tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6766783946228905516.post5918460312904719978..comments2024-03-14T15:55:55.198+05:30Comments on Winds From The East: Cinephilia in India: a search for love and identityDeepak Kumarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17280954928482076322noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6766783946228905516.post-24293855564584790932010-02-19T10:57:00.360+05:302010-02-19T10:57:00.360+05:30Established in 1997, St. Gregorious Edu-Guidance i...Established in 1997, St. Gregorious Edu-Guidance is a leading education consultancy services providing exemplary service to students all over India. We deal in Admissions to all major professional courses in Premier Institutes across India. We are your one step solution for all career related needs, it may be MD, MBBS BE, BTech (ALL BRANCHES), , MDS, BDS, BPharm, BArch, MBA, MTech, MS, , PhD or any other courses. We provide personalized career solutions on an individual basis keeping in mind the aspirations of our client as well as the affordability factor.<br />FOR ALL CAREER RELATED NEEDS CONTACT US :<br />St. Gregorious Edu-Guidance,<br />#2, 2nd Floor, <br />J J Complex, Above Chemmannur Jewellers,<br />Marthahalli - P O, <br />Bangalore - 560037<br />Karnataka<br />e-mail :jojishpaily@gmail.com<br />Contact: +91 9448516637<br /> +91 9886089896, +91 9449009983<br /> 080-32416570, 41719562Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6766783946228905516.post-46747037343076524762008-11-11T03:50:00.000+05:302008-11-11T03:50:00.000+05:30Hi thanks for the initiative yayavar much apprecia...Hi thanks for the initiative yayavar much appreciated.niteshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03667299083541761990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6766783946228905516.post-59036297891984857382008-11-11T01:26:00.000+05:302008-11-11T01:26:00.000+05:30hi nitesh,your blog is really wonderful platform f...hi nitesh,your blog is really wonderful platform for the cinema lovers.I will try to make your blog link available for people loving the art and cinema.Yayaverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10567482260999422784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6766783946228905516.post-70180678413905533822008-11-08T03:22:00.000+05:302008-11-08T03:22:00.000+05:30Thanks for the valuable suggestion Kshitiz... we h...Thanks for the valuable suggestion Kshitiz... we hope to work out something on a similar scale.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the comment too Sachin, <BR/>the Jimmy-Jib is like the new sex-toy of our Industry its exploited to the core without shaping any indivudal vision. No wonder the camera momvents, framing and mise-en-scene resembles from film to film in Bollywood.niteshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03667299083541761990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6766783946228905516.post-55928138299831317002008-11-07T00:37:00.000+05:302008-11-07T00:37:00.000+05:30Quite an extraordinary write-up Nitesh. Breath-tak...Quite an extraordinary write-up Nitesh. Breath-taking in a way.<BR/><BR/>I do think with the exception of a few major cities around the world, cinephilia essentially struggles in most other places. In most North American cities, one would be lucky to have a few theaters that showed anything but mainstream Hollywood. Thanks to the internet, atleast one can get in touch with other like minded fans and even rent films here in North America. I think online film renting has certainly opened things up for me a lot. Previously, I struggled to get stuff from the 1 independent DVD store that stocked up on those previous titles.<BR/><BR/>I still look forward to the day when the blanket of commerical junk (Hollywood and even Bollywood) will be lifted from the world and each nation can then freely etch its identity out with the result that cinema evolve uniquely in each place. In India, unfortunately like you mention hero idol worship has reached new pathetic highs. It is stiffling. Yet, I am certain that creative film-makers are plenty. Most of them struggle and some give up out of frustration. I see you could not resist mentioning the Jimmy-Jib :)Sachinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13227932224402555942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6766783946228905516.post-18063725665762602282008-11-05T11:47:00.000+05:302008-11-05T11:47:00.000+05:30Thanks Nitesh for this wonderful writeup. It's ooz...Thanks Nitesh for this wonderful writeup. It's oozing with tons of information and points that can be further discussed. Being a photographer, I have always been interested in studying culture. This also led me me developing an interest in viewing films from different cultures. So in the name of foreign cinema, I went about watching Latin American, Middle east, the Japanese, and the Soviet union films.<BR/><BR/>What is really interesting is that of late I have been watching a lot of movies from the point of view of understanding Indian Cinema. The context that you have established is very nice.<BR/><BR/>Just the other day I was reading about this other professor in an American University, <B>Rashna Wadia Richards</B> who is writing a book on rethinking cinephilia as a critical approach to classic Hollywood Cinema.I would try to read more on that definitely.<BR/>But why I think this is important is because the usage of a similar approach would do wonders for the analysis of Indian Cinema. And I personally like to call it Indian Cinema and not restrict it to Bollywood cinema.