Misunderstanding

One night I was driving home in my car when i landed behind an auto rickshaw (three wheeler taxi in india) which stood still for quite some time. Vehicles from the other lane were passing along. I honked for the rick to move and i saw a hand coming out urging me to overtake it. As i was crossing it i saw that the rick had broken down and the driver was pushing it. I slowly crossed the rick looking at him and trying to figure out if he needed help. He glanced at me and started shouting asking me not to glare at him and mind my own way. I was shocked for a while and then i started laughing. I wanted to see if the guy needed help but, he misunderstood it as though i was staring at him for blocking my way. Moral of the story - Even the best of your intentions might land you into trouble.

Shortage of ideas

Hi,
Im posting after a long longg time. The news is that now remakes in kannada are going to be taxfree. So, get ready for a stream of remakes in kannada. Once there was a time when kannada industry was the source of inspiration to all its counterparts. there were a lot of novels which were being translated into movies. Now, there are no writers for the new generation of movies to be made. Unless writers who have the knack of converting their talent into gripping scenes come in huge numbers and revolutionize the industry we would be paying for a remake which we most probably would have seen on some other channel.

Why do you think so

I was doing a project work for the bachelors degree of engineering (B.E in electronics) in 1995. ( I haven't completed my degree and i still mention my qualification in brackets [ B.E in Electronics ] ). The project was in Bharat Electronics and there i met a person who changed my whole concept about teaching and teachers. His name was Mukesh Chadda, our project guide. I will come to his topic later.
I had a lot of tutors (how silly, eveybody has a lot of tutors) and i always felt they were just doing their JOB. I never attended classes regularly as i my interest was in the media and if any oppotunity to work in a Television project arose i used to bunk my classes. Many a times i was told by my teachers that i would not achieve anything in life and my whole existence was an error.

But today i have recognition as an actor in the kannada Television industry. Quite a majority of people in the state of Karnataka (India) know me as Vikas ( the name of the character i play). I wonder what my teachers meant by "would not achieve anything in life". They are still obscure, teaching the same stuff as a routine.

Now, back to Mukesh Chadda. He had a job in Bharat Electronics and was the guide for me.(Even people in Bharat Electronics who knew i was into Television had the same opinion that i was doing something unacceptable or i was not serious in life). But, Mukesh Chadda was a cool guy who was unperturbed by my Television connection. He was neutral and treated me like everybody else.

We started the project work and my partner stuck to the basics of what was expected of the project. I being of the experimental nature wanted to utilize the oppurtunity and pushed the project beyond its initial scope. I used to have a lot of doubts and used to discuss a lot with Mr. Mukesh Chadda. I liked his approach to my doubts. He had a magical phrase for understanding my mental frame. He always used to ask me "WHY DO YOU THINK SO?". This led him to understand me and my approach towards a problem. So correcting me and conditioning my thought as required to solve the hurdles popping up in the project was simple for him. When i compare his magical method of "WHY DO YOU THINK SO?" to the approach of my previous teachers who used to rebuke at my thought process and found me incompetetive in understanding the textbook I feel Mukesh Chadda is the ideal teacher. Just imagine i still remember his approach after a decade.

Why im writing this is because i was learning the programming language java and i got hold of a book "Thinking in java" by Bruce Eckel. I feel that usually technical books are written as documents (dry and filled with only facts), and rarely as an experience in the learning process. This guy Bruce has done it. He gets into the mind of a beginner and takes him on a joy ride to Java. He reminded me of Mukesh Chadda.

Gandugali Kumararama

Gandugali Kumararama is a flop. These words were uttered by non other than the producer of the film, M.R. Pattabhiram within a week of its release.

When i first heard about Kumara Rama a few years back, the news was that the late, Dr. Rajkumar wanted to play the character of Kumara Rama which was finally played by his son Shiva Rajkumar.

At first I thought Kumara Rama was a fictional character. Little did i realize that Kumara Rama was a warrior prince from a place called Kampila in the present Bellary district.

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More about Kumara Rama from the online edition of the hindu

http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/fr/2005/09/09/stories/2005090904010400.htm

The "legend" and "history" of Kumara Rama, a central figure in the cultural history of the Kummata Durga fiefdom (1290-1320), deals with the cult person who fought against the mighty invaders and the coterie of "ambitious and insidious insiders" prior to the establishment of
the Vijayanagar Empire.
According to available inscriptions and literature, Kumara Rama was a valiant son of King Kampli Raya of Kummata Durga or Hosamale Durga. He was an ideal prince and an embodiment of virtues. He stood by his father in waging relentless wars against the Kakatiyas of Warangal,
his neighbour Hoysala Ballala and the invader Mohammad-Bin-Tughlaq and died a heroic death at the hands of "enemies" and "traitors" at a very young age.
Talking about his ambitious project, the Director of M.S. Ramaiah Institute of Management, M.R. Pattabhiram, says: "Our project is based on the Kumara Rama Sangathya (Kumara Rama's escapades) of the ancient poet Nanjunda Kavi, and the late Dr. Varadaraja Rao's doctoral thesis (1960) Kumararamana Sangathyagalu." He says how there have been significant references by early English historians to Kumara Rama. It has drawn requisite support from a novel authored by Su. Rudramurthy Shastry, who, incidentally is also writing the dialogues for the film.
( Article by K.N. VENKATASUBBA RAO)
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According to the producer the movie budget had crossed seven crores and will be a landmark in the kannada film industry. It definitely is a landmark in the kannada film industry and the sad part is that it is not a commercial success, not even a break-even proposition.

It is sad that we kannadiga s dont even know our history properly. Not a single history text book of the state syllabus has ever mentioned the name of Kumara Rama. If there was a history lesson about Kumara Rama, the film would not have met with such a fate. We, kannadigas should acknowledge the Valiant effort of Mr. M.R. Pattabhiram who spent lavishly to recreate history. This should not dampen his spirits. Seriously speaking the release of the movie has created an awakening towards Kumara Rama. If the subject were to be made into a tele series, for e.g, like Chanakya, it would reach a wider audience. The effort which has gone into creating the movie should not go waste. Since the hard work has already been done, it can now be put into use for a serial which would be relatively easy to make. History can be retold as there is no commercial angle to be thought about as in a movie. With a wider reach the Tele series would also become a landmark.
The good news is that KCN movies are planning to make a movie on Madakari Nayaka. I have a gut feeling that this movie is going to be a hit because it already has an audience in the form of school children from across the state who will bring in their parents to watch the movie.

A Kannada TV channel

There is no satellite television of kannada origin. We have udaya tv which is based in chennai, etv is based in hyderabad, zee kannada is a part of the zee network. When we look at the neighbouring states, Tamil nadu, Andhra pradesh and Kerala, each state boasts of its own channel. Being a person from the TV media the fact that we were not capable of having our own channel used to haunt me. It's not about being a fanatic. Its like all your brothers own cars and have gifted you one. You drive around in it, your objectives are accomplished but at the back of your mind you know that you dont own it.
Now, the good news is that Kannada is going to have its own channel. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1448404.cms
Well, my head will be held high with pride when i drive around in MY OWN CAR.