House of Nanking

I missed blogging. I really wanted to, but I was in a state of suspended reality. I had done enough work of going through a divergent thought process for the current script. The time to shape the net that would slowly distill the divergent thoughts to a screenplay. The shape of the net you throw is of absolute importance since the wrong net will bring the wrong elements together. During the journey, net will be re-arranged, re-shaped and made smaller until you have the right kind and number of elements to embark on a screenplay.

Lets compare this process to setting up a restaurant. So, now you have decided to setup a restaurant. The divergent process is where you go through a journey of trying to figure out the elements that will make your restaurant. So, you will visit restaurants. You will recollect your eating experiences. You will look into what the market will support? what can you do? What is your specialty? Hmmm that tablecloth in restaurant A was great. I loved the ambience from restaurant B. The sesame chicken with yams and turnip was great at The House of Nanking… I would like my restaurant to be distinct to have a personality etc… Every random thought is priceless in this phase.

This process has no logic. Its sole purpose is to stimulate. To stimulate your heart, your mind, your spine and your gut. You might read a book on restaurants. You will go back to your experiences of working in one. So, the idea here is to open up a sea, an ocean, an universe of elements that have to do with setting up a restaurant. I have a lot of fun in this part. I write things down, why I want to do this film. I will pitch it to someone and see what they think. I will think of a scene. A particular shot. A song. A background score. The actor I want. I might look at some films in a completely opposite genre. I might listen to music a whole day. I will argue about a point with a friend only to strengthen my thought process (apologies to those people in my life). I usually tend to put up a tough fight just to see if I can defend my point of view. I might collect some photographs. A color tone might come to life. You get the idea. This part of process is where you have to just let go. You truly need to get yourself out of the way!

Then comes the convergent process. In the restaurant example it will start from some top level questions? Q: what kind of restaurant do you want? The cuisine. Chinese, Sri Lankan, Indian, Italian etc. Lets say you decide Chinese. Well is it Cantonese, Szechwan, Mandarin? Will it be fusion or authentic? The questioning process here is to help you make the decisions. Say you want to do a fusion, but you don’t want mix cuisines but might just want to mix the various cuisines of China. i.e. for a sesame chicken dish (mandarin), you might decide that you will serve it with yam and turnip (which is a Cantonese touch). Slowly this questioning process helps you make choices in terms of the space, the menu, the budget of dishes, etc. This process intimidates me. You have to ask the right questions and as you work yourself down, you need to make sure that the steps you take are moving you, not necessarily to any destination but to a destination that you intended.

In writing , it will be asking questions like what is it that I want to tell? Should I make my characters contrasty? What about the plot points? What kind of dramatization should I do? What is the tone of the film? This part needs a lot of concentration. How do you make sure the various elements (logical, emotional, plot, orchestration ) come together to tell a story you want. If you make a wrong decision on plotting, the story could be the same and the impact changes. If you write it with too much action you might miss out on the emotions. What kind of scene will help you balance it?

The process of answering is nothing but writing, re-writing, and re-writing and re-writing. So, the process of divergence and convergence is nothing but writing, re-writing & re-writing and… The first set of writing helps you understand what you want to do with the story? You then to make sure you are strong enough to ask the questions again and make sure that you know your destination. Sometimes the first draft is nothing but a journey to clarify your destination. Your second versions might be a total rewrite. You need to have the courage at this point to do that. To not cling onto what you have written. You need to love the process. If the destination seems right, then look to see if the various elements are falling in place. So, the process of answering questions is just writing.

When the intended destination and the journeyed destination match, it is magic. A million pieces fall into place gracefully complementing each other and working cohesively to generate an emotional experience! (a screenplay)

Finally back to food : ) “The house of Nanking” (San Francisco) is a great example of such a journey. The dishes are experimental yet decisive. They have even made sure that the fried rice has less salt so that it does not conflict with the salt levels of the main dishes. The journey the chef/owner has made allows millions of decisions to gracefully complement each other, to give us that fantastic food experience!
Raj

From Engineering Technology to Engineering Stories

The Deccan Chronicle has published a profile piece on Raj and other filmmakers, highlighting their previous careers as engineers in the technology sector and the transition into filmmaking.

