A room for stories

Aerodbo

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Follow us:WhatsappFacebookTwitterTelegram.cls-1{fill:#4d4d4d;}.cls-2{fill:#fff;}Google NewsIn movies, we have seen the juba-clad wannabe stalking producers to no avail. He is fighting tooth and nail for the first gig and gets a hasty reading session post countless attempts. The situation used to be no different off-screen as well, but now the aspiring scenarists and filmmakers have an easy way out. If you are just getting your feet wet as a scriptwriter, head straight to the office of August Cinema, the production and distribution house run by Prithviraj, Santhosh Sivan and Shaji Nadesan. You can sit in the comfy orange and beige ‘story room’ and narrate the screenplay over a cup of coffee. If your story is solid enough, the production house will bring it alive on 70mm. “As a production house we are on the lookout for quality scripts. We have no condition other than this and we guarantee complete creative freedom once we zero in on something,” says Shaji Nadesan.Shaji says it’s not just film institute dropouts who walk in. “There are students, government employees and even IITians. Majority of them are total film buffs who drink, eat and breath cinema. There is a lot of talent here and we are just providing them an informal platform. During the last few months, we have come across at least eight good scripts,” he says.The first project evolved in the story room will go on floors this May. The untitled film starring Prithviraj in the lead will be scripted by Vini Vishwa Lal and directed by Albert. “The film, a love story, will be shot in and around Ladakh. Vini is the one who penned the screenplay of ‘Second Show’ and Albert is an associate of Jayaraj. In tune with the theme and mood we wanted to use the title ‘Manjil Virinja Pookkal’ and if there are no legal hitches we will go for it.”While newbies are welcome as scenarists, aspiring filmmakers with zero experience are not entertained. “Filmmaking calls for certain technical expertise and jumping into the scene sans any know-how will be foolish. We insist that they come after assisting two or three projects,” he says.Shaji says despite people dropping by, they also get truckloads of stories by post. “It’s not easy to sieve through dozens and hundreds but we do read them. We handpick a few, contact the writers and sometimes ask for an improved version,” he says. He adds that sometimes it turns into a tiresome exercise, especially when the stuff is mediocre. “People turn in with outdated plots and some others seem to think that oodles of melodrama is mandatory. As of now we have gone through nearly nine hundred scripts,” he says. He also adds that many walk in with scripts fit for Prithviraj since he owns the production house. “Many are under the presumption that we make only Prithviraj movies. But we are open to all kinds of stories and the only area we won’t compromise is quality,” he adds.first published:September 21, 2012, 10:29 ISTlast updated:September 21, 2012, 10:29 IST
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In movies, we have seen the juba-clad wannabe stalking producers to no avail. He is fighting tooth and nail for the first gig and gets a hasty reading session post countless attempts. The situation used to be no different off-screen as well, but now the aspiring scenarists and filmmakers have an easy way out. If you are just getting your feet wet as a scriptwriter, head straight to the office of August Cinema, the production and distribution house run by Prithviraj, Santhosh Sivan and Shaji Nadesan. You can sit in the comfy orange and beige ‘story room’ and narrate the screenplay over a cup of coffee. If your story is solid enough, the production house will bring it alive on 70mm. “As a production house we are on the lookout for quality scripts. We have no condition other than this and we guarantee complete creative freedom once we zero in on something,” says Shaji Nadesan.

Shaji says it’s not just film institute dropouts who walk in. “There are students, government employees and even IITians. Majority of them are total film buffs who drink, eat and breath cinema. There is a lot of talent here and we are just providing them an informal platform. During the last few months, we have come across at least eight good scripts,” he says.

The first project evolved in the story room will go on floors this May. The untitled film starring Prithviraj in the lead will be scripted by Vini Vishwa Lal and directed by Albert. “The film, a love story, will be shot in and around Ladakh. Vini is the one who penned the screenplay of ‘Second Show’ and Albert is an associate of Jayaraj. In tune with the theme and mood we wanted to use the title ‘Manjil Virinja Pookkal’ and if there are no legal hitches we will go for it.”

While newbies are welcome as scenarists, aspiring filmmakers with zero experience are not entertained. “Filmmaking calls for certain technical expertise and jumping into the scene sans any know-how will be foolish. We insist that they come after assisting two or three projects,” he says.

Shaji says despite people dropping by, they also get truckloads of stories by post. “It’s not easy to sieve through dozens and hundreds but we do read them. We handpick a few, contact the writers and sometimes ask for an improved version,” he says. He adds that sometimes it turns into a tiresome exercise, especially when the stuff is mediocre. “People turn in with outdated plots and some others seem to think that oodles of melodrama is mandatory. As of now we have gone through nearly nine hundred scripts,” he says. He also adds that many walk in with scripts fit for Prithviraj since he owns the production house. “Many are under the presumption that we make only Prithviraj movies. But we are open to all kinds of stories and the only area we won’t compromise is quality,” he adds.