Shekhar Kapur

A father threw his 10-month-old son to his death from the 14th floor of an apartment block in Shanghai’s Minhang District yesterday, police said.

Afterwards, the man, surnamed Zhu, tried to kill himself by cutting his wrists. He is recovering from his injuries in hospital.

Neighbors said Zhu, 29, and his wife, Wang, 28, were having “a fierce row” at about 3:40pm. Suddenly, the husband threw the baby out of the window, a witness said.

The mother rushed outside but could do nothing to save her child.

I came across this news by chance. I was stunned surprised, I had literally felt the earth move below me. I momentarily lost the track of time and surrounding. The mental image of the aftermath of the whole situation had affected me so deeply that nothing seemed important to me anymore. I could not concentrate on work for hours. My mind kept creating visual impression of the whole situation. I saw the miserable mother running through hallways screaming, praying & hoping for a miracle. She screamed so loud that all of her neighbors came out. Her screams grew bigger with every step towards her dying son. Finally, she approaches her son and finds him lying in a pool of blood. Clinging to a desperate hope of a miracle she leans down holds him, and wishes it all to be one of those lucid bad dreams which seem real.

By now the poor father snaps out of his anger and realizes what he has done. He realizes that he has gone way over the line and has lost everything to one moment of anger. The shocking realization of his stupidity suffocates him. An unbearable pain of regret hits him like a train. Shocked, Confuse, Depress and victim of his own dilemma, he decides to kill himself. He goes to the kitchen and cuts his wrist.

Anger is a very dangerous state of mind. Anger can easily turn into a brief madness if not dealt with. Above situation is a stunning example of anger taking over. The poor guy lost control, and a momentary anger brought him a life time of regret… uncontrolled anger lead killings have become very common in our society. It’s happening almost in every country… Especially in South Asia.

Question i keep asking myself!!
What causes anger in us and who is responsible for all the anger in our society? Could it be capitalism leading us to an unbalanced society?
Why are there so many people angry about all sorts of things out there? Could there be something terribly wrong with us?

The massacare of 1947… Was it pure hate Or anger taking over ?

‘How do I become a film maker, I’ve been struggling to do so for so long ?’

How often have I been asked that question.

“is that a Video you are running on your cell phone ?”

“yes ”

“Do you have access to some form of editing system on your computer or on the cell phone ?”

“Yes”

‘Do you know how to upload to youtube or hundred of other similar sites ?”

“Of course,”

“Then do just that, and you are film maker, right ? You’ve just created, edited and distributed your own film for no money”

I see doubt cloud his face. I swear I am not just getting rid of him. It’s a serious, relevant answer.

” You are not asking me the right question, are you ?”

“Means ?”

“You are not asking me how to become a film maker, but asking me how do you become a famous film maker, get a theatrical release, right ?’  

He looks really sheepish, for more often than not, that is what is on people’s mind. For that is the only way they see it.

” It took me 12 years of knocking on people’s doors to make my first film, Masoom. If I had this technology it would have taken me 12 days”

You want to sing. You then want to then be a singer. And then you want to be Lady Gaga. You want a record deal. What happened to just singing for the pleasure of it, for the passion of it ? Especially now as you can sing and put it out there for people to participate in your passion ?  I collaborated with Midival Punditz and Karsh Kale to put my poetry to their music. We just put it out there on SoundCloud and thousands have heard and appreciated. We did it for the joy of it.  At zero cost.

And why don’t we see that simple answer as possibly the right answer ? Because we are stuck in another world. In a world of yesterday. I believe that technology and it’s practical use is more hampered by an addiction to the old ways and culture, rather than technology itself.  Our desires tend to cling to us, even though technology is creating fundamentally different ways for us to express them.

Lets talk film. The 35 mm film when first developed had very low light resolution. So artificial lights were needed to boost illumination. That limitation then became the art of film itself. The art of lighting the face. The art of lighting the set etc. A relationship between silver halide and light. A limitation became an art.  It always does.  Technology often provokes an expression of art,  and the limitations of that technology itself creates the culture of that expression.

On film we rehearse a shot, then the actors leave the set, as the Director of Photography lights the set. Once done then the actors come back on the set and we take the shot. Do you have any idea of how long that takes ?  Other than actors having to recreate the rehearsal again, possibly loosing the absolute passion of the moment ? Digital has changed all that. Even some consumer models are more light sensitive than our eyes. Lars Von Triers and his colleagues started the Dogma 95 movement , which were a bit extreme and the movement has faltered since. It disallowed even music and props. But technology has developed leaps and bounds since then and I really wonder why Hollywood film budgets average out at $ 100 m each.

