Oasis Of Tepid Brightness

Oasis Of Tepid Brightness
By Faridoon Shahryar

Truth has turned into a Lie,
In this game of one upmanship
Aren't we deceiving ourselves;
The business of silence
Can be counter productive,
When the bloodshod eyes
Are hell bent on revenge
Maybe from their own weaknesses,
The wind knives through
The trembling breathlessness
Sleepless eyes blinded by tiredness
Darkness digs its claws
Deeper into an abyss of nothingness
Eyes pierce into the
Oasis of tepid brightness
When the road seems endless but its not,
A flicker of hope
Lights up in a heart
Determined to beat on,
When the Real stops being daunting,
The imagination takes over,
The Journey has just begun...

Sukoon bechain jab se hua hai

Sukoon bechain jab se hua hai
A Nazm by Faridoon Shahryar

Sukoon bechain jab se hua hai...Waqt ki dor bandh si gayi Hai/Aankhon mein neend ke siva na jaane kya kya manzar khaid hain...sukoon bechain jab se hua hai...

Dil machalta hai dhadakne ke liye, khwaab aahaten dastak dene se ghabraati hain, saanson mein siskiyon ki goonj larazti Hai...sukoon bechain jab se hua Hai

Dosti hisaab maangti hai guzre zamaane se, vo tafree ki daulat shaayad kaafi nahin thi, tijaarat rishton ki, daraaren paida karti Hai...sukoon bechain jab se hua Hai...

Muskurahaton ka sauda mehenga pada hamen, neeyat apni hi kharaab thi, ghair ko ilzaam dena vaajib nahin, Khayalon mein afra tafri ka ye silsila...sukoon bechain jab se hua Hai...

Sab kuch vaisa hi ho jaisa hum chaahen, ye to mumkin nahin...ek khaas pehchaan ki jaddo-jahad maqsad hai mera...sukoon bechain jab se hua Hai..

Turbulence in the mid air, IIFA Mania starts tomorrow

Each time the plane hits violent turbulence, all sorts of prayers dance in the mind and effortlessly get inscribed on the lips. Today was one such day when I encountered air turbulence twice. As the Jet Airways flight descended into the Colombo airport early morning and then the Sri Lankan Airlines flight braved through a heavy stretch of clouds as the Plane entered the Kuala Lumpur air space. It seems miraculous how the aircraft cruises through all the madness hung up in the air and how people have the sense to maintain calmness.

I haven't slept a wink since the last 24 hours and once I'm done with writing this piece (eyes are half shut already) I'll be gone. I along with a friend went to China Town. There wasn't much exciting although the architecture was very interesting.

IIFA weekend is starting from tomorrow. I hope we can do some magic. Hopefully logistical support will be. Goodbye for now. My worn out eyes can't hold back any more. Good bye and Good night.

“Box Office insures your next film, not the next critical acclaim”:Amitabh Bachchan

“Box Office insures your next film, not the next critical acclaim”:Amitabh Bachchan

By Faridoon Shahryar

“Yash Chopra was in love with love and it showed it in everything that he did,” said global superstar Amitabh Bachchan in ab exclusive video interview with Faridoon Shahryar. Fresh from the glorious response to his performance in Piku, Mr Bachchan opens up on reasons why he lays more importance to Box Office as compared with critical acclaim. He also shares rare insight on genius directors Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, Manmohan Desai, Prakash Mehra, Yash Chopra and Hrishikesh Mukherji.

Your performance in Piku was amazingly entertaining. How does it feel that everyone is unanimously appreciating your act?

Thank you so much, first of all, for your kind words. I am very happy to hear that! Any artist is always happy to hear some kind of compliment which endorses the work that he has done. I am satisfied not just with the kind of work that we did but also the kind of appreciation that it has been garnering in all parts of the world. It is very rare that a film which is so simple and has appreciation from every section of the society, gets critically acclaimed and yet does commercially so well! And the credit goes to the audiences and people who have thronged the theatres and reaffirmed our faith in them. And they have given us a lot of impetus to
continue making films like these!

What is more important to you – critical acclaim or box office?

There has to be a selfish way to look at it. If I look at it selfishly, then I’ll probably say, ‘I hope I am critically acclaimed and I hope I hit the box office as well.’ I think that’s a dream kind of a project that everybody wants. I am particularly pleased about say a film like Piku because we got a bit of both. But there are times when the criticism you face is very severe and yet your box office results are quite the opposite. I guess the box office insures your next film, maybe not the next critical acclaim.

