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Open Letter to Sekhar Kammula

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October 26, 2006

Open Letter to Sekhar Kammula

Dear Sekhar Kammula,

It was interesting to see your reply to an open letter on idlebrain.com. Reading the reply, one could see the anguish but what stood out most was the optimism. It was also heartening to know that you are promising more whiffs of fresh coffee and more cool breeze for those of us who have the time and seek pleasure in savouring it.

Also, I would like to differ and refrain from using the word ‘minority’. Perhaps the films that you are keen to make are an apt case for using the most clichéd phrases used by all film-makers claiming their films to be attempts at doing ‘something different’, ‘hat ke’ and ‘definitely not run of the mill’. And I also believe that those watching them are definitely not in the minority. But then again, what if we are, all good things only fit in small packages! You perhaps are the only one who should never have any apprehensions or afterthoughts about your movies. They will always succeed as I feel ‘your thought is a tree rooted deep in the soil of tradition and whose branches grow in the power of continuity’.

What is most important perhaps is to realize that you are amongst the choicest few who have the gift of appreciating all the small things in life, someone who perhaps had the luxury of enjoying those simple joys of life, someone who has time to stop and see life around you. For many reasons, one was reminded of the poet Khalil Gibran who said ‘half of what I say is meaningless, but I say it so that the other half may reach you’. Similarly,it is important to see a Sekhar Kammula film to actually know what lousy movies we have been watching in the meantime.

The other issue that emerges from the correspondence is also the need for such movies for the younger generations especially our children who miss the atmosphere. It may even be nostalgia, remembering neighbourhoods that one grew up while watching ‘Anand’, watching ‘Godavari’ and remembering the pilgrimages or the trips one made to visit grandparents in the summer holidays when all the cousins and extended family got together and planned trips. Will our children ever experience those moments and perhaps the most important question is ‘would they be so content doing the same things’. This question also applies to the ‘majority’ who are happy to spend money and watch mayhem and absurdity but are not willing to watch such a ‘idyllic life’ on screen. Or then again maybe the unfortunate lot cannot identify or relate themselves to these situations. The present times and the changes in society are constantly depriving us of the opportunities, wiping away the very settings and environments that are needed to enjoy such a life. Apparently the beautiful locales in ‘Godavari’ are also getting dissolved in a hydro-project!

In the end I feel that it may merely be a simple question of getting trapped between yesterday and today. And one can always find solace in the thought that life always comes full circle. Again in the words of Gibran:

"Yesterday I was carefree, sharing with the shepherds all the joy of life; eating, playing, working, singing, and dancing together to the music of the heart's truth. Today I find myself among the people like a frightened lamb among the wolves. As I walk in the roads, they gaze at me …and as I steal through the park I see frowning faces all about me…Where are the spacious plains, the singing brooks, the pure breeze, the closeness of Nature?

We may be watching many films for our favourite actors and actresses but we watch a Sekhar Kammula film for simply being one made by you. I wish you all the best for your future and I hope to watch some more memorable Sekhar Kammula films.

With warm regards,
Padma
corres_asap@yahoo.com

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