<BR/><BR/>If one were to analyze the most basic of the mise-en-scenes criteria (namely production, colour, lighting, actor's personality, diegetic sound, framing {depth of field, aspect ratio etc}) the definitions on which the movies were initially conceived,one can understand the dominance of one quality over the other has been hugely responsible in the vanishing of the cinephile in the context of Indian Cinema.<BR/>I think in the times of the original cinephiles in Indian Cinema, like Satyajit Ray were constantly focusing on all aspects of these parameters.<BR/>Whereas in today's context one would think that it does not happen to that extent. In the transitory period where there was the transformation from the pure cinema (the ones inspired by the cinephile philosophy) there were still a few directors who aimed at celebrating Indian culture and Indian values. Gulzar and Hrishikesh Mukherjee would fall into this I feel. The one contemporary filmmaker that I can think of who would still be using some form of cinephile is Shyam Benegal. <BR/> <BR/>What also needs to be done is the establishment of something like the Photo League (artists like Sid Grossman, Lou Bernstein, that happened in the area of documentary photography in the 1930s. This emphasized on using the medium of the photographs to allow the artist for a critical approach to representing the issues, in their own style, with their own personal interpretation on the American Society. Their photographs moved from the initial aim of documentary photography (which was a great medium to capture the great Depression of the late 1920s and early 1930s.) to a more contemporary understanding of the American culture and the lifestyle. <BR/>This similar kind of an establishment of a cinephile league in the context of revival of Indian Cinema would be truly worthwhile. <BR/>India as a society has so much to offer in terms of its rich heritage. The understandings of the lifeworlds as created by people from the gamut of cultures within the country would make a good basis for this league. Contemporary film critics like you with a firm understanding of the theories and history of film should definitely team up. <BR/><BR/>As Lou Bernstein said, (paraphrased) : Pictures often reveal motives we don't even know about ourselves in our relationships with people. It's for each viewer to decide for himself. <BR/><BR/>In the end it's all about gaining the sympathetic interest of the viewer in the subject. <BR/><BR/>I think in early(till the vanishing of the cinephiles, as mentioned here) Indian Cinema, it allowed to do this. <BR/><BR/>My two cents.Kshitiz Anandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02831175740775580374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6766783946228905516.post-87907058453219989872008-11-05T00:06:00.000+05:302008-11-05T00:06:00.000+05:30Thanks for comment the yavar I agree with your sen...Thanks for comment the yavar I agree with your sentiments and I know we need to seriously work together if we want to do something important and turns words into action.<BR/><BR/>Thank you for the comment and appreciation Harry. Your one cinephile cum critic whom I have grown reading online and do so each day and look upto. So thanks a lot this small comment means a lot, espcially to work in a positive direction. :)niteshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03667299083541761990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6766783946228905516.post-50352668450086708872008-11-04T23:34:00.000+05:302008-11-04T23:34:00.000+05:30That's an excellent article Nitesh! Thanks for ela...That's an excellent article Nitesh! Thanks for elaborating your point so intelligently.<BR/>"Yes We Can"<BR/>"Change we can believe in" ;)HarryTuttlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10721542203087536185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6766783946228905516.post-18120507045174536922008-11-04T15:13:00.000+05:302008-11-04T15:13:00.000+05:30Films are just a medium to express your views. If ...Films are just a medium to express your views. If you have an Idea which you want to express to someone else, you can either talk about it or write a book or blog or make a film . The mediums might be different but it is the primarily compelling desire to share your ideas with someone else which motivates.The art films were failure for producers and many recognized directors become bankrupt in this venture of film making.The people from parallel cinema were mostly dependent on government support.The common people do not want to project the everyday's reality in sadistic version but an inspiring movies like Lakshya,Chak de India,Swades.Feel good movies like Khosla ka Ghosla and Lagaan were hit due to this reason only.If a common man cannot be inspired by the piece of art,it becomes irrelevant to quantity,although can become a great work of quality.The true artist will be simple and deeper meanings will always be extracted by critics and fans later.The reason of handful of people in cinephile community is economic factor.no sense of art in education system is provided, and lack of respect to artist(mainly folk,the true bharat) by our society.The real work for cinephiles is always to look in other direction for inspiration and inspire people about artistic medium called cinema.Yayaverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10567482260999422784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6766783946228905516.post-29958728404750887452008-11-04T11:41:00.000+05:302008-11-04T11:41:00.000+05:30Thanks Subhajit and Satyam. I'm aware of the intel...Thanks Subhajit and Satyam. I'm aware of the intellectuall masturbation that goes around people here. Just the other day I was reading an article by Sobha Chatarjee where she was talking about the Bengali intelligentsia who would pick up all forms of cinema, but when talking about our very own its pretty a sad state of affair. <BR/><BR/>As for Bollywood and the masala brigade who jump on providing content for the audience and only for them where to began about that.