Jhing Chik Jhing - Releasing 11th June 2010

Cogito TV, Culture, Desi Pundit, Films, India, Jhing Chik Jhing, Media 3 Responses »
May 032010

Jhing Chik Jhing is up for release in June 2010.

It has been a long, long, long journey …. I have often told Shishir Kulkarni (my biz partner and the lead on this film) that the making of the film has all the twists and turns of a thriller. :) We are going to have t-shirts printed – made a film and survived the experience. and another one that says made a film – without killing each other :)

The awards on the film continue. The latest being the extremely prestigious Maharashtra State Awards. 7 awards last weekend ….. It feels even greater because we have no god fathers, low skills in networking, can deal but cannot wheel :)

Our friends in the industry, and outside it have been magnificent. Offering us unconditional support. The Marathi industry, perse has been fabulous. Unselfish, supportive and helpful.

They say that your first film is like your first lover, you will never forget the experience. I think the making of Jhing Chik Jhing is going to become part of the legend that we tell our grand kids (if we have any :)

Yesterday, we had our first ad release in the Maharashtra Times :

translation -
Chinmay Kambli – best child actor – Maharashtra State Awards, 2010
Bharat Jadhav – best actor – Maharashtra State Awards, 2010
Madhavi Juvekar – best actor – Maharashtra State Awards, 2010
Nitin Nandan – best director (2) – Maharashtra State Awards, 2010
Nitin Nandan – best director for a film with a rural theme – Maharashtra State Awards, 2010
Cogito Entertainment – best film (2) – Maharashtra State Awards, 2010
Cogito Entertainment – best film with a rural theme – Maharashtra State Awards, 2010
Nitin Nandan – best story – Zee Gaurav, 2010
Bharat Jadhav – best Actor – MaTa Sanman 2010
Chinmay Kambli – best child Actor – MaTa Sanman 2010
Madhavi Juvekar – best actor – Sanskruti Kala Darpan, 2010
Chinmay Kambli – best child actor – Sanskruti Kala Darpan, 2010

Releasing 11th June 2010 in selected cinemas …..

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Posted by gargi at 9:57 am Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,

Jhing Chik Jhing - The Awards So Far.....

Cogito TV, Culture, Films, India, Jhing Chik Jhing, Media 4 Responses »
Mar 212010

Last night at a star studded event at Bhaidas Hall, Vile Parle, Mumbai – the 10th Maharashtra Times MaTa Sanman Awards were held.

Cogito’s film Jhing Chik Jhing – was nominated in two categories for 3 awards – best child star (s) and best Actor. Both Bharat Jadhav and Chinmay Kambli won awards for their performance in the film

It has been a good month so far. The awards won by Jhing Chik Jhing have been :

Best Actor (Male) – Bharat Jadhav – MaTa Sanman
Best Actor (Female) – Madhavi Juvekar – Sanskruti Kala Darpan
Best Child Star – Chinmay Kambli – MaTa Sanman
Best Child Star – Chinmay Kambli – Sanskruti Kala Darpan
Best Story – Nitin Nandan – Zee Gaurav

the family

 

In all we have had 7 nominations at Zee Gaurav, 9 at Sanskruti Kala Darpan and 3 at MaTa. 5 awards in all -:) It is our first feature film as producers, and naturally we can’t stop beaming :)

Here is the latest promo:

The film is set around the problem of agrarian debt and farmer suicides in Maharashtra.

Bharat Jadhav plays Mouli – a farmer who ekes out a living on a 2 acre farm – trying his best to support his family. He is in debt to the tune of Rs. 10,000 to the local money lender (Uday Sabnis). Mouli’s wife Manda (Madhavi Juvekar) tries her best to sustain the family on the little that they have.

(Bharat Jadhav & Madhavi Juvekar – in Jhing Chik Jhing)

Mouli and Manda’s children Shyam (Chinmay Kambli) and Dipti (Aarti More) go to the local school – and both are bright children who have a lot to look forward to. Shyam wants to become ‘someone’ and Dipti has her first crush !

