Media Meet 2016 Newsletter

Breaking the 4th Wall - A National Conference on Cinema - Special EditionPublished by the Department of Media Studies, Christ University, Bengaluru | August 2016 | Private Circulation onlyThe man who lit the youthful at the right time. It is all about good movies, where they are all engineer- heart with mistletoe’s and mer- communication, where you need your ing students. Why is that? Does draw- riment, the friend that offers education and you need your quick ing from your life add a differentlight to your worries, the director who wits and skills. texture to the character?let loose of your emotions in pain andthrilling happiness, he is Gautham- You have a Malayali connect in your The reason why I portrayed engineer-Menon for you. The creator that sways life and is that from where we got ing students is to encourage them toevery heart to “Ava peru Jessie, Jessie. Jessie? And do you associate yourself choose a career that they love. It isAva than iruka en valzkaila”. Meeting as a Tamil? good to study engineering, but it isthis man of great personality anddecorum was as good seeing all his also important to followmovies all in a glimpse. He sits on the your passion. Writing outcouch, very jovial and humble and instances from my life isthen we begin. the only way that I know to project a cinema. It is per-A little research and a lot of calls have sonal and it definitely addsrevealed to us that we are now sitting a colour to the character asin front of the calm and serene Gau- it is drawn from this per-tham Menon, who does not flinch sonal space.from hurdles. How is it possible tokeep this level of composure during In the making of ‘Vin-the chaotic madness, around you? naithandi Varuvaya’ why did you choose this partic-Smiling at the mention of his stars, he ular cast?says “I think I am conditioned to belike that, and it starts from a very “Writing out instances Trisha was always my op-young age” Things are bound to go from my life is the only way tion and I wanted to pairwrong and so why fight it, it seems I know to project a cinema” her with a new comer , butmore logical to stay calm and com- because of the big budgetposed during an obstacle in order to necessary for the film I hadtackle it well. My guru, Rajiv Menon, to go with Simbu, throughunder whom I worked as an assistant whom we would get moredirector often lost his cool during the investors. When I met himseveral shoots and this sudden erup- I liked the way he ap-tion often caused chaos in the set, proached the movie.therefore there was an ingrained needto make sure that when my turn I was born and brought up in Tamil What inspires you to pushcomes, I will opt for the high way to Nadu, but my father is from Kerala yourself ever morning intodeal with crisis. and time and again I have visited Ker- that creative process? ala and I love the culture and theirA lot is said about the industry and food. And so, I would never consider There are days when I sleep at 3 in thethere are a lot of internal and external myself as a Tamil or a Malayali, I am morning, but I have this compulsion toviewpoints, what is your take on that? Indian and that’s about it.Well, Jessie always wake up and pull myself up at was actually a girl who lived upstairs, 6 in the morning. If I don’t do so, aUntil you’re in the industry you cannot but the love story that was brought out sense of lethargy takes over the rest oflearn anything about it. Then again it’s in the film did not happen to me, I my day and it feels very unpleasant.not as lucrative as they say it is. This is used my role as a filmmaker to express For this reason and this compulsion tofantasized as a place where dreams certain instances in a dramatic and preform creatively is what inspires me.come true, which is not true. Dreams aesthetic way.do take shape but it is like another in- A remarkable filmmaker with an evendustry where you struggle to pursue Most of your movies are autobio- wonderful heart shared his experi-your goals and also it is also about luck graphical in nature, taking the in- ences and we saw nuances of Gauthamwhere you need to be at the right place stance of Rajesh or Karthik from your Menon the friend, the father and film- maker who are all equally spectacular. Diya Maria Joseph

Media Meet 2016 ing speech which shook the audience Media Studies Department Padma to their very core with beautiful quotes Kumar defined cinema as sheet enter-As quoted and legendarily ac- which left us pondering on the fact tainment based on the mass audience knowledged “Cinema is the about our existence in Christ and the view point. Aditya Mittal, one of the most beautiful fraud in theworld and all the actors are mere sin- With a Dash of Goldners in this charade”. Media Meet2016’s sole aim was to break the fourth embodiment of rules student coordinators further spokewall, the imaginary wall, the main wall and regulations. He fac- about Film Festival and Workshopswhich is the wall of cinema. But the tually stated that that took place prior to the big event.revelation of this beautiful fraud to the “Media Meet trains and nurtures you for the The Media Meet isn’t just an amalga-entire world was done with great cau- next sixty years”. It mation of concepts regarding films buttious dissection and surveillance by moulds you to face for is the blood and sweat of the entirethe department of Media Studies. The the panel of hardships Media Department. It is baby whichMeet began with the meeting of a large in the offing of life. has been nurtured since the past 7heterogeneous crowd from across the There is no absolute years and the anticipation of it beingcampus whose sole aim was to enjoy truth but the constant bigger and heightened is the ideologythe meaning of cinema. The inaugural quest is on, the quest to and the stalwart of the department.ceremony was held on the 4th August reach that point; is With beaming eyes of hope and broad-2016 in the Auditorium of the 4th when the shattering of ened shoulders of responsibility weblock pouring in with a crowd rejuve- the walls happens. He march hand in hand in making thenated with zeal, zest and gusto. further spoke about privations that Media Meet the optimum eminenceThe commemoration of the Media people face and how these people who for all.Meet began with the lighting of the have witnessed the ground realitieslamp whose pious effect did engulf the are whirling the world upside down Prannay & Sarahentire aura with knowledge and conse- with their goldencration with soothing background achievements evenmusic by the music group. After which though they be-the Vice Chancellor Rev. Dr. Father longed to the mostThomas C Mathews gave an invigorat- impoverished coun- ties of the world. He indicated that if we dig deeper there can be a diamond and that diamond is us. With the most strik- ing line “With such limited resources, you can achieve unlimited things” he terminated his speech and left all of us awe. Moving on, the Head of the

