Camera - Sound and action !

Some interesting details about the opening sequence trailer:

The Beamer that you see has manual transmission. An hour before the shoot Vikas told me that he couldn’t drive stick shift. I told him “kuch nahi yaar bada asaan hai, ek aadh chakar laga le andar subdivision ke and you will be just fine”. He not only drove stick shift but he drove with those numbered glasses on I-85 near downtown Atlanta. Kristi had no clue of what’s going on. I wonder if she had acted the way she did had she known that Vikas was a rookie stick shift driver. I made them drive so many times in and out of interstates that I lost count and they got tired of me....

What you do not see is that Giri is driving behind these guys to give them the “cover” and Gandharv and I are on the vehicle in front of these guys. We did not have the luxury to afford two way radios so we were using cell phones to pass instructions. There was no possibility of a “re-take” so it was either get it or forget it!! Kristi was all cooperating and reading my mind and my nervous shouts….

Right before this shoot we had dinner at Atlanta Diner at Clairmont. It is hard to believe that it were same Kristi and Vikas who were having fun just a few minuets ago…

I am going to let the film do the talking….

That’s all….

Life is tough....

I am a big John Wayne fan. He acted in about 200 movies from 1930s to the 70s. In most of his films, he stood up for the oppressed and downtrodden of the society, notably native Indian Americans. He rebelled against the establishment for them, took bullets for them, got them justice and then moved on.

These words of John Wayne pop up in my head form time-to-time, and today was such a day.

I reckon, they do leave out the impact of ones stupidity on relatives and friends.

Oh well…

Suraj...

Mere Dil main Utar Gaya Suraj
Tairgi main Nikhar Gaya Suraj

Dars Dekar Hamen Ujaale Ka
Khud Andhere ke Ghar Gya Suraj

Hum Se Wada Tha Ek Sawere Ka
Haye, Kaisa Mukar Gaya Suraj ?

Doobte Wakt Zard tha Itna
Log Samjhe ke Mar Gaya Suraj

- Javed Akhtar

Tairgi - Darkness
Dars - Lesson / Sermon
Zard - Yellow

Doosra Kinara - New Poster

Good folks at the Hues Lab came up with a new design for the poster. They have not recieved the new photographs from me, so look for the concept only.

I think this is as close as you can get to the central idea of the film and still be intersted. I like it. Enjoy!

Mere Qatl ke baad...

Dulari to nahi milegi na?

That was Manohar venting his frustration about the state of affairs. Dulaari was the first women that he loved. It was Friday night and he had brought some diner for me.

Me: Dekho Manohar..tumhara namak khaya hai ..Namak hai na is main? ( I was preparing for my punch line)

Manohar: Haan bhaiyya..namak dalaa hai hum ne.

Me: To bhaiyya Manohar , Tumhara namak khaya hai. Hum tum se wada karta hoon ke tum ko Pita ji aur Dulari se milwa denge.

Manohar: Kaise? Dulari ke to bacche hain Sahid bhai.

Me: Auraten Bacchen hone ke baad aur bhi khubsurat lagti hain…samjha karo…

Manohar: Kaisi baat karte hain aap? Uski saadi ho gayee hai aur us ka husband hai..

Me: Tum puri baat to bataya karo, accha husband bhi hai., khair -thodi Aloo Gobi aur daloo !

Manohar: Sahid bhai …Aloo Gobi to aur mil jayegi magar Dulari nahi miliegi…

Me: Who bhi mil jayegi – Ab jo milegi who bhi Dulari hi hogi. Jaante ho Jab se duniya bani hai. Tab se sirf ek Dulari hai aur ek Manohar hai…bas!

Manohar: Aap hamari khilli uda rahe hain ?

Me: Nahi hum sach keh rahe hain. Accha ye batao ke agar tumari shaadi Dulari se hoti to tum jab us ka gunghat uthate to kiya kehte?

Manohar: Hum kehte ke gaiyya kahaan bandhen?

Me: Chalo who hi sahi ( I was expecting more romantic line than this!) ok. Ab ye batao agar tumhari Shadi Radha se hoti to? ( I just came up with a clichéd name)

Manohar: Radha kaun? His eyes lit up at the "possiblity"!

ME: Radha koi nahi aise hi farzi naam hai. To kiya kehte tum Radha se?

Manohar: Wohi kehte

Me: Good. Accha shaadi Raziya se hoti to kiya kehte?

Manohar: Baar baar kiyon puchte hain..wohi kehte jo Dulari se kehte.

Me: Exactly. To bhaiiya ye samjh lo ke duniya main ek hi aurat hai aur ek hi aadmi hai.us ke naam alag alag hain….magar ek hi Dulari hai aur ek Manohar… Ab agli jo aayegi who bhi Dulari hi hogi…

It took Manohar a while to understand my point. In the end he was surprised and reluctantly agreed with me that we all say the same thing to every person that walks in our lives. We DO NOT love a particular Raziya or a Radha, we love A woman. Period. It could be anyone black, white or in between.

