Modern office cubicles are defined by strong walls, sound-proof glass doors and hushed conversations. Amidst the reigning modern discipline there are specimens of creative power in the form of the Laughing Buddha, cartoon sketches on walls and casual attires.

Starting from the collar, snake-like curvaceous patterns dominated his shirt-design. My interviewer announced.
“Seven percent”
That’s the average success rate of Hindi films in a year.

Precisely the reason to infuse excellence into the story and the screenplay; avoid copying stories and styles from International cinema; never compromise on quality…

“We need whacky stories, something out of the ordinary, and at the same time the audience must connect with it.”

We need the best scripts. The writer must give the script shape, form and logic; abstruseness can be the negation of logic, but the writer must decide its contours, its colours and its non-logic.

Then the director must translate the words into a visual kaleidoscope; another immortal form but connected in quality with the script; or one with the script, the oneness defined by consistency in quality. Like colours added to a sketch; the sketch being a paradigm of excellence and the added colours being consistent with this excellence.  

The story of the princess and the three men excited the children. Fantasy, flying and fun. Lots of magic. But they slept early. Sure, the princess flew and there were magicians. And the animals were cute. But the story had no soul. The princess was uninspiring. She talked like princesses in all fables were supposed to talk. The three men had a good body and deep-blue eyes but there was nothing more to them. The magician was funny but his jokes were not really required.
The children were young, but not so young.

The interviewer smiled as we shook hands. He seemed good and honest. He is trying to appease the masses and make films that will tickle their senses. Such films are called masala films by journalists. The script is bended and altered in an effort to suit the tastes of the masses. 93 out of 100 attempts to do so have resulted in financial failures.

He will make the film and sell it to the distributors on the promise of a good star-cast and popular music. The exhibitors will face the financial consequences.

Some centuries ago, palaces were considered modern. Strong walls and impeccable decorum. A poet wrote beautiful verses for the king in the palace courtyard. Then he went to the jungle and wrote…
Perhaps I will tell this tale another time.
I entered the elevator and left the citadel.  

A scientist studies some fishes in the Amazon River. After noting their weight, size and food preference, she adjusts her oxygen mask and prepares herself for a few hours of observation. Outside the river, her team sits under a tree. Some reptiles and insects watch the men intently; watch them scratch their head and make some unidentifiable expressions.  At once, the animal kingdom is superior to the men. They exhibit the qualities of patience and observation and are equals to the scientist under water.

The man in white shorts and cotton shirt scratches his neck in boredom. He wishes to have a large fortune so that he can spend his time in the casinos of Las Vegas and expensive hotel rooms. Dr. Amilda Szekely never wanted an expensive and wasteful lifestyle. She was born in a financially comfortable family and never wanted to spend her life collecting money. The man outside, in white shorts, is always inventing ideas to attain money and women. He has failed in his ambition thus far.

Dr. Szekely is waiting for the yellow-gold fishes to come to the spot she is observing. These fishes like to eat together near the shore of the river. The doctor shuts her eyes and starts musing over the art of writing short sentences.

The leaf flutters in the breeze and then stops fluttering. If it fluttered for a long time, then the observer would become disinterested. It is the shortness of its movements that makes the artist watch it carefully. Sentences should be short and sometimes they must be repeated. She remembered a dead writer who is not very popular these days. He wrote simple lines and repeated the imagery in his stories. He was famous when he was alive. Few people read him now. They like action and suspense in every third sentence they read. They want the leaf to flutter for a short time and then break away from the stem and disappear.

The fishes appear. Dr. Szekely smiles.

The fishes stare at the human form and then run away. They appear some time later and start eating. The doctor knows that they are studying her movements. They feel safe around her. Her scientific observations are now artistic.

The fishes eat for some time and then run away; they appear after a few minutes. They are testing the doctor. One fish swims towards the doctor and feels her surface. The other fishes join in this sudden expedition. They retreat and gather again much closer to the doctor. They accept the new body. The doctor wonders if they now want her to eat with them.

After lunch, the doctor steps out of the water. She is satisfied and smiles at the men joyfully. They smile back for carnal reasons. She dries her body with a towel.

Dr. Szekely knows that her job is the same as that of the writer.

The writer sits amongst the Amazon trees and watches the bird flap its wing. He is writing a mythic story about a kingdom. The imaginary king has habits and desires. His queen has an affair with a sentry. She steps out of the room to notice any movement. Then she runs inside the room. She appears some time later to confirm anybody’s presence. She retreats. Then she latches the door.

Drawing: Kartikey Sehgal