I guess it's been a long time since I wrote something in this blog. That's because am now in the process of learning a very valuable art which is the most essential thing for every human to learn. THE ART OF DOING NOTHING ...
Still one more month to go. The most important phase in my life is coming to an end. As I already stated, the phase which brought out the MAN in me. College life's coming to an end. In a month am gonna be a complete engineer. Actually am very happy that college life's gonna end but at the same time I'm gonna miss those crazy days with my friends and all those night stays and horror movies we watched, Especially the rainy as well as the scary night of REC!
Here are some of memorable moments of college life :)
That's me alright :P
Ram showing ****
With Bus mates
Sai Shyam's exam paper
Toy Story 3D
Anyhow, back to the topic of NOTHING, you gotta ask the engineering students ... "What's the most toughest job in this whole damn earth?" They'd say "Spending the final days of engineering"
Watching TV - Sucks ...
Downloading Movies - Can't watch more than 3 films per day ...
Talking to strangers in Omegle - Can't do it for more than a hour ...
Riding along the streets of different countries in Google maps - 2 hours tops ...
Facebook - Once in 5 minutes :P
Nothing else to do ... But I'm guessing this is the only chance that's given to me to learn this beautiful art. Everyone's real life starts after they finish their college. I remember someone saying this to me
"Enjoy your college life, after that, you're on your own son, May God not be so hard on you"
Definitely these words are the voice of the man who faced some harsh experiences in his life. Everyone's stating the same quote again and again
"Life's not full of roses" or "Life's not the same after your college" or "You're gonna face the true color of life after your college"
I don't know what's with these different quotes, but I have a small hunch that am gonna enjoy all the above stated experiences. For all the final year students out there, 'We know that something big is waiting for us, maybe big enough even to swallow us, but let's be prepared, and not give a damn about that thing ... Till then we could simply enjoy the blissful 'ART OF DOING NOTHING.'
It's been 22 years since I first saw this world. Out of those twenty two, I could surely say that the last four years were the best part. This chapter is dedicated to my best buddies in Mech'B' who contributed more than anyone for that 'Best' part. We are totally sixty in number. Out of those sixty, here I'd like to introduce you to some of them, who have a unique and interesting set of characters. Let me start with the person whose word-press inspired me to write this blog. Vinodh Venkatesan (aka) Balli.
BALLI (aka) VINODH VENKATESAN
When I first saw him in my class, I misjudged his looks. I thought that he's like those super rich boys who never mingle with other students. He is a perfect high class city guy. I hesitate to say this now, but I had an inferiority feeling back in my first year. I was so hesitant to speak to my fellow mates. 'Who knows?' Maybe that inferiority feeling made me to think like that. But I came to know about the true 'BALLI' once when I sat next to him from second year. He's noway near to those super rich boys I mentioned. He is an easy-goer and the most friendly person. But the problem with him is, he's not emotionally communicative. If you hit him in the balls, he would say "Ahh" in a low tone. The next moment he'd be back in his business. The thing I admire in him is his command in his written English. He has an awesome word-press work where he writes about something from his daily life. It has a splendid narration. Our gang is called BRUDERMEER gang. BRUDERMEER has a very nice story behind it :-P. BRUDERMEER consists of four members. Myself, Balli, Thiruvikrama Srinivasan and Pavan Kumar. Four of us shared a common dream and goal. Travelling and enjoying this life to its craziest and fullest extent before marriage.
THIRUVIKRAM
But Thiruvikram shared even more specific dream like me. A dream called "EUROPE". We both love Europe to the core. Thiruvikram has another secret goal in his life. He's working on it now. Do you guys want to know his little secret goal?. "To drink a full-barrel beer in OKTOBERFEST which is an yearly grand beer festival in Germany". It's not a coincidence that he applied for three German universities. I sincerely hope that he should achieve his little goal :D
Mr.PAVAN KUMAR (aka) BABAJI
You guys should know about Mr.Pavan Kumar (aka) Babaji. He has a great command over his spoken English language. Many doesn't know that he's a great poet. Pavan's special quality is his nervousness and curiosity. He once called me continuously from 2AM to 4AM to talk about the match which was not until 7AM. He's a great friend ho helps you at the right time.
