I realised his inspiration becoming mine too.

चलो चलें स्वर्ग की ओर

चलो चलें,
उस सरहद की ओर,
जिसके पार मिले स्वर्ग हमें।
सुख-दुःख के चक्रव्यूह से परे,
शान्ति का हो अनुभव हमें।
चलो चलें, चलो चलें,
चलो चलें, स्वर्ग की ओर।

चलो चलें,
उस प्रेमनगरी की ओर-
द्वेष-घृणा के बदले,
स्नेह बँटता हो जहाँ।
जल और चंदन सा निर्मल,
प्रशांत वातावरण हो जहाँ।
चलो चलें, चलो चलें,
चलो चलें स्वर्ग की ओर।

चलो चलें,
आज तोड़कर सारी बाधाएँ।
आत्माएँ सबकी एक रहे,
साथ-साथ उठे सबके कदम।
जाती-पाँति के भ्रम से उपर उठकर,
नव मानवता को आधार बनाकर,
चलो चलें,चलो चलें,
चलो चलें स्वर्ग की ओर॥

White Temple, Thailand

I saw this movie - "MOUNTAIN PATROL" and was left breathless and speechless with what I saw. I couldn't believe that it was based on a true incident. It portrayed man's dedication, his philanthropism and his blind greediness all at the same time with astonishing perfection.

The characters (the mountain patrol) in the movie repeatedly referred to a White Temple. Made curious by the film, I decided to find whether such a thing existed. What I found left me marveled. Such work of art... Would heaven be as beautiful, as pure and serene?
See for yourself-
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/557842/yuis_guide_to_thailand_3_the_white_temple/

BLANK

wrote on 06.03.07

I have my parents
And a brother,
And needless to say
We're happy together.
Yet sometimes I feel
A missing something in my life.

I feel like crying
When drawned with happiness,
And when everyone else
For me cries,
I act brave and
Spread a smile.

I like the word ABNORMAL
When people comment me so
And thinking of the simplicity,
Often wish to remain so.

I try to adjust
Everywhere with a smile,
When deep in my heart's crust
I'm crushed many times a while.

I can feel the air
Brushing my body
But why don't they tear in
And soothe my soul?
To me all beauties are bestowed.
Then why am I wandering?
Oh say!
Why am I
So BLANK?

DAIRY MILK

a cherishing memory

With increase in the number of TV channels, no one is patient enough to stick to one channel at a time. Big sufferers of this are the advertisements.The poor thing is being ignored by all.
I save memories, some cherishing ones, of the ads I had lived with during my childhood. One among them is the Dairy Milk Chocolate series. Still, when I am happy to the extent of being in bliss and feel an eternal contentment, I sing these lines....

"ख्वामखा मुस्कुराये, ख्वामखा गुनगुनाये,
ख्वामखा गीत गाये दिल।
मैं खुश हूँ आज ख्वामखा। "

The series has also given us a golden mantra to live with....

"कुछ खास है ज़िन्दगी में
कुछ खास है हम सभी में,
क्या स्वाद है ज़िन्दगी में। "

There are lots we can get and cherish from the inputs of an ad.
They are the
असली स्वाद ज़िन्दगी का .

OUTBURST THOUGHT

Respect your parents

'Coz they brought you forth.

Adore nature

'Coz they taught you to love.

And love yourself

'Coz you yourself are the maker and destroyer

Of your life!!!

With Anija

On 27th May 2009, went to assist Anija on her news story.
There I met this sweet children(about 10 years old) selling goods on the road side...........
I'll soon share experience I had talking with them. It's full of doubts and an eagerness to contribute for good.
WAIT!!!!

Short Story

This story is a fiction combined with facts and somewhere I am deeply related to it.

NATURE'S ADVICE

Ayna, with drawned mind and lost eyes, is sitting quiet in the last bench of the girl's row. She seems completely lost in her thoughts. The long ringing disperse bell startles her. Students are rushing out of the class, dashing upon one another. Ayna lazily picks up her bag and walks towards the ground where the college buses are parked. The left hand corner of the ground is covered with dense forest. She walks into the forest and makes herself seated on a rock. She waits there for her second trip bus which is to arrive in half an hour.

The sunny weather dramatically turns cloudy. In no seconds, the vast blue sky is covered wioth dark dense clouds. It thunders harshly, but the clouds now stay still, full of rain but denying to pour down any drop. She is sitting all alone in melancholy. The still environment drawns her into her past.

