A Letter to Night
Dear Night,
One October night in 1999, I went to watch a film with my new colleagues from UTV. I had just moved to Bombay, and was totally in love with the idea of spending my evenings in Colaba. We took a bus from our office near Powai to Andheri... a train from Andheri to Churchgate and finally a cab from Churchgate to Colaba. Yes, we took a lot of pains to get to that Cinema. My colleagues went in... while I stayed out looking at the 'Next Change' posters. I like this medium a lot.
Back in the hall, munching on my small pack of pop corns, I watched that film with my mouth half open. There were portions of the film that scared me. Till then, the only film I liked with Bruce Willis in it was Pulp Fiction. But this film was good. I mean GOOD.
By the time, I figured Dr. Malcolm Crowe was (infact) dead, it was too late. It was for the first time that I was so sucked in by the story that I missed the obvious give-aways in the narrative. I loved this. That a film-maker could do this in his first film. And when The Sixth Sense ended... there was a momentary black screen, followed by a 'Film by Night Shyamalan' - I saw nearly the entire audience give you a standing ovation.
Then you made Unbreakable and Signs. Critics weren't too friendly with you, but I still regard them as entertaining films. There are certain moments of redemption in these films that I truly dig in cinema.
Maybe you became too obsessed with trying to be yourself, but The Village was (up until that point) my worst experience at the cinema (maybe you can add the Matrix trilogy as well). I promised myself NEVER to watch your films again. When Lady in the water released, I was living in Singapore and hitting the cinemas every weekend... sometimes twice a week. I chose to give it a pass... and rightly so. A year later, on a lazy Sunday evening, I caught the film on HBO. I was forcing myself to keep on watching despite every grey cell in my brain telling me to switch off and go to bed. When you made your cameo as a blocked-out writer, I had to blow the whistle man.
This year (2008), you visited India. To promote The Happening which was produced by my former employers (1999, UTV). The reviews sucked. My cinephile friend Akshay told me the film suffered an identity crisis. He rated it 2 on 5. I still took my pregnant wife and drove 45 minutes to watch it. It was a waste of my time and money. Just so that you know, I don't make my money the way you do. I work very hard and use my brain a lot. I channelize my talents in such a way that I achieve results both for my employers as well as myself. So, it pains me when you rob me off my earnings and give me a half-baked 'Duh, Whats up Doc' trash that you like to pass of as film-making. It is shocking how people (me included) still go to watch your films. You are surviving on the goodwill you generated back in 1999. So, don't complain if critics and certain audiences are too harsh on you. Don't fret if they compare your early work to your later-day crap. I feel robbed off my money and time. You should have seen the look on the faces of the audience as the film ended. I heard someone mention... 'it shouldn't be a film by Night Shyamalan, it should be called a Documentary by Night Shyamalan.'
A few fear-inducing moments cannot be the only reason one goes to watch a film. For that I rather watch a video of Amy Winehouse on VH1 . Atleast its free. Seriously, the best work you have done in the past two years has to be your special appearance in Season 4 of Entourage.
This time, I promise to keep my word. No more of Night in my life. And I will deter anyone else from watching one too.
Arun
One October night in 1999, I went to watch a film with my new colleagues from UTV. I had just moved to Bombay, and was totally in love with the idea of spending my evenings in Colaba. We took a bus from our office near Powai to Andheri... a train from Andheri to Churchgate and finally a cab from Churchgate to Colaba. Yes, we took a lot of pains to get to that Cinema. My colleagues went in... while I stayed out looking at the 'Next Change' posters. I like this medium a lot.
Back in the hall, munching on my small pack of pop corns, I watched that film with my mouth half open. There were portions of the film that scared me. Till then, the only film I liked with Bruce Willis in it was Pulp Fiction. But this film was good. I mean GOOD.
By the time, I figured Dr. Malcolm Crowe was (infact) dead, it was too late. It was for the first time that I was so sucked in by the story that I missed the obvious give-aways in the narrative. I loved this. That a film-maker could do this in his first film. And when The Sixth Sense ended... there was a momentary black screen, followed by a 'Film by Night Shyamalan' - I saw nearly the entire audience give you a standing ovation.
Then you made Unbreakable and Signs. Critics weren't too friendly with you, but I still regard them as entertaining films. There are certain moments of redemption in these films that I truly dig in cinema.
Maybe you became too obsessed with trying to be yourself, but The Village was (up until that point) my worst experience at the cinema (maybe you can add the Matrix trilogy as well). I promised myself NEVER to watch your films again. When Lady in the water released, I was living in Singapore and hitting the cinemas every weekend... sometimes twice a week. I chose to give it a pass... and rightly so. A year later, on a lazy Sunday evening, I caught the film on HBO. I was forcing myself to keep on watching despite every grey cell in my brain telling me to switch off and go to bed. When you made your cameo as a blocked-out writer, I had to blow the whistle man.
This year (2008), you visited India. To promote The Happening which was produced by my former employers (1999, UTV). The reviews sucked. My cinephile friend Akshay told me the film suffered an identity crisis. He rated it 2 on 5. I still took my pregnant wife and drove 45 minutes to watch it. It was a waste of my time and money. Just so that you know, I don't make my money the way you do. I work very hard and use my brain a lot. I channelize my talents in such a way that I achieve results both for my employers as well as myself. So, it pains me when you rob me off my earnings and give me a half-baked 'Duh, Whats up Doc' trash that you like to pass of as film-making. It is shocking how people (me included) still go to watch your films. You are surviving on the goodwill you generated back in 1999. So, don't complain if critics and certain audiences are too harsh on you. Don't fret if they compare your early work to your later-day crap. I feel robbed off my money and time. You should have seen the look on the faces of the audience as the film ended. I heard someone mention... 'it shouldn't be a film by Night Shyamalan, it should be called a Documentary by Night Shyamalan.'
A few fear-inducing moments cannot be the only reason one goes to watch a film. For that I rather watch a video of Amy Winehouse on VH1 . Atleast its free. Seriously, the best work you have done in the past two years has to be your special appearance in Season 4 of Entourage.
This time, I promise to keep my word. No more of Night in my life. And I will deter anyone else from watching one too.
Arun
posted by Arun Nair at
12:24 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home