Blog Camp!

Ever since I have taken to Twitter with a vengeance, I have also stopped being somewhat of a recluse. Yes, ironically, the internet has been done some very Botox like wonders for my social life and sense of self. Wanting to continue in this vein of awesomeness, I gave into a friend’s insistence, and before you can say anti – social, there I was, arguing with the conductor about a window seat on a bus to Pune. While the journey was surreal and very Impressionistic, rain streaked windows like splotches of grey paint separating the bright green, brown, blue broad strokes that whizzed past, I had trouble adjusting to the tripe that was Koi Mil Gaya playing on the bus’ in-insane-highway-horn honking at everything-driving entertainment system. But point was, I was on my way to Blog Camp Pune 2009. To interact with strangers I knew only by their Twitter and GTalk handles, folks whose blogs I read but had never met in person. All on my own accord.

Pune was cool, green, with a nip in the air, and perfect for a long day of playing romantic hookey. As I drove from my aunt’s place to SICSR (Symbiosis), I could not help humming ‘and all those children, heaven help them, but they’ll look after me!’ In that frame of mind, I met my friend responsible for getting me to come in the first place, fished out the much beloved Blackberry and starting tweeting about what was going on and the things to come. Quite an impressive turnout and I could not wait to get started.

Being used to an industry where people say they are 5 minutes away, but turn up for meetings once the first rounds of coffee and teas have been cleared, citing ‘what awful traffic, dahling,’ I was very very pleasantly surprised when we started right on time! Tarun Chandel, wearing a cheery bright yellow t-shirt, introduced the agenda and then we were asked to introduce ourselves. As I saw people stand up and talk about what they do, I froze for a moment. The very moment I was dreading. Then all those years of public speaking classes at school (always slept in, never learnt) kicked in, and I heard myself smoothly go on and on about my blogging passions and what makes me unique from the million other extremely talented bloggers in the same room. Heck, so excited I was with the new me, I started smiling at unknown faces. SOMETHING, I HAVE NEVER EVEN DREAMT OF DOING.

The most amazing part of the Pune Blog Camp was that it was quite an unconference. No strict rules, restricting structures, organizations, or linear counting. I am sure there is a Memento joke somewhere here, but ha! I won’t be such a total dork. We were free to walk out any time and start discussions of our own. It was just like being on the internet, but without a keyboard and HTML formatting of course. And there were no hashtags in real life. Participants and speakers mingled, there were impromptu discussions on the stairwells, (college was like this come to think of it) and there were as few PPT presentations as possible. The geek fests had begun!

The first talk I sat for was by Meetu on her movie review blog WOGMA and all the cool stuff she has been doing. My takeaways from this talk were to be confident in your writing abilities, to keep in mind that content is the single most values element for any blog, and to marry someone who was a PHP God. Okay, the last one not so much considering I am not even close to marrying someone who knows what the internet is, let alone a God. Before this gets any lamer, I am moving on.

I also discovered much to my own chagrin, that old habits of wanting to lend voice to discussions die hard. Meetu blogs about all things cinema and the topic of reviewers being influenced by producers came up. If reviewers were to accept merchandise and premiere passes, would this mean their reviews would not be objective? In my opinion and experience, that is not something a reviewer should worry about. Users online don’t really care about what someone thinks. All they need is a conversation starter. The internet is a place which functions socially as a parallel means of communication. I say parallel because not all discussions are indicative of real life scenarios. Collective consciousness is best measured by logging onto a popular message board such as Rediff and seeing what people think and feel. There are no influencors online. Just facilitators of discussion and conversation, The well spoken and talented Mr Raja Sen seems to be the most hated man online. And yet, he’s the most read. (Note to self: this has got to be a separate blog post by itself)

I was very glad to meet Meetu because it’s so inspiring to know people who have done such a phenomenal job of combining passion and work together. Please read her blog WOGMA (Without Giving the Movie Away) at www.wogma.com. That’s another thing I was pleased to discover: entrepreneurs and smart people ranging from16 to 45 years, doing their own thing, and doing it best.

