Yes it’s correct. The name will never be -English, August II- but more likely *Mammaries of the Welfare State.*
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English, August II anyone?
Here’s a question to readers of this weblog.
Would any of you be interested in seeing a sequel of sorts to the story of Agastya “August” Sen?
Upamanyu and I have been toying with the idea of adapting his novel Mammaries of the Welfare State which follows August in his new journey. I just loved the humor in this book. Of the “rare” and “raw” kind rarely seen on film.
If we get a positive response (and of course some cash ;-) then you could see another movie.
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English, August DVD update
Work on the English, August DVD is now nearing completion.
Sound Designer P.M. Satheesh hunted down the original Digital tapes and has painstakingly built up the entire sound track from scratch. P.M. Satheesh calls it a ‘labour of love, for a movie which began the next generation of Indian cinema.’
The original location audio was recorded in digital stereo by the sound guru Vikram Joglekar. Vikram recorded the entire film in sync sound and English, August became the first Indian film to do this in a long long while after the 50’s. Vikram who is a master Dhrupad singer, head of Dolby Labs in Italy and a complete tech head is fondly called The Don. His knowledge of cinema sound and Indian classical music is legendary.
The original negative of the film is being mastered frame by frame on an ITK telecine at Famous Laboratories in Bombay under the supervision of Director of Photography Jogendra ‘Jean-Luc’ Panda.
The Director’s Cut of the film will be shorter than the theatrical version. Currently in production, the DVD will have a new Dolby Digital soundtrack. The DVD will also be made from the original 35mm negative in a widescreen edition enhanced for television and will include scenes screened once during its Toronto 1994 premiere and subsequently deleted from theatrical release — scenes never before featured in the film.
The DVD release will also feature additional music and a re-mixed soundtrack by Uday Benegal and Jayesh Gandhi of the group Alms for Shanti. The 35mm theatrical version to be released will then conform to this new edition.
We’ve been getting a lot of mail asking about DVD’s of English, August and Split Wide Open. I agree it’s been a long wait but hopefully not too long.
I just got a sample of the DVD’s for approval. I’m hoping that these should be out soon. I’ll be posting a technical note on these in the future as a lot has gone into making them.
18 years later English, August will be finally published in North America by New York Review Books in 2006. We are looking to release the DVD (NTSC and region free) sometime then on Amazon, Netflix and soon as a download as well.
My search for a compact camera ends…
Here’s the entire tale from analog to digital.
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Calligraphy
One of my passions is Calligraphy. The legendary cameraman Subrata Mitra sent me two calligraphy pens he got hand made for me at the Calcutta Book Fair. They have a dual nib and are handcrafted. We were both obsessed about broad nibs. the broader the better!
They are fairly basic, don’t have a cartridge, you either fill the back with ink and pray that it doesn’t spill or dip the nibs in a bowl of ink.
They write beautifully and are inexpensive. Or at-least when Subrata-da got them made for me.
Well now they are priceless.
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emotional toolbox
Laurie Hutzler (professor of screenwriting at UCLA and a world renowned screenplay consultant- www.emotionaltoolbox.com) was one of our advisors at the eQuinoxe Workshop. All my fellow participants were raving about her sessions. Laurie wasn’t one of my assigned advisors and hearing what the others had to say I told her I was feeling ‘left out!’
I did get to meet her a few days ago in London. We had a wonderful coffee and a relaxed chat in Soho, where we spoke about the ways of writing screenplays and the narrative traditions of Indian cinema.
Just before we were leaving she asked me if I had time and would I like to do a small bit of her session in eQuinoxe. I jumped at it and what followed was amazing. Laurie has a way of looking at your character by exploring the writers self. All I can say was it worked for me.
My first question after we finished was if she was writing a book. I’m happy to let you know that she is. I’ve booked my advance copy!
In the meanwhile please do visit Laurie’s website www.emotionaltoolbox.com
For me it was truly emotional!
Back in Paris after two years! And the city still looks stunning and now it also has Wee Fee.
The writers lab has been intense. I’ve not had a moment to blog but have been making some notes. Stay posted for details.
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Sneh Sanyal
The feisty English teacher who was head of the English department at Delhi Public School, Mathura Road and the spirit behind the famous painter B.C. Sanyal, passed away this morning at 11am at her Nizamuddin residence in New Delhi.
Amma as she was fondly called loved a good read and a good discussion. Passionate about Punjabi theatre, literature, politics and ofcourse the world of art she was the beacon of her family.
My memory of her will always be one of her teaching me grammar; the small green edition of Wren and Martin in one hand while at the same time trying to bake some new exotic bread.
Food and Grammar; what a mix!
The last six months were painful. She had weak hearing and then was struck by a partial paralysis on her left side. Her memory was failing her and the last time I met her I’m not sure she knew who I was.
Her daughter Amba Sanyal, my cousin was one of the few with whom she spoke to till the very end.
For the family, it’s really the slow closing in of an era.
I took this photograph a few weeks ago, when she was still able to speak.
The portrait of hers is by her daughter Amba on the left of this photograph.
