Channa Vey :- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkD3YFCZ0Cc
-A very popular music video by singer Kunal Ganjawalla .
Saturday, May 16, 2009
My Films
1.FROZEN : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lELsIqbyDWs
Hindi and Ladakhi.
This is a touching and somber journey of Lasya, who lives with her father Karma and younger brother Chomo in a remote village in the Himalayas. Pristine snow capped mountains surround their tiny hamlet and barren harsh land stretches for miles into nowhere.
One day the army moves in, settles a hundred yards across their doorstep. The last bit of comfort the family draws from their familiar surroundings changes into a harsh ceaseless irreversible conflict.
The film depicts the life of this family whose dream like existence is interrupted by inevitable odds, one after the other.
2.KHARGOSH :- http://www.khargosh.net/ Hindi.
The film is a journey about a ten year old boy in small town India,as he stumbles into the realm of sensuosness and passion.In terms of cinematic style,the film could be described as 'minimalistic lyricism'.
The film won 4 awards at Osian Cinefan festival,New Delhi
3. JUST 47 :-
The film is about 47 mill workers and their downfall after the closure of the mill-factory.Directed by award winning marathi director Gajendra Ahire,this film is being shot in two languages-hindi and marathi.
4. Riwayat :- Hindi. Director -Vijay Patkar.
http://www.riwayatmovie.com/
This film is about journeys of 3 women facing the same problems in their life - Female fantoecide.The three women are from different class - upper,middle and lower but the film depicts that class/money is not a criteria for problems faced by women but the attitude of people is and that it should be taken into consideration.
5. Nirope. Marathi. Director - Sachin Kundalkar.
http://www.naachgaana.com/2008/03/21/review-nirop-taking-leave/
.jpg)
The film won the Best Marathi Film National Award in 2009.
Hindi and Ladakhi.
This is a touching and somber journey of Lasya, who lives with her father Karma and younger brother Chomo in a remote village in the Himalayas. Pristine snow capped mountains surround their tiny hamlet and barren harsh land stretches for miles into nowhere.
One day the army moves in, settles a hundred yards across their doorstep. The last bit of comfort the family draws from their familiar surroundings changes into a harsh ceaseless irreversible conflict.
I was nominated for best actress at Russia ( Vladivostok International film festival ) and Greece
The film has won 2 national awards in 2009 - Indira Gandhi Award for Best First Feature of a Director.
Best Cinematography.
2.KHARGOSH :- http://www.khargosh.net/ Hindi.
The film is a journey about a ten year old boy in small town India,as he stumbles into the realm of sensuosness and passion.In terms of cinematic style,the film could be described as 'minimalistic lyricism'.
The film won 4 awards at Osian Cinefan festival,
3. JUST 47 :-
The film is about 47 mill workers and their downfall after the closure of the mill-factory.Directed by award winning marathi director Gajendra Ahire,this film is being shot in two languages-hindi and marathi.
4. Riwayat :- Hindi. Director -Vijay Patkar.
http://www.riwayatmovie.com/
5. Nirope. Marathi. Director - Sachin Kundalkar.
http://www.naachgaana.com/2008/03/21/review-nirop-taking-leave/
.jpg)
The film won the Best Marathi Film National Award in 2009.
Journey of Frozen - 1
I was in kenya from 1st to 7th feb for the wedding of my brother,hence all the preparation and packing for the shoot had to be done well beforehand...Thankfully,it was kenya,so i didnt experience much of jet-lag and the excitement had started taking over..but it went haywire when i had to stay in Delhi for 2 days due to cancellation of my flight!!
