Cinema
of Awakening
Was Buddha a
filmmaker?
What was he
thinking when he said:
“Each one of us
sees the world through the frame of his thoughts.”
Or
was he a screenwriter?
“Words
can burn. Words can soothe. Use them wisely.”
The very process
of sitting in the dark and watching a shadow play is a sign of an open heart,
an open mind and an open soul. Spectators, humble and venerable, throw
themselves in the lap of filmmakers. They, sit there ready to receive.
But rare are the
filmmakers who would recognise and respect that openheartedness of those
“chained to their chair in the darkness” as Plato predicted them in The
Republic.
What is to be in
control of all senses of millions of human being, while they sit in that
darkness for two to three hours?
To entertain does
not mean that one should proliferate our ignorance. It also does not mean that
one should only propagate moral or meaningful cinema.
All genre, all
stories, all epics must be told. Must be shown. But how?
Only with an awakened
soul.
Only through an
awakened mind.
While making
movies an honest filmmaker will often reach a trance like level, that’s the
reason they are often considered egocentric or insane.
Selfishness is
necessary to create a story for other souls.
Creation of the
film might be a totally selfish act. But projection of the film is totally a
non-selfish act. The filmmaker is naked in every which way in front of his
spectator when the light simmers down.
Bodhisattvas are
born to help others achieve enlightenment.
True Filmmakers
are born to help others inspire and entertain.
Consciously or
unconsciously, several filmmakers have taken path of Buddhist awakening through
their works; Teshigahara, Tarkovsky, Godard, Bae-Kung, Shindo, Antonioni,
Michael Mann…
What is to be
awake while making movies? To be awake is to be honest. To be awake is to be
aware. To be awake is to be able to perceive life in its true light. To be
awake is to have compassionate understanding of nature of things and beings.
In Woman of the
Dunes (Suna no Onna), when Hiroshi Teshigahara’s camera travels over sand
dunes, then over the sand soaked, perspiring body of a woman. Sand has found a
new home that of a lustful body. Sensation created is that of a very
understanding mind. Two characters trapped in a deep hole, maybe forever. What
Teshigahara manages with these two human beings and their longing -it continues
to echo in hearts of millions till today.
In Godfather,
Al Pacino character looses his daughter in a shoot-out. Coppola takes away all
the sound from the scene as the father begins to howl, scream and cry. Thus he
creates an emotional space for spectators to feel the loss. We are moved, we
are touched… but in silence. This powerful scene had such an impact that since
then filmmakers have repeated (or copied) it in hundreds of movies all over the
world. But if Coppola was not ‘awake’ -this moment would have been lost as a
mere melodrama.
Dreyer in La
Passion de Jeanne d’Arc creates a transcendental world, once you are in it;
you are there till the end –mesmerized by haunting images and hypnotised by
unbearable silences. Pain of Jeanne of Arc is so real that you can almost touch
her tears.
All these
filmmakers, like many awakened souls, took enormous joy in creation of their
cinema. Buddhism believes that all emanates from joy and returns to joy. To
film is to find joy in every aspect of filmmaking; to find joy in writing, to
find joy in directing a sad scene, to find a joy in playing a demon or
divinity, to find a joy in showing a film. In the end, all must return to joy.
Because joy is both, the knowledge and the bliss.
Bliss is what
transcends beyond. If each filmmaker begins to be honest with the self, then
the self will disappear. An act of blissful filmmaking is selfless because
beyond that lies a cultivation of an awakened mind.
And cinema of an
awakened mind always finds souls -that connect.
It is that very
connection gives birth to classics.
Cinema of an
awakened soul has rarely failed to entertain or inspire. Those films are
archives of memories of humanity. Those films are our spiritual wealth. Those
films are our eternal festivals. A celebration of life.