This Media Meet 2016, that was Media Meet 2016 themed on Cinema, saw re- search papers coming in from Paper Presentation - Session 1all over the country. Once of the firstpaper presentation panels started off search paper on ‘Food as Symbolic how much it is spoken by the audiencewith an environment filled with antic- Capital in Salt n Pepper and Usthad after the movie. The second presenteripation among both the audience and Hotel’ by Arya Aiyappan. She explores had given a gist of Incorporation of In-prepared presenters. This panel was the idea of symbolic languages- where dian Dances where she gently con-held within the campus of Christ Uni- a food item is used to transcend the cluded on the lines of originality andversity, Bangalore on the 4th of August idea of a particular region through au- heritage which she believed could give2016.The schedule was divided into diovisual communication. Anupama tradition to a greater reach.three sessions where each included Nayar, was the next presenter, who fo- The fourth panel had Pradeep Thomaseight panels which further had three cused on the topic of ‘Exorcising the as moderator for this session, who ispresenters per panel. female rebellion through Manichitrat- presently working on Media Impact on Public Institutions. It had three pre-The first set of Paper Presentation for hazhu’. The presenter etched out the senters where the first presenter wasMedia Meet 2016 took place at the female character in the movie that Eesha Saini with her paper onfourth block. The discussion included stays passive throughout the movie, “Retelling the Myth in Sujoy Ghosh’sthree paper presentations, which were but plays a very important role. The short film Ahalya” followed by “Manikmoderated by Professor Naresh Rao, third presenter was Blessy Issac and Raitong: Transmitting from Oral tofaculty of Media StudiesDepartment of she presented the paper titled ‘The Film” by Etawanda Saiborne. The pre-Christ University. Performative Widow- Art as senter started off with the detailed ex- a manifestation of a widow’s planation of the movie which includedThe presentations commenced with a desire in Parinayam’. She the past that lead to the making ofresearch paper on ‘Invoking National- gave a rather insightful un- Manik Raitong. She generalized theism and Exploring truth in the biopic: derstanding of the patriar- concept of the movie by saying “A tra-A close reading on Bhaag Milkha chal society and the way in ditional, episodic, localized and his-Bhaag (2013)’ by Aghil P Komban. He which despite the strong- toricized narrative of past events toldexplored the changing trends of In- holds in a widow’s life she to us in sensitive touchy manner”.dian cinema through the sudden in- attains freedom through art. Fatema Diwanon “Disempowering thecrease of memoirs. He stated this as an The moderator of the event women through Angry Indian God-act of ‘life writing’. Films like Bhaag Mr. Elangova, gave insight- desses.” on the other hand, spoke a lotMilkha Bhaag create a sense of nation- ful thoughts, and the emcee on the concept of homosexuality andalism among the masses by metaphor- for the session was Sahiba how it is being used as a weapon toically portraying the fight of the Cuccuria. disempower women in mainstreamprotagonist to be the fight of the coun- The third panel had Christal Velda cinema and spoken entirely on thetry itself. When Director Rakeysh Om Mitzie’s research on “Role of Humor in context of the movie “Angry IndianPrakash created this movie he aimed Portrayal of Social Issues in Raj Goddesses.” As per norm, the moder-in portraying the two sides to Milkha Kumar Hirani Films” as well as the ator’s role was to suggest and furtherSingh, one of the army cadet and the “Usage of Indian Dances in Indianother, of the athlete. The second pre- Cinema” by S Marie Stella. The first elaborate on things to be kept in mindsenters were Aditya B Rao and Archie presenter had shared the knowledge for future research projects.Arora who presented on ‘The Future of through four films of Hirani which Panel five had three presenters whoTelevision Viewing’. Through their were Munna Bhai, Lage RahoMunna were moderated by Omprakash. Thepaper they aimed at tackling the ques- Bhai, 3 Idiots and PK. She spoke about presentation domed topics rangingtions of the changing pattern in televi- how humor improves memory and from Cinema and Politics to the reignsion viewing and the ways in which of Shakespeare drawing a parallelismone must gear up to tackle the same. with the current cinematic scenario.The third paper was presented by Shedding light on the everlasting af-Annie Swetha, who explored the ‘De- fection between the Malayalam filmpiction of inherent class hierarchy inKanjivaram silk sarees through themovie ‘Kanjivaram’.The moderator gave very enlighteningthoughts on the papers and also gaveaway the certificates to the presenters,while Srilaxmi Madhusudan was theemcee for the session.The second panel comprised of threepaper presentations, which were mod-erated by Mr. Elangovan, an associateprofessor at the Department of Man-agement Studies, Christ University.The presentations began with a re-

Media Meet 2016 entered with a completely perplexed for PK: Analysing religion, god and mind. identity through the character of PK’,industry and Kerala’s political sce- The panel seven was moderated by it explores the gradations of the film’snario and the analysis of the vigorous Kannan S, a faculty of the Media stud- characterfriction between the two when it ies department, while Ankita Singhcomes to electoral politics, with special was the emcee for the session. There were three presenters for panelreference to the general elections held 8, who were moderated by Shan-to the fourteenth Kerala legislative as- The papers presented sought different tharaju, a faculty of the Media Studiessembly on 16 May 2016 to ever dear aspects of film and broadcast mediamovies like Maqbool, Omkara and respectively. One paper titled, ‘Need Department. The presenta-Haider. Indulging into the beauty for Censorship of TV serials in India’, tions started off with Kritkaof literation and amalgamating it presented by Kaluvoya Anitha ex- Ojha, presenting the paper,with the beat of cinema, has plored the censorship aspect of Indian ‘Characterisation of Women insprung theatre back to life and to telefilm industry. K Divya and Hindi Film Adaptations of Se-ever door step. ‘The theatre’- ‘the Rosemol, presented their research lect Shakespearean Tragedies’.screen’ work on the ‘Portrayal of women in The paper makes an attempt to national award winning Hindi films’. connect films with classic liter-‘the Shakespearean’ – ‘the Indian’ Their study included a case study of ary texts. The second presenta-is what one of the paper presenta- the films Piku and Tanu Weds Manu tion was titled ‘Womention started off with, like a beam of Returns. The final paper presentation Filmmakers and their way ofidea shooting at an enchanted was by Keerthi Sudhakar, titled, ‘Path Making Cinema’- presented bybatch of students. Bring into the Kritika Chowdhury- exploreslayman’s notice and reading be- the predominantly male dominatedtween the lines by scrabbling out cer- arena of direction. The final presenta-tain themes such as the supernatural tion was by Louis Bernard, testing theelements in the movie such as- how ‘Influence of dance reality shows onpower and politics go hand in hand Indian Cinema’. It orients with con-and the huge debatable concept like cepts such as choreography, cine-“Race” illustrating examples from matography, award shows and theShakespeare’s finest plays- Hamlet, likes.Othello and Macbeth. The moderator gave valuable insightsWith a land to be tilled and a mind on the papers presented, and gave offwithout inhibitions these presenters the certificates to all the presenters.put forward their research in such a Amrutha Nair was the emcee for thefashionable way, which indeed ignited session.fire in the minds of those students whoA‘Mount’ Union Voice of non of film du- movies he took to show the replication Dr Ivory Lyons of Godfather’s authority were Angel- plication. “Cin- ica-Bob Father and 2016 American ema is all about movie Zootopia. Both movies, he said, listening, watch- have used the Palm Kissing Scene ex- tracted from the movie, ‘Godfather.’ ing and talking,” The second batch movies he broughtDr. Ivory Lyons is a Professor of Phi- began Dr. Lyons. He made the talk into focus included the 70s hit ‘Star Wars.’ His fondness for this sciencelosophy and Religious Studies at the very intriguing with his insight and fiction series is unconditional and re- verberated in his tone of speech. HeUniversity of Mount Union and an As- analysis on cinema which clearly res- did not just drop in random informa- tion about the series but spoke of oftensociate Professor for the Department onated his passion for the same. unrecognized elements within the se- ries – things that we, even as regularof Media Studies, Christ University, movie goers fail to interpret. “The movies that have used the Star WarsBengaluru. As part of the department’s series as a referral took not the dia- logues or making but the instead theannual national level seminar titled, dignity it carried in its concept,” he quoted. Some of the movies that have‘Media Meet: Cinema – Breaking the used Star Wars were Indiana Jones, Apocalypse Now, The Raiders of thefourth wall,’ Professor Ivory Lyons Lost Ark, Independence Day and Mar- vel. He concluded his session with,held a plenary session with a rather “Cinema is human which means that it is alive, joy and pain.”curious audience on Friday, the 5th of Prannay KumarAugust, 2016. During this session, Dr.Ivory Lyons spoke extensively on ‘Im-pact of Cinema on Cinema’ that left theaudience spellbound.As young media enthusiasts, we are He referenced to some rather famousconstantly debating if cinema truly has and universally appreciated and recog-an impact as much as we think it does. nized movies like ‘Godfather’ and ‘StarOr is it merely an illusion? Does cin- Wars.’ He visually demonstrated howema have an impact on society too? the essence of these two movies wereDoes one movie really affect the other? copied and used in the other movies,These were a couple questions that since the time of their inception. Afterwere brought into focus during the all, brilliance never fades. The twoplenary session. That addressed, Dr.Lyons also spoke about the phenome-

