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| Friday, April 4, 2008 |
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Hi all film freaks:
In last few months I got many requests from different sites to write blogs. I have been resisting writing blogs for I always thought blogs are waste of time until I started doing some research for my next film. I wanted to read some movie reviews of a particular genre. What I discovered was shocking. Some of these blogs were actually genuine film criticisms. They had insights which were far more profound and highly technical as compared to professionally written reviews in mainstream publications. And I started wondering about the state of film criticism in our times and in our country.
Why is it that most of the reviews have no credibility amongst film professionals???? Because these reviews are not objective. They are not technical. Bro, film-making is all technical. You have lights, dollies, cranes, lenses, angles etc. etc. Camerawork, direction, editing, and sound is all technical. Acting is technical. Writing is a technique. Then how come all critics write only subjective reviews. Is it possible for an auto critic to judge a car only on the merits of its look and interiors without getting into horse powers etc? Is it possible for a food critic to judge a dish only by its aroma and dressing? Can a music critic appreciate a concert without understanding the notations? Can a financial critic judge a company's performance only by its ads without analyzing the balance sheet? Then, how come film criticism is so superficial. Very often its parody, sometimes poetry, sometimes show-off of one's film knowledge, sometimes a straight cut and paste job and very very often its a box-office report and box-office, most certainly is not the barometer of a film's caliber. What the professional critics fail to understand is that in order to understand the film’s caliber one has to understand its technicalities. I believe that any review which fails to appreciate a movie at technical level or a review which is just a resonance of box office, is not a film review. Its just one person's opinion about a film. And if its an opinion then what makes it better than my driver's opinion about the same film. Well, more on film criticism later.
So, when I read these blogs I realized they were so to the point and correct. Because this fearless, uncorrupted viewer was writing in his own space. He has no pressures, no lobbies, and no agendas. And that's when I realized the power of blogs. Its a meeting of like-minded people. Its your community and its your eco-system. Hence, this blog.
I'd love to write as often as possible. Please write back. Write about films, its people and its magic. Without any fear and doubt . |
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| Posted by Vivek Agnihotri at 18:24 IST |
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Last Post: 29/07/2008 |
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Vivek Agnihotri is one of the very few people in Bollywood who can be classified as ‘intellectually filmi’. The reason is that, besides being armed with an intense passion for silver screen, he also holds an immaculate degree from Harvard! Added to that is the fact that he is also a visiting professor at IIMC!
He made his debut with Chocolate, a film that was truly ahead of its time and was appreciated by everyone alike. What followed was Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal, a football-centric film that made its place in every cinegoers’ heart, that too in a country where cricket reigns supremacy!
Catch up with Vivek as he shares his thoughts in cyberspace in Bollywood Hungama. |
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