Khwaja Ahmad Abbas – the writer or director?

The Human Being! We called him ‘mamu jaan’. He was an exceptional human being, much bigger than his status as a writer or a director. He had certain principles in his life. And it’s very difficult to maintain those principles. It’s tough having certain beliefs about what life should be, about what your mind should be, how you want to conduct your society and then translate that into a film and your writing. And yet, never make a compromise. That’s incredible! And he had so much respect. He was in hospital and he never ever told anyone that he’s getting admitted. And he never asked for any help because that’s the way his life was. And he sold the rights of his films to pay his hospital bills for a pittance. If anyone would have offered to help, he would have refused. When we were shooting Saat Hindustani for example, he insisted that we all should travel together. So we travelled by 3rd class in a train. We went walking whenever needed. We stayed in government circuit houses which were not so well equipped. The whole unit would sleep on the floor – cameraman, spot boys, artists and Abbas saab! There was no electricity and he used to burn a ‘laalten’ and he used to write the whole night to prepare for the next day’s shoot. Where do you find people like that anymore?

Please tell us about your experiences of working with Manmohan Desai, Prakash Mehra, Yash Chopra, Hrishikesh Mukherjee.

Whenever Manmohan Desai came up with a concept, we all thought it was madness. He was wild in his thinking. And we haven’t produced another Manmohan Desai. His extreme thought process was initially laughable. But in the end he was the one who was laughing and we were all wondering, ‘How did that happen?’ For instance, a film like Amar Akbar Anthony starts with a scene of three guys lying next to each other and a mother receiving blood from one bottle! There are three pipes, attached to the three brothers. It’s beyond any kind of medical practitioning! We used to tell him, ‘Mann, this doesn’t happen. You can’t do this.’ But he’ll retort, ‘Just shut up, yaar. Dekh kya hota hai!’ And when the film released, there was a massive applause in the beginning scene!
  
Prakash Mehra had a great story and music sense. His writing was very good. He was quite the opposite of Manmohan Desai. Manmohan Desai used to believe in larger-than-life kind of cinema. Prakash ji was very simple and his stories were very powerful. He’d tell me, ‘Kahin bhi khade ho jao aur bolna shuru kar do.’ He’ll then place a simple camera and tell, ‘Jahan ruk jao wahaan bata dena.’ Then he’ll take the shot and then re-take in a different angle and that’s it. The scene is done. He never bothered about extravagant sets. The most extravagant sets he ever made was in Namak Halaal for the song Pag Ghungroo. He was very upset about the fact that he had to put up the set.

Yash Chopra excelled in romance and its finer points. He was in love with love and it showed it in everything that he did – the way he used to choose the subjects, the actors, the way he used to shoot the scenes. We used to tease him while he was doing Deewaar which was a very aggressive, rough kind of a film and totally away from anything romantic. But even in Deewaar, he took a close up of mine and then panned the shot to a flower that was lying next to me! And we used to say, ‘Aap bhool nahin sakte na romance ko.’

Hrishikesh Mukherjee trod the centre path – his films were neither too artistic nor too commercial. And it was very difficult to do so. Many people who saw Piku stated that it reminded them of Hrishikesh Mukherjee kind of films. He came from Bimal Roy’s school – he was his editor and assistant. And he was not just a brilliant director but a brilliant editor as well. If some artist, for instance, was late, he would take the shots of those actors present first. Then he’d shoot the portions of the artist who was late. We would ask him, ‘Hrishi da, what are you doing?’ But he’d shut us up! He knew how he is going to edit that particular scene. He would then join the scene so seamlessly that viewers would presume that all the actors were present at the set at the same time!

Right Here Waiting A Cover By Faridoon Shahryar

Right Here Waiting by Richard Marx has been one of my all time favourite songs. I love the singing style of Richard Marx. The piano melody in this number is simply mesmerising. I was sceptical if I could do justice to this song by singing its cover. I practiced for three months, and shot some portions of the music video amidst the Pyramids and Sphinx in Cairo, Egypt. We also shot agaist the backdrop of the mediteranian sea in Alexandria (Egypt) and the ancient heritage structures in Luxor (Egypt). We also shot some portions in Srinagar (Kashmir). My friend Utkarsh Dhotekar has done the music arrangements, recording and mixing of this song. I am indebted to him for doing an awesome job. I hope you enjoy this timeless romantic number. Please do share, like, comment if you like it. Thanks!