From an awestruck child who sat ‘Tamaash,’ his first short film written, Media Meet 2016 in theatres gaping at the moving produced, and directed by him, in col- characters on screen- at how laboration with his brother Satyanshu Ijaazat was born.”deftly cinema tugged one’s heart- Singh, was screened in two interna-strings- to the grown up man who now tional film festivals and bagged around Talking about the bond him and hissits behind the camera, cinema is 12 awards at both national and inter- brother, Satyanshu Singh, an armymore than just a forte in Devanshu national arenas. ‘Ishq Ki Ijaazat’, a doctor turned writer-director share, heSingh’s bonnet. The National Award says, “Would you believe if I said thatwinning filmmaker has now eased into my brother and I never fought? Butthe trick of making an impression onthe theatregoers via his film direction. It was all passed down to me“It was all passed down to me from my from my forefathers...forefathers. Thoughone of my grand- -Devanshu Singhfather’s was an allopathic doctor byprofession, he was passionate about film poem which later turned into a that is the fact. I might sound criticaltheatre, poetry and writing lyrics; on campaign for spreading awareness when I say I am impatient, fickle-the other hand, my paternal grandfa- about the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisex- minded and scattered; but my brotherther had a good sense of music, he also ual and Transgender) community,not is just the opposite. He’s very loving,read out Indian mythology and scrip- only grabbed the attention of the na- and understands me in and out. Wetures to us every day. In addition to tion,but was also backed up by often pitch in ides, discuss them, andthis, my mum was a cinephile! She celebrity power and support. Talking give it a form; we do everything possi-used to take us (him and his brother) about this, he says, “Well, Tamaash is ble to bring the best out of it. Luckyto the theatre often. As you can see, allof this clearly played an important role a Kashmiri short film, whose plot is me!” exclaims a delightful De-in moulding my interests, and ignited based in Kashmir. It narrates the story vanshu. of Anzar- a young boy who faces irra-my passion towards film making,” says tional wrath from his parents and Since cinema is an amalgama-Devanshu Singh. peers for not performing well academ- tion of both video and audio itWhen asked about what it takes to be ically. The film fetched us a lot of ap- can prove to be powerful if useda good director, he says that it is im- preciation and awards.” Not only this, effectively. He says, “I couldportant for a director to never settle or the National award-winning film is a have chosen to write a poem, ornestle in any comfort zones. The very critically acclaimed artwork, and in- a novel or a full-fledged article tomoment you think you have learned vited much popularity and recognition convey what I wanted to. But theabout direction- you go wrong. “I re- to the filmmaker, thus selling him like reason for using this medium is,member reading that film making is hotcake. On a similar note, comment- it is a powerful combination ofthe most difficult profession in the ing on his second movie, he emotion- audio and video-and it caters toworld after that of fighter pilots and ally envisages, “When both love and a large audience. Who would notsuicide bombers. You must be foolish; religion fall under the umbrella term want to make use of it?”you ought to be famished with the faith- why do we need a dictum of dosyearning to learn. There are both good and don’ts? While this questionkept Although he tumbled upon a fewmovies and bad movies- the latter are striking our morale, the movie, Ishq Ki obstacles that came his way inborn only when you are overtly full of the initial stages of his journeyyourself.” as a film maker, it is his determi- nation that laid unrest deep within him,and kept him going without losing all hope. “Few of my short films that came prior to ‘Tamaash’ failed and that is the most fruitful phase in my life. On the one hand, my family was almost bankrupt; on the other hand-my films were not up to the mark. It wasn’t easy, I swear! But I’m glad I went through them, be- cause it made me learn a lot.I identi- fied the lacuna, rectified my mistakes and came back with a much stronger perseverance.” says Mr. Singh as his eyes softened. “Discover what your passion lies in, work against all the odds that come, and make sure you conquer it,” he concludes. Indu Shree

Media Meet 2016 beginning well with middle and the worth it. We were made to compre- end.” hend how Throne of Blood is differentAs the Sunday dawned sunny from Macbeth despite the former and bracing, a number of stu- Apart from developing stories, there being an adaptation of the later, in dents, across the city turned were activities acclimatised to give the Japanese. We were also attuned tointo authors, and launched themselves low-down of intricate details of plot analyse the influence that culture andon the pursuit of stitching a plot. Thus, and character designing. It also en- time had on the movies,” says Niveditaborn were the characters unfurling avague plot. In the twinkling of an eye, A V, a post gradua-the plot became glaring and then tion student fromtwitched, turned and blended genres Christ Universityof romance, war and tragedy into one. who attended theStanding with a circle of students workshop to widen“There lived a young Prince,” said her horizons aboutUmesh P N, before he tossed a yellow the script writing.ball at a student to develop on the line, Expressing his de-and thus the ball gets rolled, the lines light about the ar-turn into a love story, and finally cul- dour with whichminates into a tragedy. participants dis- cussed, debated dis-This is simply a snippet of an activity covered and learnedfrom the scriptwriting workshop con- the importance ofducted as a part of Media Meet 2016- variegated tools ofBreaking the 4th Wall, which is an scripts, “I am pleased with the enthu- siasm these youngsters have for script-From Script to Screen. ing. The industry needs more of such Media Meet is On! people who take this profession seri- ously and passionately. Out of the stu-international level seminar on cinema tailed screening of ‘Throne of Blood’, a dents I taught, I will be glad if at leastorganised by the Department of Media five come up to me with scripts orStudies on 3rd July, in the main cam- Japanese adaptation of Macbeth and screenplays,” says Umesh. “Studentspus. Umesh P N, an Electrical Engi- analysing how distinct it is from the have that potential in abundance, theyneer turned scriptwriter, theatre artist original Macbeth.“Spending a week-and pen man of the book, “The Boy end at the workshop was entirely just have to realise it,” he adds.and The Drum” was the pedagogy for The workshop recorded around 45the workshop. registrations out of which 39 turned up. The whole idea of organising theseTalking about the workshop, Himan-shu Reddy, a second PU student from workshops prior to MediaJain College and one of the partici- Meet stems from its taglinepants says, “The vital part of the work- “From Script to Screen”. Theshop is that it made us put our workshop that has kicked offthinking caps on. He (Umesh) put with script writing will beacross an idea for us to transform it stretched to direction, actinginto a story, and the stories that were and such other things.pitched in by the participants were in- Indu Shreeteresting and unique from one an-other. It also enabled us to employtechniques which could connect the