Next, Annkur was up talking about the mistakes best avoided while blogging. There was much frenzied discussion on how marketing should be considered after there is content to show for it, and how content must remain the focus of it all. Now, I can only wish Bollywood gets this very simple and basic principle. You’d think a billion dollar industry would have understood content by now.

Alas, I was sort of surprised no one really mentioned the user experience. Why do we blog? To call attention to ourselves. To tell the world – look at the wonderful and horrible things I go through – Empathize with me! And yet, if you squeeze in a thousand ad sense ads selling Life Coaching Books, stick in an all white background, call your only substantial web presence something like Suzy’s House of Cool (which on retrospect doesn’t sound half bad), and make your blog design seem like something that Freddy Krueger met earlier, you will not get those that matters – readers. People willing to listen. #megafail. User engagement comes right after content being King. Bollywood, still with me?

Ankesh K was very very cute and very very smart. After all, his was one session that gave me insights on the more important bits: make money out of your blog! He also reminded me of an old school friend from school who would carry flash index cards to lead the school assembly.

By now, everyone was relaxed and all the XKCD type jokes seemed rampant. As I allowed myself to drift off, checking for Twitter updates, the room blinked in unison. Ankesh was standing on a chair, saying something about a string, a girlfriend and a cat. While the next logical step would be to think about spatial physics, having considered the keywords caught by my half-listening brain, I had never been so wholly entertained in my entire blog life. Which turns 5 years old next month by the way.

Post the talk, we decided to head out for lunch. On our way out, I met and chatted up with Harish K (of Blogadda), who’s doing some great work in the space of content aggregation, Kunal Sheth, a fellow Bombay blogger, and Sahil K – boy genius. Sahil’s venture The Tossed Salad is a beauty in design and usability and I have been known to quote from its articles.

After a rather nostalgia inducing Bengali spread, we returned in time to sit for Thakker’s anecdotal, mostly funny, half creepy talk on user privacy online. On the surface, Thakker seemed like any other normal IIT-B graduate, denied and repressed (haha), but he made some strong points on plagiarism and privacy. Basically boys and girls, do not pass off source material as yours if it’s not, and if you are taking pictures of unsuspecting and hot girls in Pizza Hut, at least have the good sense to turn away your viewfinder. Or just don’t upload said photos to your highly popular blog. Basic blog practices. Basic life practices. So Bollywood, can you repeat what I just said?

The day came to a close, ending on Thakker’s hilarious recounting of ‘meeting prospective brides’ stories, and introducing his younger brother as Thakker Junior, V2, out of Beta testing. (Yeah but I saw that joke coming.) Time for us to pack up, meet and socialize some more, and head out to The Corinithians for the ALL YOU CAN DRINK beer tweet-up. On my way out, I tweeted: http://twitter.com/tanushreebaruah/status/2357731659

I hope there is another blog camp soon, maybe at Goa? And the next time, I hope to actually be a presenter, talking about movies and their presence online, talking about content and piracy. I learnt at this blog camp that being a geek is actually cool, I met some very nice and fun people, and that they’d guide you to a place where everyone is happy and dreaming of the building the perfect PHP based backend, or figuring out unwinnable scenarios in Star Wars. Thanks all you guys, and thanks Pune!

Some Random Reactions

The Hangover: The funniest movie I have seen in a really long time. Road trips and getting drunk are made out to be synonyms of cool. Hollywood, nothing compares to you.

Rains in Mumbai and the ensuing media frenzy: Roads Blocked! Death By Electrocution! 3. Mumbai Submerged! La di dah. Headline copy can’t get any more original than this.

Bollywood after Kambhaqt Ishq: Losing my faith and interest in India’s movie industry. So boring. So insipid. So repetitive. So dumb. Would rather watch White Chicks followed by Wedding Crashers.

