Screenplay is the Blueprint...

While I remember exactly when, where and how I got the idea for “Peacock”, I will not delve into the details here for it is not a particularly interesting tale. That is unless you know the people in question who provided me with the basic premise. Suffice to say that like many other writers I got the idea in a passing moment and began developing it further. Initially, my idea for this film was that it should only be about 10 to 12 minutes in length, with only one big event at its center. I discussed my initial plans with my closest collaborators and they were all quite enthusiastic. But, after about three and a half weeks of writing, it became clear that the characters in the story were so interesting that I couldn’t do them injustice by making such a small film. No, the film had to have more, and as I was really challenging myself this time around, I decided to go ahead with my instincts.

All writers have a different way of approaching their craft. While I am not a particularly gifted writer, I have always nurtured the fancy of becoming one. Usually, I have a very methodical approach to writing. I jot down notes, I sketch out my characters, I write the treatment and so on. But this time around, I experimented with simply letting myself loose on the keyboard. I had about ten or twelve pages of notes on the characters, their backgrounds (individually and things they had done together), events, themes and so on, but I had nothing solid. So, I basically sat there and began typing away. Needless to say, this was the most fun I have had while writing. This approach allowed the screenplay to become more organic in its telling and ultimately more personal in nature.

As I mentioned in my previous post, most characters were based on people I know. Naturally, I can’t name any lest I embarrass them. But every single character in the film is either heavily inspired from one personality or is a combination of a few. This is what allowed me to simply “go ahead” with the screenplay, instead of scratching my head over things like motivation, background and so on. I had experience to guide me wherever my literary prowess failed. There is a deep, deep irony at work here, though. You have to realize that the characters I was depicting, seemingly based on real people, were ultimately portrayed as how I saw them and not how they actually were in real life. And I thought making films was simple!

All in all, the screenplay took me about a month to complete, with two drafts making rounds around the table. My second draft was basically an extended version of the first and retained most of the dialogues and scenes from it. While I think I could have handled the transition from the first to the second act better, the screenplay was met with general enthusiasm from my would-be crew members and actors.

And now for some trivial information. This was the first time I handled Hindi dialogues at such a scale. Sure, you might say that a 26 page script is not exactly what you would call “large scale”. To that, all I can say is “Give it a try!” It is much harder to pull off convincingly than it appears. I wrote a blog on it some time ago and was met with a very hostile response. But I stand by my convictions. Another interesting thing to note is that we never had a production draft on this one, with proper scene numbers and such. Mainly due to time constraints, as we had only about three weeks of prep-time once the screenplay was complete. More on that later.

Finally, HERE is the screenplay if anyone is interested.

Remember, you may VOTE for, and WATCH, “PEACOCK”, here.

Genesis of a film - Part 2

I used to be a very uptight person when it came to understanding others. I had no patience to listen to anyone. But just as much as “Silent Night” changed my views on cinema, it changed my views on life. As my understanding of the world came shattering around me, all I saw were viewpoints. Viewpoints about life that aspire to, but never manage to, reach the ultimate truth. And I understood. I understood that life, for me, is only as I make it out to be. If I choose to call “red” “green”, no one can stop me because that green is only considered so because it is accepted to be that way. It is a simple idea but when applied to life, can result in some truly mind-boggling scenarios.


I realized that this is what I wanted to show in my next film. Of course, no one film, especially a short one, can truly grasp the essence of this idea, but what choice did I have? You must remember that the Force was after me on this one. If I hadn’t made this film, who knows what might have happened? Frustration, for me anyway, is a great driving force. It propels me to pull myself out of my misery and act. And it certainly, along with the Force no doubt, helped me out here.


As much as this film was about me trying to prove something to myself, it was also about me trying to prove something to others. Ever since I first picked up a video camera all those years ago, all I wanted to do was to make people have a good time when they watch my movies. Sure, somewhere along the line I got lost, but now that I was back on track again, that feeling of showmanship started manifesting itself once more. I had to prove to the people around me that I am a filmmaker, not a punk with issues with society. I gave it all I had to meet that goal and it is my sincere hope that I have. If I haven’t, then I’ll try again next time. I will close this two-parter just as I started it; with a saying by George Lucas. He once said, during the height of the prequel trilogy hate, that should he put twenty people in a room and make them watch his film, all he wants them to say when they come out is “I enjoyed it.” I aspire for the same.


Now that we have all that out of the way, we can get to more interesting things. Next time I hope to be able to write a little about the screenplay of “Peacock”.

And as usual, you may VOTE for, and Watch, "Peacock" here

Genesis of a Film...

India Counts

When most of us start making films, we understand that films are made for an audience. What that really means is anyone’s guess. Given the nature of cinema, it is all very instinctive. George Lucas once said that you make a film on the assumption that no one is going to watch it, and by extension he meant that you work extra hard on making it watchable, because you assume no one would want to. And, in my opinion, that is what it is all about. From the very beginning, I wanted my films to be liked by audiences, whether they be tragedies or comedies, or anything else under the sky (or above it, for I love space films too).

