Saturday, May 18, 2019

Power of a Story

Writing the Story is fun because it takes you up on a parachute, and you get to play God. If God wants you to get uplifted, he will inspire you to write a story. 
This is the first session in the creative writing class, and it is inspired by a master scriptwriter of the Indian Screen: the writer of awesome films like the 'Legend of Bhagat Singh', 'Rajneeti', 'Satyagraha', 'Ghulam', etc.

A story is more powerful than morals, than truth, than you. -Anjum Rajabali.

Why is a story more powerful than
a ) morals.

I remember a text book called Community Work, from the pre primary level of school. After every chapter, they had a sub title in bold, ‘Moral of the story’. So it is drummed into our heads, that stories are all about morals. However, in our experience, our life long and on going love affair with mythology, movies and literature,  proves the opposite. Stories take us beyond morality. They take us to the field which is beyond good and bad, where Rumi promised to meet us.

A story can take you from good to bad in moments. A master storyteller, like Alfred Hitchcock, does this so effortlessly in the film, Psycho. A young woman is murdered ruthlessly in the shower by this sick character called Norman Bates. After she is dead, Norman cleans the shower of all the blood stains. Then he wraps her dead body in a carpet and takes it down the stairs in the dark of the night. He puts her in her cars dickie and drives away. He reaches a pond, where he manages to push the car in. And he stands there, watching the car sink slowly in the water. Just as it is about to sink totally below the surface, the car stops sinking. We see Normans tense face and at that moment, all of us have a deeply immoral thought: the car should sink. And it does.

The point here is not that it is ok to murder and then try to hide proof. The point of a story is that is gives you an experience of life which you otherwise wouldn't have had. In Psycho you become the Psycho. You feel what he feels, at least for a moment. The bravest, the most righteous person can feel fear in a horror movie. And in this the story is more powerful than morals.

Why is a story more powerful than
b ) truth

All stories, by definition, are false. Ramayan, Mahabharat, and what happened yesterday. When Tulsidas narrated the Ramayan, he exercised his creative license to delete, add and change Valmikis version at crucial phases of the text.  They all are made from the stuff of the imaginary mind, which itself does not exist. Cinema itself, is an illusion of twentyfour still frames projected per second on a huge screen in a dark theater. Even a documentary film, has a perspective of the director on which it heavily depends. On the other side of the spectrum, a film like Superman is a worldwide hit.

A film should be believable. It need not be realistic. When you buy the tickets of a film like Superman, you buy into the belief that in the world of Superman which you are entering for the next couple of hours, Superman can and does fly.

The root of all stories is drama. Be it art or commercial, realistic or bizarre,  a film’s success depends largely on to what extent the audience brought into the belief in the narrative.

A story like Cinderella is retold across centuries and to date its theme ( socially unequal couple ) is repeated in every other film.

Mahatma Gandhi, a great exponent of truth, once had an interesting conversation with Birla, his host in Delhi.
‘Bapu,’ said Birla reverently, ‘You have done so much for us. Indians will never forget you.’
‘That’s not true, I will be forgotten sooner than you would like to imagine. The only two characters Indians will never forget are Ram and Krishna.’
So even the father of the nation knew that stories are more powerful than truth.

Why is a story more powerful than
c) you.

A story is always bigger than its characters. However great Bhagat Singh is, his sacrifice is what made him great. Rajesh Khanna became a star because romance was in the air. Amitabh took over because the romance gave way to frustration and anger. Angry became the new wave.

A story is more powerful than the writer. Once the script is bought by the producer, the chord is cut. The script may be written by whoever, a film is always the director’s baby.

The script may be adapted from a book, but anyone who has loved a book will never be happy with the film. I am sure Chetan Bhagat wept when he saw three Idiots, which was inspired from his book, Five point someone.
A story is what pulls the audience in the cinema halls. The actors, or the stars, are there to act out the story.

And the biggest storywriter of all, the almighty, thinks nothing of popping a character he has so lovingly breathed life into, when he loses interest in the sand castle. Savitri was perhaps the only woman who convinced God to give her back her husband. Amitabh's character, in film after film, had to leave the earthly abode. What does not leave us, however, is their story.

Ek baar waqt se, lamha gira kahin.
Waha dastan mili, lamha kahin nahin
Once time lost a moment. All we count find there, was a story.

