back to daftar!

this was to be my year off from television...a year i was to assist on a feature film...but that didn't happen, nor did anything else. and then came this offer to shoot "paanchvi pass" at good ol #7 @ filmcity...and of course i took it up!...so i'm back on my bicycle at 845 every morn...for the next two months!...been lighting the last 4days. it's the indian version of "are you smarter than a fifth grader?"...so look out for it!

you are here!

mbti pic post

some lifetimes ago, i met this hard-nosed, pain in the ass iim-a guy at cry. he was product manager, getting in the money, which we at projects spent. the two depts seldom saw eye to eye...but he n i somehow hit it off. jump-cut to last month, he asks me to come in on a project that he's been thinking could be made into a film!and this is janaki, who's been doing research to figure if there is an "indian" type...how well they complement each other..a delight to watch in action!

just in case you missed this...

this article in the mid-day made me go all red!

happy easter!

the storm's abated
the dark clouds dissipating
the sea a lot calmer
n the light divine!
...(so what if it took me a lot more than 3 days ;)
what a fab way to end a weekend full of celebration! have a wonderful easter!

my mbti type - infp

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a personality questionnaire designed to identify certain psychological differences according to the typological theories of Carl Gustav Jung as published in his 1921 book Psychological Types.

the dichotomies:
Extraversion Introversion
Sensing iNtuition
Thinking Feeling
Judging Perceiving

...INFPs are quiet, creative, sensitive and perceptive souls who often strike others as shy, reserved and cool. These folks have a rare capacity for deep caring and commitment--both to the people and causes they idealize. INFPs guide their behavior by a strong inner sense of values, rather than by conventional logic and reason. Forced to cope with this facts-and-figures "real" world we inhabit, INFPs may appear to have been imported from another galaxy! They gravitate toward creative or human service careers which allow them to use their instinctive sens of empathy and remarkable communication skills. Strongly religious, spiritual or philosophical people, INFPs may see the purpose of their lives as an inner journey, quest or personal unfolding. More practical or rational types may tend to discredit the INFP's sources of understanding as mystical. The search for a soulmate is a preoccupation for many INFPs, who must balance their need for privacy and peace with their yearning for human connection. If there seems to be an air of sadness in the INFP's spirit, blame it on this type's longing for the perfect in all things.

ha! :)

myers briggs anyone??

am off to delhi this afternoon to learn about the myers briggs type indicator...a friend from my CRY lifetime is looking at making a film exploring the "indian" type...mbti is a qnnaire that uses jung's psychological types ka theory in order to better understand ourselves. whatever!...will tell more when i learn more ;)

chinese restaurants india premier

last evening at the ngma audi, thanks to asia society, we finally screened cheuk kwan's "chinese restaurants" - tho just the india n argentina parts. almost full the house was...watched in rapt attention n seemed to enjoy the film. it's so easy when you are presenting someone else's film... i remember the nervousness n misery i went thru at my film screenings...but this was different! the discussion though was derailed by a bad start n we never recovered from that...but clearly the film worked n was well-received. in fact, there were 8 firm orders for a box set of 5dvds!!

to celebrate, went to ling's pavilion for a sumptuous dinner...where they stuffed our faces silly!...pork , prawns, chiken, corn curd, stew, bacon steamed rice n noodles!...aaah! a perfect way to end the day!...cheers cheuk!

re-watching the film...listening to mr chiang of casa china in buenos aires made me ponder about our own smallness...here was man who left taiwan 40yrs ago changed 3boats n has now lived half his life in argentina. his wife n son live in new york n there's this loneliness n acceptance, resilience n courage you begin to respect. his world view is almost zen-like...his concept of home, of identity makes me wonder of the sena campaign here in bombay...when will we ever learn?...

closer home, the lives of baba n nini ling are played out...so different they are from each other...i cringe when a smartypants nri starts the discussion asking if "they" can speak hindi...but to my (later) disgust, i do not dismiss the premise of his question...n grow increasingly protective of them in the course of the discussion...i live n learn!

kps gill must go!

there's no two ways about it...guys let's start a kps gill hatao campaign from the ihf, if we have to recover from the absolutely pathetic news that we didn't qualify for the olympics in hockey for the first time in 80years!! i'm so sad n so angry. for all the upper that srk's chak de was, however momentary n filmy, this downer is for real n will take a long time re-hauling. it makes me even more ill when i think of the money cricket continues to attract...on the other hand, maybe just change our national sport to cricket let our hockey glories be buried deep under our consciousness.

blue frog weekend

nothing sends me soaring higher than some good live music...and blue frog's just THE place...bob belden's animation on saturday night blew the roof away with some exciting nu-jazz mixed live with dj logic's dual vinyl turntables...i wish they'd let good ol louis banks sleep so late at night, instead of forcing some indo-jazz fusion on us...i mean he's been doing the same plink-plonking since the last 20years!...
but their ballistic version of "sunshine of your love" had us begging for more! for the first time, all my screaming for more was in vain...they simply didn't come back for one last one :(
a nice end to an evening with naresh over music, old b/w pics n stories, some good feni...aaahhhh!

come along!

ASIA SOCIETY
presents

as part of its CHINESE NEW YEAR Series


Chinese Restaurants: Beyond Frontiers


by Cheuk Kwan, Director


Followed by Q&A with Ajay Noronha, Cinematographer


Thursday, 13 March 2008. 6.30 pm


National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) Auditorium, 2nd Floor, NGMA,

Sir Cowasji Jehangir Public Hall, M G Road, (diagonally opposite Regal Cinema), Mumbai 400032

Telephone: 022-22881970


Film screening at 6.30 pm, followed by Discussion



Chinese Restaurants: Beyond Frontiers tells the story of the Chinese Diaspora through its most recognizable and enduring icon - the family-run Chinese restaurant. Filmmaker Cheuk Kwan travels across the world and comes face to face with Chinese communities who have transcended geographical, political, and social frontiers. Together, these community and personal histories illustrate the wider story of Chinese migration and settlement and celebrate the resilience and complexity of the Chinese Diaspora. They highlight the fluidity and highly personal nature of identity, and the struggle of ethnic minorities to break through cultural and racial boundaries. Cheuk Kwan was born in Hong Kong and grew up in Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan. After earning his master’s degree in systems engineering in the U.S., he immigrated to Canada in 1976 where he embarked upon a successful career in information technology. Following a film workshop at New York University in 1998, he established his own production company, Tissa Films, which has produced the Chinese Restaurant series of documentaries.

sleep eludes me tonight...

...vikram seth offers some solace...as i contemplate unconditional love.

"All you who sleep tonight
Far from the ones you love,
No hand to left or right
And emptiness above -

Know that you aren't alone
The whole world shares your tears,
Some for two nights or one,
And some for all their years."