'REACTION' RA.VINODH
Now I should tell about Mr.Ra.Vinodh (aka) ***** *** ****. Ra.Vinodh is one of the most interesting character in our class. Entertainment is guaranteed when he's around. I still can't forget the reaction he gave when Vijaykarthik (another unique character) hit him in an unexpected manner. That was one hilarious incident. We were laughing our ass out.
'PIRATE' VIJAYKARTHIK
Vijaykarthik is another unique and weird character. He would help anyone at anytime. That's his character. But the uniqueness and weirdness? Well, he wants to become a pirate! The rest is for your judgement!
'CURIOUS' SWAMI
There's a character called Swaminadhan Sundaramoorthy (aka) Swamiji. It's not usual to get acquainted with a guy like Swami. He's not like other nerds. He knows everything about everything. Or at-least he'll try to learn if he doesn't know. Curiosity has an other name called Swami. He's my only friend who talks about Einstein's relativity and the possibility of parallel universe which I'd love to discuss. He writes some well crafted Tamil poems which I'd enjoy reading. Here I'd write down a doubt, once he asked me, then you might know about him, a bit.
"I hav one doubt machi. Consider a number of trains such that one is running inside the other train, so that their relative speed gets added up (i.e) speed of the running train plus speed of the train on which it is running. Extend it to 'n' trains, So that u will attain the speed of light. Still the mass will be a stable one with respect to other train, so in this case it seems relativity is practical... Is that right? just a thought!!"
SAI BEATING SRIVATSAN
It's a punishable crime if I didn't write anything about our great Mr.Srivatsan (aka) Bachu. Srivatsan has the most peculiar and weird character. Entertainment quotient of our class. Except his mom and dad nobody has ever escaped from his mouth. That's what makes him interesting. Irrespective of the designations, every staff would get their ******* chance to fall as prey in his mouth. Not only staffs, every student, every actor, every cricketer, every politician, everyone gets their chance.
PAPAKUMAR,SIDDARTH,RAMS,PAVAN
Papakumar (aka) Ramkumar. He's so helpful to all his friends. But don't ever try to tell a secret to him. The word secret would die at that instance. His life is pretty smooth, with no twist or turns. Often I would envy his smooth life. One person, who shares a common interest with me in movies and books is Rama Subramani (aka) Rams. Most of them find my interest as a weird one. But usually it's the same for me and Rams.
ANAZ, NIDHI WITH HELPING HANDS
Anaz, Nidhi Karthik, Suresh and Sai shyam. These four guys really needs our encouragement and support in their great work. These guys started an organization called HELPING HANDS. They're helping the poor, downtrodden people and they make it possible for poor children to study. This is a noble work guys, and you guys would have all our support always.
'THALA' PRADEEP
Pradeep (aka) Thala is another great friend of mine. Srivatsan and Pradeep resides in the same area and they always act like as if they're the worst enemies. They're like ITCHY AND SCRATCHY or any two weird cartoon characters. But the truth is they're the best friends. There're lots of them like Praveen (aka) Kuzandhai, Siddarth, Sai Prasad and Raj Anush .Infact Raj and Sai were so curious about my enrollment in NZ film institute.
RAJ ANUSH
Raj would constantly ask me about the improvement in the application process every week. These are my best friends who contributed for the BEST part in the "BEST four years of my life". I'm sure that each and everyone will have their own contributions to make in my life for a long time :)
A most important thing to consider for becoming a traveler is to have friends around the world. I consider myself as a budding traveler. Even though I've visited only a few places in India and my journey to New Zealand would be my first foreign trip, I'd like to consider myself as traveler. One day, am sure that I'd finish the globe and I'm planning to write a book about it. I'm now in my first step for achieving that, 'Developing my circle of friends around the globe'. I could now say that I'm doing an 'okay' job as I have some handful of trustworthy friends around the globe. This chapter is dedicated to such friends who're in the various parts of this planet.
First, let me start from the point where it all began. 'New York Film Academy'. I found N.Y.F.A community page in Facebook which helped me to find two great friends. 'AMRITA' and ALAIN SINGAYE'. Alain Singaye is an aspiring and talented actor who lives in Los Angeles. He studied his acting course in N.Y.F.A. I found his profile in the community page and gave him friend request explaining about my situation and query about N.Y.F.A. He was so a nice man that he explained to me about the current situation in L.A and about the life in N.Y.F.A. From then on, I've been in constant touch with him through frequent chats and messages. He really helped me to make a decision about N.Y.F.A. I've seen his 'acting show reel' once, and it was awesome. I'm sure that he'd make it big.