Come to think of it. If we would say the same lines to a Radha, Raziya, Rosie and Dulari then why we make so much fuss about a relationship? A farmer in India would say the same lines to his wife as a farmer in Poland. A CEO in Manhttan would repeat the same lines to his woman as a Mullah in Afgahnitsan or Iraq. Then why do we think we are better than others, our emotions are better then others and others do not have a right to life and happiness – just like us?

Ps: BTW I forgot to mention the other side of the story – every Dulari, Radha, Rosie, and Raziya would say the same lines to every Abdul Sattar, Joseph, Gurcharan, and Manohar that they would have to spend their life with.

This is how it is in the Love Lane…

A picture is worth Deewan-e-Ghalib!

The woman was on a bus in Kabul, Afghanistan. Her demeanor (and eye brows!) provide clues and prove a theory that when it comes to pictures; women always cooperate more than the men. No matter what the situation is (like bombs going off, mortar fire etc.), the minute you say “action” she can change her mood (and your mood as well...) in a split second!! I had the privilege to learn this first hand, while shooting for my film. The women have this special gift of making things look normal even in the most difficult circumstances.

I remember a few years ago there were couple of snipers running loose in Maryland / DC area, shooting people outside malls and gas stations. I remember how we all felt while filling up our gas tanks those days. More recently, a convict in Atlanta’s High Court cut loose after killing the judge and a few deputies. There was a serious manhunt for him, and we were uncomfortable knowing he is out there, armed and dangerous.

These women and children of Afghanistan face death each day. There is something more terrible about death then death itself. It is called uncertainty. It is the uncertainty of not knowing when it’s going to get you. It is the uncertainty of not knowing if you ever will get a chance to see your loved ones for the last time. However, you know one thing for sure, and that is this could be your last journey to the University or to work.

Living under these deathly uncertainties with grace and peace is no “manly” business. It requires a woman to do that. For me this woman personifies hope while living under catastrophic conditions.

Mullah Luis found some humor in this photograph. He confirmed for me that she is most likely be a “Front Page News”. I trust his judgment...

ps: The reason the title of this post pays homage to Ghalib is because his DNA can be traced back to this part of the world. If he had seen those eyes during his youth (or old age for that matter.) he would have recited a couplet of his friend Meer Taki Meer:

Meer in Neem Baz Aankhon main
Saari Masti Sharab ki si hai !

Masochist...

Eeza Pasand - Masochist

Doosra Kinara - Outsourced!

The other day I was talking to the Chief of a design studio, Hueslab (www.hueslab.com) in Mumbai. When I finished my usual monologue explaining vision for the poster he said, 'Shahid Saab your poster is ready."

That was fast – all in 15 minutes! Where was he when I was trying to deliever a film? He asked me for more photographs. I am impressed, and think that finally I found the right man for the right job. He would do a good job, so expect a kick-ass poster.

Mullah says “man, make sure poster is NOT better than the film, We do not want to known for our poster - do we?

Mullah Luis - unplugged...(exclusively!)

I have been asked time and again about two things in my life namely Mullah Luis and the word Jebroni (Apun to kisi ginti main hi nahi hain!!). Obviously both require a separate blog to capture their essence. I will try to get one item off my plate today and it will be Mullah Luis. Mullah will be offended if I do not dedicate a complete post to him and I have to live in the City.

Mullah grew up in a developed country where folks these days are having a hard time distinguishing between Obama and Osama. Some of them even think that Obama ( Vice President - 2008) must be tried for crimes against humanity, and that he represents a grave and gathering threat to national security. Mullah studied Engineering at Cornell but later transferred to Georgia Tech, my Alma mater. He graduated from Georgia Tech with an engineering degree.

He had a Syrian room -mate while at Tech, and is well read, well travelled man. He is a living nightmare for right wingers, as he does not believe in man made borders and boundaries. He does not think there is something called “THEM” in this world anymore and its all “US” now whether we like it or not. He would be absolutely at home in Bangalore, Addis Ababa, Dubai and Lahasa. If he happens to be in Mumbai and if you ask him where is home, chances are he will look in your eyes, smile and respond " right here man!"