So the ocean is more powerful than the wave.
- See more at: https://www.urbanpro.com/comment/saveLearningTip#sthash.YyRibDvr.dpuf

Tuesday, May 14, 2019

Online Script-Writing course June - August, 2019

       Write your own story, and adapt it into a script.



The Script Writing Course is divided into two parts, the Story and the Screenplay. All students will write their own short story and adapt it into a screenplay. 

 WRITING A STORY

 Is it true that anyone who dreams can also write a story? Is there any hope of  rejuvenating a lost talent ?Is it possible, to learn the art and the craft of writing a complete short story ? These four sessions are designed to guide you step by step to write your own short story.

Day 1 : Finding your own voice / Ras. The Navrasas, our immense wealth.
Day 2 : An exercise to deal with the writers block. Start your own story.
Day 3 : Structure of a story : Conflict and Resolution. Developing your story.
Day 4 : Making it flow : Transitions, both poetic and visual.

WRITING A SCREENPLAY
 What is the difference between a book and a script? What is the meaning of the term, audio and visual?  How do we understand the concept of  'Show, Do not Tell'? How is a story transformed into a screenplay? What are the elements of the narrative that could be stretched , and where should we condense the flow? What are the tricks of the trade used by the scriptwriter ? These five sessions are designed vy an FTII faculty, to answer all these questions and more. 

Day 5  : Format of the American Screenplay. Scene Construction.
Day 6 : Theme, Story and Plot. Integrating these in your script.
Day 7: Writing dialogues for Characterisation. 
Day 8 : Writing a complete five page script.
Day 9 : Going back to telling. Write a one-line script, and practice the pitch talk.

 You will be given links to free scriptwriting softwares, scripts to read up, and some films which I would like you to watch before and during the sessions. These sessions will be evenly spaced out, once a week, so that the student has enough time to finish his assignments.
The classes will be referring to popular Indian films like Sholay, Deewar, Dil Chahta hai, Pinjar, Satya, 3 idiots, Piku, Bajrangi Bhaijan, and American films like Kill Bill, American Beauty, Little Miss Sunshine, etc. So please watch most of these films if you have not seen them, before the course begins.

Fees : The fees for this scriptwriting course ( nine sessions of two hrs each)   is Rs 12,500/- If you need support for writing a longer script, we can talk about it. Women can avail a special discount of 10%. 

Faculty : Manjushree Abhinav


The main faculty for this course is Manjushree Abhinav, a novelist and film maker. She has taught at NID, FTII, SRISHTI, CEPT, Anant University, and Storygram. 

Venue :  C9, Shree Krishna Apartments, Judges Bungalow,  Ahmedabad. If the student finds it difficult to commute to this location, the online option is available.

Contact : Manjushree 9825476446, or mail gazeatthesun@gmail.com

Saturday, September 29, 2018

Self love and Shivambu

A challenging aspect to Urine therapy is the necessary self-love required in sustaining the practice.
Not the hippy ‘new-age’ self-love that relies on spiritual bypassing, fragmented boundaries and chronic suppression to maintain a dogged determination for nothing but a perpetual shiny, sparkly positivity.
But the self-love necessary to imbibe, surrender and accept the very watery essence of who we are.
An acceptance transforming into gratitude and appreciation for the gift of being returned to ourselves.
At a deep unconscious level, even the thought of reabsorbing our water exposes all denied, abandoned and suppressed places within.
Sensations and emotions, caught up in moments of tangled thought-forms, perhaps even comprehended...but disallowed genuine assimilation.
Being open to the idea that urine may not actually be ‘waste’ - dirty and repugnant - as we have been conditioned to think, may be the first intellectual step in getting our ‘head’ around UT.
But what of how we feel about ourselves, the dialogue carried around in the psyche, the way we talk to our imaginary self?
A lot is said about the physical benefits and apparently miraculous curing of disease. Are we willing to radically love ourselves into including the latent shadowy areas and their often uncomfortable exposure?

Monday, September 10, 2018

How Saint Kabir got wed



tore sang jaaungi

Once upon a time, there lived a man called Kabir who weaved cloth for a living. You probably had to study his poetry in your Hindi books. Forget all you ever read. Imagine yourself to be here, in Kabir's house, now, in the fifteenth century.

