Thursday, January 11, 2007

Simple facts about me

This is the list of some simple facts about me. I do not guarantee that all the facts mentioned here are true :-)

  1. I am passionate about few technical stuffs like Linux and Vim text editor . If I had powers to control the whole IT industry I would force everyone to use only Linux, Vim and Firefox browser. This is just a wish and I don’t have any personal feelings either against the world’s richest man or with his best company. But I seriously don’t like working in an operating system which a normal person hears of it's name can only think of as a fitting for his house.
  2. I am a movie geek. I watch movies in all categories and all languages (with subtitles). The list of my favorite movies is a big one.
  3. I am more interested in Photography nowadays. This has turned out to be a disease after buying the close-up kit for Canon powershot.
  4. Soy de estudiante de español. (Am a student of Spanish). I completed Basic and Intermediate-1 levels from Instituto Hispania, Bangalore. I will do the next level Intermediate-2 soon. Italian language is in my list next.
  5. I do read novels but a very slow reader. Fountainhead tops my favorite list. I still think that Ayn Rand should have more concentrated on Gail Wynand than on Roark in the novel. Don't ask me reasons for that.
  6. I belong to the category of people who think that mobile phones are just to make/receive calls and messages. If you want a camera or a audio player go for a separate device with better features.
  7. You can spot me anywhere with my Honda Unicorn or with my Orange Footloose bag (iPod nano and my Canon Powershot inside). If I miss it somewhere please hand it over to me. Thanks in advance.
  8. I live alone in a 2BHK house in Kasturinagar, Bangalore. No, it’s not as boring as you think to stay alone if you have your own things to do. Trust me.
  9. Above all, I am more pious in my religion and am a Muslim by choice and not by chance.

I came, I saw, I conquered

These 3 ‘I’s became very popular since Julius Caesar succinctly described one of his victories as “veni, vidi, vici” (in Latin). After many years another set of ‘I’s are making a wave but this time in the field of science and technology. These are nothing but Apple’s iMac,iIPod and its latest sensation iPhone. They launch everything at the right time when people are in real need of something which should be the best in the market. Some may claim that their stuff is expensive but if there are people ready for that price why would they bother about others who cannot afford high-end devices. This may sound harsh but its not in that tone. They are coming up with fully featured devices which cannot be priced at low cost. In a long term, I can see only Google and Apple standing tall in the IT industry with their innovative ideas and products.

So it is iMac, iPod, iPhone

Friday, January 05, 2007

Anatomy of Indian cinema-I

Plagiarism can be of two types. One is copying a piece of writing from somewhere else and presenting it in his own work. The other form of plagiarism is copying someone’s ideas as if there were own which exactly is an act of plagiarizing. This is not a blog about a novel of Indian-American in Harvard University where the author’s fairy tale turned into a thriller with ups and downs. This blog is all about the second form of plagiarism in which ideas of someone are plagiarized. This is about Indian cinema which instead of taking a stand in the stage of world cinema is taking everyone’s ideas. This is all about how far a cinema can demolish the style and all the techniques which were possessed by the original.

The idea of making movies from the world cinema in Indian film industry is applaud-able when the beauty of the original remains the same. After all it’s a step to make every movie-goer in our country get the vision what others are getting in western countries. But in the process of converting them into Indian versions, its loses its original style, the technique and everything. The conversion process is not an easy task as it includes the commercial value.

What happened to the creators in our own country which had produced some legends like Ray, Mrinal sen. Yes, there are few who are seriously concerned about parallel cinema in India. They are very few, at least to my knowledge like Adoor, Padmarajan(though I haven’t seen their movies),Aparna Sen and also Blessy(making a great impact in his movies). But the question is, how many of us know that there are some serious cinemas made in the streets of the God’s own country or in some corner of this country. Do we get easy access to their works like the other commercial works?

Someone may boast that there are many good directors like Maniratnam, Selvaraghavan, Cheran, Sanjay Leela Bhansali. But I feel like they are missing out something in their films. Even they do have ideas plagiarized from other foreign cinemas in their movies.

Do you call these ideas as the inspired ones?? Then where are the credits to the originals? What is stopping them from revealing us the architects of the original?

Update: Check my other blog for more on plagiarism and Indian cinema.

(To be contd..)