ALAIN SINGAYE
I could say that 'Amrita' is one of my best friend and more like a sister. She gave me a friend request after seeing my profile in N.Y.F.A community page thinking that am going to join N.Y.F.A. She had the same plan. Amrita is an Indian who's living in Florida. I guess we all know about what it takes for an Indian woman to live alone in the mighty U.S. It takes a lot of courage and determination. Amrita has it all. She have lots of dreams and loads of talents and extraordinary gift of being so nice and facing the problem with a cool mind state. This is Amrita as far as I know. We used to chat every day, discussing our problems and experiences. It was so easy to get along with her as both of us shared similar tastes. I must really thank N.Y.F.A community page to help me finding someone so important in my life. I just have one thing to say to her "I'm sure, you'd go places with your talents, sis"
'CUTE' HAE IN
Another important person in my life is my cute friend 'Hae In' from Korea. We became friends through the 'OMEGLE' website. We shared our Facebook profiles. From that time she's been my good and trust worthy friend with whom I could share any secret. She had a good accent of English unlike many Koreans. Everyday we'd have long conversations about our day to day life which created a bond. She's a close friend to my sister too. I can't forget the cute little gift she sent to my home on my birthday. She was so happy to receive my flowers in turn. Now we find very little time to chat as she moved to Hostel. But that didn't affect the bond between us.
When I was searching for some film institutions in New Zealand, I found SUSAN BUTLER's profile in 'SOUTH SEAS FILM AND TELEVISION SCHOOL' community page. Susan Butler is one of the nicest friends I have. Susan and I shared a common goal of joining a well reputed film institute in New Zealand. Susan is from Australia and she is going to move to New Zealand by the end of this year. I'm so eager to meet her as she was my first and best NZ mate.
TALENTED 'RAJNEEL SINGH'
At first, I didn't know that my friendship with 'RAJNEEL SINGH' is so valuable. I found his profile in 'NZ film commission's community page. I gave him request to get cleared on some doubts about NZ film industry. I must say that Rajneel is the most tolerant man in this planet. He answered each and every question of mine without leaving a tiniest detail. Usually my questions would be of two lines in size. His answers would be like in 'twenty lines'. Rajneel is an Indo-New zealander ho's currently living in Auckland. I'm sure that I'd meet him in Auckland. One day, I clicked the link of a short film in Rajneel's profile. 'BLANK SPACES' is it's name. I'm not exaggerating here. But it is one of the best short film I've seen. I mean, really THE BEST. Only a true passionate traveler could enjoy the happiness of that film's protagonist. To my shock, the film ended with a credit 'A FILM BY RAJNEEL SINGH'. I didn't know how to react. I realized that for the past full month I've been talking to him by using the words like 'Dude, Man etc.' without knowing that he's a highly talented film maker. That film won him, a second prize in 'NATIONAL SHORT FILM COMPETITION'.
Now, to add another diamond to his crown, his another short film 'BIG BAD WOLVES' is going to be screened in 'INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL' which is going to be held in France. He's now in his trip to France to present his short film. Now he's working on his first feature called 'SEIZURE'. It would probably be released by the month of June '2012'. I'm sure that it would be a grand success. One thing I've been meaning to say to him "Without your guidance and patient answers I would be still searching for universities in a different part of the world. Thanks a lot man, I owe you big time"
These are some of my important, nice and trust worthy friends who're living in various places around this planet. There are lot more unmentioned. Namely 'Ferrie Lin from Taiwan', 'Lea Schimt' from Germany, 'Idibun' from Nigeria, 'Maria' from Iceland, 'Hamina' from Romania. I just wanna tell one thing to you guys "We're doing great as friends irrespective of our race, places of origin and natives. Thanks for being my friends"
I heard the same voice inside me "WHAT'S YOUR NEXT DESTINATION?"
At that time, I didn't know that I was going to spend the rest of my semester by searching an answer for that question. I realized that my dream of travelling around the globe is finally getting a starting point. Many Indian students have U.S dream in them. But not me! U.S is just an other destination in my 'wanna go' list. Nothing's special in it. My dream is to live in a country which has a strong historical and cultural background.
A SCOTTISH BAGPIPE CULTURE
When I say about this dream to others, I was constantly facing this remark 'You're not a true Indian, Why are you giving up on our country? Your cultural and historical background is right there in our country' But usually my thought for that remark would go on like this ...
