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Tag: Qalam 2001

  • Qalam 2001 : Nishtha Shukla

    Qalam 2001 : Nishtha Shukla

    The only neighbour she has for miles around is male . But she has never seen him . When she arrived at the place ,the only resident of that house Ramu , half-heartedly welcomed her . He had been a servant in that seventy -six year old house for the past five decades if he could rightly remember .

    He considered himself almost an owner . And after all the members lost their lives in an accident , he decided himself the owner .

    Anita and Ramu started their life together on a bitter note . He was an illiterate rustic and she was part of the urban elite . He was agonizing over a new house lady who is here out of nowhere to rule the house . he had matured since he was a teenager. And Anita was still trying to graple with the isolated life where crops and herds were the only living things around.

  • Qalam 2001 : Jill Misquitta Karma

    Qalam 2001 : Jill Misquitta Karma

    The film begins with the funeral sequence of her husband (Lets call the woman Priya-in her early 30’s)

    A train pulls out of long dark tunnel into the harsh sunlite. Priya is at a window seat.The landscape outside is slowly changing from cityscape to countryside allowing for flashbacks on route giving us glimpses of Priyas past

    A troubled & violent relationship with her husband .their last quarrel before his untimely mysterious death.(Another woman in his life? his denial? She is not convinced- a woman has a way of knowing)– ambigious cu’s of details- (eg. a wine glass being stirred. its colour changing a drawer opens & shuts etc)

    By sunset she has reached the farm land she has inherited. At first deserted & cobwebed then cleaned up and beautified.

    Slowly depression gives way to joy as she begins to explore her new envoirment

    The 1st morning of her walk ouside amidst the beauty of nature-she meets a very old man limping,beraggled derilect.In some strange way he seems to remind her of her father /grandfather and stranger still is that he seems to know episodes from her childhood some so private- it intrigues her.

    Another day -another walk another person she meets just as unique, strange & awe inspiring perhaps a few more as each day passes

    One specially beautiful morning she meets a young man-handsome, gentle friendly As they interact they disscover a mutual attraction However the young man is evasive

    Another time it is a poet she meets (middle aged) he is chewing on a cactus-she too tastes of it it has its own strange effect hallucinatory

    As they walk on ,he recites his poems full of philosophy or insights into life and its impossible questions.(what is eerie is that even though they have not stopped walking they seem to return again & again to the same spot)

    Priya finds herself once more drawn to him in a disturbing sort of way

    . And so the the episode continue-each time a new char is introduced and a new aspect of life unfolds.-

    A fearful one is of her meeting with a stalker a terrorist- a chance for suspense & chilling Fear

    Once more she meets the handsome young man-karma- each meeting drawing them closer-revealing intimate details of their lifes (at least-almost all)

    Once she meets what seems to her a spiritual magician-he wishes to reveal to her a secret-he takes her to a cave(water always dripping like a room with a leaking roof) this is where he meditates. He calls it the wish fulling room. She reveals to him her distress & her extreme lonliness (her guilt/shame) he is touched by her pain- he is compassionate he says he can performe a miracle-he can give her a second chance in life-she will be able to relive the last day with her husband(now dead) Nothing will change he says -she says ‘she can change everything -redo -repair the damage. Can she? or is the damage irrepairable? A chance to explore fate, destiny- and the struggle for change-human growth.

    Another character whom she meets a few times (besides the karma)is a heafty writer-a kind of ham crime writer who keeps her interested with his murder mysteries what is strange here is that his plots seem to recreate themselves(life immitating art) One by one the other chars we have met before(Poet, terrorist, guru) seem to be found dead in almost the exact situations that the crime writer has described his defence-he can predict- a writer is a seer

    Now only the handsome young man karma & she are left alone on that deserted landscape.

    One night (A Storm threatens)

    In the distance – a little hillock a deserted horizion are seen the lites of just one lone cottage

    Indoors in an attic is Karma before the mirror – he is speaking to himself through his monologues we discover he is a failed actor. He is putting on his make-up- changing his costume-transforming himself until he is almost unrecognizable.

    Then he sets out on his walks again he meets Priya with whom he is testing out is skills with his impersonations.

    Is karma falling in love with Priya or is he closing in on her? Is he a killer is it murder mystery a complex who done it-(he knows of her fortune)or a love story?

    Is Karma discovering love?-learning to love? and thus is able to intrigate his many multiple personalities finally finding his true identitry as a lover & friend & Priya her lost love?

    P.S. Lots of possibilities to complex to put down in a hurry in a few PS’s The film has shifting points of view.

  • Qalam 2001 : Soni Razdan

    Qalam 2001 : Soni Razdan

    Scriptwriting from the Producer’s Perspective

    Well-known actor turned producer Soni Razdan held forth on the producer’s perspective on scriptwriting.

    Reiterating that the key to a serial’s success lay with the producers, writers as well as directors, Razdan maintained that every scriptwriter should approach the producer with a kitty of possible storylines, do their research beforehand, think up a USP for the script and finally, be flexible to possible changes in the script. “The only way to succeed is to be open to feedback constantly”, she added. It was also necessary that writers be paid development money for the time that the serial is under production so that he does not suffer financially, she noted, a suggestion taken up enthusiastically by other speakers.

    Offering a few tips to budding writers, Razdan suggested that writers should keep a few spare storylines and plots ready while meeting producers. A USP in a story is always helpful, she claimed, adding that television is a monster that’s always hungry for new ideas. Flexibility within a storyline is as important as being convinced about one’s concepts, she said. Razdan also appealed to channels to be logical in their intervention in the making of serials and soaps.

  • Qalam 2001 : EBA KHAN

    Qalam 2001 : EBA KHAN

    It wasn’t even 6 a.m and Shrusti has woken up from her sleep by the Sweet Sing Song voice of the birds , She had never slept in her life the way she had slept last night , she felt very fresh and rejuvenated .

    Suddenly , she rember’s her cell phone and starts thinking where she has lost it , she rember’s having it before she left the far off village , and thinks she must have lost it on the way home.

    She sees Arjun coming on his bicycles and having her cell phone in his hand and he give her saying ‘Sethani, Ee Aapki Machine Hamka Raaste Mein Mele Rahi, Sasuri Raat Bhar Pi-Pi Karti Rahi .’

    Shruti thanked him and said ‘ Tumhe Iski Kimat Mallom hai, Ise Bech Kar ,Tum Ek Khet Kharid Sakte the.’ Arjun replies ‘ Agar Hum Ko Aaise Haraam Ke Paise ki Jarrurat Hote To Hum Goan Mein Nahin ,Shaher Me Hote’. Shruti was shocked by his honesty and anger in his reply.

  • Qalam 2001 : Mir Muneer

    Qalam 2001 : Mir Muneer

    Mir Muneer wound up the first day’s session with a stress on an extra effort on writers’ part to break out of the stagnancy TV writing has got into, with innovative ideas. The writer of Saans, Chunauti and Campus, Muneer spoke of the need to read a lot before getting down to serious scriptwriting.

    The writer of unusual soaps like Saans and Chunauti, Muneer stressed the need for budding writers to soak up literature, both English and Indian, in order to hone their writing skills. “One can start with adaptations of English plays, as a stepping stone to good scripts”, he said.