The Ex: Confused loser who needs a serious hard kick in the balls. And then shoved off the newly christened Rajiv Gandhi setu.

Michael Jackson’s Passing On: No. I will not pun. No no no, I will not beat it. ARGH. There, see what you made me do. But parting is such sweet sorrow. Moon walk on.

Sam Rockwell: Why why why oh why don’t I know you in real life? Hmmph.

Bollywood in General: Why can’t some of the older more popular so-called A list stars just DIE? That way, we will never run out of things to talk about.

Article 377: So long, sucker! Note to gay friends: This does not mean you have the right to act bitchier than me. Muah! And congratulations.

Iran Elections: Stop trending on Twitter already!

Mamta Banerjee: Live long and prosper. NOT.

There some things you don’t question.
Such as traveling to another city based on a hunch.
Or bullying an almost total stranger to pick you up on reaching.
You don’t ask ‘Is this okay?’ when said stranger becomes your only friend and laughs at your jokes. Well, almost all.
And you don’t hesitate to shamelessly flirt with him, on a public internet platform. You don’t.
It is completely natural to ditch the others and pull him out when conversations become stifling.
And natural to sit by an abandoned road and watched by gigantic Egyptian statues, just stay silent.
And when you get up to rejoin the others, and he offers you his hand
You do not pause for a moment.
You just take it, and holding onto each other, make your way back.
You also don’t hesitate to make him wait and wait and wait
While you gossip with your aunts and share family news
And yet, when he says he’s angry, he is smiling.
It is the right thing to do when you both laugh out loud at some silly movie scene
Or jump about excitedly to see your favorite Momo shack open.
And when it’s time to return to your separate lives
You both yell out goodbyes, while mentally giving each other hugs.
Perhaps kisses.
The next time, we will. Some things. You just don’t question.

To prove to my dad:

I am not hopeless in Math
I can clear an exam on my own merit
I do have peseverance
I am capable of studying hard, sincerely.

Therefore, it's GMAT time.

Time to walk down hallowed halls.

Time to tell the world - do not write me off yet.
Sent on my BlackBerry® from Vodafone Essar

Popular Culture

Popular Culture has never had it this good in these past few days. Here's a quick sampling of the movies, books, TV shows, and music I have been either watching, reading, or listening to, and I urge you to take a dekko yourself. More on these later, I promise!

TV Shows:

Bones: (Source: Wikipedia) The show is based on forensics and police procedurals in which each episode focuses on an FBI case file concerning the mystery behind human remains brought by FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth to the forensic anthropology team of Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan.

Bones airs on Star World, every Wednesday, at 10 p.m. with repeat telecasts on Thursday afternoons and Saturday evenings.

Watch the Bones promo on YouTube (LIGHT - HEARTED Version): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnvRh2oq1gg

(SERIOUS Version): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDCbKom2wRU

Heroes: (Source: Wikipedia) Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring, which premiered on NBC on September 25, 2006.[1] The series begins by telling the stories of apparently ordinary individuals from around the world who mysteriously develop superhuman abilities, and who then seek to use them to prevent the end of the world

Watch the Heroes promo on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n07bAEUZSxM

Heroes has stopped airing since Season 3 is over. Stay tunes for Season 4!

Movies:

Star Trek: Enough said. Watch the trailer on Apple.com/Trailers: http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/startrek/

Angels and Demons: Hollywood continues to get adaptation wrong. But quite riveting: http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/angelsdemons/

Books:

An old comforting favorite, Agatha Christie continues to keep me thinking long after the more contemporary authors have thrown up their hands in exasperation: http://www.amazon.com/Curtain-Poirots-Last-Agatha-Christie/dp/0007121121/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245006481&sr=8-1

Music:

Linkin Park's new single, New Divide from the Transformers 2 OST. Watch the cool video on YouTube, and then BUY it online on the Itunes Store! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TB79WZuEPFs&feature=popular

In Conversation with Chandan Roy Sanyal, Film and Theater Actor, Director

Chandan Roy Sanyal, 27, is a theatre director, as well as one the main supporting actors in the upcoming Vishal Bharadwaj starrer ‘Kaminey.’ Known for his productions with Q Theater Productions, he is currently involved in directing the Bertolt Brecht play, Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. It begins its run from July 2009.

