cinematheque-opening session

The opening session of Cinematheque commenced on Saturday, 11th September 2010. Around 20 people attended the session. 2 short films and an AV made by university students were screened. A discussion ensued after every screening.
The first film that was screened was “Guru Dutt Waali Pyaasa”. It was made by the Rohit Vats, Umesh Pant, Heena Chugh and Quadeer Ahamed, graduates of the 2010 batch of AJK MCRC Jamia Millia Islamia. The discussion that took place after the screening covered topics such as its watchability, the cinematography, the use of lighting, the music score, the use or lack of space, the acting, certain sequences and the intention as well as the inspiration for this film, which was in essence the hindi movies of yesteryear. The editing in particular was commended.
The next movie to be screened was “Full Circle”. It was made by Udayan Biswas, who is currently a 1st year Master’s student at AJK MCRC, but he made the movie prior to joining the institute. He said, he made the movie based on whatever he saw, and that as a result he learnt about the process of film making through this project. The discussion ranged from the themes of the film, the middle sequence, the acting and the use of original score. One of the criticisms that were made was that the background score was at times louder than the dialogues. However, everybody lauded his efforts and also noted that it served as an inspiration for them to make their own movies.
“Chahna” a 10 minute AV by Dikshit Das, Shailendra Sahu and Chandini Dhawan, was the last to be screened. The AV was inspired by the stories of Nirmal Verma and the visuals of Wong Kar-Wai. The photography garnered a lot of praise. As with the earlier movie, people criticized the score being louder at times than the voiceover. Overall the AV was commended for setting up a certain mood, as well as for using and justifying the source of its inspiration.
The session ended with a quick introduction of all those who attended the screening. One attendee pointed out the need to explain cinema jargon, which was duly noted. Some also volunteered to give their work for the purpose of future screenings. On a half serious note, it would have been better, if there had been more female representation. The opening session bolstered the enthusiasm and the resolve of the members to continue such screenings on a weekly basis.