The chasm between dream and reality

In his blog, Siddharth has written a piece about Bhayam, the short film produced and directed by Dinesh and me. I have to admit that the release has not met up with the huge hype I have created about the venture. I must also confess that I was quite excited about the venture initially. Both Dinesh and I have been film enthusiasts and our favourite passtime was to rip each movie apart, be it Tamil or Iranian. When the idea for a short film emerged and, when we hit upon a nice interesting story, it was natural to be thoroughly excited. Being a famed loose talker, I had something great to look forward to in my life. Apart from the mundane, soul-crushing IT services that I was made to do day in and day out.

So, understandably, anyone and everyone associated with Sridhar began talking about this venture. And lapped up every tale we had to tell about the process of making of Bhayam. Alas, the result was nowhere near the ambitious startup it actually was. Bhayam, the short-film conceived by Dinesh and Sridhar produced under the banner DownToMoon Production house, ended up being a drab film that was laden with so many cinematic errors. Friends to whom I have reluctantly screened the film had a few consoling words to say and some, especially, outrightly ridiculed a very small role I had done in the movie. I must admit, however, that even in my own appalling histrionic standards, I had done a very bad job. I was horrified to notice that even my accent sucked.

I'm not going to explain what went wrong when the dream turned sour. But I'm happy to note that neither Dinesh nor I have given up. Even the initial apprehension and shamefulness I had about the venture had later vanished. I began happily screening it to my friends and lapping up all the smirks and open laughters at my face. Since the grandeous venture that crashed with a thud, I decided not to hype up any of my other attempts. So I will not reveal what Dinesh and I are upto. But be rest assured that we are still working. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Epilogue 1: I had shown it to my fiancee. She was obviously disappointed at the result. But I'm confident that she has not given up on me.

Epilogue 2: A copy of Bhayam is still in my bag and any one who is interested can borrow it from me. Those who are out of town, please transfer 50 rupees to my bank account for a copy. Disappointment guaranteed or your money back.