It’s the old model. Today a child can make a film and put it out there for people to see. And they are. I judge an annual world wide competition called ‘One minute to change the world’. One minute films often shot on cell phones on the environment. Some of the most innovative ones come from kids. Really. I often tell my friends in Hollywood (and myself) that our competition is not from each other. It is from those kids that do not carry the burden of the past and are adapting so fast to new technology and the Internet, that one day the theaters may be empty . Other than a few successes, the box office take is directly proportional to the amount of money spent on marketing. No wonder Hollywood is banking more and more on pre sold franchises and on 3 D.

Always wondered about Mantra’s. When I was a child i was asked to recite the Gayatri Mantra every night with my parents.  I thought it was a prayer more than combinations of sounds created in a rhythm designed to provoke the universe to give in to ‘intention’.  Well .. I guess that is what a prayer is too, except that a lot of research says that the ‘seed’ sounds of the universe, starting with ‘AUM ‘ have the capacity to accelerate ‘intention’ into something far deeper.  Does that mean that Mantra’s can provoke the universe beyond ‘intention’ ? After all, as a child, what intention is contained in the Gayatri Mantra, the true meaning of which I am still grappling with. For if I did manage to experience the true meaning of it, I would not be asking these questions would I ?

I asked my friend Sanjeev Verma, a well known astrologer in Canada on what he believes ‘Beej’ (Seed) Mantra’s are – do we all have a ‘Seed Mantra’ that is aligned to our astrological charts ?  I have a completely open mind still. .  Ah … the age of reason !

CREATING A LIFE OF HARMONY THROUGH YOUR OWN SEED MANTRAS AS PER YOUR ASTROLOGICAL CHARTS.

“Beej Mantra” is a combination of two words “Beej” and “Mantra”. “Beej” is a seed which when sown grows into a fruitful tree, whereas “Mantra” is an invocation that produces a set of vibration in the surrounding atmosphere. Thus “Beej Mantra” can be defined as sound vibrations which when performed with full faith results into a fountain of Shakti or Powerful energy.

It is an interesting fact to know that in 360 degrees of Cosmic Universe there are 108 sound vibrations which are always active. These vibrations are an active constituent of not only the cosmic universe but also every individual is born with these sound vibrations which we also call as Beej mantras. There can be up to seven of them having the power to affect different aspects of our life like health, wealth, relationships etc. These Beej mantras are different for each Individual. In order to create a harmony between an individual and the cosmic universe one needs to connect with it through these vibrations only. This synchronization with the cosmic universe can take place either through deeper and higher levels of meditation or by knowing our own sound vibrations or Beej mantras and chanting them and becoming one with them.

Beej mantras given or identified are for the purpose of matching cosmic sound vibration and the vibration of the person with which he or she is born. Once we have identified our own sound vibrations and we start chanting that sound over and again, each sound goes in the cosmic universe and hits at least one of the 108 sound vibrations which is same as itself and harmony takes place. The harmony between the individual and the Cosmic vibrations results in the overall prosperity and well being of an individual, be it in terms of health, wealth, relationships or any other aspect of an individual’s life.

I have noticed that the Beej mantras normally given are matching the mind vibrations only. But there can be Beejas for every aspect of our physical and spiritual existence.

By repeating these Beej Mantars one can create harmony with any aspect of life. Essentially it would tune your vibrations to match the cosmic vibrations to lead a thriving life. I have been researching and experimenting on the Beej Mantras for quite a long time And found them to be extremely effective and life transforming. The best way to find out one’s seed sound or alphabet is by making a birth chart. A Seed Mantra is combination of three words “ OM—your seed sound—Namah.

OM (pronounced AUM) is the most important of all mantras. All mantras generally begin and often also end with OM. OM is the mantra of assent and energizes whatever we say after it. That is why all mantras begin with OM. OM is also the mantra of ascent and causes our energy to rise upward into the infinite. Individual seed sound It both calls the divine down into us and offers our soul upward to the Divine for transformation.

Namah is to bow to the energy of the mantra and thanking it.

There can be up to seven seed mantra for an individual depends on the birth chart. There is one base mantra which is for material and spiritual uplift and there are mantras which are for improving or creating harmony in particular aspect of life like health, wealth, relationships etc.