From the article:

Ditching their comfortable IT jobs in the US, many young NRI techies are Hyderabad-bound now with dreams to make it big in tinseltown. The Telugu film industry has never before witnessed this sudden influx of directors, producers and actors from the silicone valley.

Raj Pippalla, director of Boni, is an M.Tech computer science graduate from the US who left his corporate job to venture into showbiz. “Even when I was an engineer, my heart was in filmmaking. I used to direct a few ad films and music videos with my earnings. But I always wanted to make a Telugu movie which will not only become a blockbuster in AP but also be appreciated by an international audience. With the industry welcoming newcomers like never before, I thought it is the perfect time to make my film. The acceptance of experimental films by the multiplex audience is a boon for filmmakers like me,” says Raj.

Read more...

Steven, George, Lawrence & Raiders of the Lost Ark

I have been working on a script for the past few weeks. I am trying to make it a point to write regularly. It is huge battle but my thoughts are that even if you write one shitty page a day, you are closer to a screenplay than no page. I also belive that writing is re-writing.

My current script stands at 123 pages. This story has 2 versions already written. Each version gave the clarity on the characters, dialogues, locations, plot etc. I know that even now, it needs another 3 rewrites to get it to the final form.

I think writing is such a fascinating process. It is also gut-wrenching. You have to start from a blank page. The balance between structure and chaos is divine. You put too much structure and you lose the magic and if chaos takes over, then you will be staring at the abyss!

My friend Jay MacBride forwarded an excellent link to me. It is a transcript of the story discussion between Steven Spielberg, George Lucas & Lawrence Kasdan for Raiders of the Lost Ark. Very inspiring!

http://mysterymanonfilm.blogspot.com/2009/03/raiders-story-conference.html

Have fun creating!
Raj

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

The movie is released. Good, bad or ugly it is out there in the theaters with people watching it. I watched the movie two times on day one, in two very different theaters with two very different sets of people.

Do I think it is good? I will answer that question later. At this point the question is: How to sell the product and make profit for the investors? That is the prime question right now. For me at this point, once the product is done, it is about business. How and who are seeing the film? What is working within the film? What attributes can be pushed and sold? There are people who are having a good time in the theater. How do we capitalize on it? I want to make sure that we capitalize on the right target audience who will enjoy this kind of a film. How do we make profits for the investors? This is when the filmmaking cycle gets completed.

From a directing POV: I need to learn what worked and what did not in the various stages of the project. It is interesting to reflect on the original script. Why did that change? What changes happened along the way? I need to realize who to listen , what to listen, and what to fight for and what to give in. As I mentioned before directing the pandora’s box is the key. But, all said and done, I own the film as is. I am responsible for it. If I have my name up there then I own the decisions. It is painful, brutal to hear people tear you apart. Then wonderful to hear people who had a blast. But the key thing is I need to have to measure it according to 1) my scale of merit, 2) a target audience’s scale of merit = box-office numbers.

This is a good opportunity to write about getting yourself out there. I want to encourage everyone of you. Take the first steps towards your dream. It does not have to be the perfect or a great step. Do not worry what people will say or how it will be received. But one thing you have to do is be honest in your journey. You will fall, and then you get up. Learn from it, it is an opportunity. One of the songs in the film “arrere chey jarinnda” is about that. Do it with all your sincerity and hardwork. The result is not in your hands. And If I may go to the extent of saying, celebrate failure. Success is jumping from failure to failure till you succeed. The key is you give it all you got in terms of hard work and right work and be accountable for your actions! Start a body of work today : )

I will soon share the local talk, responses from various range of people, and more on this film.

I appreciate all your comments and support,

Raj

BONI

Release day of Boni!
What can I say? Nothing. Speechless with the love showered by the universe. Man-o-man what a corny dialogue but I feel it.

