zigzackly

Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Farmwon't

Nevah.

Blogged for thee by @ 1:41 AM | 2 Comments | Post a Comment | Link Love? |

Saturday, January 02, 2010

Idjut ramblings

Warning: this is written without having seen read or heard all the arguments on either side, but after reading what is claimed to be the agreement between VV Chopra's company and Chetan Bhagat (PDF file) and seeing this absolutely hilarious clip from a press conference, where Mr Chopra, evidently quite the charmer, asks someone to 'shut up!'

Additonal disclaimer: We're not a Bhagat fan: we think he's a good story-teller, but we don't admire his writing. We have, though, met the man, and we had a fun chat. And we're not an Aamir Khan fan either. We have seen just one of his movies, Ghajini, and though we admired the dedication evident in his prep for the role, we were underwhelmed by both the movie and his performance. And we haven't seen—at least, not that we know of—any of Hirani's or Chopra's work.

Final warning: This post meanders, even by our standards.

We're puzzled.

- Bhagat wants to be recognised as the author of the work that the movie is based on.

- The movie's producers bought the film rights to that book.

- The film's credits, from what Bhagat has tweeted, do acknowledge that it was based on his book, albeit doing so only in the end-credits, somewhere after the names of the extras, which, by his account, he and his mother were upset about.

Aside for self promotion We interviewed Bhagat a little while ago for a story we were doing, and had asked him about the movies. He was realistic, but upbeat:

Forbes India: So far, your impact on popular cinema hasn't been as big as your impact on the book world. By this I mean that the films adapted from your books haven't been promoted as being the product of your mind, as compared to, say, The Da Vinci Code. Do you agree? And if yes, do you see that changing?

Chetan Bhagat: Yes, of course my impact is limited right now in films, and I’d like people to have reasonable expectations of me. It takes a long time and a lot of luck to make a name in Bollywood. Even the superstars have worked hard for decades to get to this point. I am super fortunate that all three books were taken up to be big, mainstream films and even 2 States has attracted a lot of interest. However, in Bollywood, adaptations are just starting, while in Hollywood, it is a seamless industry. Also, don’t forget the language switch that happens in my adaptations – which changes the audience and thus the marketing has to change. All I can say is, my name does add to the buzz of the movie. Even 3 Idiots, which is a megastar Aamir project all the way, became a little more exciting because of its Five Point Someone connection. And that, to me, is huge.

Forbes India: What was it like working with Bollywood?
Chetan Bhagat: It is a lot of fun, and I think it is largely to do with the fact that I’ve worked with very good people. Writing books is lonely, but in movies you at least have some colleagues and leave the house so my kids can’t say ‘my daddy stays at home and doesn’t go to office’. Most importantly, the reach of Bollywood excites me. It is a chance to reach the maximum number of people possible.

He may now have changed his mind about the last bit. Aside ends.

- The PDF file we linked to in the first para includes signed receipts of payments made to Bhagat for the rights to say the film was "Based On The Novel FIVE POINT SOMEONE by Chetan Bhagat": a Rs 100,000 advance and a Rs 1,000,000 'ex-gratia' payment. (Admittedly these sums are a trifle compared to the crores that go into making a film. But Bhagat was less well-known in 2005, and by the standards of author remuneration, it was decent. He'd probably negotiate for much higher sums now, aside from wanting his name more, erm, up-front.)

- Bhagat brings his own following to projects he's associated with. Even assuming, uncharitably, that exactly the same people bought all four of his books, and all those copies were read by only one person each, he still brings a potential audience of around 700,000 people, going by the figures his publishers shared with us. And he does devote a lot of time to nurturing that audience, through his site, blog, tweets, columns, public appearances and what-have-you. If he asked them to see the film, they'd pony up for the multiplex tickets first day, first show, and that's not a bad audience to count on. (We know eff-all about the FDFS economics, we hastily admit.)

Anyway, we were wondering: why are the film's producers vehemently denying the link?

Why is Aamir Khan, that well-known legal luminary, reportedly advising Hirani and Chopra to sue Bhagat?

Why is Chopra frothing at the mouth so entertainingly? (You must see the bit where Khan grabs the microphone from Chopra and keeps it away from him, even to the extent of sticking it between his legs while VVC paws the air ineffectually.)

