Production Updates

Well, well, well, guess what?
Our Universal concept for kids is shaping up pretty good. The kids are much, much smarter(hyperbole) than we thought and the story-making exercise was a real eye-opener, not for them, but for us...the kids taught us a lot with their creativity. More in detail about that, later.
The world languages exercise is also proving to be a great tool for the kids. They have already started wishing us in Greek, French, etc. Everyday, the teachers would teach the kids new words from new languages. The primary world languages that are being taught are Arabic, Chinese, Greek, French, German, Hindi, Russian, Spanish, Swahili and Tagalog. I guess the next time we meet them they are gonna talk about things we wouldn't have a clue about.
Postcards - They also created postcards with drawings, paintings, poems, written messages, etc for kids in other parts of the world. This exercise was primarily to help them connect with kids universally and maybe in future develop life-long relationships with them.
Most in the crew were exhausted after continuous shooting, day and night. Our Cinematographer became sick and we continued despite that, nevertheless, we got some great shots. We also got routines of the kids' activities as we followed some kids on their daily journeys. There's lots more to discuss, but we'll soon update you within a couple of days.
In the pics, you can see the crew with the kids in the playground with one of the teachers. The other pic is a painting done by them on aliens and space.

Siragu Documentary Update

The second and third days have been great. We made great progress with the shoot. We went with Uma and Muthuram to the actual Nadaipathai (pavement) where the parents of the children live.
You can see Uma and Muthuram in the photo above with the parents, talking to them. They showed us the whole environment where many pavement-dwellers lived. It was an amazing experience meeting people who are so straight-forward and simple.
Back at the school, Siragu, we played football/soccer with the children. Man, was it fun! Ramesh, Raja and almost all the crew members joined the game and were so exhausted after that.
At night, we had a campfire with the children where they were asked to write down what they didn't like and threw them into the fire - they threw 'War', 'Guns', etc into the fire. Babu (Ramanujam) was the one who initiated it, with the whole thing being a very deeply emotional experience - the children striving for peace, love and unity. Can you believe it?
The little girl(2nd photo) with the hat is Meenakshi who recently joined Siragu and she tagged along with the crew most of the time.
Watch out for more updates soon.

Siragu Documentary - In Production

Great News!
Our next documentary film on Siragu, a school(it's more than that) for street/homeless children, is under way. We started production/shooting yesterday in Avadi, Chennai, India.
The day started out great with the Production Crew leaving at 7 a.m from Chennai city. After a long 2 hour drive, Ramesh, Packya, Babu and Raja reached Siragu Home/School and met the children and checked out the school and the location. Ramesh, who is organizing and directing the whole shoot in India, is a trooper, who's been working constantly with sleepless nights and endless travel. Packya is associate producing with on-location logistics help. Raja, is our Cinematographer, with about 8 years experience in Chennai. A great team. Period.

We got lots of great shots of the children in the school and the surroundings. The school is located in the outskirts of Avadi, which is itself in the outskirts. It's amazing how the Founders/Managing team, Uma and Muthuram have built the school from the ground up. They are so committed in their goal to educate children from the most down-trodden areas of the society. They have been amazing in their cooperation and are guiding us through the entire shoot. Do check out their website www.siragu.org
The above are some pictures that we took immediately after we landed there. Enjoy and more to come right after this.

The Latest Epidemic!

This dis-ease has been spreading swifter than a forest fire and the germs come in all possible forms and in all mediums…
It is called the CREDIT SYSTEM…

I tried to collect a few definitions from some informative sources…you can see what this can do to your life...
A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users of a type of retail transaction settlement and credit system.
Courtesy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_card

1. A card that identifies a person as entitled to have food, merchandise, services, etc., billed on a charge account.
2. A plastic card having a magnetic strip, issued by a bank or business authorizing the holder to buy goods or services on credit.
3. A card allowing someone to make a purchase on borrowed money. Credit cards are one of the most popular forms of payment for consumer goods and services in the United States.

And some free advice…from the Investopedia Commentary…
Credit cards have higher interest rates than most consumer loans or lines of credit, so try your hardest to pay off your credit card each month.

Courtesy: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/credit%20card

Before you realize what is happening you are sucked into the abyss of the credit system making money (which is after all a tool and is supposed to assist us with exchange of goods) one of the most sought after things in life, pushing Love well behind in the race.
Where is this all leading us to?
Check these links for some more information on the students of the United States and how they are finding themselves caught up in the maze of the credit system and cannot seem to escape its poisonous fangs at such a young age.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/2006-10-01-college-credit-usat_x.htm
Courtesy: www.usatoday.com

And if you are young and in debt with your credit card loans, you have another set of people to help you out and that is not for free… there is a crowd to help you build your finances again…for money, of course!!
And, what about the rest of the world? They will soon join the credit clubs…sooner or later!

Reality or Illusion?

Is there a line that distinguishes Reality and Illusion?? If so, where does the line exist between the two?

All our lives we run behind things thinking that they are real, but can we really be sure about that Reality not being Maya?
What then constitutes MAYA or the Illusion?
Nature around us... all the while tries to show us Reality and Maya alternatively...but then is our perception too rigid??

