Please watch ! Premiering on SAAM TV Marathi this Sunday ......

Good things and Divali go together.....

Just heard that " Paudha: The plant",  a short film , with cinematography by the daughter Pankaja Akshay Dandekar,  written by Akshay Dandekar,  and directed by Manoj Salunke,   is now going to be broadcast on the SAAM TV Marathi channel , as part of their Short Film Showcase Program.

These films never get written about,  they never even have a budget worth talking about; there are often mothers , who chip in with chhole chapati  meals and sandwiches  for the crew; there are uncles  and aunts who offer their flats for the indoor schedule of shooting, and so many others like me, who simply chip in with lots of best wishes.    

Sometimes it all works. 

So folks, please tune in  this Sunday, October 26, 2014, at 11 am and/or 11pm  and watch this film premiere on the SAAM TV Marathi channel. 

(Unlike film premieres, you don't need to get dressed up,  there will be no paparazzi , and you can sit in your pajamas with a nice cup of tea and chakli , and watch ! )

Edited to add :

I watched this along with many folks who checked in from other cities.  And although it was an actual honor to clash in timeslot with the iconic Satya Meva Jayate , I got a video capture of the credits of "Paudha",    at the end. 

Water and Sense.... जल है तो कल है

Like I said, after making a single film on a lady who is my household help, I decided to retire, to give younger people a chance to showcase their talents. :-)

The daughter , Pankaja , with her Canon 1100D DSLR  photography, and the son-in-law, Akshay Dandekar,  with his talent at conceptualization and direction, have just made another very short film.  Around 2 minutes.  This has been made on weekends  since they both work at jobs during the week. .

The subject of the film, is WATER.

And how we waste our todays, unconcerned about our tomorrows. 

Have a look .  And then shut off that tap............

"Paudha" the plant ...... watch it grow !

Since the last post more than a year ago,  there have been many changes.

I have stopped  trying out my hands at filming. And fiddling with Windows Movie Maker. 

The daughter , Pankaja, who did the videography for my first film ,  recently got married to Akshay .

They have made their first short film, "Paudha"   ("the plant").

Produced and written by Akshay, and with cinematography and editing by Pankaja on her Canon 1100D DSLR,  this was filmed by them and their wonderful team, primarily on the rural outskirts of Badlapur (a suburb on the far northeast of Mumbai) ,  and a bit of it in Badlapur proper.

Presenting ......

"S" on film....(edited to add translation)

"S" is my household help, and has been coming to our house for the last 25 years(and counting). I have written several blogposts dedicated to her "life and times" so to speak, and many readers of my blog Gappa even ask about her.

Recently, I had an opportunity to film her, thanks to an overenthusiastic photographer daughter, and I also recorded what she had to say about her life.

 In honor of Womens' Day, March 8, 2012, there is a short film competition, on our campus,  and  this,  my maiden effort at making a film :-) ,  was my entry in the category of Women's Empowerment.

I am not sure it can be even called a film as such. I just find it unbelievable that it got done at all. Given the fact that I was unable to upload it from where I stay behind firewalls of the e-type. However, the Internet came to my rescue , and I was able to transfer this huge file to my son, via a site, who told him to download it from an address, and he uploaded it on YouTube for me.

Things have come full circle..... as I download it and upload it on this blog post.

( Although like me, a resident of an educational campus, my son, does not live behind firewalls. I guess we are like that only .....)

(Translation from marathi, scrolls independently horizontally below video. Click arrow on video as soon as it loads completely to roughly sync with the translation. On occasions, translation may carry on beyond video. I apologize, but sometimes technology defeats me.)

..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................I was 14 years old , and my parents got me married . I was from a rural area, didn't know how to adjust in urban environs, and the husband was a heavy drinker.By the time I was 21, I had 4 children, and hardly any support from the husband.I was collecting cow dung, selling it by the basket, and supporting the kids on the meagre earnings. He even opposed that. He would drive us out of the house,lock the door and go away. I couldn't stand that, we would break the lock somehow and get inside. My father realized all this,and said " Enough. You need to leave this and return home; " . He took me and my four small children back home with him. He NEVER ever said, "once she is married, she is DEAD to us" .The children went to the local school.Today, my children have studied till Class X. I worked houses, saved in chit funds, took loans and with the help of my brothers,got my own tenement.Today my 3 sons and I go off to our daily work from there. My daughter,got married, but was cheated, the fellow was a fraud, and I brought her back home & stand firmly behind her. She works,and now I, my three sons, three daughters-in-law, 4 grandsons and 1 daughter, live together in my little house.My eldest daughter-in-law,a XIIth class pass, did a computer course, a library assistant's course, and works. Today, my father is no more. I handle my own work,and visit offices and courts, and sign with my thumbprint. I am illiterate, but I want my children to study, my grandchildren to get good education. My sons' offices have computers, my daughter-in-law works in a office with computers, and my employers have computers at home. I've learned that one find lots of useful information on computers. When my 2nd daughter-in-law was pregnant, there was some confusion about an eclipse. I decided not to listen to assorted ladies and neighbors hearsay, and called up my Ma'am and asked her to ask the computer ! She found out and told me the timings , and we were able to figure out our movements for the day. See, I never went to school. But i dearly wish that grandsons can get good education, and that he should go to a good school and become well educated. You know, I have four grandsons. My only remaining wish is that I may soon have a granddaughter !