Do join the Boni Facebook group.

Do spread this blog address and please do add comments. I will start responding to them very soon. This is my way of meeting a lot of wonderful souls out there and it is a great feeling to hear from you guys. It inspires me to hear from you!

Today is a culmination of 15 years of journey. 15 YEARS! It is a huge milestone. It’s a joy that there are posters in Bhimavaram for Boni. I was born in that town in the heart of Andhra. I hope they put one outside my grandparents house : ) Although I did commercials and some music videos, arriving with a feature is a milestone.

A journey with lots of sacrifices, doubts, trials, tribulations but none the less invigorating. I will share more of those moments soon.

Lakhs of people will watch Boni today. I wonder how many will come out with a smile? How many will laugh. How many want to kick the shit out of the director ☺ How many will leave their seats for the songs. How many will grab some of the heart of the movie.

It is amazing to send something into public consciousness. I realize our film is a masti one. I mean it is just a fun film. But, yet I feel that watching a movie is like spending time with someone. It is like hangin out with a friend. He/she shares a joke, a point of view of life etc. There will also be a lot of things unsaid and those matter. Boni is pure masti film but yet, I hope there are unsaid things that touch you!

With warm heart, wishing all of you best wishes for your milestones!
Raj Pippalla

BONI (T - 1)

Less than 20 hours before the projectors come alive for morning shows in all over Andhra Pradesh, India. 110 of those theaters will be carrying a film presented by Green Mangos Cinema, Starring Sumanth Kumar & Krithi Kharbanda, Art by Anand Sai, Costumes by Nikki Gogula, Fights Ram-Laxman & Vijay, Choregraphers Noble & Balaji, Editor Varma, Music & Produced by Ramana Gogula and Directed by a guy called Raj Pippalla. A very special thanks to a lady who has believed in the project and risked a lot, Anita Sakuru.

I am going with my friends to a theater called Vishwanath in Kukatpally, Hyderabad for the 11:45 show. This is a massy theater (a theater where the film loving mass crowd frequents). For the first time I will be sharing this film with friends and am nervous. I feel like I am waiting for the results of a test.

In the evening I plan to watch with 30 friends and well-wishers along with the theater crowds at Prasad’s. This is a multiplex theater. I am hoping to take my video camera and capture the before and after buzz of the movie.

I have to admit that I do feel good. I mean I am excited to watch my own movie. In the sense that sometimes when you shoot a funny scene. You are with it during the writing part, shooting, editing, sound, score etc… and by the time it comes out you have seen the joke a 100 times. But, as I await the release tomorrow, I have the same sense anticipation of an audience who is excited about a new release. I am just going to be one of the audience. I wrote it as an audience, I shot it as an audience, I did the post as an audience and am gonna watch it as one ☺ the only way to make and enjoy movies!

My friend Farrah corrected me about an earlier quote that I credited Martin Luther King on the blog about fear. It’s actually a famous quote from Marianne Williamson that Nelson Mandela used in his inaugural speech:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

I love the part about not shrinking to make others feel good. The challenge is to play big, to not shrink, yet make others happy, not insecure, about us being ambitious. In this manner we can resonate our strengths and exceed our potential!

Raj

BONI (T-2)

Boni is the first sale of the day! Boni could be the first experience. Boni has a zing to it. The word has both the show and business of show-business. Okay, am reading too much into it : ) Please allow me to feel like a kid in a candy store for the next few days.

As I watched the last trailer of Boni, so many threads of thoughts unraveled. And this blog is about those random thoughts:

- I can clearly recollect the buffet lunch at a Chinese joint where they served cocktail shrimp and excellent egg rolls. I would sit there with my friend Kedar Patankar and we would brainstorm about films. We would think of stories, strategies as to how to get them on the screen. At that time both of us were employees of LSI logic in the Normandale Area of Minneapolis.