He was married once, but refuses to talk about why there was a divorce? However, last week he went on a 4 day trip to Brussels, Belgium with his ex-wife. I could never understand why he did that? When I inquired:

Mullah: She was feeling low and she had no one to go with so I volunteered.
Me: volunteered?
Mullah: Yeah, what is the big deal man?
Me: Aren’t you supposed to stay away from her? Maybe even hate her a little?
Mullah: Why? Who said that?
Me: Well, society has certain norms…
Mullah: Which society? What norms man? I am part of the society…What I am doing is normal.
Me: And you expect to find another woman in your life?
Mullah: Absolutely!
Me: Man, how in the world can you do that?
Mullah: I just did it. This was my seventh trip to Europe. We had a great time. She is still fun to be around with. I do not understand the “thou shall hate thy ex-wife” concept man. Here you have one person who had the guts to marry a jebroni like me! She broke bread with me, cooked for me, waited for me, and how can I turn around and hate her because she is no longer with me? There are not many people in this world who can claim to have known me for real, she is certainly one of them.

Me: Mullah you are not making sense. If it was all that good then why divorce?
Mullah: Well, divorce is a different aspect of a married life, and I refuse to dislike or hate someone simply because a relationship went south. Mental violence is the most lethal form of violence. If one is looking for a peaceful world, one should begin with his or her mind first…

This is the classic Mullah for you - rebellious, unconventional and a little weird. He paraphrases FDR’s words and says “the only thing you have to hate is hate itself!

He says if someone guarantees him 1000 years of life then and then only he would consider hatred for a few years. Life is too short to love man, where is time for hatred? I would rather enjoy people’s friendship and care however brief, collect some good memories for old age and move on….

BTW: Mullah is not my best kept secret anymore... still, I respect his privacy......

Doosra Kinara - Poster

Badar Shahid, a graduate of Savannah Art Institue submitted this design for the poster. It requires some cleaning up and color adjustments.

What is the verdict?

Rock On ....

I always used to wonder why do director-producers announce their upcoming projects during Premier or while promoting their films. That is until now. Now, I know why. Sorry, can’t share it. It is a trade secret. So, keeping the traditions alive, allow me to join the ranks of Ghais, Chopras and Johars.

I am working on three films and they are in various stages of productions.

First one is titled “ Allah Calling” and it is set against 911 tragedy. It explores the human mind conditioned by late night shows, gossip magazines, hate propaganda and several thousands years of stereotyping. It is ready. I am delaying its release due to a technical reason.

The second one is titled “ Have a good Day!” Rafiq Bactha and Farina Parashar play main leads. I shot a few hours of footage with Rafiq and Farina. It is the story of a law-abiding immigrant from Bangladesh, who pays for crimes he never committed. It is satirical and addresses the current events in the world.

The third film that I wrote three years ago is titled “ Tarkash” It is a social comedy based in the US. I had Rohul Bose in my mind when I wrote it. Dekhte hain..

If you notice all four of my film have a common thread that is current events and preach peace and humanity. I agree they are boring subjects and that I have a problem here. How naive it is to think that a few films can win “hearts and minds” where $500.00 Billion dollars failed?

Mullah says no promoter in his right mind will touch your films man. Majority of audiences wants to be entertained and not enlightened on some issues they do not have to deal with. Get real man - make what they want and not what you want.

A writer/director friend from Mumbai visited Atlanta a few months back, and after watching my films remarked " What really matters Shahid is you are making the kinds of film you believe in -Rock On man!"

Rock on....

Errata...

In our last blog entry line number 15 "Can you believe there are times in life when you are thankful for not having wives and girl friends!!? was an error. It should have read "Can you believe there are times in life when you are thankful for not having A WIFE AND OR A GIRL FRIEND?"

We regret any comfort or convenience this might have caused to our readers. We appreciate your input and concern at this horrible thought. Inside we are happy that our jebroni writer screwed up again!!
Mullah Luis, Editor

Doosra Kinara - Direction

This is it ALL comes down to – the last credit before the “show” begins. Apparently it is a great reason to be high. Mullah says “for a jebroni like you it could be the ONLY reason to feel high these days”. But, It’s only me who can say what it feels to look at this frame.

Its been a LONG journey, really long, from that first call I made to three friends ( Anuraag, GiriMohan, and Manoj) asking them if they would be interested in my project, to cutting the first trailer of Doosra Kinara these days. I went thru all the emotions in the book from anger to frustration to helplessness to jubiliation to tears and fears.

I have wowed that my next film will be an out and out “fictional” comedy and will have very little of my personality. There may be a quickie or two in the meantime, especially if the subject excites and offers me room for growth as a storyteller.

It is tough to keep a full time job and then devote almost every night and weekend on this madness (Can you believe there are times in life when you are thankful for not having wives and girl friends!!). It was a tough journey. There were many instances when my frustration went thru the roof. I felt many times why am I taking all this crap? Why am I doing this? Why? In spite of all those moments, I never once thought of canning the film and re-starting my “paused” life.