'Wow wow ... Hold on!!! Who said anything about giving up India or patriotism. A man, helping some orphans in India by providing them money by living in some other country is also a TRUE INDIAN, A man, living in India who doesn't follow any rules and regulations is also NOT A TRUE INDIAN. There's no rule that a true Indian must only be in India. God created this beautiful world and I wish to see each and every beauty he created. Travel makes me feel closer to him. Wherever I go, whatever rule I follow, I'd be an Indian by my heart and I'd do nothing except good for my country. I love my country but don't you care about where I'm living.'
That may have sounded a little harsh. But I believe that's the truth. Then I started my search for that magical destination. At first like everyone else I fell for the mighty 'Hollywood'. Even though I didn't like to study in U.S, I searched for the film institutes in America. I found lots and lots but only New York Film Academy (N.Y.F.A) had a magical effect on me. I decided that N.Y.F.A is my next destination. The next day I called Mr.Koo, public relations for N.Y.F.A to en-quire about the One year film making course in the UNIVERSAL STUDIOS campus. I was so excited to see the names of the visiting lecturers as all of them were renowned technicians and film makers. I dreamed of shooting my short movies inside universal studios.
But again, time made me realize that nothing's so simple in this world. I came to know about the huge fees which I'm supposed to pay for just a year. Huge ... I mean, real huge (Rs.28,00,000) per year including all living and eating expenses. L.A is not the place for Indian middle class people. I then came to know that I can't do any part time jobs while studying. I made many contacts and friends who studied there through Facebook. I feel like I must worship internet for the immense help it offered. Then I found that America is not the right destination. From then on, I searched for many film making institutions around the globe. Each and everything had its own limitations. For example, EICAR institute in France offer a high quality training, but once I finish the course I must've known enough French to write a script in that language. Atlast I shortlisted the institutions which are in the english speaking countries except U.S. The list showed CANADA,U.K,NEW ZEALAND,AUSTRALIA,IRELAND.
It is so exhausting to even think about the process I went through. Australia was rejected by my mom as she was concerned about my safety. Canada was equally costly when compared to U.S. Ireland had no proper film institutes. Atlast I shortlisted U.K and New Zealand.I attended numerous spot interviews for various universities in New Zealand and U.K. and applied for ten universities and two institutions totally. I sent some of my videos, scripts and story boards along with the application requirements. I can surely say, that those three months,I spent in searching and applying for universities, attending spot admissions, waiting for their e-mails - Man!!! Those were the toughest months, and it took all my hard work and left me with an ample amount of stress. But I felt those tedious three months was worth the effort when I got conditional offer letters from six universities and from both institutions I applied. I dreamed about living in U.K as it's in Europe even though it's not in the E.U association. As you know Europe is my dream. But again I was proved that 'Dream is not real'. The reaction of my cousin and lot others after I said that 'I'm coming to U.K. for studies' made me to think twice. Their reply goes like this ...
"Don't ever try to come to U.K. It's so dry here, no part time jobs, no 'Permanent Residence', it's not like in your dreams. Listen 1 pound is Rs.85. You could think either way. If you get a part time job, you could clear the dept. If you don't get a part time job then your father would be doomed!!!"
But again, my luck worked out. Long ago, I applied for an institution in New Zealand called Eastern Institute of Technology and attended an interview session for nearly two hours where they asked questions about various aspects of film making. It has an exclusive two years course for film making. It costs around Rs.9,00,000 for 2 years. The living cost in New Zealand is so cheap. One fine morning when I was in a dilemma about my destination the 'Conditional offer letter post came to clear my mind. I checked about the institute in the trust worthy internet to find that it's one of the government funded university. I had a long chat with the FILM AND VIDEO PRODUCTIONS's dean to find that I'm the only Indian student among the 18 selected students around the globe. I was so amazed and I don't have an exact word to explain my happiness.
EIT CAMPUS
Obviously like every fellow human, I didn't try to risk my father's financial situation. I submitted my IELTS mark sheet to Eastern Institute of Technology and got an unconditional offer letter. It feels like it all happened so soon. One weird thing is that only after signing my offer of acceptance I researched about New Zealand. I would say I wouldn't be more happier even if I went to U.K. New Zealand had got everything. I'm not saying this because it's my magical destination. It's because I was so mesmerized by its natural beauty and its cultural values. It consists of two small islands called 'North Island' and 'South Island'.