The play of
shadows and sound, light and darkness has deep relation to the meditation. The
concentrated soul, sitting in the dark cinema hall, is soft and flexible
because there is a notion of surrendering. And when one surrenders, one is able
to touch the joy of action, humour, fear, thrill, sorrow, romanticism…. One is
detached from the rest of the world, like a curious child, one is back to human
basics –laugh, cry, feel… They sit there ready to receive. It is up to each
filmmaker what would he or she do with each of that soul, chained to their
chair in the darkness, waiting to be enlightened.
-by Pan Nalin
Personal Quotes
Acting is an act of self realization but in an other self then yours.
Working with actors is to understand non-actor within them. Working with non-actors is to understand actor within them.
If Cinema is a manifestation of our life than keep dialogs to minimum or avoid the over-use. Ninety percent of our life we spend in silence, we live in silence.
Invention of the tripod was the best thing that happened to the photography and worst to the cinematography.
We all meet to celebrate life and depart to create memories.
Image is seen by eyes. Sound is seen by mind. Together the images they form are seen by soul.
Do not act to tell stories but act to create a true-self. All true-self have true stories tell.
One and only instruction to actors: Do Not Act.
To my cinematographer friends: one of the best quality of light is to travel through clouds... use it, life is not only sunshine!
Children are like animal and animal are like children. If by nature, you do not posses qualities to be patient then never cast them.
Feeling is seeing. Feeling makes process of seeing complete.
Do not tell divine stories with human camera angles.
Time, sometime, exists just off the frame because there is Space!
If light is space and form then darkness is time. When we watch movies, sixty percent of the story is told by light and forty percent is by darkness.
Lighting creates gravity, darkness creates anti-gravity. Correct combination of both could create time.
Anti-gravity image is lighter. Tripod is 'heavy' for the image as it creates right-side-up notions. As a kid half the world I saw was upside down.
Image is light but cinematic images are light and darkness. So, do not light the scene, light the darkness.
Empty the frame, because void is to be filled (maybe with mind). Void is nothingness. Nothing is Zero (Shunyata) but add zero to any number and its power increases tremendously. Add "void" to actors, spaces and time to enhance their power.
Empty the frame, cause presence of 'someone' or 'something' lies in its absence. Make absence presence.
View
From The Top (from Times of India)
Indian
Cinema missed the train?
One hundred plus
years ago, filmmaking came to India right after Lumiere Brothers did their
historic Paris screening “ the train arriving at station” -then why India
missed the train? Why do we stand alone on a platform?
In the age of net
and jet, it’s a fashion to be global; software, biotech, gurus, ganjas…
everything has export potential. But as far as our movies are concerned,
tycoons have spread a false myth that Indian Cinema is booming abroad. Lets not
make a mistake of translating what is fashionable novelty as our success.
Cinema came to
India rivalling folk traditions. Then talkies killed the traditional performing
arts but those forms were reborn in movies giving very much needed Indianness
with songs and dance. This trend was further exploited by making movies which
help people escape the daily grind to a dreamlike world where heroes can beat
up fifty thugs and conquer a beauty in a wink. Where rich fall in love with
poor, innocents are given justice… A
perfect world with perfect Maa, perfect Beta and perfect Bahu. Until here it
was fine, India was adapting, adjusting, exploring.
Then came
imitation of Hollywood. Our “innovative” industry went as far as branding its
name as Bollywood. Its like calling Narayan Murthy, Nill Mates. The sad part is
that the industry seems proud to be branded as Bollywood.
Indian cinema
needs to do much more then that to be global. There are many roads to
cross, many bridges to be built… and several to be destroyed.
If India has
mythology bigger then mangas, sagas bigger then star wars, legends
larger then lord of the rings; then why do we still look to west for imitation?
Why Hong Kong,
Japan or South Korea does not face that problem?
Because, they try
to be as much original as possible, both in their story and style. They can do
what Hollywood can’t –experiment and invent. In last few years alone, loads of
titles from these countries were released worldwide with massive critical and
commercial success. Many of these movies were re-made as Hollywood
blockbusters. Today Hollywood agents are scanning Asian festivals like Pusan
and Bangkok to find next great idea, which they can remake. Does any one know
of any Indian story or film being remade in Hollywood?
