Why blog when you have a screenplay to finish?

Why blog when you have a screenplay to finish? An average screenplay takes anywhere between a few months to a year or more to write. Unlike literature, with the challenge of the economy of words, a screenwriter has to end up spending a lot of time deciding what to remove. When you're writing a feature film for the theatres, the screenplay can't be rambling about a hundred things. It has to be, at least to an extent, focused around a central thematic idea or stick to a genre. By nature, my screenplays come from a very personal space. To redirect material which come from a personal space, into a particular genre and a theme is the fun and challenge of writing screenplays. I love doing it, because it makes me rethink and reimagine a lot of things from my life. Although, the con to writing a focused screenplay is that a lot of 'you' gets edited out. Hence, a screenplay could express a part of you in a hyper-focused way. A part of you that can be imagined visually, that could fit into a certain genre and tone. The other ultra-nuanced, inner monologues and battles mostly get edited out. When you end up spending a year or more trying to express a part of you, the other part of you goes unheard and unseen and feels like you're being a partial parent. This blog is to try addressing some of the other parts.

Ah, romantic relationships - I see them as a way of experiencing the rollercoaster of highs and lows of life in a very short time. If one of the joys of relationships is to feel loved by the person who you love the most, one of the challenges is to occasionally feel hated by that one person who you'd kill for and die for. Romantic relationships are more complex and nuanced than parent-child relationships, which are straightforward and simple. Not that parenting is easier, but it's more straightforward with one person mostly giving care and the other receiving. An adult romantic relationship is a balance of giving and receiving care. Most relationships get ruined where both partners get lost in trying to figure out who's giving more and who's receiving more. To make things worse, in times where conflicts go unresolved for long, the truth is that both partners are giving more than what they're receiving. A lot of therapy pages and forums say that communication is key. Proper communication is probably the best solution for any conflict and yet it's the most hardest thing to do. Words, tone, pauses, innuendo, subtext, your mind has to process all of these and make a choice, even when you're triggered. 

Being good with words is indeed a privilege, one that I'll always keep striving for. When you can express well with words, your feelings and your pain is seen. Your nuanced, metaphorical exploration of your troubled childhood is not an exercise of wallowing in self-pity. However, what about all the other people who can't express that well? All we can do is to try and express or perhaps find an artist whose pain resonates with ours and find some sense of belonging in that artist. A close friend asked me to promise that I'd always try to spread love and happiness in the world. Yet, the visible stories of pain belong to those with a voice. What about the voiceless? To fulfil that promise, I think more than my skill to write what would matter more, is my skill to read. Reading a person, even when they can't articulate much. Reading a person without jumping to judgements or attaching labels to every single trait of theirs. Reading them and just letting them be. Now, whenever I watch a film with a tragic story - I obviously feel for the characters and then I feel for how things are far worse for the voiceless and I seek solace in the fact that my life is perhaps not the hardest.

Broke, lonely, depressed - this is the universal crossroads where most of us find ourselves at, at one point or the other. It could not even be true, but that's how everything around us is wired to make us feel. Now, how we rebuild ourselves from there is the battle of modern life. It's very interesting how after generations of technological development, we are working more hours than our earlier generations and living more stressful lives. People say, it's for survival. Although I think 'survival' is the most loosely used term in modern day. Survival is being safe, sound and having a meal or two everyday. Survival is not being on the top of the social ladder. Survival is not 'being able to afford international trips'. Well, there's nothing wrong about being driven and ambitious, and I respect anyone who is. But living like you don't matter or exist till you reach a certain milestone is terribly sad. You matter. I matter. We all matter. And if there's one sentence where both the statement and the opposites are true - it's that all of us matter and that nobody matters.

Sapta Sagaradaache Ello (Side-A)

Sapta Sagaradaache Ello (Side A)

Directed by: Hemanth Rao
Starring; Rakshit Shetty, Rukmini Vasanth

Music: Charan Raj

Recently, I've been thinking a lot about what makes a good theatrical experience for me. For me, it is not the scale of the film, it's not if the film has stars in it or not, it's not even the genre... it is simply the level of immersive experience the film offers. Some films suck you right in, make you forget your day otherwise and some films just play on the screen and you watch them from a distance. The difference, the level of immersive experience the films offer. Sapta Sagaradaache Ello is a beautiful theatrical experience. It's immersive right from the get go. I loved how the film was shot, written, performed by the actors, the music used... everything. The film has an external conflict per se, but it's made in a way that we feel like we are in their minds. Films like this, which offer an extreme emotional experience can be a beautiful outlet for cathartic experiences. Someone's going through long distance and is feeling painful? They can watch the film and let it all out by crying for Manu and Priya, and in a way cry for their Manu or Priya too. I see this film as an epic saga. And every bit of the film worked for me, except for one thing. 