Why has some chap going to the effort of making, practically overnight, a website which, as of this writing is mainly a a slide presentation calling Bhagat a liar and enumerating, in faulty English, the scenes in the film which aren't from the book? (That's hardly the point, fercryin'outloud. Of course a film will differ from a book. The way a story is told in print cannot be duplicated in film. The grammars of the two media are different. The creators are different: with books, the author is in command, sort of; the reader paints the scene in her own mind based on the words she reads and her own experiences; with film, it's always the director who is the auteur, and the script is moulded to his requirements for telling the story.)

Another aside Oh, and by the way, the IMDB page for the movie has this listing:

Writers:
Chetan Bhagat (book)
Rajkumar Hirani (story)

And the page also contains this entertaining item in the FAQ section, by someone signing himself 'Souvik, thepunisher65':

Which novel is this movie based on?
This movie is based on the Novel 'Five Point Someone' by Chetan Bhagat. But it has not been entirely based on it. Actually this can be called as a totally different movie, just that the characters are inspired.

Ends

Anyway, since we earn our daily bread, and a modest amount of very nice strawberry preserve, by the written word, we have to say that we instinctively want to weigh in on Bhagat's side. For writers, credit is a big thing. Our bylines get us noticed, get us assignments and job offers. (Another bloody aside. Ad copywriters get much, much more money and give themselves many, many more awards: because they don't get bylines, and to keep them working for you, you have to compensate in other ways. Journos and authors are suckers. Or maybe the next major 'right-sizing' efforts in the ad biz will see creative types getting offered bylines in lieu of increments. Aside to the aside: we were once employed as a copywriter.No more asides. We think.)

Strikes us that there are many idiots here. Not least, all the people devoting so much time to thinking and writing about this kerfuffle, thereby keeping the movie and book in the news and saving their PR departments much effort.

