The first and the foremost duty of any writer is simple. To tell the truth. Just tell the truth. And I want to begin by telling just that – the truth. The truth about art. Any art. It's, again, simple. Art must touch souls. If what you do doesn't touch your own soul, it not only not an art but also something you should not be doing in the first place. And this is the best thing about life. We know it when we are doing something that is not touching us. But we keep doing it. But not all. Some stop. They just stop. And then they start doing something else. Something that is completely not expected of them. And it is this defining moment that makes lives. And more often than not this defining moment in life begins with this line, if you were a Telugu-speaking dreamer: "Edava janma" ("What an inglorious life I have been leading!"). This I know, although I hardly know anything about Krish – the writer-director of 'Vedam', is the same internal dialogue with his inner voice that made him quit everything he had and had been doing to begin his life anew by moving to film-making. "What an inglorious life I have!" In short, it is highly impossible to create a work of art that touches souls unless the maker of it goes through that defining moment in life. And the best thing about such lives and works of arts is that they go on to make a million more people go through the same defining moment in their lives: "What an inglorious life I am having! ". And in that lies the success of such original creators of works of art that touch souls. And today's film is a testimony to that fact. That Radhakrishna (Krish) is a success. His works come from the people that touched his soul to the people whom it will go on to touch. My hearty congratulations.
Coming to the film, the best thing about it is that it put the true meaning of inspiration in its original place. For decades we have been subjected to the horror of art thieves who used and abused the word 'inspiration' by blatantly copying others' works. And it is the same fear that I went to watch the movie 'Vedam' today. That it could be a copy of "Babel" or "21 Grams" or even closer "Crash". And I thanked all the gods and quietly patted Krish's back in my own mind that it was not what I feared it was. I am sure, as he himself would admit, if asked, that the germ of the idea for the such a story came while watching "Crash" but that's where all comparisons end. Not a single element was taken from any other movie. It is the soul of the filmmaker that was touched by all these wonderful films that responded to create his own original work that could touch a million more people in the same way. And that is the pristine definition of the word 'inspiration'. A candle lighting other candles. And Krish's film is one such candle that was lit by a few beautiful candles that in turn is now lighting many more candles.
There are many successful filmmakers in this world and in our own industry. Many offer many different things through their films that we all enjoy watching. At the end of the day I know what comes to me to my bed and into my dreams is not that film that made me happy or sad or excited about or ambitious but that movie that touched my inner most soul and made me want to be a better person. Not many successful filmmakers indulge themselves in making such soul-stirring tales. Not because they don't like doing them but simply because they can't. Not all can. It requires to be human, it requires to be sensitive to pain, it requires to go through pain and not hate the source of pain to acquire that humanist attitude towards life, people and in the way one likes to live life. Unless you are such a humanist, you can't create a good humanist drama. You have to, like Gandhi said, live the life that you want to preach. Only a few filmmakers belong to that school: Alejandro González Iñárritu (Amores Perros/21 Grams/Babel), Roberto Benigini (Life is Beautiful), Sam Mendes (American Beauty/Revolutionary Road), Prakash Jha back at home (Apaharan/Gangajal/Raajneeti), Anurag Basu (Life in a Metro) and a few others. And I am proud to state that we have a humanist born in our own Telugu film industry who understands the universal nature of human emotions and responds to them with affection. And that his name is Radhakrishna. To Radhakrishna. To Krish.
SUBHAKAR.COM
Coming to the film, the best thing about it is that it put the true meaning of inspiration in its original place. For decades we have been subjected to the horror of art thieves who used and abused the word 'inspiration' by blatantly copying others' works. And it is the same fear that I went to watch the movie 'Vedam' today. That it could be a copy of "Babel" or "21 Grams" or even closer "Crash". And I thanked all the gods and quietly patted Krish's back in my own mind that it was not what I feared it was. I am sure, as he himself would admit, if asked, that the germ of the idea for the such a story came while watching "Crash" but that's where all comparisons end. Not a single element was taken from any other movie. It is the soul of the filmmaker that was touched by all these wonderful films that responded to create his own original work that could touch a million more people in the same way. And that is the pristine definition of the word 'inspiration'. A candle lighting other candles. And Krish's film is one such candle that was lit by a few beautiful candles that in turn is now lighting many more candles.
There are many successful filmmakers in this world and in our own industry. Many offer many different things through their films that we all enjoy watching. At the end of the day I know what comes to me to my bed and into my dreams is not that film that made me happy or sad or excited about or ambitious but that movie that touched my inner most soul and made me want to be a better person. Not many successful filmmakers indulge themselves in making such soul-stirring tales. Not because they don't like doing them but simply because they can't. Not all can. It requires to be human, it requires to be sensitive to pain, it requires to go through pain and not hate the source of pain to acquire that humanist attitude towards life, people and in the way one likes to live life. Unless you are such a humanist, you can't create a good humanist drama. You have to, like Gandhi said, live the life that you want to preach. Only a few filmmakers belong to that school: Alejandro González Iñárritu (Amores Perros/21 Grams/Babel), Roberto Benigini (Life is Beautiful), Sam Mendes (American Beauty/Revolutionary Road), Prakash Jha back at home (Apaharan/Gangajal/Raajneeti), Anurag Basu (Life in a Metro) and a few others. And I am proud to state that we have a humanist born in our own Telugu film industry who understands the universal nature of human emotions and responds to them with affection. And that his name is Radhakrishna. To Radhakrishna. To Krish.
SUBHAKAR.COM