What are you currently working on?

I am directing a Bertolt Brecht play called ‘Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.’ It’s about this imaginary place where the characters want to drink away their days and have sex all year round. I have adapted it to the Indian stage by including songs in English, Gujarati, and Hindi. The themes running across the plot are extremely relevant in today’s rock and roll times, and there is this constant reminder of being true to yourself.

How did you choose this play?

Last November, when I was performing in Midsummer’s Night Dream at the National Center for Arts in Ottowa, I attended a lecture at the Brecht Symposium and that’s where I learnt about the play. ‘Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny’ was written by Brecht and the music was composed by Kurt Weill. What drew me to the play were its themes about breaking from the system and about mocking people who weren’t being true to themselves.

I returned to Mumbai in December and searched for copies of the play everywhere. Apparently, it isn’t as well known as I had thought. Finally, after months of searching, Vishal (Bharadwaj) asked me what I was planning to do after Kaminey wrapped up. When he heard my plans about directing, he said he had a copy of the play and I could not believe my luck! After reading the script, I decided that the play would have greater impact if it was translated into Hindi and Gujarati. I got in touch with a NSD professor, Vivek Mishra and finalized the adaptation.

Looking back, I think it was a good idea to translate the play into various Indian languages. It messes up (in a fun way) the audience’s involvement with the theatrical process when suddenly they are assaulted by crude Hindi right after a line of beautiful English poetry.

Do you have any suggestions to new directors on selecting a play?

First, I’d say read many books, and not just a Brecht or a Gulzar. Immerse yourself in popular fiction, watch many movies, don’t be a cultural snob and absorb the world around you. Be open to things and this will help you in getting rid of stereotypes. Identify whether you want to work with an original piece (written by you or a friend) or use one of the many plays that exist. Finally, read it at least twice, the first time, as a story, and the second time, imagining how your characters will be presented, what color schemes you’d want to use, how the lighting and set will be designed. And make notes!

Once you are comfortable with your play selection, get your production team in place. Yes, even before your leading man has been cast. Your production team is your backbone, it will keep things together when you are ready to tear up your script and rip up the backdrop. I scout around for a production manager, a set designer (who usually doubles up as a costume designer), a light designer and a sound engineer, if your play has sound effects. For example, in Romeo and Juliet, back in 2002, there were at least 5 different musical tracks for a party scene. Romeo flirting, Juliet dancing with uncle, Juliet and Romeo dancing, extras looking shocked, and romantic music when Romeo sees Juliet for the first time.

Sound: However, my play does not require any specific sound design since most of our songs will be a capella and we are using bottles filled with rice grains, and shoes to create beats.

Set Design: I met my set designer through a common friend. She’s an architect and I have had a lot of fun jamming with her on the set plans. Our set will be built out of packaging boxes and each side of the box will be painted with different motifs for a 3-D effect. For each scene, the boxes will rotate to represent a different room. I believe in sets being visually enriching and yet not overly done. The theater is all about imagination, and pinching pennies. There’s no need to spend 2 crores on a set. Extensive does not always mean successful. Directors should think out of the box and go beyond minimalism.

Costumes: I told my actors to think about their characters and the five different things their characters are likely to wear in real life. Then our costume designer and I sat together discussing each look, highlighting the actors’ profiles and what colors would suit them. I need to also make sure that while the character comes through; my actors should also look good. Presentation is key.