It so happened that i was supposed to stay in delhi for a night to take a morning flight to Leh.My luggage had got checked in and then they announced the cancellation of the flight...Thankfully,i was travelling with lot of crew/production people,hence they immediately made arrangements for my stay,sent me over to hotel and then came my luggage!!! But some of our pricipal crew was already in Ladakh and worried about all this...As the flight got cancelled even the next day!!!The crew stayed at airport for a day,but the next day they all were shifted to a hotel...Those 2 days at the hotel,i was all alone and i was happy in my own world...(Just as Lasya)..Other than getting worried about the flight issues,i think i was enjoying or feeling my aloneness...i have travelled a lot but i was always accompanied by friends/family to the extent that i had never gone for a movie alone in a theatre,and i had never sat alone at a restaurant and had food,and i felt so great that day when i did that...i was discovering myself,my own world within and guess this was a preparation ( unknowingly) for the charachter of Lasya...God was helping me become "Lasya" naturally...We arrived in Leh to find out that there was a curfew going on for 5-6 days and our shoot had to be postponed.In any case,we had gone almost a week before for acclimatisation...Often people experience AMS ( Acute mountain sickness) at ladakh,symptoms of which are upset stomach,dizziness,headaches etc...By God's grace,i never had any problems healthwise and the ladakhi bread and mint tea helped me to keep more fit!!! I am not a tea-lover,but i loved the mint-tea there and infact it's from Ladakh that i developed a taste for all sorts of green teas...We had to be careful not to overeat ( especially the first few days),and contrary to this,sometimes there is loss of apetite...so excess liquids ( water and mint tea) helps..
The first two days went in getting used to the place,room,food,people etc...Our rooms were provided with cylinder heaters and we had to make sure that we keep the window open during continuous use of the heater as it takes up all the oxygen in the room and chances of breathlessness would have occured...There was no water to the tap...the water in buckets used to freeze at nights...we were given hot water for brushing n shower in morning,but in no time,it used to become warm from hot,and normal from warm and cold from normal...so that made me a disciplined child,to wake up on time,get things done on time...That was my lesson number one in Ladakh..The people at the hotel were so kind and friendly,they took extra care of us and especially me,coz i had made friends with the hotel owner's elder brother ( i remember to have met him during the test shoot visit..his shots were taken with me as my father)We call him "Bade dawa ji"..he must be my father's age and still he called me "Gauriji"...i was flown by the simplicity of people there...Life in ladakh is very different compared to Bombay...it is too slow,relaxed and especially in winters everything in "kule-kule" ( as is yashpal sharma's dialogue in the film - "nabs ki beat bhi hole hole chalti hai" meaning even the beat of the pulse ticks in slow motion )...You automatically walk slow,eat slow,chew slow..as if everything is running at 90 fps...After 2-3 days,we had to get back to work...i was taken to see "our home","Lasya's home" which was constructed and when i reached the place,i really wanted to salute the workers/painters who did the job in so much cold...It was so authentic..The detailing was superb right from the vessels used in kitchen to the door being put at the main gate...When i went to my room,it was empty as things were still being set up and just a thought crossed my mind that time that Lasya is like that room - empty from within to have lost her brother she always wanted,and i immediately "connected" to my room!!!
A ladakhi teacher was sppointed to teach Ladakhi words/accent to me,as i had lot of Ladakhi dialogues...Hearing the people around,one thing i had noticed that the language is very "sing-song"...plus they speak very soft and they are not loud in their speech...but my charachter was exactly opposite,she was loud and like a brat...so i had to mix ladakhi accent with loud speech,which was more difficult..But the teacher was really good,and in 3 days,i knew lot of ladakhi other than the word "Jule" ( meaning hi-hello-how r u-bye-thank you etc).I didnt have long lines to learn,as the charachter spoke more from actions/body language and eyes than words...plus shivajee had told me that he wants 'subtle' acting...no loud emotions/actions/speech...the script didnt demand that and tht's not his style!!!
And then...my 1st day of shoot....THE DAY!!!!!
It so happened that i was supposed to stay in delhi for a night to take a morning flight to Leh.My luggage had got checked in and then they announced the cancellation of the flight...Thankfully,i was travelling with lot of crew/production people,hence they immediately made arrangements for my stay,sent me over to hotel and then came my luggage!!! But some of our pricipal crew was already in Ladakh and worried about all this...As the flight got cancelled even the next day!!!The crew stayed at airport for a day,but the next day they all were shifted to a hotel...Those 2 days at the hotel,i was all alone and i was happy in my own world...(Just as Lasya)..Other than getting worried about the flight issues,i think i was enjoying or feeling my aloneness...i have travelled a lot but i was always accompanied by friends/family to the extent that i had never gone for a movie alone in a theatre,and i had never sat alone at a restaurant and had food,and i felt so great that day when i did that...i was discovering myself,my own world within and guess this was a preparation ( unknowingly) for the charachter of Lasya...God was helping me become "Lasya" naturally...We arrived in Leh to find out that there was a curfew going on for 5-6 days and our shoot had to be postponed.In any case,we had gone almost a week before for acclimatisation...Often people experience AMS ( Acute mountain sickness) at ladakh,symptoms of which are upset stomach,dizziness,headaches etc...By God's grace,i never had any problems healthwise and the ladakhi bread and mint tea helped me to keep more fit!!! I am not a tea-lover,but i loved the mint-tea there and infact it's from Ladakh that i developed a taste for all sorts of green teas...We had to be careful not to overeat ( especially the first few days),and contrary to this,sometimes there is loss of apetite...so excess liquids ( water and mint tea) helps..