- Another thought takes me to my friend Mirza (Ahmed) Nizamuddin. I would sit in his basement and just think of some story to shoot. I remember he had a company called computer press and am sure I wrecked his copier in trying to get my short film made. Sorry mirza!

- On one icy day. I convinced Karthik, my friend to do a stunt for me. We went in his car and shot his car going out of control in the New Brighton suburb of Minneapolis. It was a dummy ad for pepsi. I remember shooting it from outside and then his POV and was amazed that Karthik did the stunt over and over and we did not run into any other cars. I would love to dig that up!

- I remember quitting my job at LSI to pursue films full time. After that, I felt like I made the biggest mistake ever. I told myself, what the hell did you do? Do you realize there will be no paycheck after this? What about my perks, my lifestyle? OH MY GOD! I quit my job! I was depressed for a month!

- When I was moving to LA, I vividly remember Jasti, Rhonda, Mike Lynn helping me pack my stuff in Minneapolis. I miss them a lot!

- Initially in LA, I would sit by the Starbucks right in front of Sony Studios in Culver city, thinking what do I need to write to get in there! I would force Sunny and Nupur to take a walk with me only to dive into the neighborhood Crepe shop in Santa Monica.

- First day shooting for Boni, was a stunt scene in the peak summer in Hyderabad. Was exhausting, mentally and physically. It was definitely ambitious at an idea level!

- driving my friend Sunitha Tati crazy in trying to make scenes better.

- first day shooting with an veteran actor like Tankella Bharani garu. I was scared. But, seconds into the shot, both of us were having a blast.

- 110 prints are heading out to be viewed by lakhs of people. It is an awe-inspiring
thought. I am grateful to the divine force and the numerous people who helped me in the process.

I have decided that for the next few days I will try to be regular in updating you my thoughts, feelings, ramblings. Please allow me to be in a WOW mode. I really am. It is exhilarating to see a story conjured in your head, projected on a widescreen.

Ciao: Raj

My best friend fear!

Courage does not exist without fear. Fear is actually good. It is needed in life. The mark of a character is not to eliminate fear, but to face it. How you face it defines you.

Fear is much more of a player in filmmaking. It is a highly subjective field, it has a lot of ambiguity and there is no rule book. It is like wild wild west! For example, you get a thought about a story. It might start from a character, a moral value, a visual, a sound byte. For Boni (my current film) the thought was I need a story that can be shot in a small budget and that can get a Hero excited. Honestly that is how it started. At that point, you have no idea as to how it will shape up. You don’t know if that can conjure up enough meat to make a story, characters, songs, fights, fun and entertainment. And the journey of writing could take a year. There is a lot of fear here.

The key thing is you have to train with fear. Imagine Fear is your trainer/ gym partner. He is not your opponent. He better be your friend. He is a friend who has a different point of view. He is there not to stop you but he is there to inform you, help you train, become stronger and finally act. This process is defined as courage. I think in our society fear is treated as negative. I believe that fear is an opportunity for growth. It is a great catalyst to help us take leaps of faith.

Fear is also dependent on information/ knowledge. The more information you have about a process/ job/ the less the fear. So, information reduces fear. But, a lot of magic in life happens when you act on something where you do not have the needed information. The more information you try to get or wait for, the magic tends to diminish. The general tendency is to kill fear with information/ knowledge or stick to what is available. This is also what is prevalent with society and in systems, including the film world.

The reason why anything new takes time or a radically different approach is because, the general system in place will always take an approach to minimize fear. Minimizing fear means taking choices that have more information available to you. This means that you will slowly fall more and more into areas that are tried and tested. Which is why you will take a “different” that is “new” and force it into an existing paradigm. So, at the end it looks like what already exists. Somewhere here if you have made broad stroke decisions that are “different”, then your difference will survive. If your “difference” is in the details then you are SOL (shit out of luck)!

So, in your journeys of life, marriage, friendships, creative endeavors, you need people who are willing to operate in the same space of fear as you. Then you are on the threshold of creating magic!