When it seems that all is lost – including the land -  and suicide is the only option – Shyam decides that he is not going to die and tries his best to save the family.

What he does and the alternative to suicide and debt free farming (the word used in the film is swawalambhi) is the crux of the film…..

 


Chinmay Kambli (Shyam) and Dilip Prabhavalkar (kavi) in the film Jhing Chik Jhing

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"So Kul" by Sonali Kulkarni

Books, Culture, Desi Pundit, India, Media, Photographs 3 Responses »
Mar 032010

Last evening, SR and I trudged down to Crosswords – Juhu where Sonali Kulkarni’s book “So Kul” was being launched. “So Kul” – an abbreviation of her name is collection of essays from her weekly column in Loksatta.

Sonali in addition to being writer, actor etal is also presenting our show “Art Beat” on popular Marathi & Gujarati Culture in Mumbai on Samay Mumbai, and a genuinely nice person.

sk - goi

(Sonali Kulkarni shooting for Art Beat, production still)

At the book launch were the who’s who of Mumbai’s creative talent – Atul Kulkarni, Swanand Kirkire, Satyendra Dubey, Shiv Subramaniam, and the Management of the Express Group – Shekhar Gupta & Kumar Ketkar.

Nana’s comments have got reported today, but just in the part that makes for snappy headlines. There were a couple of other points that were equally valid – and they possibly didn’t get picked up in the English Language Press because he said it in Marathi (editors, please ensure that your reporters know some local language – it helps in getting a more comprehensive story :)

Referring to violence in civil society in general, and the incident where Kumar Ketkar’s home got vandalized, he said most of us were horrified, wanted to do something, but did nothing. He said that, in retrospect, he felt napunsak (depending on context either neuter or impotent) . He said that then he began speaking up when his conscience was disturbed, and said that it was better to face brickbats (literal as well as words) than to cower like a coward. He said, to the audience’s amusement, that have a shrard on a daily basis would be boring ! Even the crows will be put off.

Kumar Ketkar, quoted Nana saying that he is also a Bihari, a Punjabi, A South Indian, Hindu, Muslim — and in that comprehensiveness. his soul thrives :) (believe me it sounds better in Marathi )

It was a evening full of genuine bonhomie. Sonali’s reading of her piece on multiplexes – from the taking an oversized bag with a bottle of water, and a shawl to the behaviour of cinema goers – had people smiling and gently chuckling away …. so much more enjoyable than canned laughter :)

And Finally – the event was gathered by print and electronic press. Paparazzi has truly arrived. clicks and screams by photographers & cameramen, that drown out the participants conversation. I wonder whether channels appreciate the fact that their crew represents them, and their uninhibited enthusiasm – can be construed as bad manners !

(the book So Kul, is available at various bookships, it costs Rs.300 and is in Marathi)

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Posted by gargi at 9:01 am Tagged with: , , , , , , ,

Kapaleashwarar Temple- Mylapore

Culture, Desi Pundit, India, Photographs, Religion, Society 11 Responses »
Feb 142010

The Mylapore (Mayil – peacock; ooru – city) is possibly, my favourite temple. When I am in Chennai i visit Mylapore everyday, sometimes twice a day – much to my family’s amusement. When in Mumbai, visiting temples is not a part of my daily or even weekly routine. I manage a little roadside temple every so often – but it isn’t quite the same as going into a largish temple complex, and just sitting and absorbing the peace.

kapaleshwara_

The Kapleshwar Kovil – main entrance. Also called as the Mylapore

gopuram 2

the motif of peacocks are prevalent thro’ the temple. It is said that Parvati took the form of a pea hen to woo her Lord in this sacred spot.

A temple complex, rather than a single Temple, The Mylapore temple houses shrines for all members of the first family of the Universe.
(Shiva Parvati with Ganesha & Kartikeya there are shrines for all in the complex – along with a shrine for the navagraha)

Gopuram 1

Around the temple complex sit a number of vendors of pooja material.

flower seller 3

One of the great things about this temple is its absolute cleanliness. No water on the floor, no need to look where you are going – in the fear of stepping on something yucky.