The first two days went in getting used to the place,room,food,people etc...Our rooms were provided with cylinder heaters and we had to make sure that we keep the window open during continuous use of the heater as it takes up all the oxygen in the room and chances of breathlessness would have occured...There was no water to the tap...the water in buckets used to freeze at nights...we were given hot water for brushing n shower in morning,but in no time,it used to become warm from hot,and normal from warm and cold from normal...so that made me a disciplined child,to wake up on time,get things done on time...That was my lesson number one in Ladakh..The people at the hotel were so kind and friendly,they took extra care of us and especially me,coz i had made friends with the hotel owner's elder brother ( i remember to have met him during the test shoot visit..his shots were taken with me as my father)We call him "Bade dawa ji"..he must be my father's age and still he called me "Gauriji"...i was flown by the simplicity of people there...Life in ladakh is very different compared to Bombay...it is too slow,relaxed and especially in winters everything in "kule-kule" ( as is yashpal sharma's dialogue in the film - "nabs ki beat bhi hole hole chalti hai" meaning even the beat of the pulse ticks in slow motion )...You automatically walk slow,eat slow,chew slow..as if everything is running at 90 fps...After 2-3 days,we had to get back to work...i was taken to see "our home","Lasya's home" which was constructed and when i reached the place,i really wanted to salute the workers/painters who did the job in so much cold...It was so authentic..The detailing was superb right from the vessels used in kitchen to the door being put at the main gate...When i went to my room,it was empty as things were still being set up and just a thought crossed my mind that time that Lasya is like that room - empty from within to have lost her brother she always wanted,and i immediately "connected" to my room!!!
A ladakhi teacher was sppointed to teach Ladakhi words/accent to me,as i had lot of Ladakhi dialogues...Hearing the people around,one thing i had noticed that the language is very "sing-song"...plus they speak very soft and they are not loud in their speech...but my charachter was exactly opposite,she was loud and like a brat...so i had to mix ladakhi accent with loud speech,which was more difficult..But the teacher was really good,and in 3 days,i knew lot of ladakhi other than the word "Jule" ( meaning hi-hello-how r u-bye-thank you etc).I didnt have long lines to learn,as the charachter spoke more from actions/body language and eyes than words...plus shivajee had told me that he wants 'subtle' acting...no loud emotions/actions/speech...the script didnt demand that and tht's not his style!!!
And then...my 1st day of shoot....THE DAY!!!!!
Journey of Frozen...
The journey of Frozen began for me from the time I shot for music video “Channa vey ghar aaja vey” – a song sung by kunal ganjawalla. One of the common friends introduced me to Shivajee sir and he took my audition for the same.They were looking for a “girl next door”(as the phrase commonly used) look and I was told I fit the same...During that period,Shivajee educated me about filmmaking as I was not aware of even the “f” of films…all I knew was watching films as an audience ( especially bollywood films) in theatres and on cable tv.
Shivajee educated me with world cinema,and gave me some real good films to watch which included Hollywood,Iranian,german,korean and all sorts of movies.We used to have discussions about the same…and that was the time ( I really thank God for that day),i was told that he is making a film and it's a brother sister thriller story to be shot in Goa and that i would be playing the sister…Little did I know then that I was becoming a part of something extraordinary,I was more excited about working in my first feature…( typical actor trait!!!)
During the scripting sessions,I must agree I was not creatively involved as I myself was new to all this,and I was in the learning process too…but I actively took participation in whatever was told to me,and made sure not to let this opportunity let go to have a practical knowledge of “how a film is made”.It was a great opportunity and I wanted to make the best use of it.The surprise was when Shivajee returned from his trip to Ladakh and said he has got his location for the film,and that we are shooting there in winters when the temperature would be -25 degree celcius...I guess we all froze then and there when we heard this news,but we got the title of the film!!!
