Shortbusters Bangalore

Shortbusters, 2013 is Bangalore's first ever film festival celebrating the humble beginnings of emerging filmmakers. Powered by TheFishtank Entertainment Company and organized by and Indian IndependentFilmmakers Alliance (Bangalore), this short film festival provides us a platform to interact with the prospective audience of our film. If you are in Bangalore, be there at the Tinga Tinga Bar & Café on M.G.Road on 24^th November, 2013, Sunday at around 2 P.M to experience some good cinema and to know more about the 0ne Rupee Film Project. One of our honorary associate producers, Mr. Abhilash Warrier is going to be present there to speak about the journey and the hurdles we faced along the road.

Team Shortbusters, we think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. 

Really, we couldn't thank you enough. 

All the best for the success of your maiden endeavour!

Last Week of Fundraising

At the same time, it's good and it's bad. The positive thing is that once this campaign ends we will be free to go and shoot and complete our film and we won't have to do the tremendous job of convincing people to chip in their hard earned money to support our project. Sometimes it becomes even tougher than stealing the ring from Gollum. The terrible pressure...oh... finally it'll be over in a week.

And the negative thing is... no, it's not something to express in two or three lines. Allow this copy + paste from our website ---

"It was completely unplanned. The campaign initially started at the 9th Bring Your Own Film Festival, Puri. On the last day of of the festival, 25th February, 2012, we started approaching people to crowd-fund our film and raised INR 2,444. After returning, we kept on letting people know about our venture. The response was good. We collected INR 60,000 altogether till we launched the campaign on Wishberry in the last week of May, 2012. Wishberry has been a good partner till our partnership ended on Sptember 1. We raised INR 54,017 through this online platform. After September 1 we launched our campaign on Indiegogo just to keep the ways of receiving online contributions open, but it did not run well as we could raise only 48 USD there. Now in the last leg of production, we have launched another online fundraising campaign with Funduzz.com.
Check out http://bit.ly/fundonerupee

Till today (6th June, 2013) we have raised

INR 1,68,921.51 (Offline)
INR 54,017 (via Wishberry)
INR 2, 595.84 (via Indiegogo)

Total INR 2,25,534.35 of which INR 12, 482.05 has been spent on commissions of our partners.


So, the actual sum collected is
INR 2,13,052.30 only
and we still need to raise another
57,000 rupees till
June 15, 2013

We have raised around 24,000 rupees already on Funduzz.com
So that leaves us 33,000 INR away from our target



We expect you to do your bit! Thanks"


So, that's the situation. It's not impossible, as a matter of fact, we have never been this close, but, it's tough, undoubtedly, especially considering the fact that though most of you don't like traditional film producers of our country but you do behave like them sometimes when someone comes to you asking for your support in the form of even as minimum as one rupee.

Now, you have a clear view of the negative side, we hope.
We still expect you to do your bit if you haven't yet.


Together, if not history, we can at least make a film!

Idiots' Creations

Although we are not really sure whether it helps to post on this blog, we keep on posting and sharing things here whenever "what's next? how to reach more people" or a similar question comes to our mind.

Last night was a great night. The greatest thing about the night is that nothing really happened, except that we completed chopping the first look of our film and uploaded it on youtube. After 15 hours or so, now we got 200 hits, which is nothing. So, nothing really happened and that's the greatest part of it. You know, when nothing happens, absolutely nothing, "what's next? how to reach more people", this kind of a question comes to our mind and we open up this blog to post something here. We know it's not really going to help us though.

And when nothing happens, we get obsessed and keep on working more and more. That's the best part of it and that's why last night was a great night. If everything went alright AASHMANI JAWAHARAT (2013) would have released on the 1st day of this month. But nothing like that happened. So, you can guess that everything is not alright at all. We still need 99,000 rupees, and, needless to say, nothing is happening, no, really! So, we have made up our minds to release it on the 1st day of July. But, 99,000 rupees, it's a big amount for beggar-filmmakers (forget bakchodis like crowdfunding and all) like us! So, if nothing happens in the meantime, nothing is really going to happen!