The truth, harder
to digest, is other way round –hundreds
of Bollywood movies are direct imitation of Hollywood movies –Not to forget,
Hollywood is tremendously suffering from lack of original contents. Last year
only 6 % percent Hollywood movies were from original scripts, the rest were
remakes, adaptations, sequels, prequels… Should Indian film industry’s role
model be Hollywood?
Movies with song
and dance are part of our existence they are here to stay but why do they fail
to become universal? How can the director of the most commercially successful
super-hero Indian movie can proclaim on a national TV channel that he made
first part of his new film “little naïve and stupid” because that’s aimed at
villagers and countryside. Isn’t that a shocking state of affaire? How little
we know about our countryside? How we take it for granted that because we are
urban, we are intelligent!? It is believed that any Indian village with
population of 500 to 1000 people is capable of narrating one million stories.
Then why do we have to remake South Korean “Old Boy”? If we do not understand
Hanuman, how can we let a movie-poster scream “India’s first super-hero” across
India?
Whether we like it
or not it is Bollywood who REFUSES to let the Indian audience grow. India is
totally ready to receive all kind of cinema -stories that entertain, inspire
and educate.
Ages ago people
neither ate Tadka Dal in Kerala nor Idli in Bhatinda. It’s all
about developing a taste. Movies are not about medias, malls and multiplexes.
Hong Kong action flicks are remade in Hollywood and have redefined the whole
genre. Perhaps Indian cinema can reinvent itself like Japanese have done. Japan
has beautifully integrated their mythologies, superstitions, beliefs and
created originals cinema. Success of Japan’s ‘Anime’ (animated features) shook
up the Disney. Japanese movies are ages ahead of their Hollywood counterpart.
Japanese horror movies are far more innovative -and has reinvented the genre.
If that Japanese “taste” spreads like their Sushis, it will destroy
Hollywood’s monopoly. Thus US studios invested hundreds of millions of dollars
in Japan to control the local giants so that ‘taste’ does not spread worldwide.
In short, If
Italian invented neo-realism in cinema, German -the expressionism, French –the
new wave; what did Indian cinema invent? Bollywood?
Indian cinema will
be only global if it takes deep root in the Indian soil and then grows like a
Banyan Tree sprouting other roots in other countries. Then that’s a giant
banyan tree with roots spread all over the globe but soil and soul is Indian. A
view from the top of any such tree will be universal.
Making global
cinema demands honesty, demands profound perception of human life, demands an
open mind, open heart. Ages ago our stories were universal, if not a child in
Indonesia would not be watching Ramayana today. Our stories were timeless if
not Tibetan would not be reciting Tantras.
If the Indian
Cinema goes “Hollywood way” by becoming “Bollywood” then we are likely to
witness a complete cultural disaster –only thing that will matter is how to get
people inside the movie hall –once they are in, who cares?
- by Pan Nalin (as
published in Times of India's View from the Top)
Why
Samsara?
I went to school called life and taught myself, cinema.
I always knew that I wanted to make movies, even before I saw one at age
of eight. I lived in a very small and poor village in Suarashtra, next to a
railway junction where many trains stopped but only to exchange passengers. My
village was nobody’s destination. As a kid I sold tea on this unique railway
platform. I would often sit on the rail track, waiting eternally for train to
arrive, staring at the shadows of five empty cups of tea hanging from my
fingers. I would animate my fingers and imagine all kinds of shadow-play.
Today, in Paris, I sit in front of my MacBook Pro, I am staring at my
five fingers on the keyboard, and a tiny caret blinks on the screen, keeping
pace with my heartbeats. A noisy iPhone keeps vibrating. An air-ticket to Goa,
few papers and a cup of tea lies next to the laptop.
So much has happened between two cups of teas.
And all happenings in our lives are result of our desire and destiny.
Samsara is the story of desire and destiny. Samsara is the story of celebration
of life.
