Plain silly about Sundays

Sunday No 1

One such was a moment in time. It was Valentines day, February 14.At about 7.00 pm, sitting in a parking lot which had been cordoned off. An outdoor film theatre had been created. Part of a festival celebrating the city. We were about to see the first films ever made. Five shorts by the pioneering film makers, the Lumiere brothers. Silent shorts, made in July 1896. What blew my mind was the behind-the-screen stories. These films had been shown in Bombay in 1896 itself. In December, I think. Imagine that, not quite six months later. At a time when there was no easy way to freight stuff around the world. No planes. Travel was an affair that took months. Even today films are often released at least six months, or years later. A 100 years later it still takes just as long!

The other awesome aspect to this screening was the location. We were seated opposite a building which eons ago was known as the Watson Hotel. This was the place where the representatives of Lumiere Bros brought and screened the films for two months! I had goose bumps that evening.

Sunday No 2

Ona muggy night in Mumbai. I rather like that little phrase. Sounds about right to describe at least 300 days in the year for Mumbai. And it happens to be the title of Bangalorean Mahesh Dattani8217;s play. Currently playing in Mumbai, under Lilette Dubey8217;s direction. The play is largely made up of homosexual characters. Some in closests. Some not. And the night8217; unravels some of the complicated webs these characters have woven around themselves, to enable living in a closet.

The play is not brilliantly written, but it works. One of Dattani8217;s strengths is his use of language and his characters. His writing is of a people that are contemporary. His language is unpretentious and real. His stuff is identifiably Indian. Though in English. Everyday spoken English. Not some mealy mouthed, or Oxfonian, or American slang that requires an Indian actor to acquire a phony accent that jars, alienating the audience.And he is brave, in subject. Though therein lies the rub. He ain8217;t brave enough to be totally truthful. Heholds back.

Sunday No 3

A feast for the senses. Got driven around by a delightful companion. Raveena Raj Kohli, president of programming at Sony TV. She fed me a great lunch at Ling8217;s. I got into her head a bit.

This woman is credited with the success of Sony. She took their TRP8217;s a measure of viewership ratings from a meager maximum of one to well into the 208217;s. A whopping leap. Only two years ago, Zee had written Sony off as a movie channel competing only with Zee Cinema!

We then acted like complete culture vultures and went off to see the art exhibits at Jehangir and Nehru. I loved the RPG one at Jehangir. Especially the installations by artists exploring mediums other than canvas and paint. My romp through the gallery was even more pleasurable because I managed to hassle Jaideep Mehrotra to wander around with us, like a sort of guided tour. Jaideep is an artist exhibiting at both the shows, as it happens.Now what more can I say for Sabbath. I am truly a Sunday8217;s child. And I loveit.

Anuradha Tandon is a script writer and film-maker.