The temple pond

The Dhwajastambha is at the entrance near the pond – golden, seemingly touching the skies and totally impressive.

The Dhwaja Stambha
(the Dhwajastambha – or flag pole – at the Temple)

There is something about this temple which makes me feel completely in balance with the universe. Possibly the fact that there is so much piety and surrender in the space.

Lighting the Lamp

and, finally – possibly my favorite carving – the blue goddess

blue goddess 2

obviously the heavens don’t believe in size zero :)

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Posted by gargi at 3:07 pm

Jhing Chik Jhing - Nominated in 7 Categories @ Zee Gaurav

Cogito TV, Culture, Desi Pundit, Films, India, Jhing Chik Jhing, buzz 12 Responses »
Feb 082010

Saturday was a strange sort of a day. i was shooting from dawn, outdoors around Mumbai. By dusk, i was knackered. 15 years earlier, i would have gone to edit – but on Saturday, all i wanted was to get home. My mind had packed up.

SK called – Bharat, Madhavi, Chinmay, Raju, Story, Direction and Film – he rattled off……
I gaped like a gold fish – my mind recognizing the words, but not the meaning ….
SK said we were nominated in those categories.

I think that i am still grinning like an idiot – feels good.

Best Actor - Bharat Jadhav (male) Madhavi Juvekar (female) , Chinmay Kambli (child)

(Bharat Jadhav (Mouli) , Madhavi Juvekar (Manda) , Chinmay Kambli (Shyam) and Aarti More ( Dipti) in Jhing Chik Jhing)

Best Sound Raju Hegde

Best Story & Best Direction – Nitin Nandan

Best Film – Cogito Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. (that’s us :)

First Look Jhing Chik Jhing !

Jhing Chik Jhing – coming soon at a theatre near you !

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Posted by gargi at 6:41 am

Markets

Culture, Desi Pundit, India, Photographs 6 Responses »
Aug 112009

Confession Time. I don’t like buying food – especially vegetables – in malls. Never have. I find their sanitized organization scary.

Even when I stayed in London, I would trudge down to the local market and pick up fresh veggies from the guy with a barrow than go to a Sainsbury’s and pick out the pretty looking stuff sitting on their shelves. Don’t know why – maybe it’s the smell of mint or coriander, or the bustle of activity, or bargaining or whether it is congregation of different types of people in the market – I don’t know. But, i gravitate towards a vegetable market.

Back in India, the market place is a whole different ecosystem. It is alive, it is fun, and it is so damn vibrant – that you can stay and watch and just take in the smells and sounds the whole day long. Stuff that I really can’t do in a mall -unless I am at Landmark spending a fortune on books.

Today while getting back from my lectures at Sophia’s I stopped out at Dadar to visit the wholesale market. There is a great satisfaction in picking up 2.5 kilos of baby potatoes for Rs.30, or half a kilo of beans for Rs.10, or even a giant bunch of coriander for Rs.8.

Dadar vegetable market is not a place that you take a camera into, not unless you don’t want to buy vegetables. But there are other markets that you can – especially when dad and mom are in tow selecting and buying.

Vile Parle (East) vegetable market is great fun. It is usually on a Sunday that i go there- twinned with a visit to the Parleshwar temple – one of my favourite temples in Mumbai. Parle is slightly steep in terms of pricing – but, the vegetables are yum.

Greens are Good for You, and so is Spinach...
Just outside the station – on the pavements on either side are a whole host of vegetable sellers – selling their wares. It’s usually a crowd by evening – but if you get in by 5 – it’s quite peaceful.

The Tomato Seller

The guys at Parle, don’t stand for too much haggling – it’s pretty much a take it or leave it policy – unless you go to the vegetable sellers with the baskets, as opposed to the vegetable sellers with the stalls.