While making documentaries I was seeking realities. I had filmed
destinies and desires, as they are, not how they existed in my imagination.
Desire often rises in Samsara, the world, where we live. I am living all kinds
of desires like all beings. My desire to tell the story of Tashi and Pema came
from my imagination and my imagination probably came from what I had lived. In
one way or another we returned to reality. We returned to life.
For me, to tell their story was also to control their destiny.
I can play god for 135 minutes at the rate of 24 frames per second.
Samsara is the world; inside the monastery and outside the monastery. A
monk, Tashi who leaves the monastic life and becomes farmer, to live a worldly
life. But Pema possesses qualities of a great monk while living in the world.
We all at one or another point of our life are tempted to change things,
escape or leave everything behind and go somewhere.
Samsara for me has always been the story of that somewhere.
Pan Nalin
20th November 2012
Pan Nalin, a level
headed director with an unusual approach and style, comes across as a very down
to earth person with no airs despite the fact that his film SAMSARA has bagged
more than 30 international awards and witnessed a spectacular reception
worldwide. From making several documentaries (The latest one being AYURVEDA-Art
of the being), short silent films and animation films, he's done it all. A
tete-a tete with the very dashing man himself...
I decided to move out of my
village to pursue my dreams
It has been quite a struggle I must say. I was born and brought up in Saurashtra, Gujrat. My parents were illiterate but always encouraged me. I used to draw and paint. Like most kids I grew up watching mainstream cinema. I decided to move out of my village to pursue my dreams. I studied Fine Arts and Visual Communication and got selected by the National institute of design that took me to Baroda. I've had my share of ups and downs in life. The National film development corporation (NFDC) had rejected some of my scripts. I had to learn English since I wasn't fluent enough. I used to work in a printing press at nights. I have also worked with Christian missionaries. Durga Khote gave me her 16mm camera and I stared making documentaries. I always wanted to make original films. My film KHAJURAHO starring Kitu Gidwani took me abroad.
It has been quite a struggle I must say. I was born and brought up in Saurashtra, Gujrat. My parents were illiterate but always encouraged me. I used to draw and paint. Like most kids I grew up watching mainstream cinema. I decided to move out of my village to pursue my dreams. I studied Fine Arts and Visual Communication and got selected by the National institute of design that took me to Baroda. I've had my share of ups and downs in life. The National film development corporation (NFDC) had rejected some of my scripts. I had to learn English since I wasn't fluent enough. I used to work in a printing press at nights. I have also worked with Christian missionaries. Durga Khote gave me her 16mm camera and I stared making documentaries. I always wanted to make original films. My film KHAJURAHO starring Kitu Gidwani took me abroad.
SAMSARA is a spiritual
romantic love story
It's a spiritual love story that takes place in a unique setting of Ladakh, in the Himalayas. SAMSARA is a quest - a man's struggle to find spiritual Enlightenment. The film is basically about choices, a pursuit of spiritual awakening. A Buddhist monk falls in love with a beautiful young woman and is caught in a catch 22 situation. It's like a web of choices that one has to make at some point of time in his/her life.
It's a spiritual love story that takes place in a unique setting of Ladakh, in the Himalayas. SAMSARA is a quest - a man's struggle to find spiritual Enlightenment. The film is basically about choices, a pursuit of spiritual awakening. A Buddhist monk falls in love with a beautiful young woman and is caught in a catch 22 situation. It's like a web of choices that one has to make at some point of time in his/her life.
I have never believed in the
concept of a target audience
I have never believed in the concept of a target audience. Infact whenever I make a film, I never think of targeting a particular set of people. I concentrate on the story, as I believe it's one of the most crucial aspects of filmmaking. Incidentally people from all walks of life have loved my film. Young college-going crowd in Taiwan have really liked the film. Be it Latin America, Europe, Peru, Columbia, Switzerland etc my film has been universally acclaimed.
