Start to FI-niche

Right from the primitive years until the transitional phase of shaping up as the biggest money spinner industry of the country Bollywood has seen several peel-offs of modus operandi .Whether it is a towel shredding Ranbir Kapoor's bare chest look in "Saawariya" or sexagenarian's calf-love in "Nishabd" ; whether it is Glam expunged and figurative "Taare zameen par " or " Kabhi Alvida na kehna ".

All of the flicks mentioned above are from different school of thoughts and genres. They proudly vouch for the paradigm of shift, en masse ! They apparently follow different genres in terms of filmmaking. Today's Dostana has changed a lot from out of vogue 'Kuch kuch hota hai' effect. Big B's cameos in Nishabd and Cheeni kum triggering a mercurial but ephemeral exposé for mass living in 'Ivory Tower' is not considered aberrant for "Life in a Metro". Yesterday's taboo gay topic can make audience laugh out their heart today. A movie can be named 'Kameena' without any nerve wracking thoughts. All Courtesy ! 360° pliability of Lights, Camera, Action !

A quick flashback of the decade of 90's when Bollywood was asphyxiating due to disastrous fiascos. A handful 11% of movies turned out to be a deal of profit for the fraternity which has tolled upto 23% which is twice to what was bagged in the last decade. All this while a myriad of shilly-shally movies were piled up using the same well-worn plots inasmuch that eventually audience didn't intend to spend money to watch they knew they are going to. Phew ! Thanks to piracy which did the rest ! 'Potluck' was no more a trend. This mishmash and in the wake of draught can also be attributed to the money invested by the underworld. The underworld , allegedly ! started calling shots on every bit right from the script to the starcast of a movie. Apparently! Filmmaking was presumably rather difficult than to operate an AK-47. Bollywood liberating on financial grounds with Banks making their foray into film-financing has indubitably helped. Karan Johar, Aditya Chopra, Mohit Suri and Anurag Basu got the industry back to the drawing board with something to drool-over. You need to be a good actor to be a good director but the vice versa is necessarily not true. Promising and crafty flicks like

DDLJ, Kuch-kuch hota hai, K3G and Mohabbatein khan-firmed that audience's Hazarron khwashein aisi do not go to the drainage.

Shahrukh and Aamir have equally garnered applaud from all and sundry possessing their individual panache. The comparisons between the Twain incessantly popped up giving room to more drawing room debates. While SRK was making it to a bigger league with more and more Blockbusters, AK doing less number of films given his fixation for perfection was climbing up the ladder with less number of but gigantic steps. Both of them have their own ways. Sense of visual arts and acting is about getting closer to what you intend to do. A sync between thoughts and actions is what sense of visuality is ! Performing live on "Pichle saat dinon" is not possible without following the increasingly blaring note of guitar and drums cause this is where connection with the audience gets dis/connected. Blinking eyes in slow motion can be profusely utilized on the focal title note of 'Boulevard of broken dreams' while making a video or you may also see a cargo-clad boy looking for a lift on a highway , however performing live is where you need to establish a connection. Audience craves for that madness phenomena. That's why group performances like linkin park come off so magnificently. A mere feeling of leading the audience doesn't help. Audience is least interested to know how you do it ? You are the entertainer. You gotta have it in you.

While SRK's uncanny knack of getting into the skin of the character given to him by the director is his forte, AK is capable of creating one. Refer to Taare zameen par !

Barring a few films , films have become less histrionic. Film fraternity's predilection for realistic and exiguous budget films like "Khosla ka Ghosla" have paid off. They have come out of the shadows of macrocosm. De facto ! Jaane tu ya jaane na !

The exfoliation of exemplar is what the new non conformist crop finds nous in. Piece dê rêsîstance of this simple projection is the obfuscated methodology. Ask a few people ! What else can be esoteric and more complicated than simplicity ?

Click here to read: Lights, Camera, Action !

Lights, camera, action....

Images, music, sounds and non verbal communication put together is cinema. Its a vision beyond eyes encapsulating an entire organic osmosis as well as transformation on a personal level. There is a natural visualization in an actor. Every actor visualizes and searches for an interest which can make him go for that film, even if the character is not close to him on a personal level, Yet every actor tries to relate to the character. . In that process you develop or find an objective. Every actor or performer is schizophrenic that way. The reason is maximum optimisation. It has a lot to do with your individual inner self. Hence your objective, as an actor or even assistant director can never be the same as the director. Your objective can be in contrast to the director's, yet it shouldn't be contradictory. The overall objective cannot be forsaken. A Synchronization is necessary.

