4 Ads That Weren’t Just Ads

There are lot of advertisements that make us pause the endless surfing of channels for a moment, don’t they? They’re not the usual ones, there’s something extraordinary and extravagant as well as a factor in them that appeals you to a quite extent. These ads are the ones we usually do not ignore and watch it as many times as it comes in front of us. I’ve got 4 such heart wrenching ads that have been the reason behind a wide and a bright smile over my face, always. I bet even you’re thinking upon such advertisements right now, are you? There’s a roller-coaster of those ads in your mind, isn’t it?

1. The Hindu

Very few advertisements possess the potency to evoke emotions along with a thousand thoughts running down the mind. Beautifully scripted and ideally executed, the latest ad of THE HINDU showcasing the rowdy, boisterous and unruly behaviour that prevails in the parliamentary sessions. There’s a very clear and restrained correlation about the chaos amongst the ministers and our youth being swayed with the wrong influence in classroom discussions. The commercial ends with a quite persuasive and undeniable message that reads, “Behave yourself, India. The Youth are watching.”

2. Incredible India

I’d seen this ad years back when I was in school, then later, after years I saw this ad on YouTube! Seriously saying, I was flattered by the commercial and the performance of the artist who was a weary traveler in the ad. He wishes to write something about the country, but then he gets bewildered as to what he should that describes the best about the Golden Sparrow. And then, there gushes in memories of his exploring andtraveling throughout the country. He recalls his trips in the desert upon the camel, feeling and living the ethnicity of the country, gazing at a Kathakali face in the south living in the realm of the festival, diving into the fresh sea water by the bay side to playing gully cricket in streets, shopping handicrafts and hand-looms in the northern markets to being a part of the kite festival and even the breathtaking boat races in the south. Finding himself drenched in the many colours of this nation that seem to be forever, he realizes the essence of being a part of what’s called, ‘Incredible India’.

 

 3. The Times of India ad

Some years back, there came a commercial which moved a large number of viewers throughout the country. The commercial was a big success and it took a firm place in the minds of million Hindustanis. A misty rainy day, a crammed road having a lot of traffic and there’s a massive fallen tree which has blocked it. Everyone who isn’t able to go beyond the tree are grumpy and pretty petulant about it. Some people having fun in a bus, some in taxis getting hyper and the other vegetable vendors by the way who think nothing’s going to clear the way.  Out of nowhere, comes a small kid in his neatly pressed school uniform who starts giving a push to the tree. Looking at it, everyone around him felt ashamed for a moment and then follows a rush of awakening at the same time. They finally step up, make a move and push the tree along with the little hero. With a highly dramatic music in the background and heart-felt lyrics “Tum chalo toh Hindustan chale” makes the commercial phenomenal in its nature. All it portrays is the need to have the leadership quality which can manipulate a million minds to pledge and strive for a problem free nation, to make the reign of the GoldenSparrow outshine once again.

4. I am Mumbai (Mumbai Mirror)

I was too involved surfing over Facebook some months back may be and I saw the name ‘I am Mumbai’ tagged with a video. No commercial has given such kind ofunusual vibes till date. There was no one around me yet I couldn’t stop myself giving a round of applause when the name ‘Mumbai Mirror’ appeared. I am a regular reader of the newspaper and I know it’s unlike any other one and it covers the best and worst of the city. My mind was locked with the thought of the advertisement and I went ahead to suggest the ad to anyone and everyone I met. All it took for the commercial to say was, the city doesn’t belong to the corrupt officials, the loud politicians or a group of bombers. If it does belong to someone, it is the heart and soul of the city; it’s people!

 

These advertisements connected with people in a very subtle, strong and undisputed way. People seem to talk about these ads more in general. Such kind of commercials also sends a mass appeal to people to aware them of their forgotten social responsibilities and develop a feeling of consciousness.

Such advertisements are for the people to make them aware, inspire, motivate, connect or influence them for the right purpose. So next time, if you are planning to create a commercial, make sure it connects!

World Book Day – Page Turners that became Screen Burners

There is always a debate, whether a movie based on a book did justice to the original story and narrative of the book. And whether the book was better or the movie. We are however of the opinion, that if a book was a good read or won an award it deserves to be converted into a movie so that it can reach out to a larger audience through the medium of cinema.

On the occasion of ‘World Book Day’, we are going to talk about some handpicked silver screen hits that were adapted from truly inspirational, or entertaining or hair-raising books. Here’s a list of some of our favorites, but do feel free to add your own picks too.

‘The Silence of the Lambs’ is an American thriller that blends elements of crime and horror, based on Thomas Harris’ novel, and a sequel to his ‘Hannibal Lecter’, a brilliant psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer.

