Logbook of a Screenwriter
Tapas Nayak has been working in the film-industry for close to two decades now, with a number of blockbusters and award winning films under his wings. Asking him to pick a few of them to discuss their soundscape is a real challenge, since every film in which he has worked is equally dear to him. Here, I asked him to…
1 CommentWhen given an opportunity, Tapas Nayak likes to tell stories with sound. Even while making films completely intended for the mass-market– this high-on-demand Sound Technician based in South of India loves to put in his delicate ‘aural’ touches that enhances the cine-viewing experience manifold. Problem is, not many people usually discuss ‘sound’ when they brainstorm films. Or understand its importance,…
1 CommentI have never been a huge fan of classical horror flicks; they freak me out. Probably because, despite my earnest efforts, I have never been able to grow out of my childhood. Getting spooked by ghost stories were a large part of that experience. That apart, those highly synthetic B-Movie comic-capers that bootlegged as horror-films in my young adulthood never…
3 Comments‘To Let’, I sincerely believe, is a textbook in cinematic realism. Every student of cinema should watch it carefully, again and again, to find those various ‘moments’ and study their ‘making’ that makes this film memorable. A film like this can’t be possible without a like-minded team coming together and working in unison – to attempt something that remains somewhat…
2 Comments‘To Let’ is a film that deserves to be celebrated. When I say that, please do remember, I am a Bengali, brought up in Assam and Kolkata, and based out of Delhi for almost two decades now; and yes, I do not understand a single word of Tamil. Yet, I cherished every single moment of this debut-film by Writer-Cinematographer-Director Chezhiyan.…
3 CommentsDheeraj made his debut short feature ‘The School Bag’ at a time when jingoism was not yet trending hot in India. But yes, the storm clouds were very much growling across the horizons, and liberals were pretty much starting to lose their voices, and sometimes their lives. Free-thinking was definitely not the official mandate. Within those soggy circumstances, to make…
6 CommentsThe amount of longing that we had about seeing our name in a book-cover when we were children and young adults might have subsided with the advent of screens of various dimensions – but still – a book is a book…is a book. It’s probably safe to presume every writer, and those who think they can write, still want to…
4 CommentsAsif Noor, the producer of Raakh, shared an interesting story with me, about a train journey, in 1990. It was during his stint with fashion, when, by his own admission, he did 1,80000 kms in Rajdhani Chair Cars in a single year; during one of these whirlwind tours, while travelling from somewhere to elsewhere, he met a Gujarati trader. Inevitably,…
15 CommentsWhen I started blogging, a friend of mine with whom I had lost touch called me up to give me a bit of advice. An aspiring social media expert – he told me that I have to turn myself into a ‘star’ if I hope to do anything at all in this area. He further explained to a perplexed me,…
4 CommentsCan the principles of ‘Poetics’ apply to Indian Cinema? More specifically, commercial Hindi cinema? Is it possible to deconstruct a blockbuster hit Hindi ‘tragedy’ on the basis of Aristotle’s rules and principles of storytelling? Ever since I spent time with NSD Professor Santanu Bose, discussing the essence of ‘Poetics’, I had been thinking. Am I stretching things a bit too…
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