I have never believed in the concept of a target audience. Infact whenever I make a film, I never think of targeting a particular set of people. I concentrate on the story, as I believe it's one of the most crucial aspects of filmmaking. Incidentally people from all walks of life have loved my film. Young college-going crowd in Taiwan have really liked the film. Be it Latin America, Europe, Peru, Columbia, Switzerland etc my film has been universally acclaimed.
SAMSARA in India
SAMSARA will be released on 23rd June 2006 in metros Mumbai, Bangalore etc in the first round and in Kolkatta, Pune, Ahmedabad and Chennai etc in the next week. It will also be screened at a film festival held in Delhi.
SAMSARA will be released on 23rd June 2006 in metros Mumbai, Bangalore etc in the first round and in Kolkatta, Pune, Ahmedabad and Chennai etc in the next week. It will also be screened at a film festival held in Delhi.
Shooting in Ladakh was quite
an uphill task
Shooting in Ladakh was a huge struggle for me. Ladakh has extreme conditions and to obtain the rights and permission from several departments like army and defense was quite an uphill task. It is a very unique, remote and isolated area with no sign of human beings around. Ladakh was just the apt landscape for shooting SAMSARA. No other landscape would have done the same amount of justice as Ladakh. Besides SAMSARA is the first film to be shot entirely in Ladakh at an altitude of 15000 feet.
Shooting in Ladakh was a huge struggle for me. Ladakh has extreme conditions and to obtain the rights and permission from several departments like army and defense was quite an uphill task. It is a very unique, remote and isolated area with no sign of human beings around. Ladakh was just the apt landscape for shooting SAMSARA. No other landscape would have done the same amount of justice as Ladakh. Besides SAMSARA is the first film to be shot entirely in Ladakh at an altitude of 15000 feet.
My own quest for learning made
me direct SAMSARA
It was not like I was dying to make a film. I was very happy making short films and documentaries until a great story touched me and that's how I made the film. It was more out of my own quest for learning and personal experiences coupled with a chaotic phase in my life that made me take the plunge.
It was not like I was dying to make a film. I was very happy making short films and documentaries until a great story touched me and that's how I made the film. It was more out of my own quest for learning and personal experiences coupled with a chaotic phase in my life that made me take the plunge.
My expectations are sky high
My expectations are very very high. My film has no stars, no songs but yet there is some kind of positive energy within me. Even if 20 people come and watch the film, I'm sure they'll send another 40. I have already witnessed an amazing, heart-warming reception in over 60 countries. Actually my expectations have already been fulfilled. People like Pravin Nischol (of Entertainment one), Manmohan Shetty, Ram Gopal Varma, and John Matthew Mathan have appreciated my work saying that they've never seen something like SAMSARA before. They congratulated me and thought it was incredible. Infact my source of inspiration and 80% of my cast and crew is from India.
My expectations are very very high. My film has no stars, no songs but yet there is some kind of positive energy within me. Even if 20 people come and watch the film, I'm sure they'll send another 40. I have already witnessed an amazing, heart-warming reception in over 60 countries. Actually my expectations have already been fulfilled. People like Pravin Nischol (of Entertainment one), Manmohan Shetty, Ram Gopal Varma, and John Matthew Mathan have appreciated my work saying that they've never seen something like SAMSARA before. They congratulated me and thought it was incredible. Infact my source of inspiration and 80% of my cast and crew is from India.
VALLEY OF FLOWERS is a
different love story
I'm in the process of giving this film some finishing touches. It's a very different love story since it expands across 2 centuries. It initiates in the early 19th century and ends in modern day Tokyo. It's about the chief of a bandit gang played by Milind Soman who falls in love with a mysterious woman played by French Chinese actress Lena Jampamoi (that's what she calls herself) and will release on July 16.
I'm in the process of giving this film some finishing touches. It's a very different love story since it expands across 2 centuries. It initiates in the early 19th century and ends in modern day Tokyo. It's about the chief of a bandit gang played by Milind Soman who falls in love with a mysterious woman played by French Chinese actress Lena Jampamoi (that's what she calls herself) and will release on July 16.
