The lesser-known 'gems' of Maniratnam

In a country like India where national cinema is synonymous with 'Hindi Films'....it's no mean feat for any regional language film-maker to make his presence felt across the country by having his films known about,if not shown throughout the nation.Satyajit Ray,Mrinal Sen,Tapan Sinha,Adoor Goapalkrishnan,Buddhadeb Dasgupta,Gautam Ghosh,Rituparno Ghosh,Aparna Sen have done that... through subtitled prints/dubbed versions(Chokher Bali,Antarmahal,Khela)/hindi remakes of their bengali originals(Zindagi Zindagi,Sagina).
But all of them have been from Parallel or Middle Cinema.But,in the last three decades,a South Indian mainstream film-maker has been able to do it in style....none other than Maniratnam.I'm calling him a mainstream film-maker only because unlike the others I mentioned,his films have songs,dances,action and all other elements of popular cinema.But,still he's one film-maker who has been able to make superbly-crafted & socially-relevant films within the ambit of commercial cinema for more than 30 years,as a result of which his films much like the films of Ray,Tapan Sinha & Rituparno Ghosh have been well-received by audiences & critics alike & have also won accolades at national awards & international film festivals alonside breaking box-office records.
And,when it comes to box-office, going back to where I started,it's imperative to mention that his films have not just been limited to tamil/telugu audience....but dubbed versions of his films like 'Roja'& 'Bombay' have been seen,loved & appreciated by audiences all across India....to such an extent that They have become 'Cult' films in the history of 'Indian Cinema'.However,there are some earlier films of his as well which were dubbed into hindi or subtitled & got some viwing outside South India.I saw three such films recently 'Nayakan',Geetanjali' & 'Anjali'.Though I liked all,still can't say they reached the excellence of 'Roja' & 'Bombay'.Only,'Nayakan' can be said to be very well-made & well-crafted film where action,drama,social commentary,humanity were all wonderfully interwound into a magnum 'biopic'.Supposedly based on Francis Ford Coppola's 'Godfather',it showcased one of the finest performances by one of the fines Indian actors,kamal Hasan & is included in Time magazine's list of 'All-time great 100 Movies'.
The other two films 'Geetanjali' & 'Anjali' are relatively softer films devoid of too much action & emphasizing on human relationships. 'Geetanjali' shows the romance between two terminally-ill people....shot in the picturesque 'Ooty',it featured action-hero 'Nagarjuna' for the first time in a romantic role.'Anjali' tells the story of an autistic chld who changes the lives of people around her....it is regarded as one of the best Indian Children's films ever made.
All these films & also 'Roja' & 'Bombay' showcase Maniratnam's mastery over the language of Cinema,his eye for innovations & his concerns for under-served people & his ability to tell their story in simple & engaging way.According to me,he is also one of the best directors of child-artists as is evident from the performances of children in his films like 'Nayakan','Geetanjali','Anjali','Roja','Bombay' & 'Kannathil Muthamittal'. Watching a Maniratnam film is always a heart-warming experience & I eagerly look forward to watching more of his films.

Mumbai darshan

Yeah,as the title suggests,last week I had my first trip to Mumbai,the city which I had just seen in Movies & I wanted to visit for long.But,since I went for an interview,didn't have the bandwidth to travel around much.All I went to was Marine Drive & Inorbit mall...but within the short stay,I was bowled over by the tremendous glamour of the city.While going across the Sea-link,the worli-skyline looked akin to Dubai from a distance & felt the same from marine-drive as well.While CS-staion was like a heritage-spot, LTT station resembled an airport...it does come across as a city with contrasting features.Moreover,the sheer cosmopolitan nature of the city's crowd made me feel like I was in Kolkata only,but 10 years ahead.Indeed,the bustling of the traffic,the breeze from Arabian Sea,the smell of Vada-pao...all such nuances make the composite hodge-podge called Mumbai.....a city so much like other metro's...yet with a character oh her own!

The only constant

Change.....one word which immediately steers a variety of emotions in one's mind....excitement,apprehension,fear,restlessness....& so much more!
But,then its also probably the most universal phenomenon in our life.Change means moving on & 'Lack of change' implies stagnation,something highly undesirable.
People seeking variety in life as much as possible, are actually obsessed with density...ie "How much one can squash in into a life-span of 60-80 years"....in terms of experiences,learnings & takeaways.But,where do we take it to?....is there anything at all called 'After-life'?...It's doubtful....so all we are aware of is 'This Life'. Hence,reaffirming the thought "One lifetime,One chance"....Whatever one has to do...this is the time...drink upto the brim.
However,variety & seeking new experiences is as enticing as much it is challenging.It brings with it the baggage of fear of the unknown,& threats to the existing comfort levels,if any.Human beings are generally bound by status-quo,all we look for in life by default,is happiness & once we get hold of it in some form,its difficult to let go.But,then 'life is not a voyage just about sticking to one particular shore,not because we have live & loved enough there,but maybe for the sail flows better in another direction'.If this had not been true, then people with cushy jobs would not have taken the plunge to become entrepreneurs or writers or hitchhikers.The transition phase is tough actually,you lose your safety-valve,your schedule goes haywire & you get into a life of uncertainty.One struggles in such a phase,but comes out stronger.
To get something,one has to lose something & that's why it is said,"Today's pain is tomorrow's gain".

