It takes a call...

Last night I was at the Blockbusters when I received a call from an unknown number in India. I was surprised, as my folks in India are not known for their communication skills. It was a girl's voice, sweet and silky.

Caller: May I speak with Shahid Sayed please?
Me: Speaking, go ahead....
Caller: DADDY!! , main A*** bol rahi hoon. Kaise hain aap?
Me: What a surprise...Beta tum?

She kept talking, mostly inquiring about me. I was responding to her, but my mind was engaged in re-living that night of 1995 when she along with her parents were brought to me by a friend. They wanted me to help their only child with a favor. I was very disturbed and upset because of a death in the family. We were devastated at that untimely loss and this was the second day after the burial.

I had decided to excuse myself, as I was not in my senses to do anything. However, I met them as a courtesy to my friend. And there she was.... five year old kiddo with twinkles in her eyes and a nervous smile on her face. I shook hands with her father, bent down to greet her, looked into her eyes and then something in me took over...I agreed to their request.

From the very next morning I became her Daddy. I remember spending few hours with her in some place, which was full of other dads and moms. I remember getting stressed thinking what if this does not work out? This masoom’s life, or a part of her life depends on how well I perform in the next one hour. Her life or part of her life depends on MY ACTIONS... God, help me please as I do not want to let her down...

It worked just fine...we succeeded.

I could not keep in touch with her family, as I would have preferred. So, here she was after 12 years...

A: Daddy, aap yahan aa jayen.....mat rahe akele wahan...
Me: Beta hum to aaye the Bombay, and I wanted to stay as well...KISI NE ROKA HI NAHI..
A: Ab aap aayen main aap ko rokungi....
Me: Kal tumhari shaadi kar denge to tum apne ghar chali jaogi....
A: Mjhe apna career banana hai, nahi jaoongi aap ko chod kar, aap aa jaiye please..

This is life is all about I reckon. Full of surprises. I had no clue back in 1995, that a few hours of my investment would grow up to be a sensitive little girl who would not want to see her Daddy alone...

Meri Sweet Bacchi...!

Father's Day ...

It was 2:30 in the morning when Manohar Parsad Yadav called me from his home town in Bihar.

Manohar: Sahid Bhai so rahen hain kiya?
Me: Nahi Bhaiyya, tumhare phone ka intezaar kar ra rahe the - Kiya hua?.....
Manohar: Kaa karen hum bada confoose hoon Sahid bhai..Pita Ji se milne ayaa hoon. kiya baat karoon samajh nahi aa raha hai. Aap kuch bataiye...aap to writer hain.
Me:Bhaiyya main raat ke 2:30 writer nahi hota hoon, neend ka maara hua hota hoon.
Manohar: Please kuch acchi baat batayen.....
Me: Keh dena ke main ne Bush ko vote nahi diya tha...
Manohar: Ye kiya baat hui?
MeL Ok - Keh dena ke agar ek inspector swaal kareagaa to ek mujrim jwaab dega - Ek baap swaal kargea tabhi ek beta jwaab degaa.
Manohar: kuch suna sa lagta hai....
Me: Accha bol de ke Anarkarli qaid kar li gayee aur main dekhta rahaa...

Manohar: Sahid bhai ye sab to filmon ke dialogues hain?
Me:Bhaiya itni raat ko original dialogues Peer Shakespeer bhi nahi laya hoga....isi se kaam chalao...kal subah likh doonga.
Manohar: Aap haamre Pita ji ko nahi jaante hain Sahid bhai...
Me: Manohar, Duniya main ek hi baap hai.....ek hi maa hai.......aur ek dost hai...

On this day when the world has just finished celebrating Father's day I am witnessing the lack of communciation between two people that must be talking to each other on hourly basis. However, I must confess that I do not have much experience of communicating with my father either.

I remember his "dehshat" and anger was so well known that when he used to walk in the house everyone from mom to small kids used to look for cover. Invariably, I used to find myself in the middle of a patang (kite) match. I was so scared of him that I used to freeze and as a result jebronis who do not know how to spell kite, used to kato my kankawaa (patang)...

I have grown up now and have a 100% success rate in kite flying. Not that I have learned to cope with an angry father and ladao patang at the same time, but I have completely stopped flying kites!!