Nine Nine, Zero Zero Zero = Ninety Nine Thousand = 99,000
So, please don't ask us when is it going to release. Remember, you get back the love you give and there are no exceptions in case of rules made by God! We are probably going to make it a contributors' only release in July! So, if you are not a contributor, you'll be left with nothing. Nothing is great, but nothing is still nothing!

You can, if you wish, MakeItHappen
or
You can just do Nothing

The Shortest Blogpost on Earth

We have raised more than 100 grands till date from more than 100 contributors. We still need to raise another 150 grands in less than one month for our film.
Now, do we sleep all day?
Yes, we do
and Thank you

P.S: Every 2nd person you see is a shameless liar. Stay alert!

Positive Attitude: One Morning in the Month of September, 2010

Interactions and exchanges are important. If you are hurt I'd surely apologize to you once I die. But till I'm living this life of mine I'm bound to do things that make you react, and thus join the conversation. Often I tell myself to act and not to react, but it's not possible every time. The worst thing is that you generally open up only after I start shouting. Can't it be the other way round?

I know it's tough for you to understand. You've never been in my shoes. I remember, in 2005, when I joined my grad school in Kolkata, I got a mobile phone from my father. I was about to move to the city. So, it was needed to keep in touch with the family. The next day I woke up and it was 2010. I got an SMS. "Congratulations! Your relationship with Reliance GSM services has crossed 5 years. We are thankful to you for your continued support." Like a dream, I started recalling where I was. Last two days I had two 15 hour shifts. I was involved in a boring commissioned project at that time. Who were my friends in 2005? I found that only 7 are there whom I still can call friends. Where was I? The locked out factory, our home, the estate --- exactly that's when I planned to make Memories... of a Dead Township (2012) --- The film did not cost me even a penny. But there was risk involved. If they could catch me... I don't know... I was afraid for my camera. Hence, that morning in the month of September, 2010 I was at Bhawanipur and I was trying to recall how I came this way. After coming to Kolkata I started living with a batch-mate at his house, Debarghya Mukhopadhyay, probably the only friend who loved me more than himself. But our "commune" did not last for long. I had to move out. The next year, I spent most of my time at Jadavpur University. I was not a student there. In 2006, the campus was the source of progressive 3rd stream politics for me. Yeah, and then in the month of December I was arrested from Nandan and taken to Hastings P.S. My comrades did not want me to do whatever caused this incident, but it made our magazines and literary-political activities get some campaign. The wind carried us for 3-4 months and then friends started to turn their backs. For almost a year, I kept myself locked up in my room and re-invaded Kolkata in February 2008 with Shabdoprokriyakoron. In June or may be July, I got a new registration number and was registered as a student of Film Studies department at the Jadavpur University. Classes, the few I attended, were good. It was the time of our first semester when I received a phone call from someone named Mr. Arupratan Ghosh. He just wanted to check out whether the phone number provided in my book is a real one and whether the names mentioned in the book are of real people. By the end of November we met in a pub, Baraduari at Janbazaar. We both were amazed to find our common feelings about some phenomenons in world cinema. The last film he made was in 2004. It was the fifth year of silence. I was trying to do something on my own. In fact we had already started shooting the infamous incomplete documentary on Subimal Mishra. Sriparna was with me since 2005 and everything was possible just because she got a handycam in 2007. So that's how it all began. On 6th December, 2008, we were in a car. Shooting for a short, obscure, Arupratanistic. Once the film was complete we called our film-enthusiast friends of that period and decided to make it big. Through the year 2009, we just kept on working. I edited five shorts. It was difficult as three of the makers had no idea about what they wanted to shoot or how to handle the smart-ass little-learnt cameraman. Only one of these three turned out to be good (though there was an unintended and inevitable idiotic continuity break). Five No Budget Films (2010) released on the last day of January and 100 copies of the first edition were sold out in just seven days. My film Jean-Luc Godard had No Script turned out to be a bit controversial. The film was made with Rs. 573 /- (The costs of food and transport). Moreover, I could not stand the irritating talk-talk culture of the department and attacked my faculties. By May, 2010, I was kinda banned in my department. They were not really helping our initiative and people who really mattered are still in good terms with me. All these I was thinking in the morning, I don't remember the date, of September, 2010. Suddenly I realized I better move out of the bed and make some phone calls . I borrowed 70,000 cash from my father for some project which I was thrown out of some days ago. My partner was a revolutionary friend (allegedly one of the squad that attacked the lexus motors' showroom in 2006) from old times who has turned into an irritating fraudulent businessman after accepting loan from the prime minister of India . Moreover, my handycam is left at his office. So, I was running on a negative balance of around 1.25 lakhs and since I was an idiot (I still am) I had no papers with me to prove anything.