Kabir lives with his mother, and mostly spends his time weaving cloth and singing his own songs to the beat of the loom.

Seeing his detachment from the worldly and attraction for the spiritual, Kabir's mother takes him to a neighbouring village on the pretext of getting some cotton and gets him married to a young girl. Kabir is neither overjoyed nor unhappy.

On the wedding night, when everyone else is asleep and they are alone, his bride suddenly bursts into tears.

'What? Missing your family? Want to go back?' he asks her.

'No. Never,' she replies.

'Ok. That's fine. Then why are you crying?'

'I am missing someone.'

'Hmm.'

Kabir walks to and fro in the small room, as his bride sits in a corner and weeps.

'You love him?' he asks her.

'Yes,' she admits.

'And he?'

'He also loves me.'

'Then why did you marry me?'

'My family forced me to. He is from a different caste.'

'Caste is all crap. We are all the same. Get up, wipe your tears. I will take you to him. We will reach early morning.'

The young girl can't believe her good luck. She thanks him profusely and they sneak off into the night.

It has just rained, the sky is clear. The moon is full. A bride and her groom are walking back to her village to meet her lover. But the groom is a poet, and before the song, he warms up with a doha,

'Laali mere laal ki, Jit dekhun tith laal. Laali dekhan main gai, to main bhi ho gayi laal.'
(As I sought the beloved, I began to see Him everywhere. I was so enraptured that I lost myself in Him.)

The terrain gets rocky and slushy. After a while, the young girl begins to tire. Her mood drops and she starts crying again.

'What?'

'Slow down! I cant walk as fast as you,' she cribs.

'Why not? We are going to meet your lover. You should be walking faster than me.'

'Look at my clothes! Look at all this jewelry! Try walking two steps dressed like this.'

'All right, I get your point. Ok, sit on my back. We can't afford to slow down.'

So she climbs on his back and he carries her like a child. She is overwhelmed and can't stop crying. To soothe her, Kabir starts humming below his breath.

As he has intended, her curiosity is aroused.

'Can't hear you. Sing aloud, please,' she requests the master.

'Naiiharavaaaa humakaa na bhaaveyy, humakaa na bhaaveyy,
Naiharavaa... aaaaa'


Kabirs voice resounds in the dark night, lighting it up with melody.

Naiharwa humka na bhave

Sai ki nagari param ati sundar

Jaha koi jaaye na aave

Chand suraj jahaa pavan na paani

Ko sandes pahuchave

Darad yaha Sai ko sunave

Bin Satguru aapno nahi koi

Jo yaha raah bataave

Kahat Kabeera sunoh bhai sadho

Sapane na Preetam aave

Tapan yaha jiya ki bujhaave

Naiharwa

(Most of you must have heard this song, sung by Kumar Gandharva, Shabnam)


  1. (translated to English by Linda Heiss)


I don't like my native place.
The lord has a city of absolute beauty
where no one comes or goes,
where there's moon or sun,
no water or wind.
Who will carry this message?
Who will tell the lord of my pain?
I can't see the path ahead,
and going back would be a shame.
Oh beloved, how can I reach
the in-laws' house?
Separation burns fiercely.
The juice of sensuality
keeps me dancing.
Without a true guru
there's no one we can claim,
no one to show the way.
Kabir says, listen friends, seekers,
even in a dream my love won't come
to put out these flames.
The innocent girl's entire turbulence flows out.

For a little while after the song, there is silence. A deep, beautiful silence, a vast space where something happens. Something that can change a person's life. Kabir starts wondering if she has fallen asleep, when, all of a sudden, she starts crying again.

'Now what? You hungry?'

'No.'

'Then?'

She is a fifteenth century village girl. But she finds her voice.

'Tore sang jaaungi.' I shall go with you.

He is a fifteenth century weaver. Who's just got wed.

'Pakkaa?' Sure?

'Sau takaa pakkaa.' Hundred per cent sure.

Sunday, September 9, 2018

Script-Writing workshop in Ahmedabad, Sept' 2018



The Script Writing Course is divided into two parts, the Story and the Screenplay. All students will write their own short story and adapt it into a screenplay. 