Like, sigh,

The Idiot Who Writes This Blog

Blogged for thee by @ 3:54 AM | 2 Comments | Post a Comment | Link Love? |


zigzackly's omnium-gatherum *
Quid quid latine dictum sit, altum videtur
Like you haven't had enough of us already.. Blogger profile, older photographs, Flickr album, Picassa album, Facebook profile, Ryze page, Orkut page, LinkedIn page, published articles. Guest bloggers: Hurree and Annie Reactions, suggestions, any kind of feedback is always welcome. CollaBlogs infested: Jugalbandi; Caferati's blog; blogolepsy; indi³; We, the Media; Son of CSF. Now and then, when Hurree needs a holiday, i pinch-hit at Kitabkhana. And of course, the wonderful World Wide Help group blogs, which include: The South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami Blog and TsunamiHelp Wiki \| MumbaiHelp \| Cloudburst Mumbai \| KatrinaHelp Blog and Wiki \| RitaHelp \| South Asia Quake Help \| Site feed: Atom or Feedburner. We endorse, approve of, and throughly adore: The Babu Annie Megha Calvin and Hobbes Frazz The funniest page on the web Luciferous Logolepsy Wired Google News Books at the Guardian Wikipedia Hobson-Jobson A.Word.A.Day List of Bests Word Spy Literary Encyclopedia Other Thieves of our Time [!] = updated in the last 24 hours Blogroll me? Recent Posts Jaipur Literature Festival The history of Star Trek A third view on the Lok Pal bill (and may there be... Recommended reading on the Lok Pal bill(s) Rs 0.02 Great-Grandson of Godawful Poetry Fortnight Jhunjhunwala was too busy to go to the Situation(a... Bappi Goes To The Situation Room Chennai Reporters' Beat Change a letter, change the story D Mervin Ffingir writes, and having writ, moves on: September 2003 \| December 2003 \| January 2004 \| February 2004 \| March 2004 \| April 2004 \| May 2004 \| June 2004 \| July 2004 \| August 2004 \| September 2004 \| October 2004 \| November 2004 \| December 2004 \| January 2005 \| February 2005 \| March 2005 \| April 2005 \| May 2005 \| June 2005 \| July 2005 \| August 2005 \| September 2005 \| October 2005 \| November 2005 \| December 2005 \| January 2006 \| February 2006 \| March 2006 \| April 2006 \| May 2006 \| June 2006 \| July 2006 \| August 2006 \| September 2006 \| October 2006 \| November 2006 \| December 2006 \| January 2007 \| February 2007 \| March 2007 \| April 2007 \| May 2007 \| June 2007 \| July 2007 \| August 2007 \| September 2007 \| October 2007 \| November 2007 \| December 2007 \| January 2008 \| February 2008 \| March 2008 \| April 2008 \| May 2008 \| June 2008 \| July 2008 \| August 2008 \| November 2008 \| December 2008 \| January 2009 \| March 2009 \| April 2009 \| May 2009 \| June 2009 \| July 2009 \| August 2009 \| September 2009 \| November 2009 \| December 2009 \| January 2010 \| February 2010 \| March 2010 \| June 2010 \| July 2010 \| August 2010 \| October 2010 \| November 2010 \| December 2010 \| January 2011 \| February 2011 \| March 2011 \| April 2011 \| May 2011 \| August 2011 \| September 2011 \| December 2011 \|	Wednesday, January 06, 2010 Farmwon't Nevah. Blogged for thee by @ 1:41 AM \| 2 Comments \| Post a Comment \| Link Love? \| Saturday, January 02, 2010 Idjut ramblings Warning: this is written without having seen read or heard all the arguments on either side, but after reading what is claimed to be the agreement between VV Chopra's company and Chetan Bhagat (PDF file) and seeing this absolutely hilarious clip from a press conference, where Mr Chopra, evidently quite the charmer, asks someone to 'shut up!' Additonal disclaimer: We're not a Bhagat fan: we think he's a good story-teller, but we don't admire his writing. We have, though, met the man, and we had a fun chat. And we're not an Aamir Khan fan either. We have seen just one of his movies, Ghajini, and though we admired the dedication evident in his prep for the role, we were underwhelmed by both the movie and his performance. And we haven't seen—at least, not that we know of—any of Hirani's or Chopra's work. Final warning: This post meanders, even by our standards. We're puzzled. - Bhagat wants to be recognised as the author of the work that the movie is based on. - The movie's producers bought the film rights to that book. - The film's credits, from what Bhagat has tweeted, do acknowledge that it was based on his book, albeit doing so only in the end-credits, somewhere after the names of the extras, which, by his account, he and his mother were upset about. Aside for self promotion We interviewed Bhagat a little while ago for a story we were doing, and had asked him about the movies. He was realistic, but upbeat: Forbes India: So far, your impact on popular cinema hasn't been as big as your impact on the book world. By this I mean that the films adapted from your books haven't been promoted as being the product of your mind, as compared to, say, The Da Vinci Code. Do you agree? And if yes, do you see that changing? Chetan Bhagat: Yes, of course my impact is limited right now in films, and I’d like people to have reasonable expectations of me. It takes a long time and a lot of luck to make a name in Bollywood. Even the superstars have worked hard for decades to get to this point. I am super fortunate that all three books were taken up to be big, mainstream films and even 2 States has attracted a lot of interest. However, in Bollywood, adaptations are just starting, while in Hollywood, it is a seamless industry. Also, don’t forget the language switch that happens in my adaptations – which changes the audience and thus the marketing has to change. All I can say is, my name does add to the buzz of the movie. Even 3 Idiots, which is a megastar Aamir project all the way, became a little more exciting because of its Five Point Someone connection. And that, to me, is huge. Forbes India: What was it like working with Bollywood? Chetan Bhagat: It is a lot of fun, and I think it is largely to do with the fact that I’ve worked with very good people. Writing books is lonely, but in movies you at least have some colleagues and leave the house so my kids can’t say ‘my daddy stays at home and doesn’t go to office’. Most importantly, the reach of Bollywood excites me. It is a chance to reach the maximum number of people possible. He may now have changed his mind about the last bit. Aside ends. - The PDF file we linked to in the first para includes signed receipts of payments made to Bhagat for the rights to say