Deepu is a known figure in Media Meet 2016 the movie industry. He works along with the ‘Pedepics Pro- stand this language, we must know the duction’ and is highly re- rules of the art that enables us to push garded for his work the through the restrictions of art itself. ‘Invisible Faces’ and his work After spelling out the various elements with the ‘Adivasi Gothra of direction, he took on the most im- Maha Sabha’ in Kerala. portant task, which is understanding the character, and the importance of Throwing words and ges- each scene in a movie. Using the movie tures at the audience, Mr. ‘Notorious’ as his base, Mr. Deepu studied the nature of the characters, the story that lies within each of these The Art of DirectionAdramatic entry never fails to Deepu seemed to capture the characters and the emotions that impress the audience. A direc- audience through Hitch- pushes them to perform the way they tor explores ways to impress cock’s philosophy and intri- do. He does so by asking questionsand engage his audience, and Mr. cately embeded the idea of a such as, “What does the characterDeepu was nothing but engaging. Mr. director’s role as storyteller, think of himself?”, “How does the in the minds of the audience. other characters perceive this particu- Being a powerful storyteller lar character” and finally “What does himself, Deepu explores the the writer think of the character?”. technicalities of the camera Through these engaging and powerful and the internal intricacies questions he encouraged the audience that lie within a character. to take a leap forward towards under- Being a proficient cine- standing of every speck of their cre- matographer with years of ation. He portrays the character in experience by his side, he has itself to be a dynamic self with various no inhibitions, whatsoever to nuances in his walk and leap. It is explain his ideas through the through this step-by-step analysis that most personal anecdotes. we were taken into the depths of cine- matography and the in-depth under- He says, “Direction is a language that standing of Direction. meets with another language, and it is through this that we must try to im- Diya Maria Joseph press the audience”. Hence to under- Reporters Editors Photographers Team Head Indu Shree Nikita Kumar Shroff Tejas N K Siddhanth N K Sarah JamesDiya Maria Joseph Nikitha Garapati Pratibha Dixit Lecturer in charge Prannay Kumar Sushakya Paul Suparna Naresh Behalya Naidu Anirudh Chaganty Roopal Shetty The Team Media Meet 2016

Media Meet 2016 Coming towards the culmination, no Theatre workshop could ever endAs Sunday donned the theatrical without the invocation of Bharata mask, with its bright lit face Muni, the Lord/Guru of the Navarasa sprinkling rays of potential on required for acting. Through his finalthe tender buds; young dynamic ac- activity of individual boxes, he madetors were born. With a dash of inhibi- the students to experience the ninetions and oodles of expectations theseactors have embarked into a journey One stepand delved into the world where an closer to the chairactor is considered to be a fool for God.“An actor should have Pride and this rasas- Shringar(Erotic), Hasya (Hu-Pride should be carried with energy, morous),Karuna (Pathetic)Raudraawareness and knowledge but not ego” (Terrible), Veera (Heroic), Bhayanakawas the first mainstay setup by the (Fearful), Bibhatsa (Odious),chief of the acting workshop Rajesh P, Adbhuta (Wonderous), Shantawho is a theatre trainer and film actor. (Peaceful). All the actors who inHis theatre footing started off in 1993. the commencement stood polesHe co-founded ‘Script Peoples The- apart from each other were nowatre’ in 1995 and has acted in and di- standing shoulder to shoulder,rected numerous plays apart from supporting their fellow actortraining hundreds of people in the nu- and revitalizing their theatre ba-ances of acting. sics. With zeal, zest and fervour these 33 students through theThe workshop on Cinema was steered platform of Media Meet wereas a part of Media Meet organized by able to reach one step closer tothe Department of Media Studies on the chair.the 17th of July at the Second Block, Sarah Jamesthird floor where the Fourth Wall WasBroken and acting rejuvenated. Thechair! As an epitome of experience wasset up in the centre of the room, whereeach passing session was one stepcloser into the theatre world and ;onestep closer to excellence. With the tri-colour on their shoulder, these ama-teur actors stood majesticallyrepresenting each state they belongedto delicately woven into a tapestry ofIndian-ness. The ABCs of acting wereso skillfully incorporated into theminds of these students through a hostof activities which they would neverdisremember. They were educated toexplore their space, believe in them-selves and let go off all inhibitions. Ra-jesh P stated that “acting doesn’tinvolve any logic; it is instinctual as anactor should never feel like he is act-ing”. There is certain madness, not achaotic but a method madness whichhas to be injected into the minds of theyoung actors, so as to appeal to thesentiments of their audience. Comingout of one’s shelled comfort zone wasanother ground-breaking method setup by Rajesh P. He moulded the stu-dents to take the shape of certain al-phabets and made them believe thateach alphabet could have an emotion,be it a Blissful R or a Rapt O. “Themark of a true actor is when he makeshis fellow actors look great along withthe rudiments of jauntiness, attitude,belief, focus and magnetism” was whathe quoted during his interview.

Media Meet 2016With a click and a flash, the with the University. in detail about cost, technicalities, much awaited workshop on quality, modes and camera operation, photography and editing The workshop began with an ice- among others.took place this month as a pre-seminar breaker session wherein participantsevent of Media Meet. Nikhil Pai, a stu- were allowed to get familiar with the The purpose of the workshop was pri-dent volunteer for the event, begun the guest and their environment. In this marily to aid students in understand-workshop with an introductory speech manner, the speaker also had a ing the works of photography andabout Media Meet and further con- glimpse into the cultural background video editing – two very crucial skillscluded by welcoming participants to of the students participating. The for every budding media entrepre-the last session of workshops speaker even presented a video that he neur. He spoke in detail about thebeing organized for themonth. This workshop was LookianngdtthhreouagrthotfheedLiteinngsconducted on the 24th of July,2016.The man instructing this tech-nical workshop on Photogra-phy begun on a cheerful noteand stated his role in the Uni-versity as a technical officialin the Center for Concept De-sign (CCD). Binny V., who works as a worked on during his freelancing days. handling of camera and the differencevideographer had obtained a diploma The video projects the originality of an between various operators. Though,in the Electronics field in his earlier amateur videographer budding into a very few participants could respond todays. It has been fifteen certain years professional artist through years of ex- the topics such as focusing intricaciessince he stepped into the fascinating perience and hard work. The discus- and white balance technicalities.world of the visual media and three sion got interesting when the group of The second half of the workshop con-years since he has been associated students along with the speaker spoke tinued with discussions pertaining the Hindi movie, ‘Taare Zameen Par’ to elaborate on the concepts of colour and contrast. Furthermore, the work- shop also elaborated on concepts of high definition, recording, audio/video inputs, lights and cables. The students even had an introduction to the working of Adobe Premier Pro. The workshop was attended by over thirty five participants and was met with an overall positive feedback. Par- ticipants were even given a certificate of completion and even enthused to attend the upcoming two-day national seminar of the Department of Media Studies. Prannay Kumar

