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