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A memorable festival
Answering to several questions from enthusiastic film makers Padmashri Girish Kasaravalli said, “There is neither a formula nor can anyone predict the success of a film. A directors thirst for new subjects, to present an idea in a refreshing way is essential to make a good movie. A film maker should not portray a topic in a conclusive manner, but should present it such that it kindles a thought process in his audience. A good film is one that poses questions, not that which offers solution.” He was speaking at the by2coffeefilms Short Film Festival organized by by2coffee films in association with KV Subbanna Aptha Samooha. Explaining the difference between feature films, documentaries and short films he said to a rapt audience, short films are not be confused as a miniature versions of full length feature films. Short films have their own frame needing to be handled in a more artistic fashion.
Prof Mano Chakravarthy said like any art form Short films needed a meditative approach and it was not necessary that it is compulsory to convey a message through one’s film. Though a message can be an offshoot of a film. It is upon youngsters to look around and find matter for their short films from the current affairs, daily lives and the world events. A film maker should be sensitive to his surrounding to dig thoughts and ideas from. It does not need a 3 hour movie with scenes of sufferings and ultra nationalism to convey the plight of Kashmirs and their women in particular. He said “Khwab”, the short film that won the best Film was sensitive, effortless and effective in conveying the Kashmir issue. Except for the muttering prayer words, this film had no dialogues and the sound of the wind was effectively utilized to narrate the story. Such should be the efforts from a film maker in constructing and presenting a story. This film received much appreciation for its use of light, sound, cinematography, images and direction.
Briefing the audience about the selection process for picking the winners and the Top 20 short films, the Jury Prof Mano Chakravarthy and Shri AN Mukund said, they laid more importance on films that dealt with fresh topics, new thought processes or a different narrative method. They also looked for the potential in these film makers to shoot a full length feature film, their ability to make use of techniques, sound and light. They added that watching all the entries was an enriching experience for them. A film like ‘Ramasamy’ which portrayed the oppression and mental pressure experienced in the corporate sector was a very effective way of storytelling, though the film makers till then thought their film had no technique or conveyed any message.
The format of the event where some of the Top 20 Short films were screened followed by discussion was appreciated by the participants. They were also happy with the organizers close contacts, timely updates and attention to minute details in inviting/ guiding and organizing the event. The organizer By2coffee films is a bunch of creative techies with a passion to make short films. For the past 2 years they’ve been involved in making Short films with socially relevant messages. The organizers were a relaxed lot to have realized one of their best cherished dreams of conducting a Short film festival and having succeeded in their first effort with support from Shri Girish Kasaravalli, the jury andKv Subbanna Aptha Samooha. |
Danone Food and Beverages India Pvt Ltd
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Danone has extended its range into Bangalore |
Danone has revealed plans to extend its presence in India with the roll out of yoghurts into the city of Bangalore.
The Danone-branded yoghurts, already on sale in Mumbai and Hyderabad, are now on sale in Bangalore.
The French group has also launched its range of Danette smoothies into the city after they were introduced in Mumbai and Hyderabad.
Danone said its fresh dairy products on sale in Indian have been developed to meet the needs of local consumers and are fortified with Nutri4Plus, which contains iron, iodine, zinc and vitamin A.
The Danone yoghurt line includes strawberry, mango and vanilla flavours and a plain, local-style yoghurt called dahi. The Danette smoothie range comprises chocolate and vanilla products.
The Danone yoghurts will be sold for INR15 for a 100g pack, while the dahi will be priced between INR16-35. The Danette range is available at INR20 for a 200ml tetra pak.