Coming back to father-son duel - I think it is really sad that in 21st century we have not been able to bridge the "emotional gaps" in relationships. We have coolest means of communication but we have stopped expressing to each other. During my last trip to Mumbai, I observed that Mumbaiakrs are so short on expression. If I have to write a small list of dialogues that I heard during a month of stay it would be:

1- 2 Virar ke ticket dena?
2: In Kameeno se kaho kam se kam shave to kiya karen...junglee bane ghumte hain.
3: Allah / Bhagwan ke naam pe kcuh khaane ko de do
4: Main tere ko miss call kiya tha na !
5: Aur sab theek hai US main?
6: Apun to Bachele main bhi reh gele hain..
7: Bush ko kitne saal baki hain?

I live on words and humor. For me being not able to connect to any human being be black, white, brown, male, female, young or old is an insult. I tried to come up with something humorous and new that I could suggest to Manohar but failed. I don’t know why I could not fill that "emotional gap" which my friend Manohar was experiencing that Saturday afternoon in Madhuban, Bihar.

This is how it is on father's day!

Main aur Meri Awaargi...

Phirte hain kab se Dar Badar, ab is Nagar ab US nagar
Ek doosre ke Humsafar, main aur meri Awaargi...

Na Ashna har reh guzar, na meheban sab ki nazar
Jayen to ab jayen kidhar, main aur meri Awargi?

Ek din mili ek meh jabin, tan bhi hasin jaan bhi hasin
Dil ne khaa hum se wahin, khwabon ki hai manzil yahin
Phir yu hua woh Kho Gayi, to mujh ko Zidd si ho gayee
Layenge us ko dhoondh kar main aur meri awaargi ....

Phirte hain kab se dar badar, ab is nagar ab us nagar..

(Javed Akhtar - Tarkash)

Final Posters......

Making of Doosra Kinara...

Well, as expected we too decided to be come up with making of Doosra Kinara. In this video:

You can expect to see Ghazal composition by Apurva Shrivastava and Bhupinder Ji recording that ghazal, (someone in Bangalore and N.J would be too happy to hear it). In addition our jebroni writer discusses the philosophical side of Doosra Kinara (as if he knows it!)

Etc etc…

It is 9 minute long so be on your best behavior and have some patience. It will be rewarded. Sweet!

ps: Folks, If you notice, I have deleted the opening paragraph. Mullah Luis offered me a different take on it. And you know if you do not agree with Mullah life can be real tough. Apun ko wiase bhi shahr main rehnaa hai...

And the Oscar goes to....

Good People!

What you are about to see is very special - very personal. What you are about to see is straight from the heart - my heart!

While you are watching it, I want you to think of those people who made this film a possibility.

I want you to think of my music director Apurva Shrivastava, who worked day and night to compose the music. I want you to think of his wife Nita, who let him work with me even till wee hours of their wedding anniversary night.... I want you to think of Sandeep Savla, the sound engineer who supported us in our efforts.

I want you to think of Kristi Hutchinson who did an excellent job of playing Amber Anderson and Vikas who did his best as Sameer Azaad. I want you to think of three school going kids Rohan, Rabia and Pranjal who are born and raised here, but did a good job acting in pretty much a foreign language film! I want you to think of Ahamd Khwaja, Anurag Misraraj and Anurag Gaur, GiriMohan Coneti, Sandhya Bhagat, Gandharv, Mullah Luis, Jeff Shipman and Rafiq Batcha....It would require another post to enumerate thier contributions.

I want you to think of those friends that want to remain anonymous, and have requested me not to thank them publicly (yes, Mam these kinds of folks still exists!). I respect thier wishes.

Most importantly I want you to think of YOURSELF, your dreams and your ambitions. I want you to think of your Doosra Kinara, to see if the search of that unknown destination is depriving you of things that matter most in life. I want you to think of your self-inflicted blind spots that are stopping you from re-connecting to your self, your past, from listening to your heart -where your first love lives....

....And finally I want you to think of the writer/director, who made this film with the hope that it will help new generation of dreamers, in realizing that when they fly away they leave behind a loving father who wants them to stay, a mother who does not know what to say, and friends who are proud and yet sad at the same time. This writer thinks that if he can help one teenageer in realizing what is important in life, "to apun ka pasie wasool ho jayega!" (you can never take Mumbai out of someone!). It is a naive thinking but the world sure can afford a few jebronis like him!

Enjoy!

Ps: Rafiqi emailed me yesterday, reminding me of a quality that He "thinks" I have: Determination, he said. (I do not know what else they teach at Gozuieta Business School, coz he was very up-to-date on me!). Well, this one is for that Determination...!

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?