Media Meet 2016The second session of Paper Pre- parison with the ing a variety sentations for Media Meet 2016 initial portrayal of of different took place on 4th of August women in Malay- topics and2016 at the fourth block. The discus- alam cinema. The come up withsion included three paper presenta- emcee for the ses- some very in-tions, which were moderated by sion was Sahiba terestingEtawanda Saiborne who is an assistant Cuccuria. questions.professor in the Department of Media The sessionStudies, St.Antony College, Shillong. The moderator for concluded byThe presentations commenced with a the panel 3 was Dr appreciatingresearch paper on ‘Cinema and Law’by Manjula RS. She conducted a com- Rajesh A, Assistant the presen-parative study of cinema and law andhow the two subjects are interdiscipli- Professor, Depart- ters with cer-nary in nature. The second paper pre-sented was ‘A Study of Adaptation in ment of Media tificates.Grimm’s Rapunzel and Disney’s Tan-gled’ by Miruthulavarshini P. She pro- Studies, Christ Uni- Panel 4vided a comparative understanding ofthe two versions with focus on the versity. This panel lasted for ancharacters of Flynn and Rapunzel. Thethird presenter was Mridhula Ravi of presenters in- hour and waswith her paper titled ‘Portrayal of Racein Disney Films’ which yet again ex- cluded: Nidhi moderated Khatana on “Repre- by Ms.Tessy sentation of Homo- Jacob, an Ac- sexuality in Hindi Mainstream countant and Cinema”, “Water Crises through Cine Public Relations Officer at St Arnolds Politics” by Padmakumar M M and R School, Odisha. The panel had three Dhanya followed by ShivangiShrivas- presentations that included Pushpin- der Kaur on “LGBT Identity in Hindiplored the aspect of Disney Cinema”, “Women’s move-movies. The moderator pro- Paper Presentations ments in Karnataka and itsvided insightful thoughts to Session 2 Songs” by Praveen Kumarthe presenters and gave away followed by Preethy Sajanthe certificates while the whose research was on theemcee for the session was Sri- topic “New Hero of Malay-laxmi Madhusudan. alam Cinema.” The firstPanel 2 was moderated by tava’s “Midway of Commercially and presentation saw the re-Professor Ms. Blessy Issac, a Socially Responsible Cinema.” searcher take on a qualita-lecturer of English in Christ College. tive and quantitative representation ofThe presentations commenced with a the LGBT community in mainstreamresearch paper on ‘Offbeat Marketing Hindi cinema. However, the sessionStrategies for IndependentIndian Cinema: A study withspecial reference to TheMovie Court’ by Nagashree Vand Nagapriya V. She fo-cused on the comparison be-tween the blockbustercommercial movies and thelow budget independentfilms. M S Divya Sindhu andAman Philip presented thenext paper on ‘Neo-Realismin Indian Cinema’. Themovies focused on socialcauses and were representeddifferently in each scenario.They also traced the evolu-tion of Indian Parallel cin-ema and brought out theirsubjective viewpoints. Thenext paper presentation wastitled ‘Representation ofWoman in Malayalam Films’ by This session was deemed as a produc- saw a couple missing presenters andStenza Augustine. She focused on new tive and interactive one as it made the was therefore a short but very intrigu-generation movies and made a com- audience enter the domain of analyz-

ing one. It concluded with a word of war and Parvathy K explored the self- Media Meet 2016Never do anything for moneyappreciation in favour of the re- indulgent aspects of the film, and - Nikkil Murugansearcher and a certificate of apprecia- analyses the same with a post-modern The Tamil film industry istion for her hard work. approach. Sanjay P Shenoi presented known for many things – for his research work on the ‘Legal per- its people (Mind it!), its style,Panel six were three presenters who spective on Copyright and Insurance: its eccentric characteristics, its loudwere moderated by Jhuma Basak. The A Case Study on Film and Book’. His personality, its music and dance andpresentation included Facets and study delves into the legal aspects of so much more. But little can be saidFrontier of Travel Narrative to the film-making and its hassles. The final about the industry without mention-identity of a prostitute in ‘Taalash’ and paper presentation was by Sarath Kr- ing the notable few who have made it‘Dev D’. ishnan, Anila Mary and Shijna K V, ti- what it is today – whether they’re in tled, ‘The politics of Soap Operas’, it the scenes or behind it. Among theseThe need to objectify women is a com- explores the difficulties and multifac- personalities is one man we, here atpulsion, whether she be called the eted aspects of soap operas/ television Media Meet, had theMadonna of the society or the Duchess serials. The eighth panel had three opportunity to con-of Malfi. She shall forever be looked presenters, who were moderated by nect with – Mr. Nikkilthrough the gauzy eyes of judgement, Juby Thomas, while Amrutha Nair Murugan.harassment, commodification and a was the emcee for the session. The pre-weapon of provocation as according to sentations started off with Saurabh By definition, he’s onethe male chauvinistic members of the Das, presenting the paper, ‘Exploring of the leading Publicsociety. Films and media have had an the various facets of Political Cinema: Relations Officers as-utmost influence on the gender roles. A conceptual overview’. The paper sociated with theEven though media is penetrating its Tamil Film industry –way into the chasms of taboos, it still deals with the concept of “political having worked withis a failure.The need to gaze” and the role of political cinema. some of the most in-sell one’s body is one’s The second presentation was titled fluential industry per-choice and is a legitimate ‘The Politics of Biopic in Recent Hindi sonnel’s. Today, hebusiness which can con- Cinema’- presented by SayantyChat- has worked in overtribute to the economic terjee- explores the politics involved in 270 films and isgrowth. Through these the making of biopic films. The final known for one, hispaper presentations we presentation was by Satyam Rathore, emphasis on efficientwere enlightened about titled, ‘Censoring the Censor Board: A technology usage inhow certain actresses like Legal Perspective of Censorship in In- Public Relations andKareen Kapoor and Kalki dian Cinema’. It delves into the legal two, for his mediain their respective movies prospects of censorship. The modera- friendly personality.like Taalash and Dev D. tor gave valuable insights on the pa- We caught up withWe could even note that pers presented, and spoke about how him for a small chatif a woman is a prostitute the researches were adept. on media, films, PRshe is a sexually trans- and much more.gressive and promiscu-ous also is a social pariah. You are recognizedWhat movies have suc- as one of the leadingcessfully portrayed is that Public Relations Offi-of a figure, a figure which cers (PRO’s) in thehas been sensationalized Tamil filmindustry.but in some way is an eye What exactly doesopener for the audience. that job entail?With the dash of a gothic My job is all aboutelement and reality creating awarenessmixed with dystopia these research pa- among the public on the movies orpers really changed the way in which the people that I work for. Currently,we could analyse any movie. The sud- I am working with Enthiran 2. I haveden need for liberation and a fluid to do my job before production be-movement of women’s right is what gins which then continues after theeveryone demands and desires. release too. Prior to the movie re- lease, I have to work on getting cer-The paper presentation panel 7 was tain news articles out in the publicheld in the fourth block of Christ Uni- that will create an atmosphere of an-versity, as a part of the Media Meet ticipation and excitement about the2016. The panel was moderated by upcoming movie, the director, theAmuthaManavalan, a faculty of the producers, and of course, the cast.Media studies department, while Post release, I have to work on criticalAnkita Singh was the emcee for the acclaims, press conferences and thesession. The first paper titled, ‘Synec- likes. It’s like any other PR job – ex-doche, New York: A Postmodern cept that I specifically cater to films.Analysis’, presented by SangeethaAl- You said you’ve worked for several movies and that talks a lot about

