My Complete Profile: New & Improved

A product of Hindi-speaking North Indian parentage, Bengali-speaking Kolkata upbringing, Marathi-speaking FTII nurture and Gujarati-speaking NID evolution (and now a Kannada-speaking hangover), Arun Gupta is quite a confused desi. The fact that he is married to an ethnic Bong from Mumbai adds to this delectable mess.

Arun loves the Moving Image, but in his view the Sound came first, followed by the Word and subsequently the Image. Hence he lives in a permanent inferiority complex vis a vis the Musical, the Literary and the Photographic Arts. However he draws consolation from the fact that it is in Cinema these varied art forms find an (un)holy union.

As he grows older, Arun is increasingly drawn to the beauty of the commonplace and the everyday. And he is a memory freak – his memory is falling but he increasingly remembers ‘the obvious necessity to forget’.

The sketch is by one of my ex-students Sreejith Paul - he had drawn caricatures of ALL his teachers, for one annual convocation display. Most of the text was originally written for an aborted faculty profiles publication.

Look Ma, I Wrote A Song !

Once upon a time, I wrote this for a filmmaker friend.
He was polite. I did not like that.

Shahar Hei So Gaya
Safar Bhi Neend Mein
Ye Bhole Raaste
Yoon Saath Chal Pade

Woh Chand Chupke Bhi
Lage Hei Kyon Khila
Chupa Chupi Ka Yei
Ajab Hei Silsila

Thami Imaratein
Rooki Ye Khidkian
Subah Ki Aas Mein
Unidin Shyahiyan

Samay Ki Daur Ko
Chala Mein Laangh Ke
Mein Uske Peeche Hoon
Ya Uske Samne ?

Mein Uske Peeche Hoon
Ya Uske Samne ?

Now since I am at it, let me give you another one.
The same friend was equally polite about this one as well.

Tees Ke Uspaar Kashti
Tairne Ki Ab Tameej
Chand Kinare Saath Aye
Par Chahiye Kuch Aur Bhi

Karakasha Rahon Se Gujre
Peeche Peeche Pyar Ke
Nafraton Ke Dum Nibhaye
Par Chahiye Kuch Aur Bhi

Par Chahiye Kuch Aur Bhi
Par Chahiye Kuch Aur Bhi

Can I give you one more ?
(this one misfired badly, in the long run)

Uski Ankhen Kuch
Kehna Chahati Hein Shayad
Kankhiyon Se Bakhabar
Rehna Chahti Hein Shayad

Wo Jhijhakana Wo
Moohn Chupane Ki Ada
Dosti Ke Hak Ada
Karna Chahati Hein Shayad

Kankhiyon Se Bakhabar
Rehna Chahti Hein Shayad

Uski Ankhen Kuch

Apne Moohn Mian Mithhu or The Art of Blowing One's Own Trumpet

I like being praised.

Teachers ought to be praised. Because that probably is the only asset they would manage to build in a lifetime. They are the monks who can never hope to buy or sell any ferraris.

This is one of my ex-students (no, neither Lekha nor Chinmayi !) talking about the scriptwriting course I took with her batch some years back -

"Cava! And thus he spoke the first word in class ...

The strings and strings of words that followed made so much sense that I felt I had learnt a lot in the very first class. In my opinion, the faculty could not have been better than this.

What was most interesting was the way the faculty handled all types of writing by students. It was the most unbiased approach. If everybody’s leg was pulled in class, everybody was also appreciated equally. Nobody was made to believe lesser than the other and I am sure everybody walked out of the class optimistic of his or her writing skills. At least, I did.

The faculty also gave us constructive criticism which I have not encountered in this place at all. If something was not upto mark in the assignments that we submitted, the faculty not only criticised it but also gave us alternative suggestions which made our minds work on different tangents to find out alternative solutions ..."

I am not blushing.

Now the flip side of the coin, this time from another of my ex-students, in an other scriptwriting course -

"I’m really happy that u criticized me but there wasn’t anything special in ur feed back because I know I have a problem with my English language and I told u from the beginning of it also. And I’m working hard for it. Then you gave me an A in punctuality sorry to say I wasn’t punctual at all so I don’t deserve it, then you gave me B+ for motivation where I deserve more than that because I was injured and my leg was plastered and my doctor tolled me to take rest but I came to ur class. Unfortunately u couldn’t see it. any way I m not here to become an A+ guy. And I’m also not attending any personality development course. U said I’m rigid in learning I will be only rigid when somebody say that you can’t go to that way you have to go this way then I will ask why not? if that person can’t answer it or convince me I will explore the way which he told me not go or he have to allow me to explore the way. Because this is the only time I can explore more and make mistakes and learn from that. The day I pass out from here I can’t do it with somebody else’s money, time, energy etc. before that I have to explore every thing and I’m not afraid of committing mistakes ... In my all life so many people told me that you can’t do that it’s impossible, that is not possible etc when I explored things I was right ... I thing you should read Robert frost’s poem “Road not taken”. You always tolled me that I have to open if I m open you are also bound to be open because I don’t believe in one side opened road. You used the word I’m talent and a made for a movie person to hear these words about me I been working hard for a long time it didn’t came in one day and its not the way you described me that I’m impatient and jumping to achieve the goal. I admit that I was little bit impatient completing my assignments because I can’t sit more than one hour hanging my plastered pain full leg on top of my computer and think creative and type words with all my spelling mistakes and grammar mistakes. If you are taking my physical problem with my attitude then I can’t help it. If you want to tell something to me tell straight foreword don’t go like “you have very good skill and visualization but you have these problems, that problems also. I’m not impressed by telling that I’m talented or I have done a good work I’ll be happy if you talk about my lacking and mistakes so that I can cover it. Tell me directly what problem I have, don’t appreciate first and then take my case. It won’t help me in my learning. With all respect to you sorry to say but you always do this cheap trick ..."

I am still not blushing.

Mysuru Days

This year I have been to Mysore thrice already. First time, in February, it was for conducting a Film Appreciation Workshop. The subsequent occasions, in June and September respectively, I was conducting Script Writing Workshops. All three times the location was the tranquil & unhurried Dhvanyaloka (Centre for Indian Studies).

My faithful and tireless co-conspirators in these ventures have been two amazing young people - Chinmayi (first from right, with a chunni) and Pavan (seventh from left, in white shirt).

Chinmayi, like Lekha (mentioned in an earlier post), is a former student of mine. Ideologically grounded and sensitive, Chinmayi has an intrinsic reservoir of talent which she is shy of acknowledging.

Pavan is a Fine Arts graduate and Photographer, whose creative output showcases an admirable eye for detail, in compositions which unobtrusively seek out inexplicit relationships.

photos by pavan k j

Upwardly Mobile

This is Lekha (Washington), at a busy crossroads in Mysore. And that's me looking up admiringly at her.

I am quite fond of her, though she is a wee bit fonder of attention en general. She was one of my brighter students; quite a rebel, often with a cause.

Now she is acting as female lead in one of the upcoming big-budget mainstream Tamil films (having already become a popular model and VJ in Chennai).

http://youtube.com/lekhawashington is the link to two of her fine student films on YouTube. Go watch them.

photo by pavan k j

Ab Dilli Door Nahin !

Dune Dudes in Doha

Photo 1 by Megha Lakhani
http://www.flickr.com/photos/meghalakhani/480970813/
Photo 2 by Haz & Phil
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8048845@N02/486468564/

Beauties and the Beast

Qatar Tribune, Doha / 25th April, 2007