FridayFictionFilms

Eat. Sleep. Films

[fridayfictionfilms]

From the rookie’s mouth

"The first print of the invitation card has not come off"

"Why have we printed so many invitations?"

"Why are we having this exhibition?"

"Who am I?"

"Why was I even born?"

All sorts of existential crisis rose from nowhere when we were nearing the inauguration day of the exhibition. Face palms grew in sound and frequency with each passing day. Though every little detail started to fall in place, yet a day before the exhibition a thought arose that 'are we really doing this?' Then we did it.

The next day, Paintings and Photographs were affectionately being mounted on the walls of the gallery, which sits quietly next to Ahmedabad ni Gufa. Every now and then something would pop up and we would be running to fetch the essentials and to put it respectfully to the place it deserves to be in the gallery.

'Concoct- a painting and photography exhibition' was within the touching distance from the inauguration. People from diverse background started pouring in once the exhibition was announced open for all. A jubilant display of art saw people come in with their preferred set of preferences. When there was a downpour outside, people came in just to save themselves from getting drenched. Some people noticed the chocolates first and then the art. Some art lovers preferred wandering in their imaginations and we helped them to amplify their imaginations by striking a conversation about art. Interpretations flowed from every individual which eventually served our purpose of not putting any synopsis under any piece. Conversation led to handshakes which synopsis would not have been able to do. Some took hours to study a painting or a photograph and some took just a minute to go through all the work. But in totality, everyone had a grin on their face while leaving the gallery.

[fridayfictionfilms]

INTERNal Rains!

woh kaam bhala kya kaam hua

jisme sala dil ro jaye                                                                                                              

                         -Piyush Mishra

                          written by Piyush Mishra embodied by Tanmay Shah

  Well folks, good things always happen to people who trudge through the bad road successfully. So here is my story, I was called for the interview when two cyclones were going to collide for the first time in 100 years(according to one gujarati news channel) the rainy clouds were looming over the city, adamant not to leave. The city was submersed in water. The baffling scenarios prompted me to take an ola cab(ola share!) but unfortunately the cab driver stood at some remote distance from my place and by the time I reached there, the booking got cancelled. One drenched guy without an umbrella and a raincoat was forced to wait for an autorickshaw. After having waited impatiently for some time, I found an autorickshaw. But I guess fate had some seriously ill plans for me, CNG gas in the autorickshaw got all used up and the perfectly moving three-wheeled vehicle gradually came to a complete halt.   Somehow I reached the office building all drenched, drying myself with a mere handkerchief. I went to the fourth floor as per the address given to me but did not find the name plate of FridayFictionFilms on the fourth floor. I thought I must have come in the wrong wing. But there is only one wing on this property. I inquired a bit around and they pointed me to a door which I would not be able to imagine in my wildest imaginations to be a door of a production house. I stepped into the office, and a warm smile greeted me. Honestly speaking I was not in the space to observe the office which might become my potential work place. I was so low on confidence that I hoped for the interview to go well. But all my apprehensions chucked out of the window as soon as they started chatting with me. Chatting! yes you heard it right. It was not an interview, it was a conversation, something that I had not anticipated for. But conversations can never be anticipated. I was put into so much ease that I thought I am sitting with my friends. Articulating my thoughts has always been a big problem with me, and I was fumbling way more than usual that day but the team of FridayFictionFilms never made me conscious about it and listened to me patiently. Two days later I got an SMS at 12 am that I have been hired.   The first day at work was amazingly satisfying. This is when I looked around the office and saw the walls and the glass door painted with vibrant colors. It is a quaint place which accommodates a small team of creative people. Interns are treated as valuable assets. The mojo of the office is such that everyone walking on the floor of the office wants to push the envelope in order to break into new territories. The wisdom came from the horse's mouth on the first day itself that work has to be fun, otherwise there is no point of doing any work.

[fridayfictionfilms]

MMM at FFF

What is Motivation?

“A reason or reasons for acting or behaving in a particular way” - Courtesy to Google for making to sound boring. 

The real Vitamin ‘M’ which makes all of us study one night before the exam, the reason to rise again. This is the reason all of us want a good job, the motivation to earn well.