Source: Just food.com
Prof. N Manu Chakravarthy
 N Manu Chakravarthy is a professor of English at NMKRV College, Bengaluru. His interest in reviewing films makes him a film theorist too. He is a distinguished critic who has made valuable contribution to literary and cultural criticism in English and Kannada. He has written extensively on literature, music, feminism, politics and cinema. He has authored insightful articles on the various facets of Indian Cinema, Iranian Cinema and the preoccupations and creative impulse s and creative impulse of an eminent director like Girish Kasaravalli. He has written perceptively about major figures of Kannada Cinema like Vijay Bhaskar, K. S. Ashwath, Raj Kumar and Ananth Nag. “Re/Viewing Iranian Cinema”, “Imaging the Oppressed”, ”Of Icons and the Spirit of the Times”, “The Marginalised as the Invisible”, “Lensing the Middle Class Spirit” are some of his conceptual writings on cinema. His writings seek to project the deep humanism and concern that guide the creativity underlying films as works of art.
He has won National Film award for Best Critic for the year 2011. Professor Chakravarthy’s writings on film and related arts are replete with profound insights into the human condition as well as the need for serious discourse on socio-cultural matters. His writings reveal the authority with which he can discuss the cinemas of the world, particularly his own Kannada cinema.
His book “Culturing Realism: Reflections on Girish Kasaravalli’s Films” is a collection of articles on the outstanding Kannada film maker, Girish Kasaravalli. These are not commissioned pieces. They are critical reviews and interviews previously published, mainly in film journals.
He was on the editorial board of the film journal “Deep Focus”. He is one of the key resource persons for the annual cultural course conducted by Ninasam, Heggodu |
A N Mukund
 A N Mukund is a distinguished PORTRAIT Photographer of the state. He is widely known for his portraits of kannada writers. He has held several one-man shows all over Karnataka and abroad.His portraits are being published in all leading magazines and periodicals of the state since 1976.
A keen student of cinema since 1978, he is actively involved in film society movement in Karnataka. He is associated as a resource person and on the faculty of the Film Appreciation Course conducted annually by NINASAM, Heggodu from 1980. He has been on the faculty for the many short Film Appreciation Courses conducted by NINASM PRATISHTANA all over the state, He was born in 1955 at Harihara, Davangere Dist. He has served KPTCL for 30 years as Senior Engineer after which he took Voluntary retirement in 2008. He Lives in Bangalore. |
Girish Kasaravalli
 Girish Kasaravalli (born 1950) (Kannada: ಗಿರೀಶ್ ಕಾಸರವಳ್ಳಿ) is a noted film director, and one of the pioneers of the Parallel Cinema in Kannada cinema, who has won the National Film Award for Best Film four times, Ghatashraddha (1977), Tabarana Kathe (1986), Thaayi Saheba (1997) and Dweepa (2001). He has been awarded Padma Shri in 2011 - Fourth highest civilian award awarded by Government of India.
A gold medalist from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, Girish Kasaravalli started his career in films with Ghatashraddha (1977), over the next 30 years he directed eleven films and a tele serial. The Film he made to fulfill his Diploma "AVASHESH" was awarded the best Student Film. Avashesh also Won the President's Silver Lotus award for the best Short Film of that year. Early life Girish Kasaravalli was born in Kesalur, a village in the Tirthahalli taluk in Shimoga district in 1950 to Ganesh Rao and Lakshmi Devi. He had his primary education in Kesalur and middle school education in Kammaradi. Hailing from a family of book lovers, he was initiated to reading books from a young age by his father. His father was also a patron of Yakshagana, a folk system of dance, native to Karnataka. All this formed a basis for a life rich with creative aspirations. He was also attracted to the touring talkies which visited his village once in a while to screen popular Kannada films. This was his first exposure to the world of Cinema. Another relative who supported his love for creative arts was his maternal uncle K.V.Subbanna, a Magsaysay award winner who founded Neenasam, a critically acclaimed and popular drama company. After completing his high school and college education in Shimoga, he enrolled for the B.Pharma course in the College of Pharmacy, Manipal. The college was a commonplace for many cultural activities and kept Girish Kasaravalli's creative interests alive. After completing his degree, he went to Hyderabad for training. But due to