R.K.Narayan - Those days...

I was reading the article below about R.K.Narayan (1906-2001), one of India's celebrated writers of realist fiction. Of course, anybody who knows him will know him primarily by his Malgudi Days - Swami & Friends.
Lucid, simple and powerful prose. To me, his stories are more about evoking that nostalgia, recreating those familiar memories that we all have buried inside. When we used to watch Malgudi Days back in the 80s, it would create an inexplicable pain, everytime. Now when I think about it, it not only brings back memories of our golden days but also the evocative narratives that were very much part of our psyche when we grew up. The reason why I can relate to it is the exitentialist nature of R.K.Narayan's characters. Maybe I see his perspective as part of my own, maybe that's why I've been having a lot of questions in my mind about being right or wrong, about good or evil, about the larger cosmic paradigm that we are all part of.
(picture courtesy: malgudidays.com)
http://www.newyorker.com/printables/critics/061218crbo_books

Wait No More - Completed

Wait No More - Our next short film starring Ragini Parmar and Patrick Fernicola is now complete. Gotta admit we are a little behind schedule, but hey, it's all good now. The project is ready for the DVD pipeline and soon for the Festival circuit.
Here's the link that's been up and we hope to update it soon. Watch out for more news.
http://www.accessiblehorizonfilms.com/waitnomore.html

Sharing...

Sharing is one of the most valuable tendencies of living beings. We see it in every possible species. Once the action of sharing starts, it opens up a lot of knowledge gates where you learn a lot of new things about the world and its mysteries. Apart from the uniqueness of every single being and the connection that brings all of them together, there is this element of sharing which further enriches the whole living process without which the planet would have stopped revolving. However big or small the invention or discovery, unless it is shared with the rest of the beings, it does not make any sense. How on this earth is it ever possible to live otherwise?

Reduction of air pollution - An Awakening

The advent of Electric cars, hybrid cars are paving way for the reduction in air pollution in the current scenario. Although these cars came into existence in the early 1900's, there were a few factors that would have influenced in supressing them. Some of them could have been like non- availability of electricity in the remote areas in the olden days or the threat for oil exploration companies and oil exporting countries. The list could expand to infinity.

Of all these hurdles, electric cars sneaked into the market in the early1990's with tags like environmental friendly, low power consumption, less maintenance as there are few moving parts unlike in gasoline cars. Due to political issues and selfish people they were scrapped from the market. When people were ready to buy them, the automobile manufacturers were forced to stop their production by unknown external factors.

Finally there seems to be a ray of hope for the electric cars and hybrid cars as a few other automobile manufacturers have had the courage to give life for them in the market. One of the electric car manufacturers’ website below would provide more information about the future for them.

http://www.teslamotors.com/index.php?js_enabled=1

Soon we can find decreasing gas stations and increasing electric charging station in every house, every parking lot and on top of it a dead end for war for oil. Hey all gasoline car owners, its time for changing to hybrid or electric cars or else you will lose a lot while reselling your car after a year or two.

End...

A word that says it’s all over,

A word that says it’s all begun,

A word that gives you no mercy,

A word that gives you all the hope,

A word that means you’ve something ahead,

A word that says ‘no looking back’,

A word that soothes,

A word that cuts through,

A word that can give,

A word that can deprive,

A word that means there’s nothing more,

A word telling you it’s just the beginning,

A word telling you it’s just enough,

A word that means there’s more to life,

And…

A word that eventually takes you to a different plane of life!

FriendSHIP...the only ship that never sinks!

No matter what comes our way....in life...
There are some things we can always hold on to...
Each and every soul needs a friend...
To evolve, to be happy, to laugh, to cry...and eventually...
TO LIVE!!!

Babel: Ok but Enough's enough

Ok, here's the deal...let's stop the saturation before it gets intolerable. I love films with horizontal storylines/non-linear narratives/parallel structures, but please, we gotta refrain from overdoing it. Magnolia, Syriana, Crash and now Babel...gosh gimme a break, there's a clear pattern emerging here. Non-linear's in and too much of it is making me wanna hurl. But if you still wanna do it, do something more with it, something different. As Hollywood says "Give the same thing, but only different".
I ain't gonna lie but I've had ideas about doing Non-linear narratives, but what I now realize is that you gotta think way ahead of your time before bringing out something original. That's why I've been racking my brains and trying to come up with a different structure. Hope my grey matter musters up enough activity in the next few weeks to break out of the clutter.

HE HAS NOT LEARNED THE FIRST LESSON OF LIFE WHO DOES NOT EVERY DAY SURMOUNT A FEAR.

This was the response given by me in 1998...so will there be any difference now? in 2006?