In 2011, Season Two: No Budget Film released and got wider circulation than Five No Budget Films.

In 2012, 3rd Compilation was out on DVDs in time

Would you still say my attitude towards life is negative? It's just that I know what I had to do, what I'm still doing and how, as I said, you were never in my shoes.

Throughout the production and post-production of Jean-Luc Godard Had No Script we had to face apocalyptic occurrences. A friend of mine suggested me to start a blog and share the experiences. I never really had enough time to do that. During the shoot of Secret Footage (2011) [Part of Season Two], I myself thought of staring a blog named 'Secret Diaries' but my schedule never encouraged my positive thinking. Then during the shoot of Memories... of a Dead Township I really felt the urge to share my experiences with those 239 people on the FB page. How we were proceeding with the shooting --- it would  have been an enjoyable and thrilling story. This time I also opened up a blog, but that was all. The only thing I posted there was the welcome note. But this time, I'm happy that I'm doing what I wanted to do. See, time is changing. Finally plans are being converted into actions. You'll have this feel too, in a better way, once we enter the month of June.

Come, Play the Time...

Promo

The Love-Hate Relationship

May 11 : Pageviews 84
May 12: Pageviews 70
May 13: Pageviews 112
May 14: Pageviews 99

Today is the 15th May. We have only 351 days left. I was just scrolling through the stats. We got 365 pageviews in the last 4 days. Who are these people visiting this blog? The blog has only 17 followers and no one really comments here. these must be some random traffic coming in after the popular tags I've used in the previous posts. This traffic has no impacts on the fundraising process at all. By now, I am sure that no one takes this blog seriously. Actually they are right and they should not give a damn. If the film does not release in time it's not going to affect anyone except us. So you better go, by yourself a beer and never come back to this blog. If you ever feel like coming back ask yourself , have you done anything for this film yet! Don't say that you don't know what to do, we have posted often about it. Here is the umpteenth post, the complete thing

                                                   

                             "No Traditional Producers!
                                   No Traditional Distributors!
                                  This is your film!
                                 Step Forward, Get Involved!
                                Share, Donate, Make It Happen!"



well, but who the hell am I talking to? No one has read the post this far. They must have closed the tab and went back to google or yahoo or facebook or whatever! Who cares! All I can see is that I'm getting to sleep 3 hours a day for quite a time. Why am I doing all these fucking talk-talk? I think I should have joined a production house and chopped bloody soap operas! I wanted to serve someone, a group of people maybe. That way I could have served the mega watchers and made some money. But this pain in my stupid ass, I really don't know the source of it, has made me do idiotic things since I was 17. No one is a fucking producer here. Who's going to do what if I don't write this post today? Even one person with "proper intellectual nutrition" is not going to send us a rupee for this post. No one is reading this blog I know. And if you are reading you are certainly a ghost as this act of yours does not make an impact on any goddamn thing on earth. If not a ghost, you are not an alive thing at least. Things move, things do things to make a difference when they are alive. For instance, fucking me! Writing a long long bloody post for god knows what! Am I using the f-words too much? Oh God, look at the post's title! I was supposed to write something else here! Something like how much I love you and how it makes me get mad at you. You know, I used to be a writer and all that I write now are blogposts to convince people to contribute their hard-earned money. It feels like being an insurance agent! Why do I need to make this film? Can't I just kick my ass, accept that I have wasted seven invaluable years of my life for just nothing and try to find me a better job? The problem, as I see it, is that I can cheat on you (if you really exist) but I can't cheat on myself. But why can' I while everyone is doing it? Am I trying to be a messiah? Am I a megalomaniac who thinks that the sole purpose of his life is to save the world and the poor souls that dwell here?