In her imagination, She visualizes a corpse of a two year old child, reduced to skin and bones, lying on the ground covered atop with a white sheet. There are remorsefully mourning people surrounding the child, all crying with grief. A middle aged man among the crowd comes forward and lifts up the child to his chest in a tight embrace, tears trickle down from his cheeks. He is the father of the deceased. Sitting beside him in deep silence is the child's mother, the only being with dry eyes. Her face is blank, displaying no emotions, no expressions. The child is being taken for cremation. the crowd of people is moving along. But there sits the mother motionless.

Ayna had grown up seeing her mother always lost in some thoughts. She had timelessly seen her laughing and crying with no reasons to explain her state of being. Ayna had never seen her sister who, if alive, would have been a year elder than her. But from her relatives and neighbours she learned that her mother switched to this condition from the time of her sister's death.

She really didn't realize her own misery untill she reached her adolescence period. Being a matured girl, a stage where a mother is the best friend and the greatest sympathizer for a girl, Ayna in all her neediness and for the slightest requirements had to approach straight away to her father. Not that her father was not kind enough or the least understanding, But her girlish requirements and emotions had always landed her in a state of humiliation. She used to grow jealous whenever she saw her friend's unspoken emotions easily grabbed by their mothers. She was a bright child. She had great ambitions. She was full of lovely dreams. But the one to pray for her dreams to come true was silent.

The shoutings of the children playing around brings her back to the present. Now in a standing position, wiping off her uninvited tears, she looks into her watch. Still ten minutes left. A sudden thundering attracts her attention towards the sky visible from a gap between the tall erect trees. She keeps staring motionless at the dense dark clouds, ready to burst out pouring. She realisingly notices a narrow streak of light hardly visible in the midst of the dark clouds. She suddenly feels the voice of her conscience speaking to her -
"See Ayna.See the dark clouds and recognize them.
They are the same darkness of your real life. They
are dense. They are complex, they are confusing.
They possibly try to hide all the light. But the ray
of hope finds its way out. Keep going. Don't stop.
Because for sure there is a way especially being
built for you. A way to happiness, a way to love,
a way to life."

The suddenly heard bus horn seemsto support the words of her conscience, testifying it to be true. Suddenly she wants to feel light, suddenly she wants to smile. Her tears are gone and now her eyes are shining with eternal happiness. She runs towards the bus, promising herself to build new dreams. Dreams of achieving joy, dreams of achieving in life, dreams of getting back the mother in her heart.

All the other students have boarded the bus. She is the last one to step in. As soon as she gets into the bus, it starts raining heavily. The clouds silent till now are singing in full bazz.

She reached home completely drenched, fully wet from head to toe. Her mother was standing in the veranda; lost in herself, as usual. Unwilling to spoil her own happiness, she overlooks her mother and goes in. There comes a jerk in her mother's expression. As if she has awaken from a deep long sleep. Very unusually her mother questions,"Why didn't you take the umbrella dear?"

Ayna is stunned to hear her mother. She begins to say something, but instead a loud sneeze breaks out. In deep worry, her mother runs up to her and with the end of her sari, starts pat drying her daughter's head.

"Oh dear! You might catch cold. I'll bring some hot coffee for you." The mother turns for the kitchen. Ayna pulls her back by hand. She is in extreme surprise. Her eyes start getting moist. She is standing statuefied, staring strangely at her mother. The mother can't understand the surprise in her daughter's face. Tears start pouring out of Ayna's eyes. She takes her mother into tight embrace and bursts out crying aloud. Perhaps, this is the outburst of her far hidden longings.

She slowly raises her face to keenly examine her newly found gift. Here in her attempt, she stands confused. Suddenly stopped crying, She is unable to figure out what all is going on. The gift she thought to have found is lost again. She trembles, her heart is again pounding in complaint. But she slowly recovers. She is beginning to realize something. It was a dream, just a dream, no reality. Yet, now she feels okey, her pains and complains are seemingly washed away by eternal understanding. She says to herself,
"Dreams are false. They are just an illusion. But don't stop seeing dreams, because you'll never know, someday they'll come true."

Inside I am Different .........I am free

© Abby.Leigh.Photography's photostream

for you.....