Doosra Kinara is devoted to those folks who left maa ke hath ka khana, bahan ki mahobbat, Baap ki na dikhane wali chahat, yaron ki yaari, bhai ki dosti, in search of their dreams. They missed out on growing up of nieces and nephews, they missed out all those neighborhood celebrations and festivals. They missed all those building ki ladkiyan and girl friends getting married and going off in new directions with their husbands. They missed watching new lines develope on their father’s foreheads as they aged and how their mothers felt each night knowing their son is 10,000 miles away and will not make it, if something happens to them.

Time flew and before they knew it, the landscape changed. You will be touched if you listen to some stories of what folks have missed when they were chasing that one dream here. The City that they had left temporarily, now refuses to recognize them. The home that they grew up in and have fond memories of, does not even care if they live or die.

“ Der na karna ghar jaane main – warna ghar kho jayenge!”

They sacrificed a lot for virtually nothing. What now? Where next? Doosra Kinara is an effort to find answers to these questions.

I needed these answers myself, my friends!

Ps: I am going to get whacked by some friends for writing negative so I will say this. It’s all not that bad. You lose some you gain some. I have made some awesome friends – calling them friends would be an understatement. I have enjoyed their friendship and care and they cook excellent food too! Zindagi main aur kiya chaiyye saab?

Sach hai ye...

Sach hai ye bekaar hamen gham hota hai
jo chaha tha duniya main kam hota hai ! - Javed Akhtar

Ye Maana Ke!

Gulzaar - Garden
Khaar - Thorns

This is the bunch...

Folks-

What you see in this photo is a bunch of nicest people that Atlanta has to offer. These are Doctors, Engineers, Professors, Teachers, IT professionals, Poets, Aerospace Engineers, MBAs, Dancers, Business owners, including a Director of a fortune 500 company. They represent some of the finest schools in the world like Chor Bazaar Municipal Urdu School, IIT, IIM, Georgia Tech, and Emory to Harvard Business School. The only jebroni you see is standing on the lower right side wearing a light blue shirt with black t-shirt, wondering “raat main khana kiya kahoongaa?”

And they ALL worked like hell on my film. They even did menial jobs for the film, something that they would never do in their normal life under any circumstances. They spent countless days and late nights away from their spouses to work on my film. They did all that and more because they loved me and wanted to make sure I realize at least ONE dream. (Baki to apun kuch kar hi nahi sakta hoon na!) Where else could you find so much human goodness in one place? I am really honored and proud to have enjoyed their friendship and company.

I am NOT a realist, still I do not expect "Doosra Kinara" to compete with Shah Rukh Khan's next film, and run for 5 years at Maratha Mandir theatre, hence some of these folks are my real return on investments.

I guess I will keep the remaining portion of my gratitudnal-speech (God, I just created a new phrase!) for the Premier- At least this will bring in the crowd!!

and they are (top to bottom):
Neema Amin, Nita Shrivastava, Kristi Huthinson, Kumud Savla, Deepti, Anita, Darshan Kaur, Sandhya Bhagat, Seema Sharma, Aishwarya, Akanksha Joshi, Angad Joshi.

Ram Gupta, Vikas Saini, Gandharv Bhagat, Sandeep Savla, Apurva Shrivastava, Rafiq Batcha, Aditya Shrivastava, Anuraag Misraj, Shahid Sayed, Anurag Gaur, Kartikay Bhagat, Pranjal and Rohan Gupta.

This not the complete team as many had some prior enaggmnets and could not make it.

Ps: The reason you see Shahid Sayed twice is because one of them is the damn producer and producer se kaun panga leta hai!!

(photoshop effects, Gandharv Bhagat)

Manohar Parsad Yadav...

(Khau Gali is lit during Ramzaan only)

I went to eat an Indian restaurant after a long time and found Manohar Parsaad Yadav in the kitchen, wearing Moti Chaap Lungi and Baniyan. When I saw him the last time two years ago he was wearing the same Moti chaap lungti and Baniyan cooking chicken biryani. Rewinding back to Bombay, when I saw him for the first time he was working for Babu Labacha ( Prononced La-Baa-Chaa meaning Lafda) at his “Baara Handi Food stall in Kahu Gali, Minara Masjid, Bombay amd he was wearing …..(I think you are smart!). My friend Dr. Naiyayr Siddiki, Phd ( Shahid-yaat) introduced me to him.

Naiyyar Siddiki, Phd.(Shahid-Yaat) claims that he knows me in and out. He created a job for himself calling it “ My Crisis Manager”. I think I used to have crisis back then , not anymore.

Anyways coming back to our topic, Baara Handi is a trip, which “late nighters” rich kids know very well. After the last club is closed at 3:00 in the morning these kids look for a place to eat, so they come here. You will be amazed to see the kind of cars in that dingy looking lane. The food is awful, but miraclelously it tastes good after a few bottles of whisky. These kids need some energy for heavy lifting later on that night, and bara handi provides it.