This reminds of a quote of Martin Luther King. I am badly paraphrasing it here. “We as humans are not afraid of what we cannot do, we are actually afraid of the magic we can do”

We grapple and try to minimize the ambiguity and in the process shrink the world we live, the world we explore, the world we can create.

When you make a film, fear cannot be your trainer, an acquaintance or a friend. It has to be your best friend. Wait, when you wanna live life to the max, fear has to be your best friend!

80-20; 60-40: what does this have to do with Directing?

Well what does a director do?
A director,
- directs the actors,
- directs the camera
- and directs the budget (if he ever gets the real budget numbers)

There is one more thing lets call it
- pandora’s-box.

You need to direct pandora’s box. The last point is of prime importance. This is what gets you a job, allows you to keep it and get a new one. This has nothing to do with creativity. It is a slew of things; from how to deal with a delay in a day, a change in script, an actor’s mood-swings, an important prop, egoes etc. These are things that are beyond a director’s control for whatever reasons. This actually takes about 80% of your energies. 20% is left for creative stuff. This is where the right collaborators are of prime importance in making a film. You need to cast behind the camera with equal sincerity as you cast for roles in front of the camera.

I have seen extremely creative guys not getting their movies made whereas average directors are able to get their projects launched. Why is that? It is how you deal with the pandora’s box.

I believe that doing anything 60% is easy. Taking it to 70% is a challenge. 80% is difficult and then it gets to be an exponential curve. So, your Return on your investment (monies/energies) goes down as you strive higher and higer. But to do something unique or different you need to be atleast between 70 – 80 percentile area. Will get back to this point.

As I embark on my next film script/ pitching. I have decided that if you want to work with a star, you better understand what is important to the star. When a producer comes into the picture, you need to understand what is important to the producer. Hopefully the producer, actor and the critical members understand what they want and are in sync. Remember that if they care for a pass mark on the test, they are happy with 60% on the film. Then you are just banging your head against the wall if you try to make it better. Worse you might actually antagonize the critical members by trying to make it better. So, you need to be able to chuck that 40% to a side. Take it easy!

With all this you are still asked for something different. Aah – different. Same story different execution. Different story ….It is not different as you perceive it. It is “different” as the star or the producer perceives it. If you are aware of these you can do a lot, make an impact, make monies, and save your creative energies for another day.

There is no escaping this if you want to play in the mainstream arena. It is better to understand and adapt till you get to the point where you can make the movies the way you want to. Get into the belly of the beast first before you deal with the beast.

I think I give 60% for this blog. That’s enough! Ciao! Raj

Different day same feelings!

Hi,

Been wanting to write another segment for the past month and there have been too many topics. But, this email hit me. It was an email I wrote to send to my friends in the U.S, on the 30th of May 2007. It never went out. It is still sitting in the Inbox. I guess it was meant for today :)

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Hola Friends,

Long time and no hear from raj. I am sure most of you are thinking well, that was good. Sorry to interrupt the pleasant silence from Raj.

What have I been upto?
Zip, nada, zilch if you look at it in one way and hell of a lot from another perspective. Completed two scripts here in India and have been building relationship with studios and producers (bullshttng with them). The field of filmmaking is subjective and that makes the ride magical and torturous. But, one thing though, if it does not crush your spirits and soul, then you are for sure a better person at the end.

On social side: Spent some time with grandmother in a small town called Bhimavaram. She and I have become good friends and it seems the older we get we seem to be getting closer. One spirited woman, whose first line of any conversation, phone or otherwise is "when will you get married?" my reply: march 8th 2008, that is when a film will be almost complete for raj and that is when things might happen on the personal front :) (no one in the picture, nothing wrong in wishful thinking though, especially when it brings a smile to my grandma's face.

I miss U.S and all of you guys.

I have rented a bungalow along with another friend that I had made in London. Both trying out for films here. I am still living off 2 suitcases (its been that way for 2 years now) and the lighter I get , the better I feel. The more honest my approach is to life. It is more clear what I want and dont want.
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So much of the film stuff is still relevant. more soon,
Raj

Art is life making sense!

