Thursday 28 March 2013

Post 3; Day 2: Mumbai Mantra Sundance Institute Screenwriter's Lab.


DAY 2: What lies in store today?

At breakfast there is a lot of banter between Fellows. Neha is constantly ribbed and Terrie is called ‘Oh Teri’by Nitin. Nitin’s the PJ king among us and I come a not-so-close second. Sarthak with his earphones (was he born with them?), Pratim and Abhijit are into Bonging (that’s the word for Bengalis bonding) The lighthearted beginning to our day is a must in light of the serious discussions we are going to have with our mentors very soon.
 
First stop is our screening room where Nitin’s film ‘Filmistaan’is going to be shown. I am very curious about the kind of film Nitin has made. This guy whose day starts with looking at the bowl of honey at the breakfast table and saying‘Hi Honey’ has come to the Sundance Lab with a script inspired by Saadat Hassan Manto’s stories; he’s a study in paradox. As “Filmistaan” unfolds one gets drawn into the simplicity by which Nitin has told this humane tale. Pakistan and India, two nations, pitted against each other, being taught distorted histories so that hate is passed down the generations just as passionately as precious family heirlooms. But there’s a commonality that knows no boundaries. Something that runs deeper than hate. Here Nitin has used Indian films as a deep rooted connection. Also cricket in the latter half, but predominantly Film. The film unfolds with endearing simplicity, pathos, emotion and humour with the sceptre of untold violence and atrocities always evident in the background (the Taliban).Above all the film talks of friendship and loyalty. The performances (outstanding Sharib Hashmi and Inaamulhaq), dialogue and music carry the message beautifully.I’m impressed. No wonder the film is declared the best film in Hindi at the National Awards this year. There’s a lesson. Don’t ever judge a filmmaker by his ‘Hi Honey’s =D.

We’re ready to face our music for the day. I look for my mentor.
 
MALIA SCOTCH-MARMO: (the Hook, and worked with Steven Spielberg on many scripts) “Emphatic”
 
Malia and I have already got to know each other a bit at breakfast and lunch so I don’t feel as awkward as I felt with Bill or Joshua. She loves and admires all things Indian. She dresses in churidar kurtas and so does her daughter Jackie who has accompanied her to India. So it’s not surprising that she connects very deeply with the women characters in my script. When I tell her that strong, outspoken women are rare in Indian films except within the patriarchal framework; she says they are rare anywhere in the world!(the single largest minority-women)  She finds out from me what my interactions with Bill and Joshua were like and whether that had brought up any questions I would like to discuss. I ask her simply whether she believed I could make a good screenplay out of the material at hand. She emphatically says that I could! She praises the material at hand (because I can’t really call it a screenplay as it exists now) for it’s rawness and passion and reminds me that while getting into the structure, I should not lose out on these qualities that I have. That said, she tells me how a classic screenplay is divided into 5 parts. The introduction of the protagonist; then a bit of a resolution but not completely; the midpoint where things get very complicated; nearer the end when the situation is resolved but the film doesn’t end right there, it moves on to the point where you allow people to come out of the film and go home (hopefully happily). Give the audience a sense of closure.
She tells me that the introduction to my protagonist (Anu) has not been worked out very well. A) A lot of thought must go into how Anu is to be presented B)We must find out more about Anu’s character through some obstructions in her path which come as a surprise for the audience. An obstruction could be anything stopping her from doing whatever she wants; a thought, diversion, person, situation-anything. She says that introductions of all other primary as well as secondary characters have to be given the same thought and care. So we try and work out the different ways to deal with Anu’s introduction.
These are such important, practical and basic things. I am kicking myself, for not studying screenplays of films I’ve loved,for not reading published screenplays before I started writing this one.
I am thinking she must be feeling tired discussing such basics with me, but Malia doesn’t belittle me at all. In fact she shares so many stories, both personal and professional, that I feel I’m talking to a friend I’ve met after a very long time.
I’m also touched by the fact that she talks of Anu and my other characters as if they were living in the flesh. That makes me really want to see them all on the screen as soon as possible. I see the copious notes, markings and circling she has done on each and every page of ‘Tribhanga’and I feel truly privileged to be at the receiving end of such generosity.
At the end of our session she shares very humbly that with all the knowledge of what is right and what is wrong even expert screenwriters suffer from severe lapses of judgment and produce screenplays that do not work at all.
That’s so heartening and scary at the same time. Unki yeh gath hai toh hamaari kyaa hogi?
Terrie, Kavanjit, Aparna and Sarthak
It’s lunch time…… food, food, food, food, wonderful food (to be sung to the tune of the Amul doodh ad)
I’m ravenous. Anjum spots me and says that it is him and me next. He doesn’t have to remind me because we get a sort of call sheet every evening about what the programme is for us the next day. We also have Aparna to shepherd us in the right direction. I wish our film industry worked with such discipline. It’s amazing how I’ve not seen a single battle of the egos as yet. It’s so refreshing. It’s not just the air in Pavna. It’s the atmosphere at the Lab. And that comes from the top. Michelle and Paul come with that philosophy and partner with only the kind of people who will see their egalitarian, respectful, disciplined philosophy through. And they’ve really found the ideal partners in Mumbai Mantra; in Rohit and Aparna. I can’t believe I didn’t know any of them before this Lab!
Rohit Khattar (Mumbai Mantra)
Michelle Satter(Sundance Institute)
 