I'm fucking tired (if not a fucking retard) and I need to sleep.


I should have titled this post "On Contradiction"!

Silence for the Day

That's it

Nothing Happens in Bengal Now-a-days

I don't know whether I should write or not. I don't know whether I should opt for corporate funds or use political influences to raise funds for the film. If you are really a follower of this blog you must have noticed the silence, how it reigned over this blog for a month almost.
Now it just feels like here I'm again to talk the same shit i.e the shit that you are witnessing quietly since the last week of February, 2012 and the one that might have bored you quite a lot with its "athanni de do bhai, bhagabaan tumhara bhala karega" attitude. You want rock, take this; if you are really a film-buff you must have followed the PassionForCinema website when it was there. I remember a post from Anurag Kashyap (though I don't think he is really "independent") and would like to cite that. It was a time when low budget films like 13B (Madhavan starrer) and Straight (Binay Pathak Starrer) were getting released frequently. But people who used to think Bollywood is hopeless and should change never went to the theaters to watch these films. Rather they went for Rab ne Bana di Jodi (SRK- Anushka) just to write about how 'bad' the film was. This is when Anurag made a post and said that what happens on PFC is just "Baakchodi" and all that people do there is nothing but "Baakchodi"!

I liked it. But I had no idea that I'd have to face the same thing within a couple of years. Why do you say 'yes' when you mean 'no'? and if it's yes for real don't try to give excuses 'cause you just said it and never meant it.

See, there are a lots of ways to get money for making a film. But, we love to make it straight and simple. Have you ever heard about DIY (Do-It-Yourself)? Why are we begging? Believe me no one in our bloodlines was a beggar. It's just that if you send us money we'll be sure of your support and would ask for your contact details. Thus, we'd include your details in a database which shall be useful to further independent endeavors. No distributor or no production house can save the real "independent-minded" filmmakers. All the agencies, what they want is business and of course you know the differences between Industry and Art (Shilpo, the Bengali word for both). We are not being hysteric and trying to avoid bankruptcy as every filmmaker should do and we know very well that the proper level of potency can not be reached if you are not self-consuming (Ref: Aesthetics of Hunger, Rocha). What could be a better model than this one? As a forum, Little Fish Eat Big Fish has successfully recovered the production costs of the three DVDs they came up with in 2010, 2011 and 2012 and all we can hope is that ghosts did not buy those copies or ghosts did not download our films using torrent. More than 12k views on our youtube channel were not generated by ghosts, I assume. You make me believe that they were nothing but ghosts since we have only 46 names and 20-25 unnamed contributors on our list. Is it you who talks about how good our Grandfathers used to fuck in the good old days?? Counting from today, The One Rupee Film Project has only 355 days left before it is completed. After the precious DLF IPL is over on May 27th, would you mind to go to the bank and send in some money?? Would you mind telling your friends to do the same??? And if you drink worth INR 10,000 a month please don't send 100 Rs. You better recommend 100 students to contribute 1 Re each. We hope you do have precise idea about the costs of filmmaking. No, we are not making a Titanic or a Robot but we do need INR 300k at least.

The next part of the novella will be posted after we reach INR 50,000 (I mean if we ever reach there). Just today I was telling me not to react, but now I feel sometimes it's better to react. It gives you some comfort and makes you feel alive again
.
Thank you or whatever
Best regards and all that Shit.
Goodbye

The 0ne Rupee Novella - Part II

[Published on MAM Previously]


A man opens the door with a smiling face; must be a servant who already knew that another young filmmaker is coming in search of luck. No one would have guessed that such a rich man can live here in this soon-to-be-abandoned kind of building. How did he become so rich, the filmmaker tries to think while moving towards the drawing room. Suddenly, the thoughts gets obstructed as he sees a young man playing cricket. Not exactly playing, rather practicing, but where's the ball again! What is this man trying to do? He's got a bat, he is posing as if he is playing different shots and, nevertheless he is also narrating the whole action in English. A shadow practice with commentary, nice! The filmmaker stood motionless, watching, until the servant calls him inside. Unexpected association of images and sounds! The fat film producer enters the room

-- 'Welcome, my dear friend, what'll you have, cold drink or beer?

