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.

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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

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

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