The timeless ‘Wuthering Heights’ adapted from Emily Bronte’s novel, follows the life of Heathcliff, who is raised by an adopted family and then reduced to the status of a servant only to return later as rich and educated, to gain revenge on the two families that he believed ruined his life.

‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’, a British romantic comedy based on Helen Fielding’s novel which is a reinterpretation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

One of our favourites ‘Brokeback Mountain’, a romantic drama adapted from Annie Proulx’s book  depicts the complex romantic and sexual relationship between two men in the American West from 1963 to 1983.

‘The Prestige’ was a British-American mystery thriller with a screenplay adapted from Christopher Priest’s novel. The story follows Robert Angier and Alfred Borden, rival stage magicians. Obssessed with creating the best stage illusion, they engage in competitive one-upmanship with tragic results.

Having mentioned the one time hits, one can’t leave out the box office record breaking film series like ‘Harry Potter’, ‘Lord of the Rings’, ‘Chronicles of Narnia’, ‘Jurassic Park’, ‘The Godfather’,  just to name a few.

Without these timeless hits the history of world cinema would’ve missed out on some important milestones, what say?

4 Habits of Highly Successful Filmmakers

Having met scores of successful independent filmmakers, we have a fair idea of what their common traits are. They follow a basic routine that makes their life simpler.

Ofcourse talent in film making has a big role to play, but we believe that we all come into this world with an equal amount of talent.

 

 

Successful filmmakers tend to do these four basic things:

1. Set Your Goals & Milestones

Set a final goal with milestones in between. If you want to make a film in one year’s time, target to increase your work rate and break down your goal into manageable steps. Make sure that each day, you put in as much time and energy as possible, to achieve the next step towards your goal.

2. Don’t Shy Away From Learning

Invest in learning and discovering new filmmaking techniques is the next keystone to success. Film making is changing rapidly right now. This time around it is movies on the internet and mobile telephones. Attend seminars, like the workshops and classes, or read biographies of good filmmakers. There are always some tricks of the trade, to pick up.

3. Invest In All Good Tools

Treat your career as a business. Invest your earnings into good tools that can enhance your business. Film businesses are the same as non-film businesses. Ploughing back a part of your earnings into your film-making business would grow career exponentially.

Hire a PA (or an intern) to run your errands, develop your company’s website, make your presence felt on Social media, and relevant online PR sites, all will help you grow.

4. Apply All That You Learn

The most successful filmmakers are not always the most knowledgeable ones. They are the ones who put action to what they learn. They do, not talk about doing. And they watch film after film, read script after script to soak in as much as they can. You can see great movies online.

 

Cultivate these habits and you are set for a lifetime of unstoppable film-making!!!

The Women behind the Camera

While hotties like Kareena Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra are the sizzling in front of the camera, there are some daunting women creating history behind the camera too.

Yes, we are talking about the handful women who are busy masterminding some good quality Indian cinema as we speak. Women filmmakers today are not matching strides with the top directors of the industry, but creating a new realm all together. They are winning laurels for their work at national film festivals in India and at international film festivals too.

The daring and assertive Farah Khan, the unconventional Deepa Mehta, the entertaining Gurinder Chadha, the out of the ordinary Mira Nair and their likes. The Gen – Y is not too far behind. Zoya Akhtar, Bela Bhansali, Ekta Kapoor, may have guiding hands to back them, but are already making box office news.

In addition to the biggies, some equally powerful work is seen from independent filmmakers like- Sai Paranjpye, Shailja Gupta, Leena Manimekalai to name a few. Not to forget Gauri Shinde’s directional debut ‘English Vinglish’, which created an unforgettable stir and gave actor Sridevi a much revered comeback, in the movie world.

It’s just a matter of time that cinema goers will see many more female names appearing in film credits. To be continued…

60th National Awards List of Winners

The 60th National Film Awards were announced yesterday in New Delhi and many a deserving movies were given their due credit.  These awards are administered by the Indian government’s Directorate of Film Festivals and the President of India presents the awards. Due to the national scale of the National Film Awards, it is considered to be an equivalent of the American Academy Awards.

Awards are given in various categories including Best Feature Film, Best Debut Film of a Director, Best Popular Film, Best Children’s Film, Best Animation Film, Best Direction, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Playback Singer, Best Production Design, Best Music Direction, Best Feature Film in many regional languages.

This year the highlight of the awards ceremony was ‘Paan Singh Tomar’, for which Irrfan Khan won the Best Actor award, and it also bagged the Best Hindi Feature Film award. Rajamouli’s graphical extravaganza ‘Eega’ won National awards in the category of ‘Best Special Effects’ and ‘Best Regional Film in Telugu’. You can browse through the other awards from the below list.