And then everything started falling in place..the crew,the other actors and God!!! When I was told that Danny Denzongpa was playing my father,I jumped with joy.I was really excited to act with “Bakhtavar” and “Kaacha chinha”.I first met him at his place when we had gone for costume trial.I was not scared of him,but I didn’t know what exactly to talk to such a big personality, and honestly,I didn’t want to give an impression that I am like a 18 year old chatterbox ,so 80 percent of the time I kept mum during that meeting.Plus it was such pleasure hearing him,that u feel like hearing his stories forever.
There were lot of things lined up just one month before the shoot,like makeup trial,costume trial,and hairstyle trial and especially the wig which I wear in the last scene of the film ( I must have tried at least 10 wigs to get this one right).The costumes had to be designed in such a way that we actors could wear 2-3 layers inside to beat the cold..I was never afraid/worried about the cold as I love snow.and I had been to ladakh twice before the shooting days…once as a tourist and once for camera test with Director Shivajee and Cinematographer Shanker..This visit was during nov end- dec which we might call early winters of Ladakh..It was an important visit for me so to get an idea of the cold there and believe me,it was freezing,but the excitement of the film and shooting drew all the cold away..
I also learnt that black and white movie makeup is different than normal makeup as the shades seen on screen are black/white and grey,though there was minimal makeup we used and more of natural look was preferred for all actors.I really got envious of Angchuk( Chomo who plays my brother),as he required no makeup at all.Infact Makeup dada was asked to make my face like his with dark red cheeks and black spots on it ( the skin of ladaki’s due to extreme weather) and Angchuk had them natural. Halfway in 34 days of shoot,even I started getting natural burnt out cheeks due to cold.
And then…the day of departure…I was supposed to leave on 9th of feb’07...
Shivajee educated me with world cinema,and gave me some real good films to watch which included Hollywood,Iranian,german,korean and all sorts of movies.We used to have discussions about the same…and that was the time ( I really thank God for that day),i was told that he is making a film and it's a brother sister thriller story to be shot in Goa and that i would be playing the sister…Little did I know then that I was becoming a part of something extraordinary,I was more excited about working in my first feature…( typical actor trait!!!)
During the scripting sessions,I must agree I was not creatively involved as I myself was new to all this,and I was in the learning process too…but I actively took participation in whatever was told to me,and made sure not to let this opportunity let go to have a practical knowledge of “how a film is made”.It was a great opportunity and I wanted to make the best use of it.The surprise was when Shivajee returned from his trip to Ladakh and said he has got his location for the film,and that we are shooting there in winters when the temperature would be -25 degree celcius...I guess we all froze then and there when we heard this news,but we got the title of the film!!!
And then everything started falling in place..the crew,the other actors and God!!! When I was told that Danny Denzongpa was playing my father,I jumped with joy.I was really excited to act with “Bakhtavar” and “Kaacha chinha”.I first met him at his place when we had gone for costume trial.I was not scared of him,but I didn’t know what exactly to talk to such a big personality, and honestly,I didn’t want to give an impression that I am like a 18 year old chatterbox ,so 80 percent of the time I kept mum during that meeting.Plus it was such pleasure hearing him,that u feel like hearing his stories forever.
There were lot of things lined up just one month before the shoot,like makeup trial,costume trial,and hairstyle trial and especially the wig which I wear in the last scene of the film ( I must have tried at least 10 wigs to get this one right).The costumes had to be designed in such a way that we actors could wear 2-3 layers inside to beat the cold..I was never afraid/worried about the cold as I love snow.and I had been to ladakh twice before the shooting days…once as a tourist and once for camera test with Director Shivajee and Cinematographer Shanker..This visit was during nov end- dec which we might call early winters of Ladakh..It was an important visit for me so to get an idea of the cold there and believe me,it was freezing,but the excitement of the film and shooting drew all the cold away..
I also learnt that black and white movie makeup is different than normal makeup as the shades seen on screen are black/white and grey,though there was minimal makeup we used and more of natural look was preferred for all actors.I really got envious of Angchuk( Chomo who plays my brother),as he required no makeup at all.Infact Makeup dada was asked to make my face like his with dark red cheeks and black spots on it ( the skin of ladaki’s due to extreme weather) and Angchuk had them natural. Halfway in 34 days of shoot,even I started getting natural burnt out cheeks due to cold.
And then…the day of departure…I was supposed to leave on 9th of feb’07...
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