The Vegetable Stall

But, by far my favorite vegetable market is in Lonavala. Close to the station and close to home. When i go there for weekends, sometimes i pick up vegetables. It comes from Nahik, and is tastier – they claim. and it does – whether it is the power of suggestion or genuine, I can’t tell – but they are very, very tasty.

greens are good for you

Again, its not a place in which you can bargain, but a bargain you will definitely get :)

VEGGIES

The next time you fancy a mixed vegetable pulao or a salad, or just tasty vegetables, do pop down to your nearest mandi - and you will get more than refrigerated freshness – you will get truly fresh !

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Posted by gargi at 11:08 pm Tagged with: , , , , , , ,

Moral Hypocrisy ?

Culture, Desi Pundit, India, Media, Web 13 Responses »
Jul 242009

What did he expect ?

Abhinav Bhatt, a law student based in Pune, filed a complaint with the magistrate’s court in June 2000, saying that Rediff has committed offence under section 292 of IPC (selling, distributing obscene material).

His contention was that if one was to type words such as “sexual intercourse” in the search window on rediff’s home-page, it threw up links of pornographic websites.

Maybe, he expected to find two birds tweeting, or two flowers coming together, like in the old Hindi films – but if you enter a search term like that – expect to get p*rn.

Maybe, Rediff should file a complaint that Mr.Bhatt was seeking p*rn – which is illegal in this country :)

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Posted by gargi at 12:05 pm

Mind your Language

Culture, Desi Pundit, India 35 Responses »
Jul 172009

“Hi, would you like to come and see our flick”
An innocuous line, you would think, but one which got K fuming I could see the fumes coming out of her ear.

“That stupid child doesn’t know how to handle the client.” Said K, “ I should sack him and get a secretary’ she added.
“Kya Hua ?” I asked. And she let loose a litany of gaali’s gaalis. (Thank you shefaly )
Her fully qualified MBA MT (management trainee) had written a mail to their company’s leading client asking them if they wanted to invest monies in their film after watching it – hence the line “would you like to come and see our flick”. K has now issued a directive that no mail will leave the company to a client unless vetted by her. She is also wondering whether to replace her well paid MBA with a secretary who will take dictation and type out a letter.

This is not the first time I have heard that. My client RR asked me to find him an intern. I teach – and interact with students in the BMM programme run by the University of Mumbai. But, RR is from my father’s generation; a perfectionist who will not put up with shoddy work – and I have been hesitant to recommend people to him. Rightly So.
He called me up two days ago.
“I need a new EA” he boomed.
“What happened to the old one” I asked.
“Kya bolon, don’t you teach them how to send and receive mails” – he asked ?. His principals are in the USA and they don’t appreciate mails that go “v hv recd yr mail. Ta”

And, if you think that I am exaggerating, here’s a letter I received from a student:
“Hello mam ther’s a personal query nt on behalf of clas. V wanted to know if v can reduce d number of ad agencies bt tak many ads as examples. Like from 1 ad agency we can give 3-4 examples. Will that be fine? Waiting 4 ur reply.”

You don’t even want to know my response. There is only one line that can be used to explain what happens when I read stuff like this – “mera dimag satakta hai ”

I have been in the media for 15 years, and each subsequent year – I lose a bit of my vocabulary and more of my grammar. And, each year I see the level of language declining.

Part of the problem is SMS and the fact that if I send a message such as “whr r u” – most people will understand. However, when I send that kind of a message as a part of a formal letter, then it looks shoddy. The other part of the problem is that in a world dominated by the visual medium – reading skills are non existent. Therefore, writing skills become more problematic. If you haven’t read enough – and don’t know good style from bad – then its’ not really your fault. It’s the problem of a system that brings up students – from the KG level to be functionally illiterate .So maybe two things that people ought to inculcate to write better is to turn on the dictionary function on their mobiles and write full sentences – and the other is to read. Also, check on the net for letter formats – the net is not just about hanging out, it has a fair bit of useful information.