But in this new era, where Monday mornings are associated with it’s blues, The Big M for me is Motivation, “Monday Morning Motivation”

I suddenly felt very ‘M’otivated to work. Why? I kept racking my brain until while almost giving up, I had a revelation. I did not want to give up, because people in my “New Office” would never do that.

That was the moment I realized what my motivation is. It is my organizational mentor, Mr. Tanmay Shah.  I know how this sounds, because I work with him, because I work in a company which was once upon a time, a simple seed in his mind that I have to this.

But that is not true. In fact he probably would tell me to write about something else. Because he is a down to earth person who does not like talking about himself.

But he is also the person who had the crazy idea of a project named “52 Films Projects”. And it is exactly what it sounds like. 52 films, 52 weeks. Yup, One film per week for the entire year.

But it is easier said than done. While all of us, including me slept peacefully on a Saturday, which is the start of the best part of the week, He would be crammed on his desk writing a script which had to be released on the next Friday. Then came the actors, who had to be found, told the idea, and then convinced to act. Because these films are zero budget films, actors would not be paid 10 Crores like our Mainstream beloved Bollywood stars. In fact more often than not, they would not be paid anything. Convincing someone to act for free is a big task. But maybe his sweet words did the trick. But the battle was not over yet. Now came the filming part. Choosing a location and then making it ready would just be the start of the long Tuesday morning. When the actual shoot began, Tanmay sir would the one behind the camera meaning he was the one shooting  the movie from different angles. He being the director also had to explain to the actors every action they had to do. And if it wasn’t enough already he would also sometimes act in the film.

Then editing the final version and releasing it online, and then again starting on a new project. Sounds tedious and tiring to me. But this is one of the many projects he has taken up. So yes he seems pretty motivational to me.

But the high point of my inspiration to work came when today morning I entered the office. Like every morning when I am forced to wake up early, I was still grumbling and having my tantrums by getting angry at the lift for not coming fast enough to get me when I saw , Tanmay sir leaving the office. While I was getting angry at inanimate objects because I had to get up early after completing 7 hours of sleep, I saw my boss, my mentor leaving the office at 9 in the morning to go home catch some rest before his next meeting 2 hours later looking his happy usual self.  

It was then I realized that if not for my own knowledge, I had to put in efforts to at least match the pace with my superiors worked

The story of an excited intern.

[fridayfictionfilms]

Zyada heavy ho gaya na?

So in the third year of college, my third internship, I finally have some work...although I am not sure what that is. On day one, I am motivated, excited and enthusiastic to work , ready  to change the world which is not the case with me all the times. The reason behind that change is the small sweet and inviting world of FridayFictionFilms. I would not go with the clique phrases of “this is the best place to work in”, or “I feels like a mother ship is calling me home”. But I would be lying if I do not accept that this is one of coolest places to work in. 

The motto itself “Eat, Sleep, Films” are the three things most of us hold dear in this world. The king of this world, the genius as people call him, the man himself, Mr. Tanmay Shah, who kind of reminds of Albert Einstein is one of the most unexpected people. An engineer who got into film making now having projects like ‘52filmsProject’ in his kitty is truly respectable. But once you meet him, it is then that you really understand... he is the person who can make you feel comfortable with his jokes and a completely nonthreatening look. It takes a while to get used to his shaggy flowing hair. But after the initial shock, the warm personality really does magic. He has told me and my fellow interns to be true to the work and always keep the promises you made. Such a simple advice that would help us in this internship and according to his words, change us by the end of this internship. Having said that he is also the person who does not believe in a long lecture, and turns to you every 15 minutes saying Zyada heavy ho gaya na?

After meeting Mr. Einstein, when one can finally take in their surroundings, we see 2 mattresses , for the organization being true to its motto that never says you can’t sleep in the workplace. Right next to these are the tiffin and bag sections (as introduced to us in the orientation) which can be called one of the most important places in the entire office because ... Well… Food…The coolest workplace also has the scariest lift followed by walls which are purple with cartoons painted on it, and a Charlie Chaplin poster which says seriousness is injurious to health and smiling face of Megha Ma’am who is like a friend, explaining the good and the bad, guiding us through the work and trying not to hassle us on the very first day.

