Whenever I am asked what I enjoy most about my profession, it does not take me time to respond that I’m here because I like writing and I like films and my profession provides me with an opportunity to dabble in both.
My book Cinema: Images and Issues are my observations and essays on cinema, some explored as academic study and some, stored as stubborn memory of celluloid that refuse to fade.
The issues came in later, after I had sufficient exposure and the confidence to disagree and debate. A film evokes different responses in different people and perhaps that is the essence of cinema, to break illusions and conjure new images.
The essence of leaders is to inspire and a memorable feature in the book is a story narrated by our late President Abdul Kalam at the golden jubilee celebration of Sangeet Natya Akademi Awards. Kalam was the chief guest at the event and recalled a special morning at the Rastrapati Bhavan, when he noticed a carpet of jasmine flowers fallen from a tree into the garden. As Kalam changed his path to not disturb the flowers, he imagined a conversation between the mother flower and the baby flower.
The baby flower, unhappy to lie on the floor asked the mother why they must go through the effort of blossoming when they are going to be trampled over anyway. The mother gently explained to the child that a deer does not stop loitering in the forest worried about the tiger, nor does the bird stop flying in the sky because it fears the beast, ‘Our reason to blossom is to reduce cruelty in mankind.’.
“Artistes” concluded Abdul Kalam are like the blossoming flowers spreading fragrance in society and a nation that does not value its artistes can never prosper. Cinema:Images&Issues published by #Rupa was released in Mumbai by #SanjayLeelaBhabsali and by #KirronKher in #LosAngeles
To be continued.