They cook “God knows what” in baara ( 12) haandi with some serious oil and fat. It always dark there, that you cannot see much except a foot of black fat flowing on top of every haandi. They do not have tarns fat, cholesterol and calorie problem there, as the “cooking and the cooked” do not know what it is. They in fact say “ Tarka mar ke 2 chicken maaar saab ko, ya phir 2 naaan extra maskaa maar ke bade bhai ko…. Rumor has it that the baara handi lowers the national life expectancy of India by 25 years.

“ Sahid bhai aap ?’ ( he never calls me Shahid bhai ---shakr ka problem hai!)
“Manohar, bhaiyya tum abhi tak yahan kasie – Tum to India chale gaye the?”

Gaye rahe bahiyya – Pita ji ne wapas bhaga diya.
“Kiyoon?”
”Kehte hian tum American ho gaye ho – ab tum wahin raho”

I saw his lungi and baniyan with all the food stains, smelling like chicken biryani and said

“Tum kahan se Amrican hue?”
“Hum bhi wohi kehte hain Sahid bhai , magar mante hi nahi”

“Aur who tumhari item ka kiya hua?”
“Kaun dulari?”

“Haan dulaari?”
“Dulari kisi aur ki ho gayee”

“Arre who to bahut tumhari chahat ka dam maarti thi …bharti thi?
“Haan magar aurat thi na…..baat baat main badal jane ka certificate tha us ke paas”

Abhi?

Abhi kiya sahid bhai – subah 11 baje se raat 11 tak kaam karte hain. Zindagi guzaar rahe hain.

I bet when Manohar first thought of coming to America, he must not have imagined where this journey would end up, and that this would cost him a relationship.

Father – Son relation is a strange one. Strange because our fathers are the only people who can understand what we are going thru at every stage of life. They can detect our insecurities and worries like an X-ray machine, yet they keep quite. They know what is going to happen next, and how you will fall and fall again, yet they let you do whatever you want to do, as they want you to be a man on your own. I think they do pray inside that you do not fall real bad, or hurt bad, and that you get up after each mistake, each tragedy.

There are many Manohars in America. They dress well, drive expensive cars and live in big houses but they are Manohars when they are alone.

This is how it is, in the fast lane…

Ever Wondered...

What you will find in the freezer of a filmmaker?
Film off course!
(It is Jeff's films, freezer and phone camera too)

ps: Main tun party wala nahi hoon - My eyes are sore coz of 8 hour of "passing out" infront of work PC and then 6 hours of grilling edit with Jeff Shipman. Even though he edits it, he still wants me to look at how things are developing on screen.

Doosra Kinara - Photography

Gandharv Bhagat was our Director of Photography. As you can see from his self-portrait here, he is immensely talented in that art. I like him because he is those rare people who keep thier ideologies intact no matter what country, city, and time zone they are in.

First film is always a challenge in ALL the departments, especially if you are an indie film producer. Gandharv did a good job and never said "not possible" to anything irrespective of the difficulty.

When we were shooting for the beginning sequence in which Kristi and Vikas are driving home on Atlanta freeways. The BMW we had was stick shift and Vikas never drove a stick shift. I had no option but to shoot that night. Driving on Atlanta highway is no fun, and anyone who drove on it can tell you. It is like a mad max all over. Even if you drive slowly meaning 70 MPH (110 KMPH) other drivers will put pressure on you to go fast. I was so scared inside, visualizing what if scenarios, especially knowing I had no shooting insurance. Everything went well, in fact we came back with some cool footage that night.

Creating India in the US was another challenge. We did our best to hide anything that we do not usually see in India. You will see a few weired angled shots and that is because we had no choice, and I wanted to avoid distractions in each frames.

Gandharv can found at:
- At an apple store near you
- Hockey Field at Georgia Tech
- In front of his " apple". He "converted” me from a Window user to a die-hard Mac fan and a user. I too bite my apple when I am home.

Ps: As far as my knowledge of photography is concerned, I know how to hold the camera - that’s all!

Koi Saat Samundar Paar se...

Koi Saat Samundar Paar se Yun Kare Beypaar
Pehle bheje Sarhaden, phir bheje Hathiyaar !

Nida Fazli

Beypaar - Business
Sarhaden - Borders

Abeer - Fragnance of Flowers

( This is her only pictue available, from her ID when she was 2 years old)

Abeer was her name, which means "fragnance of flowers". She was born August 19, 1991. I know exactly where I was when she came to this world. I dunno what to write. I do not know what to write. Sometime I think this world is fucking too civilized to deliever justice, and this is one of those moments.

How the hell these sick minds made it o the US army I wonder.

BBC World
Feb 21, 2007
US soldier admits murdering girl

The house in Mahmudiya where the rape and killings took place

A second US soldier's plea of guilty to the gang rape of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and the killing of her and her family has been accepted by a judge.