I hope this internship brings much more than just a learning lesson, I hope it brings laughter, joy and most importantly, a journey I can look back at. For now hoping for the best. 

The story of an excited intern !

[fridayfictionfilms]

Is being an artist an inherently solitary pursuit?

“From childhood’s hour I have not been

As others were—I have not seen

As others saw—I could not bring

My passions from a common spring—

From the same source I have not taken

My sorrow—I could not awaken

My heart to joy at the same tone—

And all I lov’d—I lov’d alone—“

~ Edgar Alan Poe, “Alone”

We have heard, artists need solitude to create work. The society, when asked to describe artists often refers to them as dhuni people, “people who live in their own world”.

But is that alone time ever too much to handle? Being aloof may make you a better artist but what about their lives, and their anyway-questionable sanity?

Why is creativity always linked with a state of isolation? Does living the creative life mean you have to live a lonely life?

Is being an artist an inherently solitary pursuit?

Our next film is a story of one such artist. Here is a glimpse of it.

[fridayfictionfilms]

“What the hell is this?”

I don’t have a specific topic on which I want to write today. The shoot last week was amazing, it had been my first experience to be a spot boy for FridayFictionFilms. Some problems did arise during the shoot like one of our actors had caught a bit of cold and so we were worried if she could give out her best of the expressions, many of the on the spot improvisations were also done, both by actors as well as our very own Mr. Director Tanmay.

The shoot was fascinating as well as tiring which made me wonder the state of the professionals who make blockbusters or National Award Winners, the sweat, the hard work, the pain and the conviction they show for months to complete a project. Every breath in their body is so closely related to what they are making. They eat sleep shoot and repeat on and on until they get the perfect shot to amaze the numerous people sitting at their seats, eating popcorns and criticizing the production.

It makes one realize how easy it is to sit in a comfortable position and criticize someone’s hard work when that person has given his 100% to his/her dream. Sure sometimes the movie makes one go “What the hell is this!!??” but that is a totally subjective matter and I am sure that it is one area I would not like venturing into. But it really takes a person each and every drop of their sweat and blood to create a masterpiece and I have surely witnessed that in the art of film making.

Just observing Tanmay go all into his zone made me realize how he pulls out perfection in an imperfect situations.

Not just the hard work but also the amount of patience that is needed in shooting every frame of the movie. Though time was the constraint, everybody who was on the set was extremely calm and patient throughout the entire sequence, especially when the same person has to conceptualize,capture and the edit the whole thought at once.

And film making is a very small representation of the thought that hard work is the only route to success and perfection. A person who wants success in his life works hard and with dedication without thinking what the end result would be for him. This is actually a combination of hard work and faith. Having faith is also another key aspect for achieving your desires. Having faith in your hard work is a summation to the key of success and mind you, summation.

There are many other factors too that contribute to the success or perfection because like they say, a perfect man is a successful man. It’s an in depth process that one has to go through to achieve overall success in his/her life and what contributes to it is hard work, dedication and faith. I am not saying that smart work is the wrong thing to do because smart work is as appreciated and respected as hard work but it is also said “There is no substitute to hard work”. The movie to decode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euqcESQModw

[fridayfictionfilms]

Intern Diaries: End of internship; End of relationship?

A friend’s advice, a formal mail to the founder and one meeting, next day I was in the office working with what everybody call it, FridayFictionFilms! For me it is crazy FridayFictionFilms with exceptionally creative people working hard and releasing short films on life’s incidents every Friday.

One never realize what is going to come across in life, next! I never thought I would be working here. But it is rightly said, life has its own plans for one’s goodwill. From the very first day people here made me comfortable. Tanmay, the founder at FridayFictionFilms, especially, took good care of me. I generally take time to open up and share my views on something, which here I took, but little less. A month is a short duration to know about the core of the company and to be an inseparable part of the place. But it, after all, depends upon the place you work in and people you work with. And people here are wacky, hard-working but wacky. You don’t even realize when you have become an important part of the system here.