Media Meet 2016 What skills do you deem to be neces- that he knows how he is placed. All of sary to deal with unfavourable situa- these things play a major role in howyour experience. So what is the most tions with regard to this job? a client perceives you and your workinteresting thing you find about this People will try to annoy you, pull your ethics. This then leads to the comfortjob? legs, and criticize you. End of the day, of the guest. We should also never dis- I want to tell only one thing, that all cuss unnecessary matters withThe job itself is so interesting that it’s these are done by audience, but not him/her. So when you are professionalhard to pin point a few things that I players. So we are not the audience, we and yet friendly, they will feel more re-like about it. I am very comfortable are the players. laxed and comfortable with you.working with big names in the indus- You once managed to setup A R Rah-try. In the initial days, there used to be man’s Interview with BBC for his Public Relations is all about building30 Public Relation Officers which Oscar award. What was your ap- contacts. How have you managed tomeant a wider flow of knowledge. But proach as a PRO back then? make such a strong contact base ineven then, I treat every project as the First what we need to learn is this: the industry?first one because no two PR projects when you are asked to organize ancan ever be the same. event, you should not think about It’s simple, really. If you are working what you need to do but instead list for a client, he will have to be the oneAmong the many things you’re out the problems that you will have in leading you to other people who willknown for, your car is definitely one the event. If you sort out the problems then lead you to many more. It’s there-of them. Tell me why your car plays a one after the other, the event will au- for important to always get your jobprominent role in your line of work. tomatically go good. See, you have done right in the very first attempt. If Gautham Menon coming for your you work hard and work well, yourSee, I have four seats in the car. I med- event tomorrow. To pick him up, you client will always recommend you todled with it and made enough space to have to send two cars. If you send one others. The most important thing for aallow room for a press conference. I’ve car and something happens, you can- PRO to remember is that it shouldn’talso made room for green Chroma be about the money. Never do any-screen that will aide me in taking in- not give excuses. You should always thing for money. Don’t do things toterviews that I can edit to my prefer- have a Plan B. Also remember, you benefit from it alone. Do it becauseence. In an industry where time means should never have to apologize in this you believe in it; do it because you be-everything, one has to use it strategi- job. Because the artist always looks at lieve it will automatically turn up forcally to get the most of it. what he/he is comfortable with. Even you. Up until now, I have worked forWith my car, my work too today, every night I put my phone on approximately 400 films and I don’tcan travel with me. As a general mode and will answer the call negotiate for money. People haveplus point, time manage- within three rings. You can’t make asked me how much my services willment is well taken care of. your client wait. So if you are picking cost them and I prefer not giving themIt saves time and make up Gautham Menon, you should know a figure. I’d rather tell them to see mythe job all the more effec- to give him a point of contact much be- work and then decide for themselves.tive. fore he gets here and make sure this Then, they hesitate because I am fa- source of contact is following up with mous and a big person in the industrySo when you emphasize him. Once he gets into the car, you but I still insist that they must be ofon the need for technol- should hand over a schedule to him so that opinion after they are satisfiedogy and Public Relations with my work. Tomorrow when peopleto intermingle, is this compliment you, you must be gratefulwhat you meant? and say thanks but when they point out your faults, you should still be nor-Right from the first stan- mal and take the criticism in gooddard, we have always been spirit. Never react too soon or tootold to answer any two much. Always know how to take thingsquestions out of three in the right stride. You must neverquestions. Correct? So if work for success alone – what for yourwe don’t keep updated beliefs and your achievements and youwith our environment, we will get what you deserve.will eventually lose track.And fall behind of our Lastly, what would you like buddingtime. So keeping updated PR enthusiasts to know before theywith technology in today’s day and age enter the industry?is necessary. I wouldn’t want to give advice but IWith regard to your achievements, will definitely leave behind a smallyou are one of the Top 25 Most Influ- suggestion. Our life is like a fingerprintential persons in Chennai as per an which cannot be duplicated. Right? SoIndia Today survey. What is your we should give the best impression be-take on that? fore we try make it anywhere in life.They said I am one of the top 25 influ- -Nikita Shroff and Prannay Kumarential persons. I am happy about it.Many interviews, they said I am thetop PRO and they rank me one. But Irank myself as Zero. Why because it ispeople who should decide to put mebefore zero or after zero.