-- 'Beer of course!'

As if tea or coffee is meant for a mediocre only! He knows very well where this conversation is going to end. Sometimes he thinks he must learn to lie. Does it really matter if you cheat some fatsos to make your dream a reality? You just need to say that you know some buyers and they live in some UK or USA and the only thing needed is three or four copies with Spanish, French, Itallian and Russian subtitles other than English. You need to convince them that you know every bit of the international market but, fuck man, you are a maker and not a merchant. You can't humiliate yourself at least! So, again he says the same things like even Uttam Kumar had to cope with flops. Absolutely no one can be certain whether a film is going to work in terms of revenue or not. And the producer would say

-- "See, it doesn't matter to me if your film is a flop. It's my money and I just want to know how I can get it back, I mean at least what I invested. Can you show me a structure?"

-- "That depends on a lot of things."

-- "Then my financial support too depends on a lot of things."

Then they will talk about the market trends and how much investment can assure some return etc. The producer will talk about his previous experiences with other directors whom he thinks to be eminent names now-a-days in the industry. How they came to him when no one had heard their names and how he changed their lives etc. All the same, all the same! Then after a couple of bottles, the filmmaker would get depressed and open up again

-- "The taste has changed a lot, you see. No one likes a good film now-a-days. If you use some slow moves, prolonged zoom-ins and zoom-outs, they will call you outdated. No one wants a Hrishikesh Mukherjee in the 21st century. The longest shot should last less than 6 seconds, that's what they like. Even these kinds of conversation sequences, like we are having a discussion now, sitting face-to-face on two sides of a table, shot-reverse shot-over the shoulder-POV; they will call it cliched. I know, I've used these devices previously. I've heard that film insurance is an option in Mumbai provided that the project profile looks fine. The the kind of casting required to avail that...well, I don't think you are that much strong financially.

-- "Who told you to think about my financial background?"

-- "No, on a second thought, the kind of stars that we have here won't be fit for my film. Most of them are incapable I think. Moreover, viewers can empathize more with a new man, a new face. This is a psychological factor that always works. In case of stars, the process of self-identification gets hindered.

-- "Whatever! If you comne up with something interesting let me know. Just give me a call and we'll see"

Another door is closed.
New face?
What's new again?
It's just a common face
But a face that's uncommon for the screen
For the spectator
In a sea of thousand faces how'd you know who finds empathy in what shape or which complexion
Everyday
I stand in front of a wall
All covered up with posters
Everyday
I shuffle between a thousand images
All I look for is a face
Similar to mine
Yet dissimilar

...And the rain starts to fall  

Speaking: Just Like That

The list of scheduled tasks becomes longer everyday. It seems to be never-ending now. This project, that project, his project - damn! It hurts the most when no one pays you what you actually deserve and it burns most when everyone behaves like his one is the most important one because once the goal is accomplished we'll be flooded with fat-ass producers. Do they still think we are innocent children with eyes full of dreams and illusions?

Anyway, this morning we received some good news. The 0ne Rupee film project is now registered with imdb under "titles in production" (visit the page, click here). This is good because they really don't accept much titles unless the filming process has begun. Till date the total collection is INR 22,153. We need more coming. Recently the number of contributions coming in per week has decreased. A lot of people have promised but have not contributed till date. For them, there is just one thing we need to say , "we know, you have been busy, but if you really want this thing to happen please do it now and later just keep spreading the word because what you don't know is there are a lot of people who'd never want this project to materialize successfully. They are out there, watching us and wishing every bad thing possible." So, again, wee need your support. Don't just read this post or like us on facebook. Spread the word, share it wherever you think it's possible. By the way, there was a preview, just a scratch, uploaded to soundcloud a couple of days ago. Our friend Mr. Urban Saint is working on this track for the film. You can listen to the incomplete version here (http://soundcloud.com/indie-fm-bangla/track-1-one-rupee-film-urban).

