Friday, November 11, 2005

The thin read line...

Some time back, I watched this movie 'Meenaxi - A tale of three cities'. Well, the movie was nothing to write home about, but the premise was interesting. For those of you who've not seen it, first advice - you didn't miss a lot, so relax. Next - The central character (well, might not be wise to call him that, but well, for convention sake) is a writer who goes through some trying times while penning a novel. The character of his novel appears in his thoughts (to us, she appears as another character in the movie) and leads him through the story. Often luring him into areas that he normally won't go as a writer, because he as a writer believes in a certain style, a certain plot idea. But this girl, his main character, coaxes, goads, cajoles him into coming out with different plot ideas for her.

Interesting plot...like I said. I've always imagined that myself. What if my characters come to life and start telling me what to do with my work? Going by the kind of stories I dish out, it would be a living nightmare, for me at least. But we're digressing. The point I like to make here is that, this idea is intriguing and the director could've done better with the material, rather than treating it like one of his paintings. You can appreciate a piece of canvass with colors and patterns that don't make head or tail to you, but lemme tell you - it's a totally different thing when you're trying to tell a story on celluloid. You need to have your story on the screen like an architect's blue print. Clear. Sharp. Oh well, there are those other kind of movies as well, but we're not going there today...

But I've thought about this idea often - character of a novel comes to life and talks to the writer. And slowly the character takes the wheel and it's a drive to hell. Ok, here's the deal. How about you guys building on this basic premise and sharing your thoughts here? Something. Anything. Go wild. It would be great...since some of you have some great stuff on your blogs.

Just for a lark.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

imagination and reality.... a thin line.. sometimes..

Anonymous said...

Hmmm, interesting. Let me find some time, and try that :) Really good idea though !

Subramaniam Avinash said...

You schizo! Welcome to the club. TDU

KJ said...

Have not seen the movie but it reminds me of the old movie "Navrang", which had Sandhya dancing with around two dozen clay pots on her head. The song was
"Aadha Hai Chandrama Raat Aadhi"

:-)

Prerona said...

interesting. we can have the chat we were planning since hamesha. got the comp and installing messengers as we speak :)

Sudipta Chatterjee said...

Whew! Cool idea... I should say a cross between Pinocchio and Frankenstein and Mr. Hyde. There you have the qualities of being a good author.

phatichar said...

pallavi: u said it...

Ash: yeah, you should..

daily: :)

KJ: hmmm...vaguely remember that one..

Prerona: arre...yeh time difference will never/maybe never allow us to fulfill this wish..anyways, le'see what's in store for us.. u take care.

Sudipta: hi man, long time...done with all ur academic pursuits? (or was it..? correct me if I'm wrong)