Media Meet 2016Aman clad in a white Giorgio Armani, which have set an example all across the towering with an extensive knowl- globe. He stated that Shakespeare was the edge of cinema like that of Ravana; one who brought a change in the face ofgraced Christ University and ethically and theatre, the concept of ‘Internal Conflict.’virtuously threw down the gauntlet and Having spent his early years in theatre andshattered the 4th wall with his dynamic regional television,speech in the second day of the Media Mayur Puri’s strongMeet – Cinema: Breaking the Fourth Wall ethics made him standheld on Friday, the 5th of August, 2016 in off the chart, his virtuethe main campus of Christ University, Ben- made him strong andgaluru. As part of the two day national level his honesty and hardseminar on Cinema and cinema alone, work were his glueMayur Puri, professional storyteller, which served as hisscreenwriter, lyricist and film maker and a baton of accomplish-man who has been associating himself with ment in a paparazzithe film industry for the past sixteen years. driven industry. HeHailing from the capital city of Ahmed- even organized ‘Filmabad, he completed his education in Dra- Goa’ an initiative withmatics and keeping in tune his dramatic the help of the Goa Gov-side, he even stated that he often wishes he ernment to providehad a “Godfather” – someone who would training and job sup-stand by and guide him throughout. Dur- port to film makers anding his talk, he even spoke to the students to facilitate film makingstating that, “Each one of you is lucky to activities in Goa. Hestudy in such an institution and have men- stated that “what is thetors.” Today, Mayur Puri is notable for need for everyone tohaving written songs, screen plays and di- migrate to Mumbaialogues for several movies including our when you can be a ris-very own King Khan’s movie, ‘Om Shanti ing and emerging star inOm’ where he also acted and appeared as your own state.”Gujju, who in the movie wanted to be thedirector of ‘Apahij Pyar.’ He has won sev-eral awards for the Best Dialogue categoryWhen I Communicate,in many prestigious award ceremonies. Hehas also written for ABCD and FALTU. He I Respecthas even donned on the hat of the CreativeDirector for an Animated Movie ‘JUMBO’.The speaker spoke a kit about dignity. Hebelieves that everyone has the right to live Alternatively, he has moved beyond the - Mayur Puriwith dignity; everyone has the right to live walls of Cinema and Bollywood by actuallywith heads held high; everyone should ex- contributing to the young budding mindsercise a humble lifestyle by not demoraliz- of the children with ‘STORY CIRCUS’,ing others or constantly challenging founded in 2010- an exclusive institute foroneself. He addressed the crowd in a sys- young children from the ages of 3-8. Thetematized way with slides and diagrams main concept of ‘Story Circus’ was to pro-filled with explanations of how the film in- vide a quality of ‘Edutainment’ services fordustry functions and how a sense of re- its patrons through storytelling and othersponsibility, communication, meekness, audio visual teaching aids. The mission ac-positivity, hard work, values and respect cording to him was to bring the old grand-are the pillars of every man’s progress. He mother recited stories back into the bloodstated that one must value time as time is vessels of the city folks with the same pen-important not just for the one’s performing chant and passion that we once heardon the cinema but also for the audience. He them in.stated that the audience need an assur-ance/ Sustained Patronage. The session, unfortunately, ended soonerThe speaker also beautifully and artisti- that the audience would have liked it to.cally quoted literature and being a hard They needed to know more - the mancore literature frenzy and fanatic himself, whose humility and morals have backedhe brought into limelight Shakespeare, him a place where we as humans can onlywho back in his time was an emerging star lure and dream about. It was truly as cine-but his actual stardom was appreciated matic as it gets.only after his death when his work was re- Sarah Jamesworked and reiterated into various movies,

Media Meet 2016 thoughts that will pave a new path for Nidhi Khatna who is an assistant pro-The third session of Paper Pre- a better horizon. fessor in English Literature and Lan- sentations for Media Meet 2016, took place on August 4, 2016 at The third panel included three paper guages at Department of English,the fourth block. There were three pre- presentations, which were moderated Christ University, Bangalore.senters in Panel 1, all of whom weremoderated by Manjula RS. The pre- by Pushpinder Kaur pursuing her Ph.d The presentations commenced withsentations included topics like the reg-ulations often highlighted for the from the Punjabi University, Patiala. the research paper on ‘Effectiveness ofwomen empowerment which is a pre-requisite and a compulsion of the so- The presentations commenced with a Layer Editing: A case study on theciety to finding a soulmate with the research paper by Sriraksha V Ragha- film’ and ‘Projection of Theatre in Cin-unjustifiable ground rules set by thecelluloid to the death of stardom. van titled ‘Two Moons’ which focused ema – a content analysis’ by ShrindhiInitiating a fresh outlook on thechanging mind-sets in a society that is on the collaborations between S. Through her study she focused onsusceptible to changes otherwise, themovies helped the spectators compre- the art of storytelling in India with the-hend the many different angles of cir-cumstances that are seen on a daily atre being the foremost form of cin-basis. One of the topics that got maxi-mum attention from the attention ema. The next paper was titled ‘Thespan of the audience was “Celluloid toSoul mates”, a study that rose ques- depth in the usage of Indian Dances intions and awakened the pallid side ofthe audience. It stirred minds and kept Indian cinemas- then and now: a de-everyone engrossed on the impact offilms on the perception of romantic tailed review’ by S. Marie Stella. Sheyouth. “It’s not about naff love”, butthe matter goes in depth about what focuses on the evolution of dancelove and happiness truly is, transcend-ing the boundaries and notions set by forms in Malayalam, Hindi and Tamilwhat movies portray today. The studyon women empowerment and Death and how through cinema we are ableof stardom beautifully chains theabove mentioned research giving the to witness the different types of dancesaudience a perfect amalgamation ofanunfathomable insight on cinema that exist. The final paper presentedand its non-empirical terrain.With the perspicacity on such sensitive was titled ‘Women centric movies inissues coming into light, we can lookforward to a paradigm shift in an as- Bollywood: Growing trend and popu-sortment of ideologies and emerging larity’ by Neha Bhushan. She explored this topic tastefully with examples and philosophies. She further asserted on the need for such movies to depict woman as an empowered being. The moderator gave interesting comments on the papers and gave away the cer- tificates to the presenters. The emcee Paper Presentations for the session was Rumela. This session, the Session 3 third one for the day, spanned over 60 minutes and Sangeetham Sreenivasa Rao and Ka- was moderated mala Hassan. This research paper was AnupamaNayar, Professor, Depart- conducted through in depth analysis ment of Media Studies, Christ Univer- of various movies that were done to- sity. gether by two legends. The next paper was presented by The panel had three presentations Suchismita Dasgupta who’s paper ti- consisting of a collaborative research tled ‘Fame of Infamy: Profiling popu- by SurbhiShand, Dharani Dhavamani lar on- screen villains and analyzing the grounds for their popularity’. She focused on portraying the external manifestation of these villains and took the example of the life-support- ing mask on Darth Vader and Hanni- bal Lector. The final paper was titled ‘Suspense and Tension in Cinema: An analysis of need, technique and effec- tiveness’ by Sundaravel. E. The mod- erator gave very enlightening thoughts on the paper and the certificates were given away by Professor Naresh Rao, while the emcee for the session was Lisa. Panel 4 comprised of three paper pre- sentations, which were moderated by