Sgt Paul Cortez admitted four murders, rape and conspiracy to rape. His plea means he will avoid the death penalty.

In November, Spc James Barker, 24, admitted rape and murder over the same killings and was jailed for 90 years.

Cortez broke down as he confessed to raping the girl as her parents and sister were shot dead in another room.

The case is one of several in which US troops are accused of killing Iraqis.

According to the plea agreement, Cortez admitted conspiring with three other soldiers, Pfc Jesse Spielman, Spc Barker and Steven Green, a now discharged soldier, to rape Abeer Qassim al-Janabi.

Card game

Pfc Spielman and another man, Bryan Howard, are awaiting court martial on charges related to the attack.

Mr Green is being tried as a civilian because he was discharged from the Army before his superiors knew of his suspected involvement. He denies the charges against him.

All five belonged to the 101st Airborne Division based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, which is also where the hearing took place.

In court, Cortez admitted the plan was hatched as they played cards and that the girl had been targeted because there was only one male in her house, making it an easy target.

Family murdered

He said: "During the time me and Barker were raping Abeer, I heard five or six gunshots that came from the bedroom.

"After Barker was done, Green came out of the bedroom and said that he had killed them all, that all of them were dead."

Cortez added: "Green then placed himself between Abeer's legs to rape her. When Green was finished, he stood up and shot Abeer in the head two or three times."

The entire crime took about five minutes and the girl knew her parents and sister had been shot while she was being raped, the hearing heard.

Monday Morning Quarterback...

Mulalh speaking to someone on the phone first thing this Monday morning: “Look here man; do not marry a girl who knows how to play Chess. She will treat you like a kiddo, and will always be ahead in the game.”

60 seconds later:
“Yeah – that’s so true – OK then, do not marry someone who does NOT know how to play chess. She would still treat you like a kiddo and would still be ahead in the game!!”

This is going to be some entertaining day…

Doosra Kinara - Singer

I missed the most important day of my "filmy" life when I could not make myself available at the song recording. I was out of town on a business trip. I called Bhupinder ji from there and apologized. He did not mind and made me comfortable with my absentia.

Later that night, by the time I got to the Studio they had already recorded the ghazal. Even this grammatically wrong English fails me in describing how I felt when I heard the first sher in his voice. Each stanza has so many images attached to it, and even today when I play it, all those images come dancing in front my eyes. I reckon they will forever. No one knows what those images are. No one ever will, and may be no one is missing much.

Hum hi us ke ishq ke kaabil na the !

Kiyoon kisi Zalim ka shikwa kijieye?

Woh kahin mil jayen to kiya kijieye?

Apurva ji is in love with music and words. He grew up watching his father Pt. Raghunath Sheth compose music for so many Hindi films including Ek baar phir, Ek Pal and many more. He knows Urdu well including the fine nuainces of each word. Sanhdya ji told me that during the rehearsal, Bhupinder ji was not happy with a couple of words. Apurva ji requested him to change however he wanted it. He refused saying " Nahi, Shahid yahan nahi hai - Writer ki marzi ke bagair main kuch change karna nahi chaoongaa"

That touched me deeply. Here is a man who worked with legends like S.D. / R.D. Burman, Khaiyyam, Kaifi Azmi, Sahir, Chetan Anand, Gulzaar and M.S.Sathyou – who the hell I was? I can not even write for Ghalib’s sake. Writing a few “aadi tircheen lakeeren" is no Shairi Saab!

Now I know what stuff legends are made up of, besides having a great voice!

PS: When Mulalh Luis heard this story he said “man, didn’t he know that you are just a regular jebroni, and one can do whatever one wants to you – anytime, all the time?”

(In pics: Bhupinder Ji, Apurva Shrivastava, Sandeep Savla, Sandhya Bhagat and Nita)

Doosra Kinara - Poster

I have received some responses justifying which poster should be used. What I found interesting is how gender is affecting the choice here. Guys wanted the third photo with Kristi alone, where as girls preferred the picture with Kristi and Vikas both. Mullah too prefers Kristi alone with a single tone and gave me a very convincing reason.

Some one wanted more details on the last option i.e. taking Director for Breakfast and Lunch etc. Well, we do not have a big budget for this activity, so Mullah suggested that we ask folks to bring their own food and we supply the Director for FREE!

BTW Thanks for your responses!

Doosra Kinara - Poster

Well, the D-day is approaching and I am trying to come up with a poster for my film. There is a graphic designer on the job but I can't resist taking a shot at it.

Folks, I am going to put up some possible posters here, and would request you all to vote on it. The poster with most votes will be the official poster, and the bhai / behan log that voted for it will be invited for a lunch with Kristi Hutchinson.