 STORY
 Aim – The secret behind a good film is a well told story. All of us have many stories in our cupboard, but we don't know how to tell them. In this section, we learn the art and the craft of writing a complete short story, which we will later transform into a script.
Day 1 : Finding your own voice / Ras. The Navrasas, our immense wealth.
Day 2 : An exercise to deal with the writers block. Start your own story.
Day 3 : Structure of a story : Conflict and Resolution. Developing your story.
Day 4 : Making it flow : Transitions, both poetic and visual.
SCREENPLAY
 Aim – In the professional world of films, the audio visual format of the screenplay is the only way to 'show' your story. Your script will not be read unless it is written in the correct format. The final stage of the process is a storyboard, basically illustrations of all the shots such that the images and camera angles are clearly visualised. If you can master the art of the storyboard, your script is ready to be shot.

Day 5  : Format of the American Screenplay. Scene Construction.
Day 6 : Theme, Story and Plot. Integrating these in your script.
Day 7: Characterisation, Dialogues and Transitions.
Day 8 : Writing a complete five page script.
Day 9 : Going back to telling. Write a one-line script, and practice the pitch talk.
 You will be given links to free scriptwriting softwares, scripts to read up, and some films which I would like you to watch before and during the sessions. These sessions will be evenly spaced out, once a week, so that the student has enough time to finish his assignments.
The classes will be referring to popular Indian films like Sholay, Deewar, Dil Chahta hai, Pinjar, Satya, 3 idiots, Piku, Bajrangi Bhaijan, and American films like Kill Bill, American Beauty, Little Miss Sunshine, etc. So please watch most of these films if you have not seen them, before the course begins.
Fees : The fees for these ( nine/ ten sessions of two hrs each)  sessions is Rs 12,500/- If you need support for writing a longer script, we can discuss the amount. Women can avail a ten percent discount. 
Faculty : Manjushree Abhinav


The main faculty for this course is Manjushree Abhinav, a novelist and film maker. She has taught at NID, FTII, SRISHTI, CEPT, Anant University, and Storygram. 

Venue :  C2 - 124, Orchid Harmony, Applewoods Township, Ahmedabad. If the student finds it difficult to commute to this location, the online option can be made available.

Contact : Manjushree 9825476446, or mail gazeatthesun@gmail.com

Thursday, August 17, 2017

ONLINE SCRIPT WRITING COURSE

Creative Writing and Scriptwriting Online Workshop



The Script Writing Course is divided into two parts, the Story and the Screenplay.

STORY
 
Aim – The secret behind a good film is a well told story. All of us have many stories in our cupboard, but we don’t know how to tell them. In this section, we learn the art and the craft of writing a complete short story, which we will later transform into a script. So, you will be guided  towards writing a short story which is scriptable, meaning which can easily fit into the audio-visual format of a screenplay. 

 1 : Storytelling in Cinematic language.
 2 : Indian Cinema: Inspirations from the Navras and Mythology.
3 : Characterisations, the back bone of a good story.
 4 : Structuring the story based on the dramatic need.

(The classes will be referring to popular Indian films, like Sholay, Deewar, Dil Chahta hai, Pinjar, Satya, 3 idiots, Piku, Bajrangi Bhaijan, etc. So please watch most of these films if you have not seen them, before the course begins. )
 
SCREENPLAY
 
Aim: Apart from the following lectures, you will be expected to write a five to ten minutes script for which I will give you feedback. 

 5 : Format of the Screenplay. 
 6 : Scene Construction.
 7:  The art of writing Dialogues.
 8 : Narrative Structure of the Script.

You will be given links to free scriptwriting softwares, scripts to read up, and some films and scenes which I would like you to watch before and during the sessions.
You will be given plenty of homework, it should keep you busy for an hour or two per day, so please be prepared to work hard if you want to really benefit from the course.

FEE STRUCTURE 

The fees for this ( nine / ten  sessions of two hrs each) online workshops is Rs 12,500/- You can pay this online. I will send you my bank account details if you want to register for the course.

Faculty : Manjushree Abhinav



Manjushree is an author and a film maker. An alumnus of the Film and TV Institute of India, she has taught scriptwriting and film making at FTII, NID, and Storygram.
You can watch her recent film, And Then The Mountain Called Her, here :https://vimeo.com/96907398.
And here you can watch short films made by her students at Storygram https://vimeo.com/96907398.
You can contact her at manjushree.abhinav@gmail.com, or call 0982574664 .