Tribute to the Master: K. Balachander

KB as he is popularly referred in South India is a director who has created actors (not stars) like Kamal Haasan and Rajnikanth.

I have been exposed to his work since childhood owing to the fact that my dad is a die-hard fan of KB.

His first film that I watched as a kid was Sindhu Bhairavi. (a movie which dealt with extra-marital affair)

Ofcourse, I lacked the maturity to understand the concept at that time, but years down the line when I watched it again I was stumped by the nuances of a relationship dealt by KB.

I have watched a lot of his movies and TV serials. (Thanks to Sun TV, Jaya TV, Vijay TV :-) )

There are many things that I adore in KB’s work,

· Dialogues; simple yet so very deep
· Characters that you can totally relate to
· Progression of the script; KB ensures that the viewer never loses the interest at any point of time
· KB’s passion for Carnatic Music and Tamil Literature(like Thirukural)
· Treatment of complications that arise in any relationship

This maverick director has always taken up subjects that are way ahead of time.

As a writer, I would rate him as the Ayn Rand of South India.

He has more than 100 films under his belt as a director and lot of TV serials too.

Some of his recommended classics:

- Server Sundaram(Writer)
- Thillu Mullu
- Sindhu Bhairavi
- Apoorva Raagangal
- Punnagai Mannan
- Ek Duje ke Liye(Hindi)
- Duet

This list can go on and on.

I am sure many of my friends will it difficult to relate to this post.

But, I had to introduce this maestro to all those who think Tam-movies are all about unrealistic stunts, fat actresses and wigs. :-)

Cheers to cinema!

Tribute to the Master: Stanley Kubrick

It was about a year back that I was introduced to the work of this cinematic genius at IIM B.

I watched all his movies in the forthcoming weeks.

His enthralling work prompted me to research more and more about him.

As a student of film-making, I find Kubrick’s influence in the work of almost all good directors who succeeded Kubrick’s generation.

So much so that, film-makers like Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott, and Quentin Tarantino have cited Kubrick as a source of inspiration in some of their interviews.

Kubrick has made only 13 major films in his lifetime; his critics owe this to his methodical slowness, but his fans would like to differ :-)

Almost all his movies rank among the classics in their respective genre.

His portfolio of films is unmatched in terms of variety.

Some of the recommended classics: (in the order of my personal favorites :-) )

- A Clockwork Orange
- 2001: A Space Odyssey
- Lolita
- Full Metal Jacket
- Dr. Strangelove
- The Shining
- Eyes Wide Shut

Watch these movies for stylish camera work, unique narration and effortless realization of complex characters on-screen which are easier to pen down.

If you haven’t seen his movies, you are definitely missing out on some seriously original stuff in the age of plagiarism. Watch them!

Cheers to Cinema!