AUCKLAND
I'm going to a village called 'Taradale', near the well known 'Auckland' in Northern Island. I don't know about others but I was really impressed by NZ and its nature. It's economically stable unlike other big countries. But I know one thing for sure 'NO COUNTRY IS A PARADISE' Every place has its own advantages and limitations. I'm sure NZ has its limitations. But that makes it more interesting. Now, I'm eagerly waiting for this December to arrive to face some new people, new cultures, new adventures and a whole new land called 'NEW ZEALAND' ...
"I didn't allow you as I thought that you're just escaping from your math and science. But now, I've seen your real interest. So ... you're free to venture any road now. ALL THE BEST!!!"
I was so happy to hear these words from my father. But then I heard the same voice inside
'Its good that your father gave you permission to venture film making. But you don't have any contacts. You wanna place to start with. What's that?'
Next answer that came to my mind was 'A.V.M studios'.
A.V.M is one of the biggest film studios in India and many great directors and actors started their career from its gate. I heard some one saying film making is nothing but making contacts. A.V.M studios is the place where one could find lots of assistant directors and associates, even in the nearby Tea shops. I took my first step towards my career. I took a share auto and got down near A.V.M. My plan was to find some assistant directors or associate directors, to hear their experiences and to discuss about my career. I thought I could get an idea about the place to start. But finding an assistant director is not an easy task. You've to keep your eyes and ears sharp. You've to look each and every people keenly, the things that they carry, the matter they speak. If one has 'Schindler's list' in his hand, then there's no point in thinking. He's an assistant director for sure. If you see a group of people discussing about 'La Vita e Bella', then they're assistants for sure. Even if you find an assistant director it's not a sure thing that he'd spend his time talking with you. I spent three valuable hours by 'waiting, hearing what others are speaking and mostly staring'. Finally ... after 9pm, I decided to leave the place. Then I suddenly heard some voices ...
"A character should not contradict itself. That's the basic rule for a characterization. But that director knows nothing man ... literally nothing about characterization. His characters have no point."
I was so happy to hear those voices. I turned to see some men standing near the hotel opposite to the studio. I went near them with my fullest hesitation.
"Excuse me"
"Yea ...?" Among the group a young man in his thirties replied back. He had a really long beard.
"I'm Karthick. I ... I wanna ask you something."
"Yea?"
"I'm planning to take up film making as my career.I wanna hear your experience in the field. I guessed that you're assistant directors. Where am I supposed to start?"
"First, I should ask you a question ... Do you have some one whom you should support?"
"Yeah ... I have to support my family. Atleast I've to give them something until I make it big"
"Make it big huh? ... You want me to share my experience? Hear it. I've been an assistant for 11 years. I didn't make anything big!!!"
"I heard some assistants are leading a good life"
"They're rich ... You wanna achieve something in cinema? Then you ought to be rich, I haven't got a single chance till date. Because my story had some values. I have a script about a small child and its dream world. No one wants to make these kinds of stories here. Do you have an item number in your film? Then welcome aboard. What kind of story do you have in your mind?" I was terribly disappointed by the reply.
"It's about an amateur journalist who's in the war for the first time"
"Ha ... That's not gonna sell anywhere man, your story has some values.I guess, there's no place for a song in it"
"Yeah"
"What film made you choose film making?"
"Children of Heaven"
"Go home boy ... Do something useful in your life. Dreams are not real"
By the time I reached my home, I was in no mood for anything. I was lost in thoughts.
Late that night, I was lying in my bed, faking my sleep. I heard my mom entering the room.
"What's it?"she asked in a blunt tone.
"What's what?"
"You're so excited when you went to A.V.M, what happened now?"
I told her everything, right from 6pm to 9.30pm. Each and every word of that assistant director. I finished by saying
"Film making is not for me, I guess"
"You didn't even start. But you're thinking of giving up. I thought you're a strong guy with full of confidence. What happened to you?"
I was shaken by her reply. I saw a whole new mom.
"When you're so in love with something, you should not let it go. Be it a girl or a profession"
What the ... My mom said some great one liners that day.
"But mom ... I wanna support this family and I really don't want to leave film making"
"I know ... But before you say anything, I wanna tell you something. Do you know that there's an education loan for higher studies?"
"What? Do you want me to study MS in engineering?"