 
 
ANJUM RAJABALI: (Ghulam, Drohkaal, Rajneeti,  Aarakshan, Satyagraha) “EMPATHIC”
 
 
Anjum has single-handedly changed the face of our Writer’s Association. Due to his discipline, commitment and interventions, thousands of writers have been given their due. He is the only Indian mentor I have and I am really nervous about what he is going to say. None of the other mentors have a clear idea of what making an Indie film in India involves, but Anjum knows it all. He is part of the system and yet out of it. Also he knows the cultural ethos of my characters perfectly.
As we sit down to chat he categorically says that he has a very specific agenda vis a vis my script because the mentors earlier have dealt with quite a lot of what needs to be said. But in terms of the story (which he gently reminds me I don’t have)he has a lot to say and ask. So first he starts with my inspiration, why I decided on this particular line of thought rather than any other. Through these questions we come up with a lot of personal stories, his and mine which help us delve into the emotional core of my screenplay. I am privy to some of the dysfunctional relationships in his life and I feel so touched by the confidence he places in me. I feel almost like a Father hearing a confession. And immediately I apply the same sanctity to it. The converse therefore is also true. What I tell him stays between us. An unsaid pact, pretty rare for people who are practically strangers. And so we go through the emotional graph that my screenplay should take. He tells me that my characters speak so brutally and honestly that it is visceral……”baat aatonse aati hai”he says. That’s a huge compliment! Somehow,It is very important to me and my self confidence that Anjum should like my writing. And I love the way he tells me that there are huge lacunae and huge problems with my screenplay as it stands; but despite that there is something about it which brought it from a journey of 1 among 500, to 200, to 30 and finally 8. As I am reminded of that, I realise the faith by which I have been brought here. I am also reminded not to get daunted by the task ahead. Anjum assures me of any help I need even after we go back from the Lab and my spirits rise. I am already feeling horrible that all this luxury of ONLY thinking about writing in an elite group of writers, with the best mentors and the best hospitality ever,is soon going to end.
The last things Anjum suggests are some practical things to do. First download Celtx free screenwriting software, write a 2-3 sentence premise, a 1 page pitch, a 4 page story outline and a step outline of each scene and then I’ll be good to go. That’s all there is to it Anjum says with a broad grin and pats me on the back in an avuncular manner.
Whew! That’s all there is to it? That’s ALL? Ha ha ha ha!
(I laugh a lot when I’m hysterical)
I can see ‘Tribhanga’taking forever because the “that’s all there is to it” could take a lifetime!!!
After these four sessions there is so much to mull over and assimilate that I am looking forward to some time I’m going to get for rumination. A trip down to Pavna lake has been arranged. I go to the screening room where everyone is to assemble, to say my byes. But that is not to be! My Fellows protest my not going. But I don’t have walking/running shoes I tell them. (I didn’t get any because I wanted to concentrate only on mental exercise in the Lab). Our beautiful facilitators from Mumbai Mantra, Rachna, Himani and Sneha said that they would help me climb down but I should definitely go along. My protests about not having shoes are drowned out by everyone. They say that I would require a will to walk, not shoes. Ok! I am convinced. Lake Pavna from a distance is so beautiful, it would be good to experience it from up close. And with all the wonderful food at the Lab I think a bit of physical exercise would do me good.
The descent to Pavna is steep and I managed with a lot of help from Sneha. My toes are desperately trying to grip the chappals which are just not in a mood to go in that particular direction. But reaching Pavna makes it worth all the trouble. We relax, click pictures of each other and enjoy the solace of silence that only nature can offer.
Himani, Aparna, Sneha, I and Rachna
 
 
 
 
 
But it is soon time to return. The climb up is really steep. I am huffing and puffing on the way up. Just about a fourth of the way up my chappals give up AND I get a cramp in my poor toes. It is so excruciatingly painful, I want to howl. How am I going to make it? Suddenly everyone feels guilty about forcing me to come without shoes. I try walking barefoot and immediately get a cramp in my other foot as well! Malia has extra sandals(bless her), so Aparna wears Malia’s sandals and lends me her shoes. But I can’t raise either foot without making the cramps worse. This is terrible! It would soon be Sun down and that would make climbing up worse. Poor Nitin is rubbing my feet,trying to get the cramp out desperately.
Others are giving me juice, water to drink and bananas to eat. The only happy guy is Kavanjit because he was huffing and puffing as badly as I was, and he desperately needed the rest. Sarthak said that I should not worry about the dark because we have torches. A small voice in my head says ",what if we’re stuck here for the whole night?" I bawl. The pain in my feet and that there are seven people stuck here with me due to my cramps is just too much to take. My friends don’t know what to do to alter the situation. I decide I’ll try walking little by little, it’s better than sitting in one place. So it is that we finally reach the Resort. Olivia (Bill’s girlfriend) who is a physiotherapist, checks my feet, ices them and asks me to put them up and rest. I decided to do exactly that.
I miss the screening and Q & A of Joshua’s film “Forgiveness of Blood”.But I am too beaten to feel bad about that. While I rest I get many more cramps, but luckily I don’t have to climb.
One thought sticks with me as I sleep. The journey to Pavna and back was difficult, but it is over. The journey of my screenplay will begin after the Lab ends. I won’t have these lovely people with me at that time. I won’t have any help!!!
 
 
 
 

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