Life is a work of art. Our living is a work of art. We are masterpieces made by god and trust me he made them unique-signature-class. We are proto-types, although 6 billion, not one of us is the same. i.e. I look at that as WOW, 6 billion ways to tell stories. Art does not happen by itself. It needs something else. Actually it needs a big help from its twin brother Craft. Unless there is a unique bond between the two, our creation will not realize its full potential!

What is ART? What is CRAFT? Lets take making a Table to explore our questions. There is an art and craft to it. Craft is the laws of physics that is needed to be in place to hold the table above the ground. Art of it is an aesthetic sense to it. Aesthetic sense translates to the shape of the table-top, material of the table: marble, stone, wood, brass etc. The craft defines that we need legs for the table and a table top. Art then comes in and says. How about if the table has one leg? Then we need to put it in the center as a pillar and have an appropriate table top. You can have 2 legs on one side and make it heavy enough to avoid the other two legs. You can have 3 dolphins made out of glass holding a table top. For the table-top you could choose, stone, glass… you get the idea….. This has a lot of resonance to filmmaking. Those thoughts are saved for another day.

So, what is the end result of the art and craft:

Art+Craft= Emotion.

The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place; from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider’s web.
::: Pablo Picasso :::

i.e. If a scrap of paper makes you emote then it is art for you. They say that Art is nothing but life making sense. Very interesting! More ramblings soon! Take a few minutes to look at the sky today!
Raj

I want to make god smile today!

Dreams…. I was wondering. What do you dream of? I would love to know. Please share. My dreaming created an ambition in me. By the way, I have decided that no matter how corny, how preposterous, how silly: I will share my thoughts with the least amount of filtering. ☺

My dream is to have a presence in Hyderabad, London and Los Angeles. My dream life would be directing Commercials/ Music Videos/ Features on the three continents. My actions and steps right now are to facilitate that. I believe that dreams are the start, then comes interpreting them, and then making a decision. That decision becomes an intent. And intent creates magic! Have an honest intent in life and providence will come to you! That faith brought me to Hyderabad.

My friends were surprised. Why are you moving from U.S and heading to India? They could not understand why I would be interested in “song n dance” movies. I actually love them, when done tastefully. I think “song n dance” can say things that cannot be articulated in a dialogue or scene. It is also escapist in nature and I am an escapist. I hope that my films will allow people to escape to a fun zone. Hopefully, as I mature as a filmmaker, my films will make them think and be more than just escapist fares. I am not interested in “different Telugu cinema” but am interested in a doing “Telugu cinema differently”. At least that is the intent. I am hoping that if I am not able to do that in the first movie, then at least, I have taken a step in the right direction with it.

I thought it would be great to start the journey in Andhra Pradesh. Telugu culture and film industry has a lot to offer to world cinema. I thought, it would be great to create a bridge between Andhra and the International world. What this would do is that, it would create an atmosphere where there is a flow of ideas/ thoughts/ sensibilities between the worlds. That would be an awesome atmosphere to play creatively. That kind of infusion is being seen in Mumbai, and also in Chennai and I can feel that Hyderabad is braced for it. I am hoping I can be part of creating that atmosphere. I know there are other filmmakers embarking on similar adventures. It would be great if prominent actors and producers embrace this journey. Does that mean that the kind of films we are making now will change or need to be stopped? The answer is NO! We just need to allow 20% of newness to start creeping in. 80% can be and should as is because it is sustaining the industry.

I would love to see movies that do justice to the box-office in Andhra and are able to play internationally. By internationally, I do not mean to the NRI audience. I am talking of people from other countries watching our Telugu films. Internationally we seem to have used the sensationalist attitude to reach out (poverty/ prostitution/ child labor etc). I am interested in putting out masti (fun) films like Taxi (French movie), Transporter etc. As you can see I am taking the reference of Luc Besson-produced-films. He is my idol! That is a space I am exploring. I have written 3 scripts for this space. These scripts have been pitched and interest has been shown by actors who have box-office guarantees. That is a start. I am hoping that they can also be made in the right manner. Well, the intent is there. Let see what designs await that intent. I hope to play in this space for a couple of years.