I have worked with production houses before as in intern, but little did I know about the cinematography, editing, sound and other movie elements. I would not say that I know it all after working here but having a fair idea about all this would justify my understanding. Talking about my role in this company, I worked here as a public relations manager. I prepared Facebook and twitter posts. I wrote blogs and improved on every blog. I never realized I could write. This would go into my learning folder from here. In addition, sweet and sour chats about life and career with Tanmay however made me miffed with him but it made me thoughtful as well. And in his own words, “It is a part of life”!!

It’s been only a month here and I am emotional to leave it. This is where people play an important part. I have had my pleasant time in office and shoots. Sunny shoots were however little less pleasant but behind the scenes compensated it. I have witnessed in this whole duration, the pain and effort in making a 5-6 minute film and not getting the deserved appreciation and still getting self-motivated and make a new film every Friday. This is called dedication. It has, in real meaning, inspired me for my whole life. Sometimes in life, one would not get the deserved acknowledgement right at the moment, but it would definitely get paid sometime, rather at the right time. One shall stay positive always.          

In a complete frame I enjoyed working here. For me it is always people and situation which teach me the values of life. After spending my pleasant time here I can say that the experience has added up to the values in my life. This final take here is little sentimental for me. But now other chapters are taking over in my life and I have to move on taking all the wonderful memories along. I wish FridayFictionFilms a great success in years to come. I definitely know it would get crazier and crazier day by day. Lovely working here!! Eat.Sleep.Films.  FridayFictionFilms  https://www.youtube.com/user/fridayfictionfilms

[fridayfictionfilms]

Intern Diaries: Being Mellow

Last week was very chaotic! We did not have a script on Friday morning. Yeah! You must have read the previous blog. Yet we were able to make a slightly decent film. Nah, I am not trying to self-praise, I comprehended the appreciation collected from the viewers. This means we are able to face challenges now, which is actually an important life lesson. Film making surely teaches us many life lessons. Too much of philosophy, ain’t it?

Talking about next film, this time we are ready much in advance with it. This time we were lucky to find the correct location and appropriate actors. We were all surprised about the making of this film. It was scripted in one day, actors and location was finalized the other day. And our very own Tanmay, the cinematographer, shot it in one afternoon! The film is ready on the edit table one day before. This all happened in such a schedule that one of us commented, “I think the week is longer this time!” It all got in place this week or maybe we were lucky, one more time!

This time we tried to touch upon the sentimental and emotional segment in the movie. In our lives, we generally are attached with people we are related to. But sometimes, it is not only just people in our lives. No no, I am not going to write about the movie completely, I have a job! Why would I steal Friday’s thunder?  Just one more day! We hope our sincere sentiments reaches you through this film. A still from the film to give you a hint

[fridayfictionfilms]

Intern Diaries: D-day or D-hours?!

It is said that a day before the D-Day is very exciting! But have you thought about the excitement on the D-day? Believe me it is not at all exciting. It’s more not because we are basically not prepared for it. I mean is it really late to realize that it’s a Friday morning and we still don't have a movie yet! Forget about the movie, we are still debating on the script.

It has been three days since I have taken a risk to work with these guys! And all we have done is creating and rejecting the scripts. It’s not like we did not come up with the story in advance, but we just could not link the story with the actors available and the location. This made us change the concept numerous times. We have banged our head, itched our faces, abused each other, fidget all around. And again started thinking on the concept. Aah! I never realized film making is this big pain. And it is more difficult to make it in Zero-Budget. I have seen people denying at the last moment to act, locations don’t suit well with the script, problems in characterizing the actor. With all these, there are many possibilities of ending up terribly. However, the challenge is to give the best! And this challenge always exists. We basically love challenges!    