But somewhere along the line, I got lost. I got lost in the power of cinema, in its power to make you feel like you know everything. That you can accomplish anything and that anybody who doesn’t like your films is a total loser. To put it simply for all my fellow Star Wars fans out there, I fell to the dark side, if only momentarily. My first film was a success (for me anyway) and I look back at it with nothing but fond memories. It was my first complete film after literally dozens of abortive attempts. I put in all my energy into making it and am mostly proud of the final result. The turning point came with my second film, titled “The Case of Jyoti Verma”. The film is very close to my heart and I consider it my favourite amongst the five that I have made so far. Not because it is artistically, dramatically or literarily superior to any other film, but because it was a labour of love. Shot with a skeleton crew, backward cine-equipment and amateur actors, it was a film that I put all my resources into. True, the film was indulgent, overlong and boring, but I could never get over how poor a reception it got. It made me angry, irritable and jealous of my contemporaries, who kept churning out film after film that became instant hits within our circle. I eventually started thinking that my film was superior to everyone else’s and the people were simply too stupid to get it. And in my arrogance, I became a poor filmmaker. This period was the most unproductive time for me for I don’t have a single piece of work that, be it a screenplay or a production exercise, can be called good. Then along came my third film, after many rejected screenplays and one incomplete action film. Even though I was in denial for quite a while about that film, it eventually managed to show me how far down the dark path I had fallen. It was a terrible, arrogant and high-handed film. That film, pretentiously titled “Silent Night”, shook me out of my self-imposed misery and told me that it was time to pull myself together. The Force was beckoning me. I could hear it as my head cleared of all that garbage. It was telling me one thing and one thing only; Make a Good Film. Forget about everything else.

Look into your own life for inspiration, the wise have long advised. And so I sifted through my own short life to find something of interest. I had to do what the Force was telling me, otherwise I was no Jedi. So, along came the idea for “Peacock”. I am the first one to admit that the film’s characters are based on, sometimes broadly, sometimes specifically, on people I knew in college. Needless to say, some people got offended, for I used their characteristics without permission. Others were delighted. And sometimes I got away without the sources realizing it. You might say that this is incredibly arrogant of me, to use people in a film without them knowing it. But I counter that argument by saying that “Peacock” is a tribute to all those people, for they taught me that life is full of different points of view and that my opinion is not always the correct one. It is my way of expressing my gratitude towards all those people for teaching me such an invaluable lesson.



TO BE CONTINUED…



Remember, you may VOTE, and WATCH, the film "Peacock", here

Nominated for FulMarxx

After a string of rejections from almost every known film festival in India, except of course The Butterfly Film Project Series, which was held in in the first week on November, "Peacock" has been successfully nominated for "FulMarxx Shorts Fest 2.0". You may vote for the film here:

http://www.fulmarxxshortsfest.com/Vishesh_Mankal/

Follow this blog for more updates on the film.

watch a short film: "Peacock"

Powered by WebRing.




This film has been complete for about two months now. I have now gotten around to promoting it on the web after a successful string of live screenings and free distribution. I am a struggling filmmaker in India. I have just completed my formal education in Film and am trying to get people to see my films. "Peacock" is the name of the film that I am talking about. It is a tribute to college life as I experienced it and is composed of events and people that have been in my life so far. Not everything is autobiographical however; some of it is also made up to make the film more interesting. So here is the film:

part 1


part 2


part 3


Now let me tell you a little bit about the film itself. It is a comedy at heart, but it won’t make you jump out of your seats laughing. That is because the comedy is not blatant; it is more under the surface. The film works on many levels, each being as enjoyable as the others. It is about seven college students who are being interviewed in relation to a classmate of theirs, Mayur. Well, much to their dismay, Mayur has gotten the highest marks in the annual college examinations. In their interviews, they express their feelings towards Mayur, tell us stories related to him and confess to some of the things they have done in life. The characters are not always telling the truth, so watch the film carefully. And don’t trust any of them. They might be taking you for a ride. Ultimately it is a loving to tribute to two of the greatest filmmakers ever, namely Akira Kurosawa and Orson Welles.

The film was made for about 15,000 rupees in total, which my friends and I pooled together. It was an independent project with very little aid from our college. During the course of making this film, we even managed to get in trouble with the college authority. That in itself is a long story. Most of the actors were amateurs and worked without pay. The film was shot on miniDV on a SONY PD-170 camera. The entire film was shot handheld and on a tripod with wheels. It was shot over three days, which weren’t always very smooth. Anyone interested in reading about the making of the film can go here:

http://passionforcinema.com/peacock-a-short-film-that-escaped/

Now, finally, anyone who has anything to say about the film is requested to kindly do so. I appreciate all views and comments. The film is about 25 mins long, but from what people have been saying, it is not a boring film, so the 25 mins won’t be a drag.

Blog Information Profile for VisheshMankal