Sanjeev Verma
www.sanjeevsv.com
www.tunedtothrive.com
www.twitter.com/sanjeevsv

Subsequent to the furore caused by Twitpic saying they own copyright to all pictures that you upload they have changed their terms as follows, which while accepting that you own copyright now to your own pictures, they retain the right to exploit those pictures for their own benefit :

“To publish another Twitpic user’s content for any commercial purpose or for distribution beyond the acceptable Twitter “retweet” which links back to the original user’s content page on Twitpic, whether online, in print publication, television, or any other format, you are required to obtain permission from Twitpic in advance of said usage and attribute credit to Twitpic as the source where you have obtained the content.

You retain all ownership rights to Content uploaded to Twitpic. However, by submitting Content to Twitpic, you hereby grant Twitpic a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicenseable and transferable license to use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, display, and perform the Content in connection with the Service and Twitpic’s (and its successors’ and affiliates’) business, including without limitation for promoting and redistributing part or all of the Service (and derivative works thereof) in any media formats and through any media channels.

You also hereby grant each user of the Service a non-exclusive license to access your Content through the Service, and to use, reproduce, distribute, display and perform such Content as permitted through the functionality of the Service and under these Terms of Service. The above licenses granted by you in media Content you submit to the Service terminate within a commercially reasonable time after you remove or delete your media from the Service provided that any sub-license by Twitpic to use, reproduce or distribute the Content prior to such termination may be perpetual and irrevocable.

You understand and agree, however, that Twitpic may retain, but not display, distribute, or perform, server copies of your media that have been removed or deleted. The above licenses granted by you in user comments you submit are perpetual and irrevocable. Deleted images are only accessed in the event of a legal issue. ”

I wrote this poem after the terrorist attacks on Mumbai to a friend that was there. Midival Punditz, Karsh Kale and I are going to do a series of collaborations of this kind. I find it fascinating and exciting. Different tones etc. The last one posted on this blog earlier is called ‘Today’ in Hindi ‘Aaj Wahi Din’. If it is a song , then of course I will not sing it ! Do visit Midival Punditz sound cloud site at http://soundcloud.com/midivalpunditz. Both the tracks are there.

Goodbye My Love- Midival Punditz and Karsh Kale with Shekhar Kapur by Midival Punditz

It’s expensive and a logistical nightmare. But do Indian directors love musicals? Yes, says the chorus

In India today, the term ‘musical’ has two connotations. The pure musical comes from the Indian tradition of folk theatre, where there is no difference between songs and dialogues. The other is the western concept, where there is a distinction between spoken dialogue and song. Each has its own adherents, although the former, which borrows heavily from our folk traditions, is almost entirely embraced by Hindi or regional theatre . All practitioners of the musical, whether in English, Hindi or any other language, face major problems today.

First of all, there are not enough actors to participate in musicals, which need special training and stamina. The multi-talented and skilled ones prefer to join either television or the movies, which have more or less killed musical theatre, feel directors Feroz Khan (Eva Mumbaima Chal Jaiye), Sunil Shanbagh (Cotton 56, Polyester 84, Mastana Rampuri Urf Chhappan Chhuri, Sex, Morality & Censorship), Swanand Kirkire (Ao Saathi Sapna Dekhen) and Mahesh Dattani (The Alchemist). The ones who are left, are unable to perform all the three arts of dancing, singing and acting, sometimes simultaneously, on stage.

The other hitch is the lack of good sound technology, an important requisite for musicals. Most Indian auditoria are ill equipped, feel the Mumbai directors, who invariably use live music in their shows. However, Dr. Anuradha Kapur, director the National School of Drama and the theatre group Vivadi (Umrao Jaan, Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, Centaurs), disagrees. She feels that most Indian auditoria have a sophisticated sound system and her Umrao, which was complicated in terms of including both live and recorded music, had no problems at all in any of the spaces it was performed in.

Shanbagh also cites the huge costs to mount musicals as the other deterrent. Most Mumbai-based musicians are employed profitably as sessions musicians in the film industry and quote prices which theatre cannot afford. Shanbagh and Utkarsh Mazumdar (Jagine Joun To Narsainyo- Ek Musical Gatha, Master Phoolmani) concur. Mazumdar has also faced a lack of discipline from professional musicians, whom he calls ‘lazy’ and ‘averse to rehearsals’. Shanbagh says the problem can be solved by hiring folk musicians, but urban theatre practitioners lack the networking required for this. He himself tackled it by contacting two folk musicians and a Lavani dancer for regular work with his group.

Rahul Da Cunha (Jesus Christ Superstar) says it costs almost Rs 50 to 60 lakh to put together a musical.

Continue reading “Musical Theatre in India :Guest Column by Sohaila Kapur” →