This time we are not sure about the script, actors and don’t get me started on the location part! But one thing we are very sure about, we are not going to disappoint you. Wait for our 27th Short Film this evening! Eat.Sleep.Films - https://www.youtube.com/user/FridayFictionFilms/featured

[fridayfictionfilms]

Intern Diaries: Push or Pull

He said : ‘Friday, 10:30 AM’  and I said : “Roger that! “ , and by him, I mean the Founder and CEO of FridayFictionFilms (as his Facebook info. Says), the big boss! I had taken an early leave from my CAT tuition classes, and this time, for a change, I had a legit reason for it. I felt butterflies in my belly, partly because I was excited and partly because I ate nothing since morning and it was 10:15 AM. Over all, it was a good feeling, one which I dreamed since I decided to do something worthy with my life other-than my corporate B-School life. I wanted to impress the ‘big boss’ by reaching a bit early, but thanks to the  amdavadi traffic, I reached sharp at 10:29:42, and just as I entered, I was greeted by a short furry smiling creature  who looked like a cute miniature version of a Sasquatch , or as I would like to call, The not-so-big boss.

If you are still reading this, you need to know about the company, from my perspective. FridayFictionFilms to me is not only a place where a bunch of people come to make short films and post it on YouTube, it is also a home to creativity, a place where I can find solace after going through the daily torture of Salman Khan films, Yo Yo Honey Singh’s ‘Music’ and Rakhi Savant being herself, a place where people actually meet with a single goal of doing something artistic and presenting awesomeness on the screen every week! I had such a strong impression of FFF when I met my Big Boss, and he said, “I don’t like to call myself creative. The moment I call myself creative, I loose my urge to do something creative. I will start living in the illusion that ‘whatever I do is creative’ and that holds me back.” And only a creative person can say that!

Another reason I respected my furry big boss because of his picture perfect story. A world class engineer, IITian Researcher (Bombay), working with PRL and ultimately following his dream. It was textbook creative. He has done everything right. Started off with making AD films, won awards and ultimately following his dream of creating actual artistic films. He has started a ‘52 Films Project’, where he toils for an entire week creating ideas and shooting an amazing film (It is my first day and he made me write a blog. He, like all of us, wakes up at the last minute. You will know it soon) and release a film every Friday! I was fascinated hearing that not only does he make a new film with a new idea week in week out; he does it with ZERO BUDGET! He just made the entire Gujarati Community proud! But from a film maker’s point of view, it is an amazing achievement and if all goes well, this may very well be a World Record!

Getting back to my entrance, as I stepped into the office, I was greeted by confusion, an artist’s prodigy! This confusion was in the form of a glass door, without any push/pull sign, but was pushed inside enough, tempting you to push it all the way in. I don’t know what struck me, I stopped for fifteen seconds and stared blankly at the knob like a kid stare at a candy before figuring out how to unwrap it and I finally took the risk of pulling the door instead of pushing it in. Surprisingly, it was the right direction and that led me to the main office room where I was greeted by a firm hand shake, a warm smile and a hairy face all on the same person. That was my loving big boss, and leaving my hand, he said,”Congratulations! You have passed the studio test. Welcome to FFF” I wished my happiness would have lasted any longer, but  apparently they had to leave for a shoot and everyone vanished, leaving me sitting alone on the mattress.  My boss left the last, saying a few golden words, “If my mom comes, take the Tiffin and keep it on the desk.” So, I checked the bungee-ness of my mattress and after watching ‘Family Guy’ for an hour, I decided to write my first exploits in this wonderful place called FridayFictionFilms!

To be continued…

P.S. “Eat. Sleep. Films” 

www.facebook.com/FridayFictionFilms

www.youtube.com/FridayFictionFilms

[fridayfictionfilms]

Intern Diaries: May I come in, Sir !

Writing Blogs and me? Apparently that's the last thing I prefer doing, but you see Mr.Shah can make anyone do anything. That's apparently not the only thing he can do - he can crack lame jokes in the middle of a serious scene, he can force everyone to listen to "Di di tera devar deewana" in the office while working, he can randomly phrases like ' I am gonna marry you for this month!' (He reminds me of my English professor who makes us read a simple poem like 'The road not taken' from 7 different perspectives), and yeah, who will never say NO for a cup of tea.

