So much happened while I was away...

So much happened while I was away...

Sunil Dutt and Ismail Merchant passed away. I loved both these gentlemen. I loved Dutt for his being the gentleman that he was, for his secular beliefs and for his pacifism and humanitarianism. He was one of our most handsome politicians.

Merchant was a towering figure for me and for many of us: he brought to us the kind of cinema that was so uniquely Ivory-Merchant, that sepia-tinted look into the human condition during the Raj. Apart from his Raj stories, I loved his Surviving Picasso and In Custody.

Talking of films, I came across this interesting bit of confession (on writing) by Hollywood screenwriter, Charlie Kauffman. I had loved his Adaptation. He talks about the process of writing here:

"Vegas: What's the hardest thing about writing - concentration, perserverance, etc - why, and how do you overcome it?

Charlie Kaufman: I mean, there are a lot of things that are hard for me about writing. I guess sticking it out is hard. And I try to stick it out by keeping the process interesting for me. And so I try to look at writing as kind of an exploration, rather than starting out with a conclusion and filling in the blanks. Like, "I'm gonna write about passion. Or confusion. Or identity." And things get surprising, and I let things change as I'm working. If things go in a new direction, I force myself to go with it.Another thing that's hard is trying to stay with something that's true. There's a tendency with me that I'm influenced so much by movies and TV I've seen, it's a struggle to keep things in the real world, rather than unconsciously falling into something I've seen in a movie or relationship. It's sort of a monumental task."

Read this entire chat script here.