The next part of the novella shall be up on MAM by the 14th of this month. Later on it'd be posted to this blog. If you have a blog or a website you can join in and help us just by sharing the posts.

We need you with us
Thank you again

The 0ne Rupee Novella - Part 1

Perfect Cinema, where are you?
Where are you the cinema of Pure Images,
Pure Sounds…
Is there anything new at all?
A refreshing frame like a sunny morning during our winters
Or a tune that makes you see a moonlit valley of our autumns…

May be he was thinking. He thinks a lot, at least a lot more than he decides to imply. Taking a decision has always been so tough may be because he knows, the execution is going to be tougher. In an old town by the river, where no one can say whether it’s 2012 or 1932, standing on the stairs of a ghat at least 100 years old, finally he could make up his mind.

- I’ve decided
- What?
- I’ll make a film
- So, what were you doing all these days?
- No, not like that. A feature length film I mean.
- So, finally you father-in-law has decided to become a film producer I guess (giggles).
- You are not taking things seriously enough. Don’t you know me?
- (Laughter) OK. OK. Then?
- I don’t know, I just made up my mind and I’m not going to think about money right now. There must be a way.
- Fine, but what’ll be there in your film?
- You mean content? Story?
- Not that. I mean Sex.
- Fuck yourself!

- You don’t get it dude. Independently produced films do require naked women. It’s what the market demands.

They start moving towards home. They have a scooter kind of non-macho thing that no one would like to ride ever. It looks disgusting

- No, I know, but we’ll need a lot of money to hire such a woman. She’s going to cost me a three and a half feature length films of mine
- But, you’ll be rich, man. Just imagine – New york, Sundance, Seattle, Paris, Berlin, Budapest
- Ya, righto ! London, Athens, Chicago, Oakland --- Step into reality sometimes sucker. We won’t even be left with the money to submit at BYOFF
- Why? Ask your girlfriend to pose nude. Surely she can do this much for a piece of art.
- Sit on my lap, asshole! I’m going to ask your mom --- Auntiji, we are producing some art piece. Please untie your brassiere and pose nude in front of the camera.
- No, seriously
- Yes, seriously. Here’s your home. Get inside and stay there.

The other guy gets down and pokes with a vulgar expression on his face while the filmmaker seems to be deadly serious and sickened with the sick jokes of his friend.

- Did you mind? (The friend says with a giant smile. Evidently he is making faces now)
- No. Do I mind ever? I know that you’ve been a roaring psycho since your very birth.
- Come on man, It was just a joke
- Whatever! Just get lost! We’ll have a serious talk tomorrow morning

Without awaiting a reply, the filmmaker starts his scooter and starts to think again.

Time… why does it always seem to be like a road?
Why do the incidents occur, one after another, in such awful linear way?
Space…why do you tend to get filled so easily with vague objects?
Uncontrolled… Who is going to explain these patterns?
They seem so obvious!

(Please share this post or re-share it on your blog to help us with the fundraising. Visit the LFEBF Blog for the proper format. Thanks)

The 'One Month' Post

It has been one month since we started raising funds for the 0ne Rupee Film. As you've read before, the campaign was started on the 25th of February at BYOFF, Puri. So, it's one month now, but not 30 days yet. In these 29 days, we've been through a lot. We got 8 articles on different newspapers, websites and blogs. We could successfully collect a sum of  INR 20,352.83 /- from more than 50 people. Although this is actually less than 10% of the minimum requirement but not a bad month really.

We are planning to start shoot in April, expectantly on the 14th and we'd start posting the novella on this blog from the 2nd. Again, if you feel like please share the posts with some basic information about this project on your blog. It'd help us in fund-raising. The more people is reached, the more fund is raised --- that is how it has been with crowd-funded projects always.
We have already come to know that some people are waiting for our promotional mails, press kits and the novella to start working in favour of this project. Sorry for the delay. We don't have a big team to get everything done in a super-organized way. Neither do we have any previous experience with these kinds of campaigns. We are learning, and what we've learnt till date is your support means a lot to us. That's the magic wand capable of doing wonders.

Thank you
We need you
Hope you'll stand by us