My internship term is of One-month and I genuinely believe that by the end of this term, one of us will be in a suicidal condition. Oh oh,  by 'US', I mean the Smiling-Beauty(Social Media Evangelist), the Tall Man( Managing Director), Mr.Shah and the other silent characters I don't really get to interact with much. 

FridayFictionFilms has initiated an insane project of releasing 1 short film every Friday and this act of madness will commence from 2nd ofJanuary 2015 (I am glad I'll be here to celebrate the moment with loads of McD food and chocolates) and yes, all of us are excited.

But going back to the part when one of these upcoming films' shoot kills my mood. The first shoot that I became a part of, was "The Child and the Jar". To nicely put forward the truth, the shoot was deadly boring. Even the main character (The jar), broke into pieces after the 3rd scene (#BehindTheScenesDrama) . You see, one simple scene, 21 re-takes, and no source of refreshments is how it is!

But nevertheless, Mr.Shah has hell lot of a patience. He can still smile at the end of all of this and that's probably why he is the (quote and unquote), the honorable CEO and Founder of FridayFictionFilms. On an over-serious note, his films are worth a watch.

It's weird how someone can forcefully make you pen down your experience( I'm definitely pointing at Mr.Shah who is very frequently criticized on this page), how something can make you feel homely (for instance, taking a nap when you are tired of working, on the office Brown Couch), how the leaking washroom tap can freak you out (we seriously need a doctor for it), and how in a week you know each other like you know them for ages.

In conclusion, I just want to say that this is probably the best time of my life.

P.S. "Eat. Sleep. Films"

https://www.facebook.com/FridayFictionFilms

[fridayfictionfilms]

Coming Soon

Big-Hair’s getting Big-Time ambitious now that Australia likes him.

So apparently, FridayFictionFilms means that we’re supposed to make and release a film every Friday. It seems he thinks I have too much free time on my hands, and that I can write a new script every week.

We do aim to release 52 films throughout 2015. It’s a big number, and I made a terrible, horrible, inexcusable mistake.

I accidentally asked Big-Hair how he expects to make so many short films in an even shorter period of time, and what the point is.

I ended up sitting in front of him for three hours while he talked about how important his movies are and how they are a visual representation of poetry. He talked about human behaviour and how his films represent it perfectly. He ranted about how he makes experimental films, blur films, one-room films and a bunch of other names that made my head spin. He lectured me about how his films tackle hugely important social issues in artistic form.

And all through, all I could think was how much bigger his hair would need to get before I could suggest it to him as a hugely important social issue.

And as if that isn’t enough, I’m now going to have to tag along with him as he scouts Ahmedabad in campuses and other places, looking for actors to act in 52 films.

Sounds like a horror movie…

BIG-HAIR — COMING SOON TO A CAMPUS NEAR YOU

I think I just scared myself a little.

Eat. Sleep. And like our videos.

http://facebook.com/FridayFictionFilms

[fridayfictionfilms]

Mubarak

Saal Mubarak indeed…

Two things happened.

One which wrapped up the last year with a bow as big as the Boss-Man’s hair, and one that kicked off the New Year, so hard that his hair exploded even bigger.

Let’s talk about the one that ended the year first. It wasn’t enough that he’s been making me write volumes of information on everything under the sun, he won’t even leave the poor Rann of Kutch salt labourers alone. We’re now making a Documentary on them. And guess which extremely unwilling college-kid is going to have to do allll the writing.

It’s not Stuart Little.

Whatever… bygones and New Years and fresh starts and all that.

The New Year definitely brought a huge surprise with it.

One of Big-Hair’s films (one that I actually like) got nominated for an International Film Festival in Australia!

And surprise, surprise! He’s being even more insufferable than usual, and I’m no longer writing only volumes. I’m writing libraries.

But even I can’t deny that it’s exciting to know that he might win. I checked out the list of nominations, and Big-Hair is the only one from India to make the cut. The others are from the classic big names — UK, USA, Ukraine, Uranus… just kidding.

On a serious(ish) note though, this is huge. Even the experts Down Under think Big-Hair’s movies are good. Or maybe they just think that if his hair gets any bigger, it might take away their title of smallest continent in the world.

Either way, we’re all super excited.