PS: For the winning individual, there can be a possibility of a breakfast, lunch and dinner with the Director of the film (in case some one is really, really desperate!)

Doosra Kinara - Song Composition

We started looking for a good voice to record the song. We advertised, called friends and acquaintances, to inform them that we are looking for a male singer. Soon, we were having our own version of Atlanta Desi Idol every weekend. But it was all in vein as no one came close to what we were looking for.

Apurva ji is a stickler for perfection and that made it wrost. Folks who could sing had no sense of Urdu diction. I remember showing up for the auditions with lots of expectations of finding the guy who would sing the very first song of my career, but every weekend brought more frustrations.

In desperation we started auditioning our friends. I too auditioned and was rejected in about 60 seconds (actually he rejected me in 9 seconds but gave me 51 seconds more to get it right, which I never did!).

In the meantime he continued to work on the Ghazal. Sandhya ji, Sandeep Savla and I used to be with him at the studio. Man, that was an experience. I have never seen a person with so much energy. He is amazing and can function with less sleep. He can compose music till 3 am and show up for the board of directors meeting at 8 am. Apun ko jis din 8 ghante neend na mile us din us din ye malum nahi padta kea a raha hoon ke jaa raha hoon!!

Sandeep Savla, the sound engineer is another night bird. Both of them enjoy working at night. I was exposed to raagas and thumris first time in my life and it was so overwhelming.

One day Apurva ji called me to ask if Bhupinder ji's voice would be ok. What, OK?

I could not hear any further than that as I went into a flashback. Those days in college, hanging with friends, listening to Bupinder Ji's songs, smoking ( not me! ) and talking was our favorite pass time. Those were the days when "Zindagi mere ghar aana" used to bring images of girls that we thought would soon be our wives and later girl friends - in that order. Our college had only one girl, and was already taken by a senior. So guys from our college used to hang around the bus stops of liberal arts colleges.

We were mostly from Urdu medium schools, so studying engineering in English was a challenge in itself. We did not have time for "fielding" as it used to be called in those days. My favorite line was ' jis ko chaiyye apna intezaar kare - apun ke paas time nahi hai". Now I look back and think those "fielders" were "gyani" and must have seen the "nature of things to come!"

I grew up listening to “Dil Dhundta hai” and “ Ek akela is shere main” and was excited at the possibility of having a legendary singer giving his voice to my emotions. He has sang words of my poetic idols like Gulzaar and Kaifi Azmi. It was too good to be true.

I saw things falling in place and could not believe it. Nita says when something has to happen the universe conspires to make sure it does. I sure was enjoying this conspiracy …

(Above in pics: Pt. Raghunath Sheth, Apurva Shrivastava, Sandeep Savla, Akanksha Joshi, Sanhdya Bhagat and Lauren Winterbottom playing Oboe)
(To be continued.)

Phir kuch is dil ko be-karari hai ...

Phir Usi Be-Wafa pe marte hain
Phir Wohi Zindagi hamaari hai !

Phir kuch is Dil ko be-karari hai... Ghalib

Aye Awaaj ...awaaj...

This is how it used to be when a sound went out in the middle of a picture in some cheapy theatres in Mumbai. Our college "Mandli" use to visit these cinemas where a ticket would cost anywhere between Rs. 5 to Rs 10.00.

Those were the pre-multiplexes days and sound used to go out very often. We used to enjoy the commotion every time sound went out. Being in the college we had the license to go insane. We used to shout " Datta Samant - Zindabaad, Datta Samant Zindabaad!" in response to these situations. Folks in the cinema hall used to get confused about the whole scene, about our political affiliations and the connection between veteran trade union leader Datta Samant and the film sound.

Koi puchta “ kiya party ke karya karta ho ?” to koi kehtaa “ yaar ye naare baazi ki kiya zaroorat hai awaaz hi to gayee hai?” ….Kaun log hain? College ke ladke lagte hain….

This week Rafiqi emailed me and sounded very much like " aye awaaj ...awaaj". The only difference, he was not protesting sound but non-availability of my film. I promised him next week is the week.

Nita says that I use my film as a pick up line now. Kamal hai...Idea accha hia waise.Thanks.

Anyways - Next week is the week!

Ok, I am going to do it....

There were some " demands " on me to enable the comments section. Mullah said " Good idea man, that way atleast people to whom you owe money can catch up with ya!"

Some one wrote " you can not handle comments and that is why you have disabled it". Others were upset coz they were not getting a chance to take a "stab" at me. Mullah himself wanted an opportunity to blast me in public.....Good Luck.
Here we go...
Peace...

