Biting nails like Charlie & how the idea of this blog came

Cinema has become a major conversation piece today. Its emergence as a major art form is perhaps not so surprising cos it is comparatively easy to understand the nuances of a film (vis-à-vis how it may take a professional dancer to fully comprehend the nuances of a dance performance). Cinema draws its themes from a huge stable of individual, economic, emotional, political and social contexts; incorporates other art forms like dance, music in the exploration of the idea/ story; and is widely accessible. All reasons for it to percolate to the drawing-room discussion.

From an individual POV, cinema or as it is widely known, ‘films’ (cos they were initially recorded & exhibited on photographic film) existed for me as a diversion. Hanging around, eating out….& watching cinema came within the same ambit i.e., activites that you undertake as ‘fun’ & in the company of friends. Now I feel differently. Oh, watching them  remains the fun, social activity that it always was but now, there is an added element of observation, identification & seeking coherence involved.  Sometimes I feel that lending individual sub-texts to films rather defeats the purpose for which maybe, cinema was first born (one of the first films made by theLumiere bros is L'Arroseur Arrosé, a slapstick ).  Further, defining your own points of engagement for seeing films & more importantly, enjoying them may curb some of the simpler pleasures of cinema. How many times have we gone to see a film and end up disappointed cos it does not simulate our thoughts/ emotions the way we imagined?

The working idea then, must be a careful blend between comprehending cinema as a scientific, aesthetic & cognitive medium & enjoying it for its own emotions & letting your own be influenced, even momentarily. There are films which involve your emotions vis-à-vis the ones that involve your thought – great films achieve a harmony between these two.

When the faintest idea that becomes a film is storyboarded, layered with locales & music, supplemented with lights and miniscule camera movements that show you only what the director expects you to see, I get an inkling of what the process of filmmaking involves. All that films demand is our consciousness and time – both commodities that we may loath to provide. Sometimes a great film doesn’t even demand that you bring your knowledge and sensibilities with you when you sit down. It draws you gradually in & you feel yourself move & see yourself wrapped in it. They create a wonderful space in your mind & heart that you knew never existed before.

Someone who has seen Chaplin’s City Lights (1931) will know what I’m talking about here. And that is why we see cinema and exploration of this supreme beauty that sometimes exudes through films, is why I have started this blog – a blog about cinema.