Eat. Sleep. And like our videos…

https://www.facebook.com/FridayFictionFilms

[fridayfictionfilms]

On The Road

Wow, I manage to avoid Big-Hair for one week, and he moves the entire office to make it even more difficult for me to show up for work. It took me a literal forever to find the place — seeing as he picked what is probably the most obscure location in the city to have an office — and I was feeling really proud of myself when I walked in.

Any guesses as to who was standing right at the door, arms crossed and hair bigger than ever, telling me I was late and needed to get writing? If you guessed Afroman, you're wrong.

Anyway, I sat down at my laptop, and started to type, but couldn't focus much. Nostalgia was taking over even though I haven't exactly been around long. I mean, there were some good memories in that old office — my first day of work, the caricature painting of Amitabh Bachchan on the wall, the empty water-bottles that took up more space than we did. We'd amassed a grand total of 84 bottles that we ended up doing nothing with. There was a cool box — we called it the face-board — that we used to write our frustrations out in as well. I loved the strange sounds the air-conditioner used to make. The lift was like the one on The Big Bang Theory. It never worked. So we always used the stairs, claiming that it would keep us fit.

In the new office… it feels strange to use the lift and even stranger to take the stairs. It's nice, though — spacious. I do like this office. I really do. But nostalgia is a sneaky devil.

Whoa! Is it just me, or does Boss Man's hair look bigger than ever?

Maybe he wanted to be festive and made it explode.

I wonder if I should tell him that it's a fashion statement that won't work…

Nah.

Eat. Sleep. And like our videos…

https://www.facebook.com/FridayFictionFilms

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Gujju Valentine's

Valentine’s Day is usually the most difficult day of the year for all the aptly named ‘forever alones’. But Gujaratis being Gujaratis have to do something different. So instead of having only one Singles’ Awareness Day like normal people, we have a nine-day festival named Navratri.

All the hiding couples just come out of nooks and corners. People who used the excuse of calling one another brother and sister for months, to avoid questioning from their parents, just decide that this nine-day festival when everyone is dressed in their finest traditional outfits and swarming the streets, is the perfect time to declare themselves taken.

I personally don’t understand the logic. Why would you wait for the one time of the year when everyone looks amazing, to decide to get into a relationship? I tried discussing it with Big-Hair, but he just gave me a look and asked me why I wasn’t writing.

Policemen make a packet off couples who sneak away on public grounds and get caught, willing to pay their wallets as long as, “Papa ko phone na jaaye.” But the most fun part is when only half of an inseparable couple shows up, because one of them (usually the girl) isn’t allowed by the parents. The poor loner is stuck between a rock and a hard place — can’t have someone on their arm, and can’t ogle at anyone else because mutual friends are the minions of Satan himself.

Personally, I think the people who break up with their significant others right before Navratri have it right. Good-looking people donning traditional clothes seem to appear out of thin air during Navratri, and nine nights of wild dancing with them, sounds like something I’d call a pretty good idea. People also seem to believe that the fact that Navratri is around the corner is the perfect time to reconcile with their exes. I don’t get that either. Sounds to me like the perfect time to move on. Back to the mental image of wild dancing and traditional clothes.

The more I think about it, the stranger it seems that the two greatest one-one-one battles of Hindu mythology are celebrated by dancing all night. I wonder if people actually danced on the nine nights of the fight. Maybe the dancing is symbolic for fighting. If that’s the case, I suddenly understand the logic behind going with your ex completely. But I’m starting to think that the concept of beginning a new relationship with nine nights of fighting is a pretty bad omen. Hmm, maybe I should stay away from my crush till the 4th.

Basically, Navratri’s a pretty messed up festival. But we’re Gujaratis. We’re weird and we revel in that weirdness.

After all,

Eat. Sleep. And like our videos…

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7 Raised to 9

Yesterday was National Be-Nice-To-Your-Teachers Day.

I don’t get the logic behind having Teachers’ Day around the time of the first exams of the academic year. Are they trying to tell us something? So Teachers’ Day is celebrated in exam month, and we have to be nice to our teachers when all we really want to do is clobber them, while Children’s Day is usually during Diwali Break, strategically placed so that teachers can spend it not being nice to us.

