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Lights, camera, action!

After screening meaningful movies, the Cinema Club of Coimbatore takes it a step further by starting a filmmaking institute, Montage

Photo: M. Periasamy

TEACHING Responsible filmmaking

This shot is okayed in the first take. The protagonist — Cinema Club of Coimbatore — plays its role to perfection. And, Montage Institute of Film Making is in action now. "It is our joint effort to help people capture realism," says S. Kamalakannan, president of the club. Montage, set up by the Cinema Club, aims to provide a platform for aspiring filmmakers. It will offer courses on short filmmaking, documentary making, script writing and storyboard making. "Technology has grown in a big way. Now, movies can be made even on a cell phone. We have digital projectors, production unit, dubbing theatres and the required infrastructure. How to make and what to make are the areas we are lagging behind in," he says.

Montage will provide expertise in these areas. "With multiplexes coming up, the distribution channels of films are also changing. We want to tap this potential and market stories that are lying within each one of us," he says.

Making a difference

Filmmaker Simbhu Devan, who has given a new lease of life to the dying genre of meaningful cinema, clapped the storyboard for the new beginning. His historic comedy Imsai Arasan 23aam Pulikesi starring Vadivelu has brought to the fore burning social issues like the pesticide content in soft drinks, child labour and inefficiency among government staff. "There are a lot of youngsters looking for help and guidance to make it big in films. The starting trouble and the initial hiccups faced by them can be avoided with the help of such institutes," the filmmaker adds.

Simbhu Devan, who started his career as a cartoonist with Ananda Vikatan says gaining expertise in various fields is important. "Comedy is my strong area. So, I chose comedy to convey the message on current affairs in my debut film," he says.

The filmmaker says today cinema is not just about creativity but also marketing your ideas to a larger audience. "What is required is a combination of preparation, presentation and administration skills. Film institutes should also hone leadership qualities in filmmakers," he says. He advises the aspiring filmmakers that a right mix of commercial and artistic elements is the winning combination. "You should keep in mind the changing preferences of the audience and come out with something that will make them happy," he says. `Kavignar' Puviyarasu refers to commercial cinema as a big force. "No one can ignore it. Montage will nurture it by exposing youngsters to the nuances of filmmaking," he says and adds that promising filmmakers like Simbhu would be a great source of inspiration to Montage. "Clarity of thought to bring about a social change is important. Making money should not be the criteria. Watch good films, be it in Malayalam or in English," he recommends.

How not to

While writer Naanjil Naadan says he sometimes feels ashamed to watch Tamil cinema, film critique Jeevanandam asks the youth to watch bad films in order to learn how a film shouldn't be made. "In Tamil Nadu, cinema is not treated as an art form. It is in youngsters that we see the hope of a change and the tool is their creatively powerful minds," says Naanjil Naadan.

Filmmaking has become professional, thanks to a surge in courses like visual communication. "Strengthening bonds between institutes offering filmmaking courses and filmmakers is vital," Jeevanandam says. How to make documentaries popular? Asks Rakesh. S. Katarey, associate professor and documentary filmmaker from Amrita School of Journalism, and answers, " Documentaries reflect the concerns of the people but do not stick to a clear box office formula, so they are regarded unpopular. The term `popular' is now associated with materialistic success like box office collections, Television Rating Points and Newspaper Readership Survey," he says.

The emergence of new platforms to sell cinema has shown a lot of promise for aspiring filmmakers. "Also, socially conscious films like Rang De Basanti and Swades articulate the desire for change. Now, we should focus on how to make `people cinema' into `popular cinema'," he concludes. For details on Montage, call: 0422- 4218161.

K.JESHI

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