test screening of golden age

Thank you all for the feedback of the test screening of Golden Age in Los Angeles. Yes, the response was exciting and such a relief ! When I make a film, I am so involved with the process and the one liitle ‘eye’ that as a director I am supposed to keep on the audience completely dissapears. I just HAVE to trust that my subconscious is in synch with the viewer’s. We are all, after all, emotionally in synch with each other, even though we may belong to different cultures. I have been away from the blog as the editing process has been particularily difficult, but will write about that later, Shekhar

Open Thread : what is the Ego ?

The ego can be defined in many ways, both positive and negative. In a spiritual way it is negative, but it is also my ego that pushes me into the spiritual path to try and destroy it. It is the creative ego that provokes an artist to create art, yet the whole creative process then is to try and sublimate that ego into art. Ego seems such a double edged sword. Even when you first fall in love, it is your ego that provked you to either say or not say ‘I loveyou”. Even the love for one’s own country is the ego sublimated to the honour of the nation. Or is it ? What is the EGO ? Lets hear form everyone and have a healthy constructive debate. Shekhar

Coalition of the killing

The house is on fire, and everyone discusses the politics of the fire brigade. Between 50 to a 100 innocent Iraqi civilians are dying everyday. The more that are killed, the more the horrendous death toll is turning into a mere statistic to fill the time slot for CNN or BBC, or whatever. The attention has turned much more to the politcal negotiations and machinations, the finacial cost to the US, the exact number of soldiers to be sent to Iraq or Afganistaan…

Continue reading “Coalition of the killing”

A voice from rural India by Akhilesh Shukla

In Mahabharat, when Narad asks Yudhishdhir about his well being, the king replies that his fields are no more dependant on rains for irrigation. I quote this to show the importance of basic irrigation system for a state and its economy and care from the apex level of authority. Yes, I am going to connect this to our current situation, I say current plight.

Continue reading “A voice from rural India by Akhilesh Shukla”

Open Thread

There are so many of our community on this blog now that are interacting together, so I propose an Open Thread every Monday. Arguments are great. All I ask is that everyone respect each others point of view. I too will pop into the discussion. Shekhar