A writer friend of mine was suddenly attacked by depression, and she traced it back to the time that she installed Wifi in her home/office. It may just be a combination of writer’s block and all the news about the health dangers of Wifi. But most of us now work in WiFi enviorments, our homes are wifi connected, and just look at your wifi reader on ur laptop and see how many other Wifi transmitters are leaking into your household. Now that whole cites are going to be Wifi or Wimax connected, how serious is the threat to our health ?
The creative process
When asked by a studio head once how I would direct the film, I said, well ….. Ummmm ….. I would put some film in the camera ….. And umm …. I would find a nice place to put the camera and umm ….. Needless to say I did not get the job, nor would I work with anyone that asked me that question…..
Temp Score and Real score
I am going through the last minute pains of Golden Age. As we edit the film we add what we call temp score to the edit – to impress people as the see the film in various stages of the edit. This this score is stolen from all over the place. Other movies mainly, but also from classical recordings etc. Problem is that you got so used to the temp score that it is difficult to imagine any other score to fit the film…
Open Forum ..TB infections in airlines
Scary. On the 29th December I had written for the Times of India, and blogged (look under current events) abut the 10 things that 2006 will be most remembered for. Amongst them was an almost missed bit of news from the WHO that a new, completely drug resistant strain of TB had developed. I predicted then that the greatest carriers of TB would become the Airlines with people packed together like Sardines for up to 16 hours at a time. And what with the airlines notorious for not recycling air to save money. Imagine my astonishment when the story of an American man carrying this drug resistant strain became headline news recently ! But is this just one isolated case that was discovered, or are there thousands of people carrying these germs flying everyday ? How much of a risk are we all at ?
Destiny and Karma
The problem with exploring ideas of us being subject to the laws of karma and to a predetermined Destiny is that our minds always veer towards the ‘given’. Towards the absolute. That we are all subject to the laws of Karam and to Destiny that somehow were formed in the past.
But our Karma is an ever evolving process, with each thought, each breath, each action,each intersect with the Universal Matrix of Karma’s subtly altering our karma. Like the constant flow of a river.
… and if Karma and Destiny are related, every thought, every breath, every intersect is constantly evolving our Destiny too. Making Destiny not an absolute that is given, but something that subtly alters every moment.
So Destiny is always a ‘Potential’. Never a given. A ‘tendency’ if you like, that can be altered, even dramatically, if you want. How ?
Passion. Great and all consuming Passion is the great ‘alterer’ of Destiny. Passion in Work, in Love, or just a sheer passion for life can substantially alter your Destiny,
Shekhar
The Great Storm
When Phillip of Spain launched the Armada to invade England, it was one of the greatest fleets ever launched in an invasion. Even though the fleet was ill prepared (more about that later), combined with the forces of the Duke of Parma, the English Navy did not have enough defences to stop it. But for the Great Storm ….. without which their would have been no British Empire. Spain would have probably gone on the conquer the world. India would have been a Spanish Colony, and Spanish would have been the primary language of the world. This blog would have been in Spanish. And perhaps India would have been Catholic and not primarily Hindu….
Golden Age Diary
For those that want to know more about the process and ideas behind the making of Golden Age, I have started writing on the Golden Age diary on this blog again.
http://www.shekharkapur.com/goldenage/
Golden Age, the second in a trilogy
Elizabeth was about Power. Survival in the context of Power. Love and Betrayal in the context of Power. And the trade off between the ruthlessness that is essential to gaining Power, against innocence, love, trust and joyfulness.
Golden Age, on the other hand is about Immortality. It is about absolute Power and the aspiring to Divinity. To go beyond the ordinairy and to be Divine. Almost immortal. It is about Elizabeth becoming the Divine, the Immortal being she is percieved as today.
The third, when everyone is ready to do it, will be about Mortality. How do you face Mortality when you have been Divine ? When you have been Immortal ? Elizabeth, when she knew that her time was near, tried to impose her will upon Death itself. She stood for 12 hours (a tiny exaggeration I think !) refusing to lie down, knowing that if she did, the Gods would spirit her away.
More later, Shekhar
Letting go of Golden Age
Fro two years i waited for this day. I thought I would heave a sigh of relief. I would be free. I would go play, take a holiday, explore the universe again. Find myself again. This day, the day I finished Golden Age. And now that the day is here, I am in turmoil. It’s like letting go of my baby ? My baby ?How arrogant can I be ?
The Golden Age Trailer
watch it now
For those of you who would like to see an extra large version of the trailer, check it out at working title films website.