Most colleges in this city don’t stress on language skills or on syntax. They don’t want the risk of someone taking them to court for failing their exams. Our instructions are do not cut marks for poor language skills. But remember that those who make the rules have full time jobs, very often they are confirmed employees of the state with a pension. You aren’t. Nor am I :)

The world is not Orkut. Nor is it Facebook. In this world people don’t poke you. They fire you.. And, the worse your language skills, the greater the chances of you not getting ahead.

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Posted by gargi at 6:15 am Tagged with: , , ,

It is Raining :)

Culture, Desi Pundit, Films, India, Music 6 Responses »
Jun 272009

Rains have been delayed terribly this year. Intermittent, sparse and playing hide & seek with all of us. It has been terribly depressing – without the rains. The body and the mind have both been feeling extremely tired and as thought there is no hope of renewal.

Yesterday, it finally rained. the proper monsoon downpour. the kind of downpour that gets the roads flooded, and sends you towards a samovar of adrak chai. Suddenly the world looks beautiful, the earth smells lovely, and the heart smiles !

The link that India has to rains, is much like the colder nations of the North have towards Spring. A lot of our mental and physical well being is linked to it raining and raining well. it is hardly surprising that monsoons are such an integral part of Hindi Cinema (and regional cinema).

But, before cinema got into the act there was folk and classical music that celebrated the rain gods. In Hindustani Classical Music – Malhar and its many variants cover the whole range from longing for rain (or the love of your beloved); to celebrating it ! With the first rains, i thought i will list some of my favourite film songs based on the rain ragas. do add yours to this list :

Raga Miyan Ki Malhar - by Salamat & Nazakhat Ali Khan – in Satyajit Ray’s masterpiece Jalsaghar. The film is about the passage of time, and the decline of glory – it tells the story of a zamindar who gives a last hurrah to a dying way of life – by hosing a magnificent music concert in his music room. Miyan ki Malhar is a raga that captures the full power of the monsoons – complete with the thunder & lightening

Bole Re Papi Hara - based on Raga Miyan ki Malhar – a fabulous rendition by Vani Jayaram. I always thought that Vani Jayaram’s voice was too mature and strong for a school girl – which is what Jaya Bhaduri played in the film Guddi.

Woh Chup Rahen – in Raga Ramdasi Malhar – a variant of Malhar, picturized on Minoo Mumtaz. Lata Mangeshkar singing this great composition in Malhar for the film Jahan Ara. Bharat Bhooshan showing as much emotion as a block of wood :) , as always, but the lucky man had some of the best songs in Hindi cinema picturized on him

apni zulfein - from Taj Mahal, not the old version – but the unwatchable new version. The music, though, is brilliant, though it feels as it belongs to the last century. I was quite sure that the song itself was composed – in Raga Malhar – for a film made in the 1960′s meant to be sung by Rafi sahaab.  Here is Hariharan crooning the said number -in a composition by Naushad. I never watched the video – because the thought of an over  metrosexualised Zulfi Sayed playing anyone from the past was kind of off putting :)


Kahan Se Aaye Badra - from the film Chashme Badoor . Composed in Raga Megh – it covers the entire gamut of emotions from anticipaiton of love, to heart break and longing. Beautifully sung by Yesudas and a lovely female voice :) .

Ghanana Ghanana - from Lagan, once again captures the longing for rain, rain that nurtures, and renews and rejuvenates.

Megh for me, is the Raga that is associated with the longing for rain, while Malhar & all its variants, especially Miyan ki Malhar is associated with full blown monsoons – with all the power and glory of thunder, lightening and buckets of water

while you are at it, check out the Megh Malhar again by Lata – in the film Samrat Prithviraj Chauhan. The glory & the power of this rendition is in contrast, with the mellowness of the Ramdasi Malhar

Also check out Suresh Wadkar from this great song from the film Saaz . Again a very powerful rendition

But, for the full power of Miyan Ki Malhar – you can’t miss Bhimsen Joshi singing the Raga. It is almost like he will get it to rain with the power of his voice :)
i will leave you with a very young Bhimsen Joshi trying to single handed get the rain gods to listen and grant us their bounty !! enjoy and happy rains