<BR/>I have no problem people watching these films, however, I believe, that their should be a ' critical school' in place that seriously helps and informs people. As for the industry here is a quote from Maithali Rao's article on Bollywood Hegemony:<BR/><BR/>"What Satyajit Ray said all those years ago is relevant in the days of “Dhoom’s” pyrotechnical display: “The present blind worship of technique emphasises the poverty of genuine inspiration among our directors".niteshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03667299083541761990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6766783946228905516.post-79752628511919128862008-11-03T22:09:00.000+05:302008-11-03T22:09:00.000+05:30Unfortunately in India, good cinema is accessible ...Unfortunately in India, good cinema is accessible to those who do not understand its importance.either you have that snobish class who wants to keep things to themselves so whatever they say you believe it.<BR/>if i am not able to see a particular work how can i comment on that and then disect whatever has been said about the same.<BR/>[I still remember this so called Film critic - [after watching Mani Kaul's Nauker Ki Kameez at India habitat Centre in Delhi] she said; it is a film with layers of meaning...]appreciating someone's work is one thing but able to understand & then disect it, is an another skill. <BR/>In this day & age of product customization - we can cater to exclusive demands,but when it comes to cinema - it is like a impossible dream.<BR/>then there is large group of people who seems to suffer from Obsessive complusive disorder - watching same loops again & again [Formula Films].[almost like a promicious man who wants to change women everyday without making any changes to his moves or technique].Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12625250002906327059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6766783946228905516.post-18560046244748962352008-11-03T21:07:00.000+05:302008-11-03T21:07:00.000+05:30Whoa, that's some piece! That's a dissertation to ...Whoa, that's some piece! That's a dissertation to be honest. Nice writeup.Shubhajithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02040495040897333606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6766783946228905516.post-51791432732673641312008-11-03T19:20:00.000+05:302008-11-03T19:20:00.000+05:30Thank you for your comment and feedback. I’m not s...Thank you for your comment and feedback. I’m not sure till what extent faux cinephilia exist outside India, but here it’s pretty rampant and it’s good that you brought this to notice. I agree with you regarding the evolution of a person regarding his taste and how predominately it affects our own liking and appreciation of aesthetics.<BR/><BR/>Well as Godard said, ‘One can love cinema, but can’t hug and kiss cinema so we should be aware that cinephilia (cine-love) does not turn into obsessive compulsive nightmare. Recently when I was reading Jonathan Rosenbaum words on cinephilia he said, “ A cinephile should be in touch with life”, and aware of his surrounding per se. I think that is as important to write, make films or even reflect on cinema. <BR/><BR/>However, here is an interesting except from Brodwell on cinephilia and cinemania:<BR/><BR/>The cinephile displays symptoms of cinemania, as chronicled in the film of the same name. If you haven’t seen it, Cinemania tracks five people who organize their lives around watching movies. As I watched it, some of my reactions ran to “Wow, that is really hard-core,” but every now and then I thought: “Well, that’s not so weird. I do that.” So I see the similarities.<BR/>Most obviously, both the cinephile and the cinemaniac show symptoms of compulsiveness. Each one makes lists, checks off titles seen, plans a day of moviegoing with care. When visiting a new city, s/he first scans the cultural scene for what’s playing. Both types of film lover are strict—no pan-and-scan, no colorization, no dodgy projection. Either type might have a weblog or a diary or just patient friends. If s/he has friends.<BR/><BR/>But I do see differences. For one thing, most cinemaniacs like only certain sorts of movies—usually American, often silent, sometimes foreign, seldom documentaries. Do cinemaniacs line up for Brakhage or Frederick Wiseman? My sense is not.<BR/><BR/>Cinephiles by contrast tend to be ecumenical. Indeed, many take pride in the intergalactic breadth of their tastes. Look at any smart critic’s ten-best lists. You’ll usually see an eclectic mix of arthouse, pop, and experimental, including one or two titles you have never heard of. Obscurity is important; a cinephile is a connoisseur.The real crux, I think, is this. The cinephile loves the idea of film.