Spoilers Alert. I was having second thoughts right when Manu makes that choice. I could see that it's a bad idea. It was so obvious. And because of that, I had my sympathy take over my empathy for Manu. I was watching him slightly from a distance. Whereas, if they had established that Manu and the businessman (whose son did the accident) had a good relationship and that he would never ditch Manu - maybe the choice would've felt more reasonable and then the businessman dies anyway. Apart from this, I loved every single bit of the film. The climax is a beautiful cinematic experience. It was both emotionally and physically violent. It was the lowest point the film was going to hit... and the experience of the whole ending was very chilling. I'm very curious about Side-B, although it seems like there's going to a total genre shift. Films like this will revive cinema. 

Boys Hostel (2023)

Boys Hostel (2023)

Written and Directed by: Nithin Krishnamurthy
Spoilers Ahead.

Having missed the original version, I was a tad bit bummed at myself. But after watching the dubbed version - I'd go as far as saying that Boys Hostel is not a dubbed version of the original - it's an adaptation. This is not only because of them reshooting the cameos of Rashmi Gautam and Tharun Bhascker, but because of the dialogues written by the team of Chai Bisket. It's filled with pop-culture references, memes and different accents of Telugu as well. Now, about the film - the opening 15-min stretch just goes bonkers - with the fast cuts, swish pans, the camera moves and the transitions - you know that you're in the hands of a filmmaker whose sense of craft is solid. The film takes a turn from there and now we see dirty rooms, messy teenagers shot by a handheld camera. If not for the opening stretch, this could have put us off. But because of the opening stretch, you know that the filmmakers are capable of shooting something cool and cinematic, but they're just choosing not to. Here on, I loved the premise, I loved the structure of the narrative with scope for so many gags in between. Some of my favourites being - the gang who smokes up, Xavier and yes almost every scene is funny. I like the turns that the film takes. 

Although, I felt some fatigue in the 2nd half. Especially because the narrative style is so pulsating and fast that there's a lot of information to process. There's a lot of chaos to witness. The cut backs to the editor, his commentary, the meta touch was good. But all of these were adding extra information to the narrative, which at beginning felt novel and interesting - but after a point - it felt like it was being overdone. I felt like the film had to slow down for a bit, at least in moments, so that we'd be ready for the chaos again. Some moments made me tear up, one moment being the warden overhearing a student saying something, and him going back to lie on the carrom board. And even the ending was beautifully done. I just wish some bits in the 2nd half weren't there. But all in all, absolutely beautiful film. There's verbal, visual, slapstick, deadpan - all sorts of comedy in the film and everything lands. I absolutely enjoyed the film.

The Last of Us (2023- )

The Last of Us (Season-1)

Created by: Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann
Based on the video game of the same name.

Having been a fan of Craig Mazin from his Scriptnotes podcast & Chernobyl - I was always curious about this show. Late to the party, but I thoroughly enjoyed the show. The show is structured in a way that it can be an anthology whenever it wants, it can explore subplots and the main plot too whenever it wants. It's mostly because the world building is so solid, that any part of the world seems gripping. My favourite episode is Ep. 3 (Bill & Frank's epic love story). That single story has an epic nature to it, and this story being just a part of the world makes the world too epic. Looking at the posters, and having no clue about the game - I thought it's the story of a father and daughter - navigating through a post apocalyptic world. But the story is better - it's that of a man who loses his daughter and happens to be with another girl of the same age. I feel like stories like these are more compelling - stories of bonds which are not familial - but are as strong as familial bonds. It somehow makes their relationship greater. Case in point, Sivagami - Baahubali.

My only disappointment with the whole show was the last episode. It felt rushes. There was too much happening in the main plot in the last episode and him killing doctors to not operate her - felt like a dicey thing to do. They're doctors. And she could possibly save the whole world. That oddly stood out to me. But apart from this one thing, I absolutely loved the show and especially the tone it cracks - it builds terrifying tension like a thriller, it scares you like a horror, it has very strong drama and emotions too. Got transported into the world right from the first minute of the first episode. 