Bollywood films not on my
agenda
I am not very keen on directing Bollywood films, atleast not in the near future. I mean there's no harm in directing one but I feel Bollywood restricts you in some ways. Having said that I might do it if I come across the right script, right moment in future.
I am not very keen on directing Bollywood films, atleast not in the near future. I mean there's no harm in directing one but I feel Bollywood restricts you in some ways. Having said that I might do it if I come across the right script, right moment in future.
Pan Nalin: Interview of an award winning film maker
12 years in a small village Khijadiya, study in Baroda and
now living in Paris, France. He has directed award winning film Samsara which earned him 120
crores. Later he made films such as Valley of
Flowers, Buddha
and a special documentary Echo of Eco.
Apart from this, he has made many other documentaries, written stories and so
on. Originally known as Nalin Pandya and now known as Pan Nalin has a story to tell
to all those who has a dream!
Pan Nalin is probably the only
Indian screenwriter to be twice invited to a prestigious Screenwriter’s lab
Equinoxe along with top Hollywood screenwriters like; Ron Bass (Rainman..),
David and Janet People (Unforgiven, Blade Runner…) Jim Hart (Dracula, Contact,
Lara Croft), and Shane Black, (Lethal Weapon, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang…) among
others. Legendary Diva of French Cinema Jeanne Moreau headed the writer’s lab.
Recently, he was in Rajkot for
the launching of book ‘Hats off Zindagi’ of a very young and enthusiastic
writer Prof. Jayesh Vachhani. We had a golden opportunity to spend some quality time with him.
Excerpt of the Interview
Q.:
Welcome to SpeakBindas. What tips you would like to share with upcoming film
makers who have less experience but more passion, who are eager to start making
short films? How do they finish the process without being frustrated?
First and most important thing
that every film maker should keep in mind is to develop the clarity about the
theme on which they want to make a short film. Due to internet, DVD etc.
borders are being vanished. There are such film makers who simply upload their
work on Youtube, that’s it. They don’t have any further goals in the field.
They should focus on the
direction. And once decided, they should work hard for the same. These days,
there are various forms of this field such as animation, 3D animations, live
action, documentary, commercial and non-commercial films, television series
etc. At the same time, they need to check whether that theme does match to
their personality or not.
Q.: By
looking at you, one comes to feel of spirituality that you’re carrying with.
Your first film Samsara itself is a spiritual name. What’s the relationship
between spirituality and Pan Nalin?
Spirituality is in our culture. I
came to realize that let it be any kind of story, understanding of spirituality
in it has great importance. For example, the latest highly successful
commercial film Avatar
has the spiritual angle in it. Likewise other films such as Star Wars and Matrix too have the spiritual
concept.
But often, people do confuse
spirituality with religion. I don’t believe in it at all. I believe that
spirituality can exist equally in Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. Those who
are highly religious, sometimes, there is no spirituality at all in them and to
reverse to it, those who are not religious at all, are highly spiritual. This
is actually hard to define. It’s indeed a matter of sadness that the gap
between spirituality and religion is increasing day by day.
Q.: A lot
has been talked about the success of your films. They have been internationally
reviewed positively. One question I would like to ask on behalf of struggling
film makers that was there any event of frustration during your film career?
How should one overcome the same?
Frustration is a part of the
package. And when I decided to become a film maker I knew about it. Many things
can not be achieved without it. Severe frustration, severe struggle, severe
disappointment comes around in the process. And even after working so hard, we
are not sure about its result. It’s a hard question, but in general, I can say
that it’s of very much importance to keep the balance of stress level. It
depends on how much belief you’ve for what you are doing, how much confident
you’re about the same. And when frustration is higher than the belief, people
do leave the filed.
And the kind of projects that I
do work on, there are more chances of receiving frustration. I think it’s
easier to make a film taking couple of known stars having few songs.
When I left my home for my
passion, my father asked me “If you’ve
two paths ahead of you, one quite easier and the second very tough, which one
will you chose?” To which I replied “the tougher one.” And he said “Now you’re ready to go ahead.”