60th National Awards winners list –

Best Feature Film: Paan Singh Tomar (Hindi)

Best Actor: Irrfan for Paan Singh Tomar and Vikram Gokhale for Anumati (Marathi)

Best Actress: Usha Jadhav for Marathi film Dhag

Best Director: Shivaji Lotan Patil for the film Dhag (Marathi).

Best Supporting Actor: Annu Kapoor for Vicky Donor

Best Supporting Actress: Dolly Ahluwalia for Vicky Donor and Kalpana for ThanichallaNjan (Malyalam)

Best Child Artist: Virendra Pratap for Dekh Indian Circus (Hindi) and Minon for 101 Chodiyangal (Malayalam)

Best Male Playback Singer: Shankar Mahadevan for ‘Bolo Na’ song from Chittagong

Best Female Playback Singer: Samhita for ‘Palakein Naa Moon Don’ song from ‘Aarti Anklekartikekar’ (Marathi)

Best Screenplay Writer (Original): Sujoy Ghosh for Kahaani

Best Screenplay Writer (Adapted): Bhavesh Mandalia and Umesh Shukla for ‘Oh My God’

Best Dialogue: Anjali Menon for Ustad Hotel (Malayalam)

Best Lyrics: Prasoon Joshi for ‘Chitrangadha'(Bengali), ‘Kahaani’, ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’, ‘Dekh Indian circus’ and ‘Talaash’ (Hindi)

Best Choreography: Birju Maharaj for ‘Vishwaroopam’ (Tamil)

Best Popular Film for wholesome entertainment: Vicky Donor (Hindi), Ustad (Malayalam)

Best Animation Film: Delhi Safari

Best Children’s Film: Dekh Indian Circus

Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation: Black Forest (Malayalam)

Best Film on Social Issues: Spirit (Malayalam)

Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film On National Integration: ThanichallaNjan (Malyalam)

Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director: Chittagong (Hindi) and 101 Chodiyangal (Malayalam)

Best Editing: Namrata Rao for Kahaani

Best Production Design: Boontawee ‘Thor’ Taweepasas and Lalgudi N. Ilayaraja for Vishwaroopam (Tamil)

Best Costume Design: Poornima Ramaswamy for Paradesi (Tamil)

Best Make-up Artist: Raja for Vazakkuenn (Tamil)

Special Jury Award: Rituparno Ghosh for Chitrangada (Bengali) and Nawazuddin Siddiqui for Kahaani, Gangs of Wasseypur, Talaash ,Dekh Indian Circus

Best Special Effects: Eega (Telugu)

Best Sound Designer: Anirban Sengupta and Dipankar Chaki for Shabdo (Bengali)

Best Location Sound Recordist: Radhakrishnan S for AnnayumRasoolum (Malayalam)

Best Re-recordist of the final mixed track: Alok De, Sinoy Joseph and Shreejesh Nair for Gangs of Wasseypur (Hindi)

Best Cinematography: Sudheer Palsane for KO:YAD (Mising)

Best Assamese Film: Baandhon

Best Bengali Film: Shabdo

Best Gujarati Film: The Good Road

Best Hindi Film: Filmistan

Best Kannada Film: Bharath Stores

Best Malyalam Film: Celluloid

Best Manipuri Film: Leipaklei

Best Marathi Film: Investment

Best Punjabi Film: Nabar

Best Tamil Film: Vazakkuenn 18/9

Best Telugu Film: Eega

Best Urdu Film: Harud

Best English Film: Lessons Forgetting

Best Mising Film: KO:YAD

Happy Women’s Day – says MWIFF

Year over year, March 8 is celebrated as International Women’s Day, a day to applaud women, their achievements and successes!

“A woman is the full circle.

Within her, is the power to create, nurture and transform.”

-Diane Mariechild

Giving credit to the famous women leaders of India and the world, would be rather cliché. Let’s take a minute to see how women in their own big and small ways, in daily life, are making this world a much happier place to live in.

Talk about giving heartfelt advice whenever you need it, cooking up a storm in the kitchen, staying up all night for their childrens’ exams and yet reaching the office next day and cracking their way through that presentation. They are leaving no stone unturned!

Women of today, are no longer home-bound, they are going places with their careers, taking time to travel the world and see more. They are truly fulfilling their dreams and it’s no longer a man’s world.

MWIFF takes pride in associating itself with yet another brilliant segment of women, who are following their dreams of making movies. Mumbai Women’s International Film Festival (MWIFF) is a 3-Day film festival, organized by Oculus Creations, to bring forth the Women of the film making industry at an international level. It is not about showing women in front of the camera, but it is about those women who are breaking limitations and showing what they can do, behind the camera.