Light Design: When you read the script, you should imagine how you want specific images to look like. For example, at a Birthday party scene, would you focus on the birthday candles flickering in the inky darkness of the theater, or do you want bright glaring strobe lights to signify day time. Always talk to your light designer and get his feedback on how he wants an actor positioned, or whether the stage needs to be lowered.

Casting: Quasar (Thakore) and Toral (Shah) my friends from QTP helped me look for actors. We called and emailed people, and finally, I got my cast of 22 actors. I then conducted workshops since they are a mixed bunch of people, and I wanted to make sure that an actor with absolutely no theater experience does not look foolish standing next to a theater veteran. The workshops helped us all get to know each other, our characters, and how to best position ourselves to attract lighting and audience interest. Since the play is a musical, I also arranged for a vocals coach to come in and work with my cast members. Singing classes are about an hour everyday and my actors practice while traveling in autos, riding their bikes, cooking dinner etc. They also have line rehearsals where they practice dialogues with a family member. That’s how involved an actor should be.

Staging: We aim to open in the third week of July. Currently, I am in talks with the NCPA and Prithvi theater to see which dates are available. We pay them a booking amount, and then split the profits from the ticket sales.

How tough was it to get started?

Theater cannot always pay your rent, that’s a fact. I have had to do other things, like conduct workshops for corporates, do some film acting. However, it’s like any other profession. If you keep at it, you are sure to find a place for yourself. I remember how I used to be an extra with the one line dialogue and today…it’s so much more. [laughs]

What’s the most memorable moment in your theater career?

Once after handing out water bottles to theater directors at Thespo, (Q Theater Production’s annual theater festival) I sat on a stone bench outside and told myself I would be back and not just hand out bottles. The next year, I sat on that same bench, and heard my name being called out for the Best Actor and Best Play award. That was a surreal moment. Everything was slow motion.

Do you have any advice for first time theater enthusiasts?

Well, I am still learning myself. But I can say keep your mind open. Do everything, pour water for the resident diva, photocopy scripts, label costumes, hammer set pieces in place, meet a lot of people. You never know from where you will get your inspiration from. If you are really interested, you can always come volunteer for us as a production assistant and see if this is what you want to do.

Takeaways – How to become a theater director

1. Read and identify the play you want to direct. Talk to people; get their ideas on the plot.
2. Scout for a production team, always get expert opinion on lighting, set, sound, and props – the four production fundamentals.
3. Volunteer as a production assistant in festivals such as Thespo and Writers Bloc and network.
4. A good director is familiar with set, lighting and sound techniques. Familiar, not expert. The theater community in India is close knit, you can always get help.
5. As a starting point, log on to the Thespo website and register as a director. The Thespo team helps you in putting together a production.

Useful Links:

Thespo: http://www.thespo.org/
Email: thespo@gmail.com

Chandan: chandanroysanyal@hotmail.com

Q Theater Productions: qtp@vsnl.com
The Script: http://qtpthescript.blogspot.com/

On Adam Lambert

This year’s season of American Idol was apparently the lowest rated season ever in the history of the Idol franchise. Which frankly, surprised me.

Although I latched onto this year’s Idol rather late, (when they had narrowed the number of contestants to 4) I realized (and quickly) why this season would be different. American Idol had opened its pop loving, crooner clad, clean Christian arms to a 27 year old from New York, who wore black, (not only limited to his clothes but his nails), who sang at pitches I can only describe as dramatic soprano, who turned around no-nonsense country music and made them into sexy, sensual caresses, and who is rumored to be gay. Okay, not quite, considering there have been pictures of him kissing another boy, and wearing leaves and other natural substances around his nether regions. Hardly a safe bet for American Idol, hardly the Idol generated artist who will represent a mass taste in music.