"No ... "
"Then ... "
"I'm saying ... you could do your film making abroad"
"...."
"What's that expression?"
"...."
"I know ... film making here is for rich people. People generally think that studying abroad is so costly. But there's always education loan. Many of your cousins are in abroad studying MS. They're middle class too. There comes the advantage of Indian money. Prasanna (One of my cousins) went to UK, last year to study Masters in Chemical Engineering. But today he almost finished repaying the dept. But he didn't even finish his course. He went there, got a part time job, he worked so hard and now he's looking after himself and sending money to his parents. Why can't you give it a try? ... But remember, its not so easy as it sounds. Prasanna is sleeping only for 3 hours a day !!!"
"I know, I could work hard mom ... but I just don't know whether this is a good idea"
"Just give it a try"
I discussed this idea with dad and sis. My sis was so excited as usual. Dad, after a long thought
"It's a good idea. But are we financially capable for this?" He looked at mom.
"We're not gonna give him anything. If he decided to go, then it would be by loan" my mom said.
"What if this same thing happens there. What if he continues working as an assistant for 11 years THERE. Atleast in India, we're there to look after him." The conversation picked up a pace. But then, I interrupted,
"Dad, even if I continue to work as an assistant for a long time, I must say assistants have their standard pay THERE and there are lots of film jobs and other jobs to do"
That conversation went on for hours and atlast dad said "Okay ... I believe in you"
The next thing that bugged was 'I've been discussing about a place with dad by mentioning it as 'THERE' for a long time. But I really haven't decided anything about that 'THERE'. Suddenly I heard the same voice inside "WHAT'S YOUR NEXT DESTINATION?"
I know that third chapter is nothing but a mess. Many said that it started somewhere and ended in a totally different place. Actually this chapter holds a good reason for the title of Chapter 3. If you can, then please remember the sentence
"I didn't know that my life's gonna take a big turn, the turn which opened the door to quench my thirst, the thirst of film making and travelling !!!
As you know, I was blended in film making throughout the third year. In no time, I became a final year student. We had a good picture about final year before entering into it. We thought that it would be the year of joy and fun. But we didn't know that it's the year where we've to decide our future. 'Deciding our future' is the easiest thing to say and the most complicated thing to do. I accept that the first week of the final year had many funny and joyous moments. But the total class was terrorized by one important incident which happened somewhere between second and third week. On one shiny day our fate walked right into the class in the form of our 'Placement Coordinator'.
"It feels so good to meet the final year students. I could see many faces of responsibilities. I guess many would have decided your future by now. Because this is the last and final chance for you all to decide 'what to do next'."
If we had ever heard this speech before final year we would have laughed our ass out. But I guess it's the timing. As he continued his speech, Everyone in that classroom was beginning to feel the fear about their future. That was the first time, I ever saw numerous terrorized faces in a single places. Nobody made a sound. After few minutes I felt the fear inside me.
'What the ... !!! What's that am so happy about? Even I didn't decide my future' I thought to myself. It felt so good at that night when I decided that film making is my career after watching 'CHILDREN OF HEAVEN'. But it was so scary to face the reality. That was the first time I ever thought about my family situation and economical background.
'Yeah! you have a good and creative dream ...
But what about money?
What about your family?
They have a huge trust in you. What're you gonna do to satisfy them?
Job is the only way that could satisfy them'
These are the voices I heard inside my head that day. I had literally no facial expression. Fear of future had captured me. By the time I regained my self conscience
the placement coordinator was still talking to the class.
"Okay ... this week 'Renault Nissan' is coming to our college for placements. So register with Placement department within tomorrow. Collect your preparation material and start studying for aptitudes. Remember, registering with us is more important. If you dont register, you're not eligible to attend any placements."
For those who don't know anything about RENAULT NISSAN, it is the leading car manufacturing company in India. The class was so silent even after he left. Everybody were lost in thoughts. Slowly the day ended and I had another sleepless night. I think it was 2 AM. I was sitting in the edge of the bed. Mom, dad and sis were having a sound sleep in the other room. I gently opened my DVD trunk. Each and every film smiled at me. 'LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL, BICYCLE THIEF, LE FABULEUX DESTIN DE AMELIE POULAIN, PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS, CINEMA PARADISO, MEMORIES OF MURDER, ZODIAC, ANBE SIVAM, RHYTHM' and the list goes on and on. I closed the trunk and closed my eyes. But I couldn't get even a single ounce of sleep. The dawn was so beautiful, the next day. Still I haven't decided anything. With an unclear mind I reached the college. Within a hour everyone in the class registered for the placements except me. I didn't know what to do.