Post Telugu films, I would love to come back to two scripts of mine that are in an international space. One of them is a drama and the other is an apocalyptic thriller that is set in Bhimavaram: India, Hamburg: Germany and a small boutique museum in Soho neighborhood of New York. This kind of mixing of countries and cultures has always fascinated me. It provides a great canvas for cinema. I love how movies like Babel and The wedding party, blended lives, visuals, sounds from different cultures to tell a universal story.

The great joy would be to work with technicians and artists from Andhra and all over the globe. I am trying to see If I can mix interns from U.S film schools and the existing Andhra film fraternity. I am also trying to see if it is possible to rope in filmmakers into production space. Is it possible to get a technician from Minneapolis to collaborate with someone in Andhra? Am not sure of the answers. But am trying to gear such collaborations for future endeavors.

Of-course the next step is Hollywood films. This platform does not make the best movies possible but they do make movies that are widely watched. And I shamelessly admit that I would love my movies to be watched by the widest audience possible. I tend to write keeping that mind. i.e. emotions and actions that can connect to a range of audience.

So, the dream spot is: I am telling stories via 30 seconds (commercials) 3 minutes (music videos) 2 hours (features) in a global village!

Well, of-course, they also say that if you want god to laugh, just share your plans. I hope I made him smile though!
Ciao, Raj

Dream

April 1, 2009, 5 days away from my mom’s birthday. I am wondering if she ever knew, that I would end up being in films. For that matter, even I did not know that I would be getting into films till I was 22. Before that I wanted to be in the Indian Air Force. I grew up in Bhubaneshwar, Orissa. My dad was a government employee in the health department. Flying was my life. I was in NCC and I also got my Glider Pilot License. I came third in all India glider competition. I then took the exams for National Defense Academy and got 75th rank in the whole country.

A childhood friend of mine Srini, reminded me recently that in the choices section, where one usually puts down Airforce/ Navy/ Army (or their preferred order), I put down Air Force/ Air Force/ Air Force. I got through all of the selection process and finally went for the medical checkup. I came clean on the medicals too, except my color perception was CP 2. C P 2 rating at that time meant that you will have trouble distinguishing red and green far away. That disqualified be from Air Force. But, I was eligible for Navy and Army. But, wait, I had not put them down as an option. Although I changed my mind, the defense academy would not. That was a fundamentally defining moment in my life. I was shattered! Why did this happen to me!? Life felt muddled and confusing.

But, now it is clear, crystal clear! I was meant to be a filmmaker. The only hint that I would be a filmmaker at that time was that I was a day-dreamer. I know some of you might laugh. But, that is a quintessential quality of a storyteller. I would conjure up these elaborate make believe worlds and scenarios. They were not sci-fi but just extensions of my life and thoughts.

Now, I sit in Hyderabad, years later, awaiting the release of my first feature Boni. It is a Telugu feature length film, produced by Ramana Gogula and starring Sumanth Kumar and Kriti Kharbanda.

I would like to come back to the concept of day-dreaming. For that matter night-dreaming is also welcome ☺. My interpretation of dreaming is that it is an un-controlled, non-judgmental way of exploring yourself. Exploration of oneself is nothing but exploration of the universe. One of my favorite filmmakers is M Night Shyamalan, who starred in an American Express ad. In that commercial he says “my life is taking time to dream”. I love that line. One should do that. One needs to actively engage in dreaming. Am signing off to dream. I hope you do the same!

In Telugu Culture you never say goodbye, we say the Arnold Schwarzenegger line, minus the attitude: I will be back ☺

M. Night Shyamalan American Express Ad
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Skw-rKYsXOY