Jailer (2023)

Jailer (2023)

Written and Directed by: Nelson

Starring: Superstar Rajinikanth

Music: Anirudh Ravichander

Tamil films which are superstar vehicles should be a genre by themselves. You get a few banger songs before the film that you're vibing to - and then you go to the film. Every scene feels like a setup to a whistle moment. There is a sense of rush in every scene till the star arrives on screen. From then, things usually settle down. Jailer did all these very well. There are some killer Rajni moments in the film. I mainly have to talk about the music. Anirudh has single-handedly taken control of the music scene in Tamil cinema. To the point where he can deliver chartbusters in every single film he composes for. To the point where he has the capability to make a mediocre filmmaker seem like a good one.

 

But apart from those few moments, the film didn't work for me. Not the story, not the screenplay. I just enjoyed it as a Rajni fan vehicle film. The main issue was Rajni agreeing to steal a crown from a temple in return for the villain to return his son. Now, this plot point was itself weak and needs us to let it go. But after this, the film further dwells deeper in this direction - Sunil, Tamannah track was a further weaker subplot. I liked the idea of how he approaches other superstars for some manpower, and Rajni's elevations happen without much muscle power - which was refreshing. But the whole film apart from the mass moments, was so here and there - because the writing felt all over the place. But Hukum definitely redeems the sloppy writing in the film.

Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani

Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani (2023)

Directed by: Karan Johar
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt
Written by: Ishita Moitra, Shashank Khaitan, Sumit Roy

I absolutely loved a Bollywood film after a long time! It's a classical story with very conventional beats - but done with fresh air. This film again proves that conventional stories done with fresh air always work. It's a classic Indian love story of a couple who have to get their family's approval to get married. Although this is added up with an interesting premise - both Rocky and Rani stay at each other's houses for a while. The film's biggest strength is the solid setup. They set up both families with such detail and finesse that the film creates a playground for itself - to flesh out beautiful drama. The first half gets slightly annoying at places because of it's overtly musical treatment - although it definitely felt very fresh. The opening of the film felt like Wes Anderson making a film about Indian households. Though the content of the film is very rooted and conventional - Karan Johar experiments with style and craft and he does it so well. Rocky seemed annoying as a character in the beginning, but oh boy he wins your heart. I was very concerned with the introduction of Rani's character - if the film will get into preachy, activist territories - but then I realized that they're doing this only to establish difference between the both of them.

There is a lot of heart in this film. Some of my most favorite moments in the film - Rocky joining his to-be father-in-law to learn Kathak - I had tears in my eyes, Rocky joining him in the performance and Rocky's monologue at Rani's house. Ranveer Singh's performance was so good - I vividly remember a moment - it's a very small moment but it made me fall in love with his character. When the grandpa suddenly becomes conscious and says something, and again falls unconscious, Rocky's father asks him to call an ambulance - and the force with which Rocky yells 'nurse' 'doctor' and the force with which he runs - that tells you that if Rocky loves you - he's going to do anything for you. The film beautifully talks about how everyone's busy canceling everyone instead of trying to think with some empathy. It's a much-needed film in the current climate. Classic-conventional love story done with nuanced writing.

Oppenheimer (2023)

Oppenheimer (2023)

Written for the screen and Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Cillian Murphy

This film surprised me in so many levels - the main thing being Chris Nolan building on his voice as a filmmaker. There are so many new styles that Nolan explored in this film, which he wouldn't earlier. One was the occasional usage of montage and voice over - which is one of my favourite tools of filmmaking - and I didn't expect to see this in a Nolan's film. It's used in the introduction of Oppenheimer in his childhood and in the scene where they discuss different possibilities of explosion - there are sudden inserts of the reaction happening. Another thing was the visual portrayal of PTSD - it was masterfully done - and it reminded me of Darren Aronofsky's films (Black Swan, Requim for a Dream). Another aspect was how the film has straightforward storytelling. A complex subject like this, definitely calls for this. Even though it's not entirely straightforward, it definitely is by Nolan's standards. Because the film is a biopic and is told from the perspective of Oppenheimer - it feels intricately personal too and the anguish that he feels is beautifully captured. 

Nolan gives the story the largeness it deserves by shooting it the way he shoots any other epic film. And in spite of it being epic, it never loses its nuance. Post the film, it feels like the film didn't take a strong stand on the whole thing, but that's exactly the stand of the film. That it is extremely complex and nuanced. Proper representation of war onscreen is very important, because war in real life does not feel like an action film. It feels like a video that we can never get ourselves to watch. And though this film is the story of a man who invented the atom bomb, the film never forgets what it means in the larger scheme of things. And because of all these, I think that Oppenheimer is Nolan's most evolved work. This film is epic and intimate, geeky and emotional, inspiring and scornful. The conflict of this film is destructive, outside and within. And all of these beautifully come through the visuals, the sound and every craft involved. Oppenheimer has the tension of a Nolan film, the nuance of an Asghar Farhadi film, it captures PTSD like a Darren Aronofsky film and it uses montage like a Scorsese film - in spite of these it never doesn't feel like a Nolan film. This is a master director, evolving his own style.