"Have you registered for the placements ?" I was constantly asked by my friends.
"Not yet"
"What the ...why ?"
I couldn't answer the last question. I had only few hours left to think. Nothing interested me. The class was returning to its normal state. Many killed the time by mocking the teachers and then I heard someone mocking Mr.Selva Ganesh.
"Selva Ganesh have some set of rules and regulations" followed by laughter. Suddenly, I remembered something, something very valuable ... I guess many would remember
" I know that many of you don't like engineering here and even some of you might have interest and passion in some other field. Let me say one thing 'Its never too late'. The most easy thing to get in this world is success. You've to put only two inputs 'Hard work and Immense interest'. Remember the words ' Never too late '. But another most important thing, ' Enjoy everything you do, including BE ' Coming to the point, I'm your Engineering Graphics teacher "
NEVER TOO LATE ... NEVER TOO LATE ... Those words struck in my heart. All of a sudden, every damn thing became clear.
"Have you registered for the placements ?"
"Not yet"
"What the ...why ?"
"I'm going to do film making"
"Film making ??!!"
Now they didn't have anything to say. But I had lots. Now you know why Chapter three was named after Mr.Selva Ganesh. I thought I could explain all these incidents within chapter three.
That incident proved me an other important thing. 'My friends cared for me'. Some were so happy for me that I'm gonna do something which I love but some were so scared about my future. But I was so happy. But then, only one thing was bugging my mind. What am I supposed to say to my parents. But I had a plan. My parents know that I'm working on some videos in my free time. But they didn't know anything about my short films. That very evening I made my mom, dad and sis in front of the computer in a theatrical atmosphere with all the lights off. I must say that the trailer of my movie FEVER ABDUCTION came out very well unlike the film. I showed the trailer of FEVER ABDUCTION with full sound effect of my mercury woofers. As expected my family was so amazed to see the end credit as it said 'A KARTHICK FILM'
FEVER ABDUCTION TRAILER
"You made this ???" My dad's face was filled with questions and amusement. My mom and sis was equally happy. I showed all my videos and blogs. My poems, stories and scripts. My family spent some two hours reading and watching my works. My mom was so impressed, especially by Tamil stories and poems. After that two hours my dad said
"I didn't know that you're talented in this creative field"
"Yes dad ... I wanna take up film making"
My mom and dad was so silent for another few seconds. Then my dad gave a lovely smile and said
"I guessed this right at the moment when you made us sit to watch your movie"
I was eagerly waiting for his next word.
"When you said this same thing after finishing your 12th, I didn't allow you as I thought that you're just escaping from your math and science. But now, I've seen your real interest. So ... you're free to venture any road now. ALL THE BEST!!!"
Totally ... I totally didn't expect this from him. But it took me some more hours to convince my mom. Me and my sis were so happy. What started as a beautiful dawn ended as a beautiful dusk. I can't forget that day as it's one of the happiest day of my life ...
I didn't know that my life's gonna take a big turn, the turn which opened the door to quench my thirst, the thirst of film making and travelling !!!
It was a bright sunny day, The Re-opening day. I must say that my third year started in a pleasant manner. Lots of good and equally bad things happened to me. Actually my third year paved a way for understanding life to its fullest.
ONE FINE FRIDAY EVENING OF MY THIRD YEAR ...
I saw the real faces of people, people like us, some were so nice by heart, some were so pretty, some wore masks, some were selfish, some were greedy, some betrayed. There's nothing wrong in saying that third year brought out the man in me. As I said earlier, by that time I learned to make my own short movies. I began to understand the trick of bringing life to a script through my first short movie THE SYNC. I shot the movie with a Digi cam. My friend Judin samsun helped me by holding the cameras and planning the shots and Vignesh Ramesh brought out his acting talent. I must say Vignesh is a born actor (No Sarcasm). We worked hard and finished that 10 min movie within 24 hours. I won't say that it's a good movie. But I tasted the happiness in bringing my first script to screen. Every aspiring film maker might say this 'Once you brought your first script to screen, nevertheless how bad it is, you just can't stop.' As said, I didn't stop there. I decided my screen name then, which is also my Facebook profile name 'KARTHICK SAMPATH'. I've to mention here that Karthick is my nick name and Sudharshan is my official. "What stands out in that name?" one might ask, my reply would be "The 'C' stands out" Yeah! Normally the spelling of my nick name goes like this 'KARTHIK'. But my name is 'KARTHICK'. That extra 'C' made my name unique. Try googling Karthick Sampath, you would get all the links of my blogs and short films. Following SYNC, I made four more short films till now. THEDAL, FEVER ABDUCTION, THE KNOT, THE HORRENT.