Don’t mind me, I’m just rambling because Big-Hair is making me write something new. I made a mistake by doing a good job on my first blog yesterday. He wants me to write more now.

Oh and, to put the icing on the cake, yesterday was Be-Nice-To-Big-Hair Day too. Not because he’s my teacher, but because it was his birthday.

My birthday is on the 23rd, and like Children’s Day, it’s strategically placed so that I don’t have to come to work on that day, and he doesn’t have to be nice to me.

I remember them teaching us in school that September 23rd is the Autumn Equinox too, and we can look forward to having exactly 12 hours of day and 12 hours of night on that day. And then they looked at us disappointedly, like we weren’t appropriately enthusiastic about the idea.

The 23rd also happens to be ‘Celebrate Bisexuality Day’. No wisecracks, please.

Everyone seems to have a birthday in September. We all have that one day in September when you can’t reach the end of names of people who have their birthday on that day. For me, that day is the 16th. I think 60% of everyone I know was born on September 16th, so it’s a heck of a lot of calls I need to make.

September 19th is International Talk Like A Pirate Day. Excuse me while I google a tutorial on how to do that.

This month is celebrated in many countries by the start of a new school year, too. Note that the word ‘celebrated’ is highly inappropriate here. I think that’s why they have a Pirate Day. So children can look forward to something through their first homework assignments, and the fact that they want to clobber their teachers.

P.S.: If my teachers are reading this… I didn’t write any of it. It was all Big-Hair…

Eat. Sleep. And like our videos…

https://www.facebook.com/FridayFictionFilms

[fridayfictionfilms]

Writing at Hair-Point

So I’m sitting in front of a computer, as a guy with enormous head-hair stands behind me, telling me to write something.

This is so not what I signed up for.

How many times a week do you get that feeling?

Imagine having a particularly nasty day, when something you do goes wrong and you get yelled at. The yeller usually asks you what you were thinking, as if the most obvious answer isn’t, “Not this.” You were probably trying to do something that would make you the next hero among your peers or help attain your fantasy of world peace or domination or whatever. Do they really think you were trying to get in a situation that got you standing in one place for twenty minutes, getting yelled at by whoever it is that decided to be your ‘well-wisher’ (because that’s what they always call themselves when they yell at you).

Anyway, something like that happened to me. It was not just any day. It was the Foundation Day Celebration at my college. I’d spent all week organising, and right then, I was walking around the college on a weekend, desperately in need of some time off so I could sleep… or eat… or breathe.

I happen to like writing. So the one event that the two-day celebration had, with some semblance to a Writing Competition, was the one thing in the whole forty-eight hours that I’d been anticipating with bated breath.

So, of course, the competition got delayed by half an hour. And then went into the lunch-hour. One more reason to skip lunch — as if I needed another.

When I checked my phone at the end, I had about seven missed calls. Two from friends who were also with me in the Organising Committee, probably because they had more work for me, and five from my mother, probably because I didn’t answer the first call.

So my extremely lazy butt had to pick between getting more work and giving my mother an elaborate explanation on why I couldn’t answer the phone. I picked work.

My friends were calling me to the Photography Competition. I assumed it was for work, so I didn’t ask questions. When I arrived on the scene, a guy I’d never seen before in my life, walked over to me, flanked by my friends or either side. My friends looked like they do every day. The guy… well, the hair on his head was pretty much bigger than my need for sleep.

He told me about this thing called FridayFictionFilms, and how much he loves Fridays. It seemed like a bit of a cruel joke, seeing as that Friday had been terrible for me, since I’d been hopelessly swamped with work. But I didn’t tell him that because he was judging the contest, and I didn’t want to offend him and ruin one of the events that’d contributed towards keeping me awake all week.

Somehow, I ended up working for him as a writer. I still don’t know whether it was because I hadn’t wanted to offend him, or because the idea sounded enticing.

Basically, what I’m trying to say is:

This is SO not what I signed up for!

But Big-Hair doesn’t seem to care.

He’s just telling me to write something else.