This is quite a simple logic. Every youngster should learn to handle
frustration. This is common for every field. Particularly, when it comes about
film line, upcomers have more attraction towards its glamour and they tend to
forget the hard work it requires too and hence sometimes ends up with
frustration. To create a dialogue, a script, to create the characters, find the
matching actors, get work from them, shoot the film etc. it’s all about
concentration. During the shooting of ‘Valley of
Flowers’ sometimes, at a time there used to be total 600 people
involved in. Hence, so much to manage making sure your concentration doesn’t
get diverted. After the shooting comes editing, music and mixing. By the time,
the film is ready to be released; film director has watched it more than 500
times. Director of blockbuster film
Avatar, James Cameron has watched it for 3000 times.
Q.:
You’ve made Samsara, Valley of flowers, Buddha, Echo of Eco and many other
documentaries and short films. Now what?
I usually work on multiple
stories at a time. My attraction is always towards good stories. Recently, I’ve
written a Horror story for a producer based in Bangkok. I’m not directing it
though. I am also working on a Martial Arts film ‘First Warrior’ which is an
action packed film. I am also working on a tragic comedy film. Hence, many a
projects are going on in my mind and in practical. Like you mentioned about
Echo of Eco, I was one of the 30 film directors from the world who were invited
to make a documentary, by COPENHAGEN Climate Conference 2009. By going through
the list, I was literary amazed finding my name from INDIA among the world
renowned directors from the world. I left everything else and started doing
that documentary. I think, because I’m involved with multiple jobs at a time, I
can manage my frustration.
I will also start working on a
story by Saadat Hasan Manto which is based on the partition of India – Pakistan
in 1947. The story is like, during the partition some chose to live in India,
some in Pakistan, what about the mad people? It is a comedy cum tragic film.
Devang Vibhakar with Pan Nalin
Q.: Are
you passionate about acting?
I have done some drama and
theatres earlier. But when you become a film director, when you write a story,
you need to do the acting backstage. When I do write a script, I get involved
in moods of character and that is when I need to do acting myself. During the
acting workshops of film, I participate in it and play the different characters
to support the actors during the rehearsal process.
In Hollywood, no actor has time
to do the research for acting. Hence, script has to be very specific, defining
every scene. So being a film director, I’ve to
do more acting than an actor!
Q.: My
last question to you is that, you were born in a small village Khijadiya of
Gujarat and now living in France. You’ve traveled the world over. So what
collective message you would like to share with us?
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Short message is that believe in what you do.
Believe with total confidence no matter what you do, let it be music, film or
even agriculture. And enjoy doing it. I feel that otherwise you shouldn’t be
doing it. [Interview by Joginder Tuteja]
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Thursday,
July 06, 2006
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As
internationally acclaimed SAMSARA sees a release in India, its director Pan
Nalin is all excited to share his experiences about the making of the film.
In Part I of this into 3 part interview, he also talks about his film making
journey and the reception it has received.
Pan Nalin? Isn't it an uncommon name for an
Indian?
[Laughs]
Well, my full name is Pandya Nalinkumar Ramniklal. It so happened that the
name was so long for the West that they rechristened me as Pan Nalin. Not
that I really cared as long as I got the right films to direct with good
funds coming in to help me survive! In Europe I had been making number of
short films and documentaries and each time I was credited differently. But
then finally things got became hot for me and from Pandya Nalin I became Pan
Nalin!
We have heard a lot about you from the
West. Now can we know a little more about you for the benefit of Indian
audience?
See,
first and foremost I want to credit my teacher Mr. H. Patel, a well known
faculty member, for where I am today. He is the man who introduced me to
world cinema. He guided me to film club that had host of movies that were not
readily available elsewhere. Luckily there were number of other
actors/actresses from different streams whom I accompanied for watching these
films. What I observed was that number of these films were purely director
driven that was quite inspiring.