the film was "Based On The Novel FIVE POINT SOMEONE by Chetan Bhagat": a Rs 100,000 advance and a Rs 1,000,000 'ex-gratia' payment. (Admittedly these sums are a trifle compared to the crores that go into making a film. But Bhagat was less well-known in 2005, and by the standards of author remuneration, it was decent. He'd probably negotiate for much higher sums now, aside from wanting his name more, erm, up-front.) - Bhagat brings his own following to projects he's associated with. Even assuming, uncharitably, that exactly the same people bought all four of his books, and all those copies were read by only one person each, he still brings a potential audience of around 700,000 people, going by the figures his publishers shared with us. And he does devote a lot of time to nurturing that audience, through his site, blog, tweets, columns, public appearances and what-have-you. If he asked them to see the film, they'd pony up for the multiplex tickets first day, first show, and that's not a bad audience to count on. (We know eff-all about the FDFS economics, we hastily admit.) Anyway, we were wondering: why are the film's producers vehemently denying the link? Why is Aamir Khan, that well-known legal luminary, reportedly advising Hirani and Chopra to sue Bhagat? Why is Chopra frothing at the mouth so entertainingly? (You must see the bit where Khan grabs the microphone from Chopra and keeps it away from him, even to the extent of sticking it between his legs while VVC paws the air ineffectually.) Why has some chap going to the effort of making, practically overnight, a website which, as of this writing is mainly a a slide presentation calling Bhagat a liar and enumerating, in faulty English, the scenes in the film which aren't from the book? (That's hardly the point, fercryin'outloud. Of course a film will differ from a book. The way a story is told in print cannot be duplicated in film. The grammars of the two media are different. The creators are different: with books, the author is in command, sort of; the reader paints the scene in her own mind based on the words she reads and her own experiences; with film, it's always the director who is the auteur, and the script is moulded to his requirements for telling the story.) Another aside Oh, and by the way, the IMDB page for the movie has this listing: Writers: Chetan Bhagat (book) Rajkumar Hirani (story) And the page also contains this entertaining item in the FAQ section, by someone signing himself 'Souvik, thepunisher65': Which novel is this movie based on? This movie is based on the Novel 'Five Point Someone' by Chetan Bhagat. But it has not been entirely based on it. Actually this can be called as a totally different movie, just that the characters are inspired. Ends Anyway, since we earn our daily bread, and a modest amount of very nice strawberry preserve, by the written word, we have to say that we instinctively want to weigh in on Bhagat's side. For writers, credit is a big thing. Our bylines get us noticed, get us assignments and job offers. (Another bloody aside. Ad copywriters get much, much more money and give themselves many, many more awards: because they don't get bylines, and to keep them working for you, you have to compensate in other ways. Journos and authors are suckers. Or maybe the next major 'right-sizing' efforts in the ad biz will see creative types getting offered bylines in lieu of increments. Aside to the aside: we were once employed as a copywriter.No more asides. We think.) Strikes us that there are many idiots here. Not least, all the people devoting so much time to thinking and writing about this kerfuffle, thereby keeping the movie and book in the news and saving their PR departments much effort. Like, sigh, The Idiot Who Writes This Blog Blogged for thee by @ 3:54 AM \| 2 Comments \| Post a Comment \| Link Love? \|	Note: [*] = The site linked to requires registration. Zig's on Twitter Follow, all ye who must know more. Words We've all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually produce a masterpiece. Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true. ~ Eyler Coates to be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best night and day to make you like everybody else means to fight the hardest battle any human being can fight and never stop fighting ~ e e cummings In three words i can sum up everything I've learned about life. It goes on. ~ Robert Frost Ring the bells that still can ring, Forget your perfect offering, There is a crack in everything; That's how the light gets in. ~ Leonard Cohen May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. ~ Edward Abbey, naturalist and author (1927-1989) I fell in love – that is the only expression I can think of – at once, and am still at the mercy of words, though sometimes now, knowing a little of their behavior very well, I think I can influence them slightly and have even learned to beat them now and then, which they appear to enjoy. ~ Dylan Thomas, Welsh poet, short-story writer, and playwright, "Poetic Manifesto" in the Texas Quarterly, Winter 1961 A writer is somebody for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people. ~Thomas Mann, novelist, Nobel laureate (1875-1955) The world in general doesn't know what to make of originality; it is startled out of its comfortable habits of thought, and its first reaction is one of anger. ~ W. Somerset Maugham, writer (1874-1965) In times of profound change, the learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists. ~ Al Rogers Assumptions are the termites of relationships. ~ Henry Winkler, actor (1945- ) Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds. ~ George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans), novelist (1819-1880) Either you think - or else others have to think for you and take power from you, pervert and discipline your natural tastes, civilize and sterilize you. ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald There is no remedy so easy as books, which if they do not give cheerfulness, at least restore quiet to the most troubled mind. ~ Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, author (1689-1762) Work like you don't need the money. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody's watching. ~ Satchel Paige Fake it till you make it. ~ (Heard on West Wing) This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. Follow this blog