The nature of life always deals with any issue in two ways. The reason why we experience bad is because we will know the difference when it is good. This is the universal truth accepted by majority of human beings who learn the ways of living through this formula. A fear for something indirectly inspires the human to conquer it in some way and carry on with the next coming challenge. And without conquering the fear for the first time no person can proceed to the next level of life's understanding. The lesson comes from the very fact when the person learns to face and surmount fear, he takes the strength from this victory and feeds his will and determination to vanquish all the fears he might face in the forthcoming lessons of life. It's strange that most of the answers to life's questions lie in the questions themselves. When fear for example comes in the form a simple insecurity towards a relationship between a child and his favorite toy, the child learns to confront the fear first by developing protective instincts towards it. The fear of losing the toy will provide all the strength for the child to safeguard it from any of his possible threats. Fear also indirectly paves way for the expression of the mind without any inhibitions. If people under the threat of domination by anyone around them be submissive about their expression due to fear, and fail to overcome it, the experience gained from an otherwise free mind would never be felt at all.
Fear definitely directs the mind in a way which helps it to adapt itself to the actual LIVING though the momentary threat it kindles in the mind is temporary.
So, what do you think? Is FEAR necessary???

Clouded Mystery

Even the brightest ones can be hidden behind the clouds...






But they are just passing clouds...

The Omnipresent, the Omniscient...

That which gives the highest degree of comfort between beings…

That which allows limitless tolerance between beings…

That which helps to maintain balance of all possible emotions…

That which reveals all the joys of togetherness among beings…

That which is present in the deed done by every caring mind…

That which relates every being with an unknown bond…

That which will remind others of our existence even after we’re long gone…

That which leaves every being with wonderful memories to hold on…

That which intensifies the very meaning and purpose of living…

That which coexists with beings in this planet…

That which endures without our knowledge..in our souls..forever..

That which is the only possible reason for this planet to exist…

That which above all makes us realize that

IT ' S WORTH BEING HERE!


............and that is Love, Love and Only Love..............

Upcoming Short film - Wait No More

Title: Wait No More
Synopsis: Wait No More is about you and your psyche and how your "worldly self" ignores the simple intentions of the "self within". If you don't take chances with the self within, what would be at stake? Your raison d'etre or life itself?
TRT: TBD
Cast: Ragini Parmar, Patrick Fernicola
Status: Currently in Post-production (Completed Rough cut)
Production Stills: Check out http://www.accessiblehorizonfilms.com/waitnomore.html
Keep checking for updates.

Memento - Raison d'etre

After many metaphysical indications, I finally watched Memento last night. Considered one of the most critically acclaimed films that came out 6 years ago, it has had some of the worst divided audience on the subjective nature of the film as well as the structure and content. Scores of critics/fans/noir-lovers have dissected the film so much that it really doesn't another review from me. Anatomically speaking, it doesn't make sense to cut up an already cut-up film.
Christopher Nolan (Writer/Director) has no doubt done a good job, but isn't there a line of demarcation one has to draw between giving the audience a grueling experience rewarded by a nice pay-off (translates an understandable message with no loose ends) as opposed to a grueling experience with layers of loose ends (with each scene having its own course of reasoning)?
In the end, there are so many revelations that feels maybe like unfinished business leaving the audience to still work it out on their own. But hey, I'm usually up for some challenge but sometimes it leaves me wondering what the point was. Existentialism itself is something that's as deeply subjective as thoughts/perspectives themselves but when you make a film out of that I guess it becomes much more subjective beyond even the realms of space.

I think Discovery Channel will excuse me for posting their rather thought provoking question...

"WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU DID SOMETHING FOR THE FIRST TIME??"

Ask yourself this question time to time and see if you really do anything different... once in a while!!

Post Men-of-Burden NYC Screening

Men of Burden had its NEW YORK CITY premiere yesterday at 6 p.m. It was a more-than-satisfactory evening!
Before the screening, when we were standing outside the theater waiting for people to come, it hardly seemed like anybody did. But the moment we went in, we couldn't believe it...the theater was almost full. During the scenes of Vincent, Balaraman and Selvam (Rickshawmen in our film), people couldn't stop laughing. And by the end of the film, the film had quite a sustained applause. Seems like people really enjoyed the film :-)
The post-screening discussion was moderated by Vandana from the IAAC Film Festival staff. The best part of it was that people came forward to make donations for the Men of Burden - Cycle Rickshaw Revival Project
We also announced the launch of our MOB - Soundtrack music album which has Steve Gorn's wonderful music underscoring the entire film.
The After-party at Asia Society was good and we met many filmmakers including Directors, Actors, Producers and others. There was a mix of those just starting out and those who are established. Overall, it was a very interesting evening, of course, how could I forget the Chardonnay and the Merlot!

IAAC Film Festival 2006

This is the night of the third day of the festival.
A good collection of films - both shorts and documentaries.
Some films that I/we watched since Nov.1st:

The Namesake

Toba Tek Singh
View from a Grain of sand
Un posh yeli weli van posh
Kabaddi Cops
Flower Girl
The Seance
Singing Pictures
Dharini

Hiding Divya
Gandhi at the Bat
Twins of Mankala
Pria
Davy & Stu
Nina's Heavenly Delights

The reviews will soon follow...too tired from the drive and ofcourse movie-watching ;-)