SAMSARA is said to have generated a lot of
buzz globally. Do you want to elaborate?
Yes,
the film has traveled around 30 countries in last 5 years and all this while
people have been quite supportive of the film. Response from the distributors
has been quite positive too and during all this years the film has got a lot
of mileage. People have been asking a lot of questions and have also
commented that it has been a learning experience for them. Number of
screenings have happened worldwide and the response has been simply
spectacular. The film has been shown in countries as diverse as Thailand,
Denmark, Switzerland, Korea etc. and what I have heard is that audience has
been bowled over by the sheer power of story telling. In fact there have been
people in Germany who have even gone to an extent of writing books on the
film.
Wow, that indeed sounds like a long enough
journey. Doesn't it become redundant for you to continue talking about the
film with different people for such a extended period of time?
Well,
I have now got back to my making my next film since 'SAMSARA' has taken its
life. But yes, it is not redundant for me since every time the film has been
released in a new country, it has taken a new form through a new publicity
design. The film has not taken a single identity as the distributors have
opted for a new design for a specific country. If one looks at the film's
release in Korea. the response was simply overwhelming. If you talk about
Toronto, there was an instance of people crying over my shoulders. The best
part about this entire journey has been the "audience choice
awards" that I have received. Now that's something that I hold over and
above the critics/jury awards since the audience award comes straight from
the heart. Look at countries like Australia, Peru and Switzerland where the
film has supposedly evoked memories for number of people.
Any specific instance that you wish to cite
about the global response?
Ya,
there has been one interesting and heartwarming incidence that I can
recollect. After the screening in Korea, there was a Q&A session that
happened. We soon ran short of time but people just wanted the conversation
to continue. Since the situation was uncontrollable, we decided to continue
the session at another point nearby but in no time the crowd of around 50 odd
enthusiasts gathered there as well! What I heard from them was that watching
'SAMSARA' was like living a different life altogether for them. If you go
there, you would find that the film has almost taken a cult status. In
Bangkok, there have been case studies that have been made around the film. It
has been extremely touching experience for the people out there and they have
found the film to be extremely relevant in every sense. When I look back at
all of this, I feel that it was a huge struggle to make the film but then it
was absolutely worth it. Now over the period of time the film has stayed on
inspite of its release way back in 2001. The film is now seen by global audience
through DVDs with special collectors' edition out. It's only now that the
film is now being shown on Indian screens.
With just an overwhelming response from the
audience, have you ever tried to sit back and ponder over the actual reasons
behind its global appreciation?
I
believe the film's strength lies in its simplicity. Let me narrate you an
incident. When I decided to be a film maker, I was told by my mother that if
you are really set out to do so, tell a story that an entire village can
listen to. If you can hold the attention of country side people then you can
win the world. And the crux of this should lie in the fact that the story
should be simple. Now if you look at SAMSARA, it is about making choices. I
have narrated the film in such a manner that I have allowed the spectator to
decide the end. There is nothing intellectual about 'SAMSARA' and the film
has its strength lying in the power of silence and less dialogues. My thought
is, since our life is so full of silences, why to have a 3 hours film with
non-stop chatter. After all it's a simple love story about choices. That's a
trait that is common amongst every individual. So many time we find ourselves
asking this question, "Whom should I love, whom should I stay with,
which is the job I should choose?" When in love, you also wonder that if
my girl goes to Thar desert would I still accompany her? Or would I be better
off by living in my A/C car? Now these are simple conflicts that I have based
my film on. And this is what has helped the film moving people. They have
been made to think that how much do choices dictate our love, condition our
mind and govern our lives!
Interesting. Please continue!
The
male protagonist of my film first falls in love with a woman and then later
finds himself falling in love with another girl after 7 years. Just like
'Siddhartha', he too decides to leave his wife and son in sleep. But then
there is a twist in the end that I would like to hold on as it has an element
of suspense to it. Let the audience decide about the end by themselves as
they would be bowled over by the climax!
To be continued�..
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