his pre occupations in Cinema and art, he found it difficult to manage his profession and interest together. He decided to quit the career in Pharmacy and join the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. Career Girish Kasaravalli graduated from FTII Pune in 1975, with a specialization in 'film direction'. The world of Kurosawa, Ray, Ozu, Fellini and Antonioni inspired him and his conviction in neo-realist cinema deepened. In an interview many years later, he recollected how he was inspired by these filmmakers, especially Ozu. While in his final year, he was chosen to be the Assistant Director for Sri.B. V. Karanth for the film Chomana Dudi. He passed out of the FTII with a gold medal to his credit. His student film titled 'Avasesh' won the President's Silver Lotus award for the best student film of the year. His first film as an independent director, was Ghatashraddha in 1977, which won him the Golden lotus, and also won a few international awards. During the centenary celebrations of Cinema, Ghatashraddha was the only Indian film to be chosen by the National Archive of Paris. For a short while, he also served as the principal of a film institute. He won his second Golden Lotus for Tabarana Kathe in 1987. Considered as one of the best edited films in India, the film deals with the futile efforts of a retired government servant to earn his pension. In 1997, he came up with , Thaayi Saheba which won him his third Golden Lotus award. Thaayi Saheba is considered to be the most mature work of the director, dealing with the transition in the Indian socitey from the pre independence to the post independence periods. He repeated his success with Dweepa in 2002 starring late actress Soundarya. This film won his fourth Golden Lotus award. Dweepa was different from his earlier films. One of his movies, Naayi Neralu dealt with a very intense and bizarre concept of reincarnation, based on the novel with the same name by S.L. Bhyrappa, Girish Kasaravalli has given a different interpretation of the subject. The International Film Festival of Rotterdam held a retrospective of Girish Kasaravalli's films in 2003. Personal life His wife Vaishali Kasaravalli was also an actress. She passed away on 27 September 2010 at the age of 59, she was ailing for over five years. A chronic diabetic, she suffered liver damage and was also undergoing dialysis for renal malfunctioning. Filmography
AwardsNational Film Awards
Ghatashraddha (The Ritual) 1977
The Film also won the following Karnataka State Film Awards :
Ghatashraddha won a few International Awards:
Akramana (The Siege) 1979
Mooru Dhaarigalu (Three Path Ways) 1981:
The Film also won the following Karnataka State Film Awards:
Tabarana Kathe (The Story of Tabara) 1987
The Film also won the following Karnataka State Film Awards:
Bannadha Vesha (The Mask) 1989:
MANE (The House) 1989
The Film also won the following Karnataka State Film Awards:
Kraurya (Tale of a Story Teller) 1996
Thaayi Saheba (1998)
Dweepa (The Island) 2002 The film won the Presidents Golden-Lotus (Swarna Kamala) award for the Best Movie of the Nation for the year.
Gulabi Talkies
Source: Wikipedia
Image Courtasy: K S Rajaram |
S Ramachandra
 Shivaramaiah Ramachandra Aithal popularly known as S. Ramachandra, was an award winning, acclaimed Indian cinematographer. He won National Film Award for Best Cinematography in 1977 for the Kannada feature film Rishya Shringa. He had also won the Lifetime Achievement Award (at the State Film Awards) given by the Karnataka State Government in the year 2006. CareerAfter securing a rank in the pre-university course, Ramachandra went to the National Film and Television Institute in Pune to learn cinematography. He worked as an assistant cameraman for U.M.N. Sharif, who shot “Vamsha vriksha” directed by Girish Karnad and B.V. Karanth. It was during the shooting of “Vamsha vriksha” that P.V. Nanjaraja Urs, who identified Ramachandra's talent, asked him to work for his “Sankalpa”, which was Ramachandra's first independent venture as cinematographer. He later worked with Karanth in the award winning film Chomana Dudi. He also worked in commercial films with directors like Nagabharana and K.V.Jayaram. S.Ramachandra work in films directed by Girish Kasaravalli, brought him accolades. His association with Girish began with award winning film Ghatashradhdha. Later he worked in Mane, Kraurya, Naayi Neralu, Haseena and Gulabi Talkies DeathS.Ramachandra was suffering from cancer. He was recently admitted to the Bangalore Institute of Oncology where he was pronounced dead on 10 January 2011 Filmography
Television
Awards
Photo Courtasy: The Hindu |
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