Apur Sansar

I do it because I like it and it's a wonderful way to spend your life. Sidney Lumet gave this reply on why he made movies. Indeed, Lumet lived a wonderful life and made movies that have inspired not just me but lots and lots of people around the world. Born on the 25th of June in the year 1924, little did anyone know that the child was about to make movies that would inspire generations of filmmakers. He had a long career in movies, making more than 40 movies beginning in black and white. He was said to an actor’s director and has been one of those rare filmmakers who happened to worked with a wide range of actors during a career that has spanned over five decades. Being a successful filmmaker does not make a man great. The reason why people always associate the word great with a filmmaker like Sidney is because of how human he has been to the people around him. He is said to the kindest and most civilized of humans around! Now that is a quality that deserves greatness. Sidney’s ur...

As the trailer and audio of the film Enthiran are out, here is a feature on one filmmaker who has inspired me to be in movies, Shankar. Director Shankar as he is referred is a filmmaker from Tamil Nadu. He debuted with the film Gentleman in 1993, made the Kadhalan, Indian, Jeans, Mudhalvan, Nayak, Boys, Anniyan and Sivaji. Now, in September 2010, he would be presenting to his audience yet another film that would just be as overboard as his earlier offerings. This time around he comes up with a Science Fiction film titled Enthiran- the Robot. Shankar is known for films with huge budgets, exotic locations, glamour and style. I believe he is a filmmaker who very well knows the pulse of the audience. His success rate at the box office is the proof of this. Shankar has indeed tasted failure. And that was not just once, but back to back in both 2001 and 2003. The films, Nayak and Boys, did not do the expected business for the money spinning filmmaker. However his next release could have shu...

Christopher Nolan is an excellent filmmaker. A filmmaker who has inspired me a lot. It was only hours back that I actually saw one of his earlier works. It was a short film titled Doodlebug . I did not like the film much but it definitely shows that Nolan wanted to make something that would be out of the box, something which I guess every aspiring filmmaker would try. Christopher Nolan after this 3minute film went on to make a feature film titled Following which was shot on 16mm. Something I love about this film is the fact that the film has a brilliantly constructed narrative and some brilliant moments. The film has been shot in black and white and made on a very small budget. Christopher Nolan two years after Following went on to make his cult film, Memento , with Guy Pearce in the lead. The film was brilliant not just for its story but also for the skillful writing and also for the film making. The film goes in both the forward as well as the reverse chronology simultaneously. It ...

On the 12th of July, a nursing home in New South Wales, Australia marked the death of the 108 year old woman, who gained much reputation as the the world's oldest blogger. Olive Riley, who is believed to the oldest blogger, had over 70 posts to her credit. She was said to have a wonderful memory and an amazing zest of life. She shared thoughts on modern life and experiences of her living through the two world wars. She was born on 20th October, 1899 in a town called Broken Hill. She had to take up various jobs in her long span of life, when she also raised three children. Mike Rubbo, a documentary filmmaker (who also happens to be the person filming her life) introduced this old woman to blogging. This exercise is also said to have kept the mind of this no more Riley very fresh. Visit the link below and see what Olive had to say when she lived. http://www.allaboutolive.com.au/

Stanley Winston is popularly known as Stan Winston. He could be called a special effects and visual effects artist or even a creature creator! Stan, who was born on the 7th of April, 1946, died on June 15, 2008. I'm not sure how make people would have bothered to see the end credits roll with the name of Stan. But Stan has made visuals and effects that kept many (including me) at the edge of their seats. Winston had been a frequent collaborator with filmmakers such as Steven Spielberg, and James Cameron. Stan wanted to be an actor. He became a painter, a sculptor and an artist. Everything to him was creating characters that tell stories in films. Stan Winston was a man adored by Steven Spielberg. How could Steven not adore a man who made dinosaurs that shuck the whole world. Stan was the creator of live action dinosaurs in the film, Jurassic Park . He was also the man behind the terrific makeover of Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Terminator series. Stanley has won four academy awards...