I'd proudly accept that all these five films are nothing but crap. But it made me understand a bit about film making. I don't care that am making crap movies now. I'd be keep on making Crap movies and BOOM!!! One day ... am sure one day I'd be making great ones.
Not only films, third year had an other 'horrible truth' cutlet inside a 'pleasant surprise' burger for me called 'LOVE'. Love is the magic word which made even the famous and strong writers to blabber. Oscar Wilde says
"When one is in love, one always begins by deceiving oneself, and one always ends by deceiving others. That is what the world calls a romance."
Diana Arbus says
"Love involves a peculiar unfathomable combination of understanding and misunderstanding."
But I say
"There's one such thing called 'TRUE LOVE'. But no one could find it, it's in a heavenly place"
But I once thought that I had found it. It was a mesmerizing and heavenly feeling. I floated in the thin air, I felt weightlessness, I felt that I was in the top of the world. But sadly, my true love lasted only for a year. That one year, was a special one, it brought out all my life's love, it was like a beautiful spring season with fresh flowers and blossoms. Each and every human should experience it. But don't expect it to last longer. It won't. It happened in a rainy day.
" I can't meet you hereafter ... Take care"
She gave a gentle kiss and whispered "Good Bye forever"
I can't forget that day. I felt so alone and dejected. I was drenched by rain. It was so late at night. The traffic was so low. The magnificent city was half asleep. I heard the rumblings of rain. The sky was full of thunders and lighting. The lane was so empty as I walked in it aimlessly. Usually I like to walk in rain. That day, it felt like the rain is my only company. Once Charlie Chaplin expressed the same feeling by saying "I like walking in the rain, so no one can see me crying". But later I learnt that even the break up is a best teacher as it taught me a most valuable lesson.
"Never expect anything from anyone ... Nothing's permanent"
Soon I found that it had a hidden message "Time Heals ..."
Internet sowed an additional interest in my heart, more like a bonus. That is TRAVEL and CULTURES!!!
This blog's consistent reader would have known that I'm more of a wanderer. I like to explore different places. Even in the small town of Guduvanchery, I found some cool places like small mountain ranges and a hidden lake. I used to spend my weekends there.
But in Chennai, I didn't even get a single opportunity to explore such places. The city is fully crowded and each and every corners are occupied. So without my exploring and wandering stuffs, I had much time left in which I'd think of things which some people might consider as crazy or insane. I'd spend a lot of time under the 'big roof night sky' which makes me think about some other part of the world where there'd be a day sky. People would be busy, walking in the lanes, eating in the restaurants, breaking up, proposing, working their asses out while I'm lying under the night sky thinking about them after a long and tiresome day. Time's now 11.00PM in India. While I'm writing this blog, a shepherd could be starring the miles and miles of green bare fields in Argentina, a French painter could be working on his masterpiece by watching the Eiffel view from his open window, a romantic couple could be enjoying their Gondola ride in Venice,a soldier could be facing his death in Iraq, a merchant could be enjoying his Hawke's bay wine in New Zealand. This list could go on and on and on ... I feel that this is one of the wonders of our creator.
Lots of things are going on around the world in this very second, but you must step out to feel that awesomeness. At least that's what I feel. This is just a sample of my insane thought process. This thought advanced into travelling when I saw a discovery series called '1000 PLACES TO SEE BEFORE YOU DIE'. I downloaded it from the internet so, Internet is the basic reason for my travelling thirst. I have a big world map in which I've marked the places with the red spot, the places I've been to! My dream is to finish the globe before I die. I wanna meet people, I wanna enjoy each and every places which God has created, I wanna see cultures, I wanna know history ...
Along with my urge of film making, I developed an urge and thirst for travelling. But again as usual, I didn't know that my life's gonna take a big turn, the turn which opened the door to quench my thirst, the thirst of film making and travelling !!!
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