Srinagar:A day worth a lifetime

It is unbelievable when you manage to pack in so much in the span of a day. It is as if a whole lifetime gets encapsulated in a few hours. We had a wonderful time listening to popular songs at Nageen Club near Kashmir University. It was our dinner attraction. The interaction brought the entire team together.

The day started with a morning run in the hotel campus. The chirping birds, and the moist fresh air was extremely relaxing. In the afternoon I came to know that this beautiful Hari Nivaas Hotel was actually the dreaded Papa 2 during the time when militancy was at it's peak. If you've seen 'Haider' then you'd know that Papa 2 was a jail-cum-interrogation center where militants (or were they innocent Kashmiris?) underwent third degree treatment. Many died in the same premises. All this came to an end in the late 90s and then it was refurbished. Now no one can believe that the plush walls were once witness to torture and cries.

It was wonderful interviewing Jackky Bhagnani in the woods, then we did a walk the talk segment near the Dal Lake, followed by a short segment on a Shikara as it lazed around in the Dal Lake. At the press conference in the Hari Nivas Hotel, Kashmiri journalists raised a pertinent question about an absolute lack of functioning cinema halls in Kashmir.

We went for a brief city tour in the afternoon which included a Shikara road in the Jhelum river. Houseboats dotted the sidelines of the river. There's an uncanny silence in the city for the tourists are few and far in between. I did a walk the talk interview with Jackky and Lauren in the busy market of Srinagar with gun wielding security guards from the Army following us. It was fun. Later we did another segment of my interview with Jackky and Lauren at the beatific Nishat Bagh. A vast stretch of Dal Lake stayed with us through the journey. It was extremely peaceful and calming.

In the evening I did a down the memory lane interview with Vashu Bhagnani ji. It is always a pleasure interacting with this smiling gentleman. We share mutual respect and he is very special for me. A well spent day but a day which was hugely enriching, spiritually and personally.

A day in Srinagar...tryst with pure beauty amidst glorious uncertainties

There's something about Kashmir that's irresistible. As the plane descended into Srinagar the snow capped peaks welcomed with open arms. The weather was pleasant in the afternoon. In fact it was slightly warm. I was comfortable in my T shirt. The journey from Airport to the hotel was dotted with remnants of the horrific floods. There's a strong presence of Army so you can't say everything is normal. An automatic-gun-weilding soldier was manning the traffic too.

The hotel is located in a lovely location surrounded by huge mountains, vast gardens, neatly manicured flower beds blessed with beautiful seasonal flowers. The food was simple yet delicious. It was served with a lot of warmth. Khahva had a pinch of Zaaffran and the aroma was very freshening. As I opened the tap, the cold water felt as if I've put my hands in a free flowing mountain stream.

In the evening I interviewed Jackky Bhagnani and Laurein, the stars of Vashu Bhagnani's 'Welcome 2 Karachi' on an open bus. It was fun to chat with them. The Shikara ride on the legendary Dal Lake was an awesome experience. It was here that I experienced a unique 'Online' shopping idea. Merchants approached us on their Shikaras and sold us their wares in a jovial manner. I bought something or the other from all of them. It was good stuff for sure but the intention was to help out the local Kashmiris who've been struck by terrorism and now the floods that has pushed them back considerably. The salesmen-merchants emphasised their 'Indian' credentials to Impress us. It was very obvious that more than any 'Azaadi' what they want the most is for opportunities for their businesses to flourish. And for that they desperately need Tourism to return to Kashmir in a big way. It is summer season, the paradise is blooming in full glory but the patrons of beauty are few and far in between.

We had dinner at Taj Hotel. Thankfully we got Wi fi there and were able to send our video footage. 3G connectivity is a problem. I was told that apart from the altitude, the security concern is the other reason for lack of 3G connectivity in Kashmir. I don't have any official confirmation on that though. After dinner I spent some time alone at the hotel garden observing a half lighted city. Wonderfully pleasant cold breeze caressed me. Extremely fresh and rejuvenating. All I can do is pray for this Jannat on earth and genuinely hope that the tourism gets revived in a big way. Good night!