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Posted by gargi at 10:43 am Tagged with: , , ,

Food for Thought

Culture, Desi Pundit, Economics, India, International, Jhing Chik Jhing, Media, Politics, Society, elections 17 Responses »
Jun 082009

After a few weeks of being immersed in Disaster Risk Reduction – thanks to the documentary, Farmer Suicides and the way out – thanks to our Marathi feature film “Jhing Chik Jhing”, and politics & elections – thanks to the elections; I am back to my normal reading. (disclaimer: my normal and other people’s normal may be two different things ).

Some interesting articles / blogs / analysis ? opinions i read last week :

a) Hindu Divided Family – by Sudheendhra Kulkarni in Tehelka.
For me, Mr.Kulkarni is the acceptable face of the Right in India – more economically and politically right of centre than in a relgiious nationalistic sense; which, readers of this blog know, scares me. He says, in this brilliant piece of introspection,

the BJP could not convince the voters that they should vote in favour of change. Rather, the truth is that the people wanted change but were not convinced that the BJP or the BJP-led NDA assured the kind of change they wanted.

The BJP’s failure to convince the people on this score is rooted in a combination of structural, political, ideological, organizational and campaign-related reasons.

He also takes a long hard look at “Hindutva” and the reasons for defeat – and takes on the Sangh Parivaar. I predict that just as the old style Communists in the Soviet Union or the pro Apartheid regime of South Africa used to exile people, Mr. Kulkarni is in for a long period of political exile. But, i really don’t think that he minds. I hope that he and others can lay the foundation for a right of centre party that provides a genuine alternative to the Congress.

2) A Wish List For New I&B Minister Ambika Soni: The CEO’s Agenda – from Social “Media India” – interests me as a media professional.
The list includes issues as varied as a single tax window, clarifying the Content Code, FDI, etal. To these i will add my two wishes :
a) Terrestrial Broadcasting - Doordarshan sucks. it really , truly does. Doordarshan is supposed to be a Public Service Broadcaster. However, the way it is run, it has become a money making machine which is neither Public, nor Service, the only thing that it is is a broadcaster. Free up the Terrestrial media – allow private sector entities, lay down rules that ensures Public Service Broadcasting; and finally remove the chains from DD that allows it to compete. It cannot spend its time selling slots that can only be monetized if you make a programme at zero cost.
b) Rating Services – the media rating services have to be more representative, both at the top & bottom ends of the audience. It is as important to have a metric that looks at what 25 year old graduates, who have a disposable income of Rs.25 k, watch – as it is to have one that looks at what someone who earns 4k a month watches. the current system is geared to the latter. And while, the numbers are there – you can’t sell too much beyond low value products..In the interest of diversity, audiences, and clients – it would be good if the minister took the lead in guiding the system away from its comfort zone – into something that offers choice.

A Note on Identity Politics by Paul Krugman in the NYT Blogs – What interested me was the dilema of the conservatives

The thing that is really driving conservatives crazy, I think, is that their identity politics just isn’t working like it used to. Their whole approach has been based on the belief that Americans vote as if they live in Mayberry, and fear and hate anyone who looks a bit different; now that the country just isn’t like that, they’ve gone mad.

replace Americans and Mayberry, with Indians and Ahmedabad, and you could be talking about the BJP.

4) Doc Soup – Fund Raising Woes – how documentary film makers worldwide are impacted by the recession, and what are the steps that they are taking to continue making their films.

5) Free gold ring for babies with Tamil names -

It is so interesting to a government give economic incentives to change behavior, rather than impose blanket bans or take to the streets in violent protest.

Others:

1) Media Neutrality in India -problem and solution by Chakresh

2) To RSS with Love: The Real Story of 2009 Elections – by Aditya Nigam in Kafila

And finally,
3) Rope A Dope Soap by Amrita – rotfl – so true

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Posted by gargi at 9:20 am Tagged with: , ,
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