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Past works 1.Re-Birth ( PunarJani) [Shot in Kerala/India] - 20 Mnts
Reviews - Sunny
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PunarJani : Sanskrit word for Re-Birth. Shot at a height of 500 feet, the film follows
Ramabhadran, a spiritual soul who had come there to do the karma of entering the
cave and exiting through the other side, crawling all the way. He attains re-birth
and washes away his sin while he does that was the belief. Using actual flames
as torches, and with limited equipments taken to that height in the mountains,
lights for the camera were provided inside the cave. It left me with a different
view to life. Hindu mythology speaks a lot about re-birth, which got transformed
to Buddhism which explicitly details about the different lives a soul has to go
through. The concept goes just beyond just orthodox thinking and touches upon
the actuality of an individuals willingness to accept himself as a sinner and
his magnanimous heart of wanting to change it and lead a peaceful life.
Dusk in the village has always moved me. I have spent a considerable part of
my lifetime in villages, traveling while on visits while in Bombay or after coming
to USA. Dusk in villages were a different experience.
The village library, the big stone sitting place, the little clubs and the tea
shops with thatched roofs and the temple glittering slowly as night falls with
the bells ringing, with leaves of trees clapping, and the fragrances are all reminiscence
of the past. These thoughts often come to my mind, especially when I speak of
this film. Most of the crew members were people from these small clubs around
the village in Kerala.
With these people, I have done numerous plays, with lanterns lit in school class
rooms
(Trailer)
Odes From Far Lands.
This 31 Minutes documentary, talks about a forgotten history that happened just
before world war I. Was my first well approved work. Shot completely in USA and
Canada, this film won the appreciation of the Indian community here in USA. Was
screened extensively in India. It was aired in on different network televisions
along with my interview during the 50th year of independence on august 15th.
Still the only film, many have tried their hands on getting it done as a full
length feature.
One too many documents on this exist today, but this documentary still remains
to be the only film media on the subject.
(Trailer)
Boat Men Of The Bay
Did this for a friend of mine from Bombay. He had fantasized about living in
Boats. Once when he visited here, he was so excited to see the people living
in boats. He made friends with a lady named Leslie and her husband Richard and
got them to agree on living with them for a week in Emeryville, California. The
memorable stay, bought him the script, Boat Men Of The Bay, which he later, after
almost an year came back and shot it along with me. Through interviews and dinner
at their house boat and short sailing, this talks about the life of the boat men
around the globe. Stock footage from Auckland, China and some shots from Boat
houses of India, this describes their life touchingly. I directed this.
(Trailer)
All That Glitters & Swims
The name of this film was very much appreciated by lot of people. It was my next
work after odes from far lands, that would get good attention. Because of a different
kind of approach and treatment, this would also receive lots of questions. I did
this in Malayalam with English subtitles. It talked about the problem of gun abuse.
I was devastated and disastrously moved when I accidentally read about gun violence.
I am moved by young minds, taking this deadly weapon. I learnt that most of the
killings happened among law officials and kids who take up to guns were from families
where guns was not kept under latched key. Those days I was working on another
short work for a friend of mine from Berkeley. All the time during the work, I
was immersed in thinking about different shots that could be effective if I do
a film on gun abuse. These thoughts, made me retreat from the work with my friend
and then dedicated myself in the working of a documentary on gun abuse. I wrote
about 70 pages of narration over several months. In the end, I was un-satisfied
with all that. It did not reach up to the level of emotion and the feelings for
those who get trapped.
I changed all those and started writing the script in English. It was then that
I had visited India again. I discussed this with my friend, who was a teacher
and through his words in Malayalam, I felt much more appealing. I said to myself,
it needs to be taken in a different language than English. The situation changed
to a need. I did this in Malayalam. Young actors participated in this. One of
them became a full time actor.
(Trailer)
Comrade Unnikrishnan.
This film tries to understand a young man who clashes with his father who is
a teacher, for his involvement with theaters and his greed which made him spent
his money for doing a play instead of paying it for his semester fees.
Unnikrishnan sets out from his small house in an island in southern kerala. As
he travels, without any destination, at that night, the boat man, refuses to take
him to the other side as he advices him to go back. With rain drizzling at night
and his mothers wail fading away, young man finally crosses the river and sets
out walking through the dead night.
The girl who always came home with dark blue and white dress and whose sweat
he had complained, was now comfort.
He had gathered lots of night lilies while he walked hoping to give it to her.
He laughed himself with the thoughts of his comments about her sweat and his mothers
question about his knowledge about that.
When the sun comes up, he is found sleeping on a bench inside the building of
a political activist's office. Somebody brings him a cup of tea and says, we are
all having tea. I bought you one. Time to wake up. He drinks the tea and slides
down again with open eyes.
(Trailer)
My Sister Nivedita.
This is one of the best films I have ever done. I have not submitted this for
any festivals, although this had received some invitations and screenings. I feel
like this is my personal belonging when I think about this film.
The film talks about a young girl who is a sister of a young boy and her dedication
to this lad, who was a first grade student. The little girl also goes to school.
Having her father spending all the time in the fields and her mother not so educated
in the still shadows of feudalistic kerala, set in the late 60's, the little girl
gets to see a rich man's young boy studying in the same class as that of her brother,
given so much importance by her parents. She sees the rich kid being surrounded
by so many people one day and her brother watching them all and standing far away
that the young girl gets moved.
Later, it revolves around the care and dedication that she gives by sharing her
only food and her little toys and her old books which she keeps it for her brother
without spoiling it so that it will look like new for her brother.
This film was inspired by a little girl whom I saw during one of the many visits
to my home town. I took it back to 1960's deliberately.
Time of 1960's was brought out by dresses, white wash and stones kept aside the
house which camera captures while on establishing shots. A small hut was chosen
to do the work which was situated amidst the fields in kerala.
I like to call her MY SISTER and Nivedita I give her the name.
The story gets revealed through a successful young individual who remembers an
incident while he is in a city bar in USA.
In the end, he leaves the bar, without completing his drink.
(Trailer)
Humh Bhi Hashenge.
This is a short about an individual who wishes to laugh and be happy even during
difficult times. The problem is, he gets into parties and laughs out loud at
un-usual circumstances. All he wants is very very clear. He wants to laugh as
he says, it makes him happy. Once during a usual conversation with some men in
a restaurant, when they were puzzled about his laughter, he throws out the vessels,
but all the while laughing out loud and saying, hey! all I want is, laugh! Although
this was a serious attempt, almost all the places it was screened, it automatically
found its place in comedy category. The interesting script was written by a friend
of mine from Bombay and who was here in the USA to do this work.
(Trailer)
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