Adam Lambert has had my vote ever since I heard his version of the Tears for Fears song; ‘Mad World.’ The way he heartbreakingly sings ‘The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had’ made me want to hold his hand, and tell him things are going to be okay and secretly hope he’d plant those kissable lips on me and then, before I cross already ill-defined PG boundaries, let’s back track a minute fellas, he is gay! Adam Lambert, my musical hero, future legend, rock God, cool dude, is gay. He will never be American Idol. All because he is in love with another man. Therefore, the Idol crown sits pretty on a younger, much more likeable singer with a great boy band voice. The kind of voice which I used to do-wop to in my younger days, but today, just bores me.

However, Idol served as the platform for Lambert to showcase himself as a versatile entertainer. Theatrical? Yes. Has flair for the dramatic? Check. Wears flamboyant clothing? Ahaan. Can sing? Oh Sweet Jesus, and how. Lambert has much more than just talent, he has something called ‘ability to stand out from the crowd’ and an innate self-confidence which translates itself into immaculate vocals and a range which encapsulates generations of music. Among a million fan comments on how Idol was ‘rigged’ thanks to an AT&T scandal, and how Lambert’s sexuality cost him the win, I think it can be safely said that Adam Lambert does not just stop here. It’s his fallen angel voice that will be heard for a long time, I am hoping even forever.

I love the Internet - Part 1

With all the uproar, drama, and theatrics that the Great Indian Politics Circus is known for, we came to the end of yet another historic show. Bloggers and the Twitterati have all proclaimed their views on social media marketing and its influence on the rise and fall of the Politician, all the news channels have been flashing impressive looking graphs, pie charts and cool pieces of technology on-air to predict wins or to confirm I told You So’s.

A friend of mine said that as far as election results go, TV still beats the internet hands down. Is Indian politics meant for the Internet? And then he threw it open for discussion on the Twitterniverse. Which I think is ironic, considering how we smugly think that Indian Politics requires grassroots campaigning, and anything else is just fluff, but talk about our Government and the appointing of one’s country’s leaders using the toold we think are ‘cool.’ Blogger, Twitter, Facebook, online message boards, social bookmarking sites such as Digg – great resources but perhaps not a match for our politicians’ idea of a successful campaign? After all, does a 5% CTR guarantee a 35% increase in yes-votes?

Hardly were the final poll results announced, than the online community started talking about the BJP spent more than the Congress on online advertising and look what happened? I disagree. There have been some really well written articles on the use of the Internet in Politics but this is not just about the medium of the campaign. The end product was poor and did not focus on the consumer’s real wants and needs. So, this is really more a victory for the Indian voter than anything else.

If John Mc Cain used the Internet as interestingly as President Obama did in the 2008 American Elections, would the use of You Tube viral videos and a constant stream of Tweets get him winning votes? I doubt it.

From my experince with social media marketing and the role it played recently in the polls, I think it definitely made great progress. It has brought us closer together, and got us talking in full fledged sentences, and we have discovered there are some young and hep politicians who can be future leaders or there are educated, suave older role models who have been leaders of a different kind, and have shifted focus. Young Milind Deora and UN Under-Secretary General Shashi Tharoor – India and the world are now waiting to see whether you can lead this great country out of the wings and onto the spotlight. Via Doordarshan or live streaming on cnn.com, it’s all the same.

No more over analyzing.

Thank You Speech

I may not have had the perfect relationship and I do not know what it takes to ensure one, but the people I have met and the dynamics of the life I have seen so far have led me to believe that faith and joy go a long way in keeping you strong and keeping your bonds with people strong. When I wrote this screenplay, I wanted to tell the world that you can be happy in a relationship but as it progressed, I really wanted to let the world know that I have met people and seen circumstances that perhaps may not have changed me as a person but have definitely changed my world views. I would like to thank all the people I have met so far and for this glorious life that has given me so much thought which in turn has been so beautifully translated on screen. Thank you Mr Scorsese for looking at my script and saying yes, that's the one love story I am going to make into a movie. Thank you to my gorgeous husband who has put up with my quirks and has always been there for me.

And thank you to the Academy for giving me this honor.


Good night!