<BR/><BR/>That means loving not only its accomplishments but its potential, its promise and prospects. It’s as if individual films, delectable and overpowering as they can be, are but glimpses of something far grander. That distant horizon, impossible to describe fully, is Cinema, and it is this art form, or medium, that is the ultimate object of devotion. In the darkening auditorium there ignites the hope of another view of that mysterious realm. The pious will call Cinema a holy place, the secular will see it as the treasure-house of an artform still capable of great things. The promised land of cinema, as experimentalists of the 1920s called it: that, mystical as it sounds, is my sense of what the cinephile yearns for.<BR/>This separates the cinephile from the lover of novels or classical music. They love their art, I suspect, because of its great accomplishments. Who with literary or musical taste would embrace the subpar novel or the apprentice toccata? But cinephiles will watch damn near anything looking for a moment’s worth of magic. Perhaps this puts cinephiles closer to theatre buffs. They too wait hopefully for the sublime instant that flickers out of amateur performances of Our Town and Man and Superman.<BR/>That’s also why I think that the cinephile finds the desert-island question so hard to answer. What movies would I want to live with for the rest of my life? All of them, especially the ones I haven’t yet seen.<BR/>Another difference: Fussiness and solitude. The cinemaniac has a favorite seat, even if it’s way off to the side. To secure it, the cinemaniac shows up early and tries to be first in line. Your average cinephile isn’t so picky about where to sit, and so may slip in at the last minute. While waiting for the show to start, the cinemaniac seldom acknowledges others; a book is the faithful companion. But the cinephile is, if not extroverted, at least gregarious and wants to talk with other cinephiles.niteshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03667299083541761990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6766783946228905516.post-59484656708511294052008-11-03T16:07:00.000+05:302008-11-03T16:07:00.000+05:30Faux cinephilia exists not just in India but elsew...Faux cinephilia exists not just in India but elsewhere as well.<BR/><BR/>And I find that the evolution of one's tastes exists in parallel with one's evolution as a human being. I am not saying someone who appreciates Haneke is somehow a better human than one who likes Karan Johar. Taste is not about what you appreciate, but WHY. <BR/><BR/>And therefore, one cannot really understand great directors or great films or great art without undergoing an evolution in oneself as a human being. If one's priorities and desires are self-centered and hedonistic (which you call materialistic), it doesn't matter whether one is a fan of Dumont or Guggu Gill, in both cases one will only aggrandize oneself.<BR/><BR/>In the first case through intellectual aggrandizement, and in the second through a barbaric one.<BR/><BR/>And one more thing: it is possible to go too far in cinephilia as well. If you have seen the film "Cinemania" you will know what I am talking about. When cinema becomes a substitute for life, it is time to pay heed. A certain naivete is also essential for the medium to be fully effective, and too much of distancing and analysis can sometimes kill the joy of films.<BR/><BR/>There are crass films about which a sentence is too many. And there are great films about which a sentence is too many.<BR/><BR/>To be able to be silent inside and appreciate a thing in an unmediated way, despite having a knowledge of the medium, is a skill which is very rare.Harmanjit Singhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14714797381673153973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6766783946228905516.post-4667056461278401802008-11-03T09:21:00.000+05:302008-11-03T09:21:00.000+05:30Thanks for your comment vavr, hopefully time will ...Thanks for your comment vavr, hopefully time will come when their should be a growth and change in cinema in India.niteshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03667299083541761990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6766783946228905516.post-29281301918790137352008-11-01T13:54:00.000+05:302008-11-01T13:54:00.000+05:30absolute wisdom and love of cinema is depicted fro...absolute wisdom and love of cinema is depicted from this post.Few will change the course of cinema,they will be not commercial film makers but genuine artists.Yayaverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10567482260999422784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6766783946228905516.post-58159096960684526082008-10-31T22:29:00.000+05:302008-10-31T22:29:00.000+05:30Thanks Shashank, good to know that you enjoy visit...Thanks Shashank, good to know that you enjoy visiting and reading the blog. We all share the same space of learning and discussing.niteshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03667299083541761990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6766783946228905516.post-28742239471545135042008-10-31T01:18:00.000+05:302008-10-31T01:18:00.000+05:30well Nitesh, where shud i begin with, first of all...well Nitesh, where shud i begin with, first of all its a brilliant write up , its a whole journey of Indian Cinema wrote in such a effulgent and copacetic manner that dunn really words for it mate. I really follow your blog and really enjoy your articles. Keep up the gud job ...<BR/>cheers!Shashank Kumarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06560791138822769335noreply@blogger.com