PS: The image above has no hidden meaning nor any relevence to this post. Yellow is my favorite color - that's all. Ab har baar meaning kahan se laoon? Had hai saab !!
( Picture courtsey: N Y Times)

Fiddler on the roof...Superbowl 41 and a depressed Mullah

Went to see Fiddler on the roof, a musical written by Sholom Aleichem in 1894. Our desi drama group performed it Rafiq and Anuraag were part of it. Rafiq played Perchick the revolutionary student and did good job at it. I had invited Mullah Luis as well since he was feeling low this weekend.

When I saw him he was not the Mullah who makes un-usual observations and almost stupid comments, but a man deeply depressed.

Me: " Kiyoon Guru Dutt ban raha hai baap?"
Mullah: What? Say that in English
Me: Daant main dard hai kiya? You are having toothache?
Mullah: I am ok.
Me: Come on man cheer up. It is natural to miss a few "alphabets" in life, when they are no longer yours. But remember thankfully we have 26 in english (and many more in Indian languages as well, from Bengali to Telgu to Rajasthani), so one of them will have mercy on you...Kitne logon ko to zindagi ek shabd bhi mahobbat ka nahi deti...
Mullah: I do not need some one's mercy...
Me: Look here man, women are good at having mercy on jebronis like you, so don’t' disregard your best shot.

Mullah was not amused. I shut up and tried to have a serious discussion.

Me: Missed her this weekend?
Mullah: Nope.
Me: Why don’t' you find some one and get married?
Mullah: Do you think I enjoy this f***g single life man?
Me: Ok ok. Tell me what can I do for you? Unfortunately I am still interested in opposite sex else we would have gone to Boston to get married...
Mullah: Girls are not a problem they are plenty. Problem is what I want - they do not have?
Me: Man - that is scary. I am not going to ask you what you want in a woman. Let us keep it confidential.
Mullah: You know what I want.
Me: Spell it out man. Come on...
Mullah: I want f***g honesty, love - the real one not the perception of it, and I want it as my right and not as a privilege. Is that too much to ask?
Me: Why you think you deserve all that on a menu? Are you some special man?
Mullah: Only special folks deserve it?
Me: Yapp. Are you a prince? An heir apparent or you have a film in Oscars.
Mullah: What I am asking is not new; men since Adam have wanted that.
Me: Yeah true, but times have changed. Be thankful of whatever you get. Women are going through a revolution and they are in a state of transition. They have been mistreated for centuries and now when they have freedom and power, they are still doing trial and error to see what works and what does not in a relationship...

Mullah: Where are we going with this? Let us go see the play....

He was right - I had no clue where the hell I was going with that. I was speaking like a stand up comedian in a local joint, trying to make as little sense as possible! After the play Mullah did not stay to watch Superbow 41 between Indianapolis Colts and Chicago bears. Tomorrow is going to be a depressing day in America as the football season ended tonight.

BTW Colts won it by 29-17 and I am happy as I was rooting for them.

This can happen only in America!

I was listening to NPR this evening and heard this fascinating story about folks wanting to have their mail stamped with the word Fidelity. To do that, they have been mailing their letters to the Post Master of a really small town in Illinois called Fidelity (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fidelity,_Illinois) asking her to stamp their letters and send them to whatever address they wanted them to go.

Valentine Day is coming up people in love have been pulling this trick for the amusement of those lucky ones that these letters were meant for.

Terry Gross interviewed the Post Master who read out a few messages that she had received. One of them touched me. It was from a widow whose husband passed away after 64 years of marriage last year. She wanted to commemorate his death anniversary by putting this letter with a post office stamped “Fidelity” on his grave. When asked if she does not get tired of doing this, as this is not part of her job, the lady postmaster remarked, “ are you getting bored listening to this? When it is so easy to make some one’s day so why not?”

She said she even puts stamp from her own pocket if someone forgot to mail her the stamp. This is from a woman who lives in a small town in the middle of nowhere with a population of 104, 30 families and which has a poverty rate of 29%.

I had a somewhat interesting experience with the US Postal service 6 years back. I was going for my evening classes at Kennesaw State University. I ran to the parking lot of Gwinnett Place Mall, kept the packet that I had on the roof of my car so that I could open the door. Got in and drove off without realizing that the packet was left sitting on the roof.

I got home late after school and realized my packet was missing and went looking for it at the parking lot. My roommate called me to let me know that some one delivered a packet with my name on it. He said he was a postman at a local Post Office and saw me lose this packet at the mall and came running after me but I sped away. He found my address on the top of the envelope and decided to deliver it.

He left no name or which post office he worked for, so I wrote a thank you note to the “ guy who delivered my packet from the Gwinnet Place Mall” and sent it to not one but two post offices. I do not know if that gentleman received the expression of my gratitude but I still enjoy talking about it.

Hats off to these guys who strengthen our hope in humanity, in universal brotherhood and in our future!

...and then I think to myself, what a wonderful World!