Baby (2023)

Baby (2023)

Written and Directed by: Sai Rajesh

Starring: Anand Devarakonda, Vaishnavi Chaitanya, Viraj Ashwin

Spoilers ahead.

Firstly, I want to start by writing about what I felt about the trailer - what bugged me were the dialogues which generalise. Anand's dialogue goes: "prathi kashtam mundu devudu edho oka signal isthadu, nee lanti ammayi okalla jeevitham loki vachinappudu assal signal enduku ivvade?". Now instead of this, if the dialogue was: "prathi kashtam mundu devudu edho oka signal isthadu, kani nuvvu naa jeevitham loki vachinappudu assal signal enduku ivvaledhe?" - then it would have been personal to him. This is one big issue in the whole film. "Nee lanti ammayilu" instead of "nuvvu", "maa abbayilu" instead of "nenu". This generalising dialogue seems like it's for the film to hit everyone, but it ends up making the audience feel either defensive or attacking instead of feeling empathy for the characters. Instead if the film treated the exact same story as just their story and makes us see them as individuals and not representing a gender - it would still hit and it wouldn't make the audience polarized.

Keeping this aside for a second, the film has a beautiful, endearing opening - which captures first love, the adolescence around it so well - and especially the song which has a chorus of children making the whole thing so innocent and beautiful. At this point, you'd want them to be together (if you forget what happens in the trailer). But post the premise kicks in, the film gets into murky territories. The thing about theatre viewing experience is - it's very tricky to crack grey characters - because when we watch the film as a crowd - especially as a hyper-charged crowd in a single screen - we tend to drop our IQs. The audience isn't in a space to appreciate nuances. It's either black or white. Which is why whenever Vaishnavi makes certain choices, the crowd jumps into a space where they want her to be called names. Though there were some inconsistencies with her character, I could see her. Coming from a small background, when she finds herself in the 'big' world - all she wants is some validation and attention - which she never gets from Anand. Anand treats her like a controlling father. So though she knows that Anand is part of her life, she strays in the process of trying to find her identity amidst trying to fit in. She loses herself. And in the process, a lot of irreparable damage happens. 

Also, because of the way the plot progresses in the second half - them making a deal that she'll "date" him for a month and then he'll be okay & one of the biggest plot holes in the film - "I'll sleep with Viraj so that he'll finally let me go to Anand" - these plot points make this film less of an inter-personal relationship film and more of a conniving drama. How the film arrives at these points, didn't seem convincing to me - yes, the characters are naïve, but it's disturbing to watch naive characters make bad choices throughout the film. Apart from this, the film sets up the characters for them to face bad situations. But the way the film worsens the situations is a little convenient. Although, after all these conveniences it cracks creating one of the most disturbing sequences I've seen in a long time - Premisthunna song. 

Keeping aside all these issues, the film is in the Malcolm and Marie space - where you say the worst things possible you could say to each other. The film operates on people's worst fears - need not be boys - but anyone who's anxious within a relationship. The performances were beautiful - especially the way Anand's heartbreak and pain was portrayed. The mindset of a person who's been cheated on was also captured pretty well. And overall, it was quite an experience for me watching the film. Though there were some issues with the film, the film landed for me. 

Instant Family (2018)

Instant Family (2018)

Co-written and Directed by: Sean Anders

Starring: Rose Byrne, Mark Wahlberg
Spoilers ahead.

It's a beautiful, heart-warming film that moves you into tears every now and then. The film is about a couple who decide to adopt three siblings one of whom is a teenager. The film explores all the highs and lows that they go through in the process. The beauty of the film is that it manages to find sweet and heart-warming moments at every stage - right from the thought to adopt kids to the point where they finally do it. Another good thing about the film is it's written from personal experiences that Sean Anders himself went through - and because of this - the film feels extremely aware and authentic of the world it's exploring. For example, even small scenes where they talk about the 3R technique, the difficulties teenagers face to find foster parents - there are so many such beautiful elements in the film. And the best part about it is the narrative is properly structured in a way that these small scenes fit into the story properly - unlike making us feel like the film is just a string of anecdotes. 