and Sherin D’ Souza on the topic, “A The moderator for this panel 6 was Media Meet 2016Collision of Two Worlds - A Postmod- Aasita Bali, Professor, Department ofern Analysis of Enchanted”, “From Media Studies, Christ University. and reel life of the Nuns. The sessionKitchen to Heart: The Journey of Food The panel consisted of: S. Yamunai then concluded with a few words of ac-as Reflected in the Lunch Box” by Selvan whose reach was on the topic , knowledgement followed by a certifi-Sajitha M and lastly, Sweekruthi K and “Content Analysis of a Gangster Film”, cate of appreciation for the presenters.Varsha Gowda on the topic “Looking followed by a paper on the Sanjay P Shenoi, Assistant Professor atBack: Rebooted Franchises and “Representation of Catholic the School of Law, Christ University,Nostalgia in Contemporary Nuns in Films” by Tessy Jacob moderated a panel for this last sessionFilm.” and lastly, a paper by Tissy of the paper presentation. The talkingThe first presentation spoke ex- Mariam Thomas on “Life point of the papers entailed an assort-tensively on how reality and fan- and/or Death: Maternal Am- ment of topics like “Content Analysistasy can be seen intermingling in bivalence in Horror Movies.” of Dalit Portrayal in Marathi Featurecontemporary cinema. The pre- Tessy Jacob, one of the presen- Film ‘Fandry’”, “Kothas and Courte-senters asserted that, “a bridge ters commenced with perhaps sans of Lucknow: Celluloid Vs. Real-between is traditional dreamy a debatable statement that ity” and “Indian Expressionism: Traitsplotlines and its revisionist ten- said, “Academia is death of of German Expressionism in Indiandencies.” The next paper on nos- Cinema. It is opposite to pas- Cinema”.talgia had a very good approach as itsought to explain memories as incor- sion. It is not the art of scholars but il- The presentations evolved into a dis-porated in movie-making. The session literates.” This statement sure cussion by the end of the session as thetoo concluded on a note of apprecia- intrigued the rapt audience and madetion and by acknowledging the presen- them question and understand the students in the audience pitched inters with certificates of appreciation. concepts of creator and created. She their view points and quoted anec- even differentiated between the real dotes. Several interesting questions were raised by the audience as well as the moderator, turning the evening into an interactive session. “The topics were intriguing as it spoke a lot about the social issues like ill treatment of the Dalits and Devadasis and also spoke about the historical backdrop of these issues. And the moderator brought to light the prevalence of these issues even in this globalised era,” said Madhurima Jain, a student who attended the pres- entation.Cracking the dawn of the second Quizzical Minds/ Quiz on Cinema day of Media Meet 2016, the quiz final round was conducted also had bonus points for the correctat the Mini Auditorium of Block 4, answers.Christ University. It was a crowd-pulling event, where the theme for the The tough competition that each teamsession was ‘Cinema’, following the gave to each other excitedtheme of the national seminar. Vianay the eager crowd. Further-Mudaliar was the quiz master. Out of more, Sri Ram and Pra-twenty three teams, six teams were se- teek Naidu (team 3) wonlected to the finals and two partici- the first prize with 88pants represented each team. points. The battle for the second prize was a closeThe finale had five rounds; the first call, with team 4 consist-round had six questions that carried ing of Anirudh Gupta and10 points catering one question per Risha Gosh, and team 6team. ‘Photo Album’- the second consisting of Samrudhround- was similar to the first round, and Atul, scored 44except the pattern of questions varied, points- and shared the second prize.where in they were completely based Cash prizes were distributed to theon pictures. The third round, ‘Hang- winning teams as a token of apprecia-man - Connect the Dots’ was followed tion.by ‘Newsfeed’ and ‘Log Out’. Unlikethe first two rounds, the last threerounds had negative marking for everywrong answer from the teams, and

Media Meet 2016 reaching an understanding of the renditions, but also confusing the clue- whole idea. less society.Hence, for censorship toApanel discussion session was Professor SamantakDas took over post truly act in its place, a set of concrete conducted on Thursday, at the Geetha’s purviews, following up on her rules must be created. And this, he Main Auditorium of Christ Uni- line of ambiguity, he asserts that what opines, ought to be rendered to withversity, as a part of the first day of may seem or what is appropriate are the help of both bodies/parties in-Media Meet 2016. The dignitaries merely deciphered by a fallacy. He volved in the industry.present in the panel discussion were mocked the common belief that inSamyukta Hornad, Samantak Das, India, the perceptionis that there’s a Samyukta Hornad, a Kannada actress,Geetha Bakilapadavu and Nikkil Mu- censor “board” at work- but in reality, and an alumnus of Christ University,rugan. The moderator for the session it’s merely a film certificationboard. discusses this act of censoring fromwas Ashwini Muthulakshmi, a faculty He mentioned the examples of Devan- the industry cast’s point of view. Shefrom the School of Law, Christ Univer- shu Singh, a popular film director and argues that the process not only leadssity. The emcees of the event, Natasha guest speakers of Media Meet 2016. to huge losses for both the society andGeorge and Nikhil Jose, commenced He explained how the director per- filmmakers- but also deteriorates thethe session by introducing the topic, ceives cinema as an emoting medium, quality of movies and content being“Censorship in Cinema”. They threw which pervades into the being in a produced. For the society, it is a losslight on the pressing issue of curbing nonsensical and irrational way. From since they are forced to accept the typ-one’s freedom of expression in the this, he elicits that cinema is a very ical “masala” genre of movies, whilepresent society. powerful tool for change, and contain- for the filmmakers it is a huge burdenThe first panellist to address the issue ing such power in the hands of few both financially and creatively. She be-of censorship was Geetha Bakilapa- would put the society in a liable posi- gins by sharing an anecdote from herdavu, a lecturer at the Birla Institute of kitty of experiences. The tagline forTechnology and Science. She pointed tion- thus justifying his stand that one her movies, titled ‘Move on some amount ofcontrol or monitoring Sucker!’ was used throughout the pro-out the twin-fold effect of censorship motion process and songs. However,which affects both the filmmaker and when the movie reached the certifica-audience in the screening process. tion bureau, it treaded a difficult pathConsidering her background in Cul- as the word ‘sucker’ was asked to beture Studies, she asserted her beliefs removed. She elaborates that when wethat there is never an absolute truth give prominence to this particularand it is solely the relativity of truth word, we imposea certain derogatorythat leads to various perceptions. She meaning, which wouldn’t be associ-opined that minimalistic cinema- her ated otherwise. “An unassuming per-preferred style of film making- does son can now be corrupted by thenot require any censorship,as the mes- unnecessary intervention of thesages are never overt. However, she board,” she says. The word ‘obscenity’contradicts herself by citing that this has several layers of understanding toidea of minimalism does not appeal tothe huge mass in general. Further, she Censuring the Censor: Does freedom ofargues that for the filmmaker, restric- expression invite freedom of repression?tions could also act as challenges thattest and question their creative bouts, activity, doesn’t always imply absolute it; for a man to stare at the curvaceousforcing them to carve a new pathway restriction. depiction of a goddess in a temple isof presenting visual information. This rightfully okay, but for the same per-was they tend to innovate new ideas to The third panellist Nikkil Murugan, son to see a bare minimum of a girl’swork around these boundaries, avoid- who represents the film industry in the skin on-screen, is sinful. The logic be-ing the obvious and mundane. She particular session, brought out a hind this convoluted thinking is sim-thereby rests her argument by taking counter view.He has been directlyin- ply mind numbing, she lashes.a neutral stance, stating that there can volved in the industry as a PR officernever be a concrete answer to solve the for the last 25 years. He believes that This discussion was then taken to theambiguity in censorship, but there can a fair share of the elderly community audience, where interesting commentsalways be an understanding between has a considerable amount of knowl- and psychological tests were discussedthe board and the filmmakers, thereby edge regarding what is appropriate on length. Being a time warped event, and what is inappropriate, but then it was concluded that this big debate again the question of perception be discussed on smaller pedestals to comes into picture. He further states firstly generate more opinions, and that since the certification board keeps then escalate the same to an impactful swinging its stance with every change level. of ruling parties, the diktats imposed on the filmmaker keep burgeoning, Indu Shree hence not only curbing his creative