Variety was his spice

If there was any Indian film-maker who never repeated himself,someone who’s awe-inspriringly wide body of work can only be compared with someone like Satyajit Ray, someone whose repertoire spans 5 decades & 40-odd films to his credit ,he is none other than Tapan Sinha, the grand old man of Indian Cinema.
Though it remains a catastrophe, that very few people actually know properly about this master of movie-making as is evident from the lukewarm celebrations today, ie his birthday. However, this lack of awareness can be attributed to his long ouvre of work itself & the lack of branding of the same done by the connoisseurs of cinema that leaveas an audience confused whether films like Kabuliwala, khaniker Atithi, Jhinder bandi, Nirjan Saikate, jatugriha, Galpo Holeo Satyi,Apanjan,Sagina mahato,harmonium,Safed haathi,Bancharamer bagan ,Atanaka, Ek Doctor Ki maut,Antardhan,Wheelchair,Ajob gayer ajob kotha all belong to the same director. Writer Nabanita Deb Sen has rightly said,”Perhaps we like watching his films, but somehow forget the man behind them”.
But it’s not just the audience, but the critics have also perhaps failed to categorize him as a film-maker sometimes he’s included in the same bracket with Satyajit Ray,Mrinal Sen,Ritwik Ghatak ,some other times with his more commercial copunter-parts like Tarun Majumder,Ajoy Kar,Asit Sen while some other times in neither of the two. The reason behind this probably is that Tapan Sinha is the real father of “Middle Cinema”, films which are thought-provoking & entertaining at the same time ,a genre which unfortunately is credited to someone like Hrishikesh Mukherjee, who has actually been a plagiarist of Sinha’s films at times, yet managed to win the Dadasaheb Phalke Award 10 years before Sinha.
Tapan Sinha was not just a man, an institution. Not just a film-maker, he was a music-director, lyricist, script-writer & story-writer as well. But, it’s really disheartening to see why even after his demise he has not got his deserved respect & recognition.

Good Things come in Small Packages

Every management-student does an internship-programme as a part of his/her cirriculum...I was lucky enough to do two of them...that too in diametrically opposite companies & sectors.
My first internship was with a manufacturing-biggie & the second one was with a midcap IT-firm with 200-odd employees.While the former had hardly anything to offer apart from the big brand on my certificate....the latter,despite being a much samller organization offered me such hands-on experience which I had'nt received even in formal 20 months of work-experience before in an IT-giant.
This differential experience brings me to a fundamental question:
"Which is better...a big brand with its name & fame or a small firm with the much-needed personal touch?"
Must say.....both have their merits & demerits.
As young people,as freshers....we tend to suffer from a certain amount of brand-consciousness which in turn,makes us myopic.I remember,one of my ex-colleagues who himself hailed from a small company told me"what one learns in 5 years in a large company is equivalent to what the same person learns in 1 yera in a smaller company...because there one has to do everything starting from designing to developing to testing to business analysis".My experience of working in a small company as an intern was also similar as I found out HR's taking up a more generalist role & handling a large gaut of functions including recruitment,PMS,employee-engagement & so on.probably,tha's why a small company is always such a good traiing-ground for any junior-professional at the beginning of his/her career.But,then it ultimately bolis down to getting p;aid for your work...somewhere bigger companies win hands down with their transparency & reliability.Nevertheless,it's all really dependent on where one lands up initially & how one makes the most of it.

Completing the ray-repertoire

As any other intellectually inclined bengali film-buff,needless to say that I have grown up on a staple diet of movies by Satyajit Ray & Tapan Sinha,the two directors of bengal with the widest bodies of work.While,many of Tapan Sinha's films have got destoyed in a fire,Satyajit ray being a more well-konwn figure in World-Cinema has achieved the posthumus privilege of his works to be well looked after.Hence,its not really difficult to get hold of his films & finish watching all of them...a feat which I achieved a week ago with "Pratidwandi"(The Adversary)-the only Ray-film that I had not seen earlier.
"Pratidwandi" is the first film of Ray's 'Calcutta Trilogy' & was followed by 'Simabaddha' & 'Jana Aranya'. What started in the first film was prevalent throughout the trilogy,was Ray's harsh & critical outlook on thr troubled 'Calcutta' of the 70's.
The youth was utterly confused & frustrated.While,on one hand some of the brightest minds were giving in to the naxal-movement,industrialization was starting in the city...however,unemployment & corruption were rampant,adding to the agony & struggle of the middle-class.In 'Pratidwandi',the protagonist Siddhartha is shown as a vascilllating character who can neither be gutsy enough like his revolutionary brother,nor relate to her ambitious,compromising sister & ends up being a failure.His girlfriend Keya seems to be the only silver lining in his otherwise bleak existence.
Style-wise,'Pratidwandi' was probably ray's most unique & experimental film as he used some innovative techniques like 'X-ray digressions' & metaphors from the protagonist's reminiscence of his medical classes.'Pratidwandi',as a film,might not be compared to 'Apu trilogy' or 'Charulata',but is indeed one of Ray's most challenging & progressive films.

Criticism:How it helps?

When you meet someone...say at a party...& if the person says 10 good things about you along with one terribly bad thing....you are instinctively bound to remember the bad thing most of all!It's inherent human nature to take brickbats more seriously than backpats,specially if one is of the sensitive type.
This, I guess can be attributed to the fact that we are more conscious about where we go wrong than what we get right because the former is the case whereign ammendments are required unlike the latter where we've already set a standard.
Let's face the fact.Mistakes are inevitable!They are bound to happen.Hence,what becomes critical is the ability to own up to the mistakes & learn from them.
Now,mistakes only become visible when we receive flak for that.In fact,that is what really makes us pull up our socks & try harder with more vigour the next time.
It's criticism which actually with all it's apparently negative vibes,induces in us the urge to prove the critics wrong...which makes us introspect to find out our flaws....& which eventually steers & pushes us to work out of our wits to overcome our weaknesses.