Though I liked everything about the film, the only issue I had was with the ending. They established a solid conflict by the second half of the film - whereas the biological mother of the kids they decided to adopt wants her kids back because she got herself together. At this point, the film raises a beautiful question of preservation of a family. Here, as an audience, I was baffled. What could be done? There is perhaps nothing you could do to get out of this whole. By the end, the film convincingly takes the route where the biological mother relapsed again. I didn't feel satisfying because someone's life being ruined is resolving the conflict of the film in a convenient way. Although the ending is salvaged by the scene where the eldest daughter runs away from home and the parents go and convince her to stay with them. This scene made it a satisfying end. And the ending scene where they finally register the adoption, was so beautifully done. I loved how the film explores a world and creates a simple, heart-warming comedy out of it. 

Pinocchio (2022)

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022)

Directed by: Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson

Won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film.

Streaming on Netflix.

It's a stop-motion, animated film. This film has a fairy-tale-like narrative and storytelling. Fairy tale narratives being larger than life and epic and telling such a story through stop-motion animation - with inanimate objects - brings a beautiful sense of smallness and intimacy to the storytelling. The film opens with a terrific prologue - where a father loses his son in the war - the style of the prologue seems to be influenced by the opening of Pixar's Up. After the father loses the son, he gets depressed and he does countless prayers and keeps wishing his son comes back. Now, this is a point where we as the audience are rooting so badly for the father that we are ready to see even magic help this man. I'd call this point - a fantastical low point - which would lead us to hope even magic help the characters. I believe that this fantastical low point is the key to any good fantasy film. In Harry Potter - Harry's uncle not treating Harry well and burning all of Harry's letters is that fantastical low point. In Eega - Nani being unfairly killed for no mistake of his is that fantastical low point. Now, I was super excited after this fantastical low point - I was hoping that the son would be reincarnated into the puppet he makes. Although the film takes a slightly different turn. 

The film beautifully explores so many intense themes - it explores grief and the processing of it. Pinocchio symbolizes another child one has after losing one, a spouse from a remarriage and the film explores how tough it is for someone to not keep looking for the lost loved ones in the new person that has come into their life. And it is too harsh on the new person - in this case, a kid. The film talks about acceptance and getting past the expectations parents have on their kids. Though the film talks about all these in moments, a few things didn't work for me. One was how there is reincarnation possible for Pinocchio in the film - it just takes away the promised intensity of the stakes. Also, it caters to the tropes of an animated film to an extent - the physical comedy and chaos - some of it which I enjoyed. Overall, I really enjoyed seeing the film for how intimate and epic it was at the same time.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)

Directed by: Chris Columbus
Based on the novel by J. K. Rowling

Having read the first book and having watched the films as a kid - I wasn't impacted by Harry Potter as much as an average person was. Re-watching the film now was an interesting experience - I was blown away by the opening 40 minutes of the film. The way the world takes off, the worldbuilding - all of it was so good to the point where I was wondering how they'd pull off all this back then. Although I didn't enjoy the film as a whole that much. It's mostly because the narrative of the film is an adventure without impending stakes to the character. Harry discovers problems to solve and goes out of his way to solve them. So if Harry gets bored and decides to go back to his bed and sleep, nothing would change. So because of this, we also discover the world with Harry and his friends. A more compelling narrative would be if Harry didn't go out of his way - but that would be the only way for Harry. If not this, they could've at least established the stakes of what would happen if Harry didn't go more clearly. 

Also, the whole idea of Harry being the one to go on - over Ron and Hermione - didn't feel inspiring to me as an average person. I could feel like Hermione was the more sincere and perhaps even talented person - but all of them would say that Harry is the chosen one. Why? Because of his legacy. How is that inspiring? Baahubali is also the chosen one. But you badly root for him because he never gets what he rightfully deserves. The chosen one becomes the underdog. Here the chosen one stays the hero and stays there. Also, when Ron sacrifices himself - the film doesn't play on the stakes it tricks us into believing. That Ron might die. But he doesn't. Harry getting the power to burn Voldemort in the end - felt like terribly convenient writing - any power that a hero gets in the fight with a villain has to be established beforehand. In RRR, the interval sequence of NTR with the tigers works because it was established throughout. By introducing new powers to a hero in the moment of stakes - you put the audience in a spot where they subconsciously feel like 'they'll get out of this too' and you never let the audience feel the stakes to the full extent. Apart from these issues (which I elaborated in a lot of detail) - I was blown away by so many things in the film.