YOUR SMILE

I wanna see-
Your smile,
'Cause that'll make my life
Worthwhile.

Whatever sufferings I've to undertake,
I'll do it for your smile's sake.
Bigger and bigger your smile should grow,
Brighter the light of my life will glow.
So, I wanna see-
Your smile,
'Cause that'll make my life
Worthwhile.

At times, when you feel a little blue,
Count on my love which is only for you.
Days endless your smile should glean,
That's what my lifetime dream.
So, I wanna see-
Your smile,
'Cause that'll make my life
Worthwhile.

"Tears" are fearless,
Should not be lost,
I'll take care of your sorrows
At any cost,
And hold you tight
Till every pain disappears,
Just a little smile
Shall dry my tears.
So, I wanna see-
Your smile,
'Cause that'll make my life
Worthwhile.

अमूल्य संदेश

मानाव जीवन है जटिल बड़ा।

तनावों का ,
तकलीफों का ,
भंडार इसमें भरा पड़ा ।
इस निरंकुश जाति का
एक अंग मैं भी,
अकारण एकान्तता में ढल गई ।
व्याप्त हलचल थी चहु दिशा ,
चिंतित यह मन था मौन धरा ,
निराशा और दिशाहीनता से ग्रस्त ,
खड़ी थी देख प्रकृति की वेला ।

क्षण पहले जो प्रकाश भरा ,
काली बदरा से अब घिरा ;
क्षणभंगूर उस अंधेर नगरी बीच ,
खिंची थी रोशनी की एक लकीर ।
एकाग्र चित्त से जब विचारा,
संदेश माई का मन ने स्वीकारा -
" काले बादल हैं
जीवन की कठिनाई सम ,
रोशनी की लकीर है आशा ।
नर तू कर्तव्य पथ पर बढ़ता चल ,
रह परिणाम से सदा निश्चिंत ;
दूर कहीं तुझ वास्ते ,
भव्य राह -
हो रही है रचित । "

How Much Do We Really Care?

We have a regular half an hour power-cut here in Kerala to overcome the shortage of electricity. However, on certain festive occassions this ritual is held back. As on Onam, Christmas, Id, etc. It was the Republic Day of India yesterday but sharp at the assigned time, the power went off.

WHAT DO YOU SENSE OUT OF IT?

ARE WE FORGETTING SOMETHING?

DID ANYONE NOTICE?

or

DO WE AT ALL CARE?

The power never went off when my uncle was watching a cricket match on television.

!!!!!!!!! ????????

My Experience at IFFK 2008

It was my very first experience of being in a film festival, be it International, National or any short term. I had planned to see a whole lot of films because they fascinate me that much and getting a package of world-wide film-culture was too much one could ask for. However, I got enrolled in a mentorship programme jointly organized by the Chalachitra Academy and FIPRESCI. This, added to other repels kindly shortened my list of watch and at the end of it all I could sum up to have watched only twelve films.Big loss! I still regret it.

A film festival is a mighty, fruitful watch inside the theatres and a handsome spectacle in the surroundings. The IFFK truly defines it. And very fascinatingly, it is a marked place of reunion. I met my degree-mates in the IFFK venues and could see and make out many other groups sharing similar joy. There are so many famous and eminent personalities from within the film business and outside about whom one might have only heard or read or seen in a television. Getting an opportunity to meet and know them close is such wonderful an experience, when they might even be one's role-model.

Coming to this very symbol of true democracy- IFFK, I've learnt that greatness of a master lies in his simplicity and his realisation of humanity/sm. Most of the films I saw and the personalities I came across during this festival, site examples for my statement.

Working amidst viewing was tiresome and off-hearted. When you are watching for work, tension grabs you and viewing becomes critical, which I think is hazardous both for viewing and putting on record. The analysis of a film should be natural and should come of enjoyment. Only then can we respect a work. Watch and then analyse rather than watch to analyse. Therefore, I cannot recall a film I enjoyed freely. All the time I was doing postmortems on them and on my mind alike.

But at the same time, I wouldn't approve of having made a mistake by working. The mentorship programme (arranged for the first time with IFFK) was a tremendous experience of learning while working. It toned our perspectives about films and associate festivals and at the same time provided a platform to express, share, learn and unlearn.

Press Mentorship Programme ...

Day One

Day Two

Day Three

Day Four

Day Five

Day Six

The Silver Drops