     Aamir Khan always wished to be a director ,but destiny had different plans. He could fulfill his dream after spending more than a decade as actor. Understanding objectives as actor as well as director put many directors and actors before and behind the camera. Ranbir and Sonam Kapoor worked as Bhansali's assistants. Ranbir, if it is to be believed wanted to be a director as well. This third eye vision develops as the creative journey proceeds. A creative journey which is a part of every artist. It develops with the number of flicks one does. Its a creative transformation which is quite different from biological journey. It is kind of a third eye vision, its like growing up as an actor and adding the fourth dimension. Living characters is not about putting a new mask, a new face. Is acting about putting on a mask ? no it isn't. Its an abrasion , unplanned peel off process rather than brushing it with a new colour or putting on a new mask. A very few people will understand this, however acting is not putting on a mask but it is an obsession and a peel off process which follows each other. Obsessions are not meant forever, though ! Putting on a new mask is not a part of yours. Its an inside out , not an outside in process. Its about an obsession , Its about forgetting yourself to discover yourself which you live day in and day out, and some day you shed it and move on.
      Objective is different from methods, methods are deployed to attain the objective of your individuality. Methods have more to do with execution. Objective is neither methods nor results. May be, This entire free flowing process fitting in the scheme of things with different objectives yet not contradictory, is the source of a legendary charm of the legends . In that process you stumble across various sides , you can't say aren't yours. Its your schizophrenic side at work, which is not deliberately put in. A self seduction process where you try seducing yourself as an actor. I don't know how would it feel playing a role, where you gotta hate yourself. The interest and objective is an innate bit of your own personality, what falsetto is for A.R Rehman, a free spirited soul touch for Pritam , intensity for SRK, non judgemental straight forward portrayal for Prakash Jha.
    What you ask from yourself is what you cherish the most as an actor ? Can there be an innocence and honesty, while performing a role, a childlike passion, sheer love for that journey and an obsession for the portrayal of the unprecedented not to be done again. The course changes, destination changes but on the path of the same journey, introducing a new you to yourself. You can't really react to all the experiences on the way. May be, this belief as an actor keeps you going that you will be able to express and portray it someday. After lights, camera, action are done....some reactions can really be a mystery, and it is mystic in both senses.

Are you sure, you have seen these Rare Unseen Pics of the Stars

Relationomics

 I was involved in some deep philosophical life related discussions (vehement enough to cause a brain haemorrage to normal individuals )with a couple of my friends with some doubts and disappointments in relationships. Disappointed, coz they know what they want from life and doubt ,coz in spite of an acute sense of certainty and being considerate towards others, the source of that disappointment is unknown. Co-incidentally, both of them are no way related to each other.

Life, in more than one way doesn't allow you to demand what you have given and it seems to appear more miser than those living beings, who were/ are (hopefully will be) a part of your life amidst those self created complex relationship equations. Commitment and doubts have an 'in contrast' and inextricable relationship, more because it is subjective. 

 The blogger, who happens to be a good friend of mine, who I have known for a long time (though we have not met since year 2006 ), wrote in his blog that it hurts when you see that 'someone once inseperable ' is doing good without you. Im sure, it does. It's not only for one of the twain, though ! It feels bad, nevertheless that is the most piquant bit when people, have to put in efforts to pretend how happy they are wihout you,when they are not. Their pain, be it lesser than yours is afterall a pain which they have to conceal and they are putting everything to act it perfectly. Infact, the moments when they show how normal and fine they are even more interesting. At times, their efforts clearly show, at times they don't and people slip into the character quite easily. It sounds quite like a sadist but afterall it is part of that pragmatic and matured relationship dynamics, we are part of.

For some reason that 'move on' suggestions given by proximates and wellwishers,  troubles people more than the actual suffering. Moving on is practically easier than making yourself realizing it. We can choose to keep a distance from people in order to prevent blows in future. Keeping a distance is thinking in extremes. We can think in extremes and may want things in 'black or white', life is all about grey shades though ! Yet, the point is about that ideal (which is always a hogwash supreme state of self flattering optimism) and  'difficult to attain' balance of detachment and attachment with those closely knit relationships. Attached, so that you can enjoy that bit of life when you have it ; and detachment , so that you don't have any disappointments when you don't have it any more. It is about enjoying the flow of life but not getting carried away. Most of the times you get disappointed because you never kept a margin to let any other relationship nurture as you never needed anyone apart from the person you have in your life. That's the most interesting and far-sighted bit of 'Relationomics'.

What someone else is reaping by picking up the 'moved on' is because of the investment he made outside the relationships one had. Life is a brutal game that way and the only way to not to lose is to win.. It is politically incorrect but it is about being an opportunist with those who are opportunists. Again, life never works on thumb rules. May be ,you didn't get what you gave, still you end up a giver. The point is not to disappoint those who want you. Why not keep a good room for those who need you. This state and quality of being attached and detached at the same time is what Bhagwat Gita suggests (Now,i see some stonepelting coming my way :)). It cannot be learnt, it can only be felt but it should be done without any negativity. The point is that you should be at ease. Parting ways is a part of life and it should be dealt in that way. At times, you don't understand the reason for these things to come about and nothing makes sense amidst the esoteric complexities of life but every question brings an answer. It is an entire package. May be, it doesn't make sense today. Someday everything will make perfect sense with an answer that everything transpired for a reason. If your prayers/ questions are unanswered, that's your answer.