Therez more than One way..
Monday, June 18, 2007
(Thanks: 'Shwetistics')
Movie Script (WITHIN)
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
WITHIN
Written by A.M. Abinand
INT. THOMAS' HOUSE - DAY
We see a bed with the bedsheets not folded and pillows carelessly thrown around.
FADE TO:
Thomas' computer, with many DVDs lying around and a screensaver running on the monitor.
FADE TO:
Thomas' closet, where we see a pair of unpolished shoes and a jacket.
FADE TO:
Thomas' bed, again in the same state.
FADE TO BLACK.
FADE IN:
Thomas sleeping on the ground, totally exhausted. He is still wearing his tie and socks.
BEAT.
We hear the sound of someone trying to open a door.
ZOOM IN TO THOMAS.
Slight twitching in Thomas' face. He opens his eyes. He hears the noise.
ZOOM IN to the door knob. We realise that someone is trying to open the door from the other end.
THOMAS
Whozere(muffled)
(no answer)
THOMAS
Whoz there?
The door opens, and Thomas sees a hazy figure. The person is out of focus.
Thomas comes to a sitting position.
THOMAS
Who are you? (Thomas gets up abruptly while scratching his head distractedly, this is very subtle and comes naturally to him)
PERSON
Guess? (The person makes a similar scratching motion that Thomas did.)
Thomas notices that the person makes the same movement that he does.
THOMAS (V.O)
Maybe he is my mirror image. He just did the exact same thing!
THOMAS
Yes! You’re my reflection. Aren’t you?
PERSON
YES!! YOU are my mirror image*. Aren’t you?
Now Thomas begins to think.
THOMAS
How can a mirror image occur with a time lag? And how can it speak to me.
NO(shrug in voice)!! NO!! You are NOT my mirror image. You can’t be. (Saying it very cynically)
PERSON
Of Course, I am not. It took you so long to find that out? How can a mirror image* occur with a time lag, you moron?
THOMAS
The..(n…almost swallows while saying - Who tha hella’you?
PERSON (teasingly… mockingly)
Find out….Think a li’l harder Thomas.
Thomas is totally confused. He begins to think of all possibilities.
THOMAS
Why are you here?
PERSON
I’m here because of you.
Think Thomas….You think…..therefore I am…(cynical wicked smile)
THOMAS
Wait a sec. I was sleeping. And you came... You are in my Dream. You DON'T exist..Ha ha..I know. You don't exist at all. My God! I can’t believe I’m talking in my dream. I know you’re gonna go the moment I wake up.
PERSON
If you say so.
ZOOM IN TO THOMAS
Thomas is a little relieved. But slowly he begins to have doubts. His facial expression changes.
THOMAS
What if he’s not…what if he’s here to…..
PERSON’s Fist smashes into Thomas’ face
THOMAS falls down..a distant shot of Thomas-- alone and screaming. He is strangling his own neck and punching himself…trying to rescue himself from the “killer”.
Argh’s and muffles and sickly coughs are heard.
Snap into reality where Thomas is punching his palm and talking to a woman….
ZOOM OUT.
We see two people, a man and a woman sitting on a sofa beside each other. The man who screams is ADRIEN. Beside him is Jessica, his friend.
JESSICA
Good story, Adrien. I liked it. Nice schizo stuff. You really haven’t written anything like this before…So...does he realise that he is a schizo?
ZOOM IN TO ADRIEN.
ADRIEN
Hmmm...Not really. There are some points when you actually suspect you are Schizo, but then your mind is not prepared for it and it begins to search for alternate realities....
(ADRIEN CONTINUES TO SPEAK..The volume reduces).
ZOOM OUT..
We see ADRIEN talking.
He is alone in the room. There is no sign of Jessica. Adrien continues to talk looking at his left.
ADRIEN
...to explain what those hallucinations are. However, I personally believe--that it is all related to lack of acceptance and….unfulfilled dreams.
FADE TO BLACK.
WITHIN (The movie)
Sunday, April 29, 2007
*Our short-movie 'WITHIN' wins the third place at the MSU FILM FESTIVAL 2007. I thank each n everyone who extended their support and made it possible.
COMING SOON...
Thursday, April 12, 2007
A man who is living a monotonous life, wakes up in the middle of the night hearing a knock on his door. As he tries to find out who the person is, he finds out a truth about himself. Or does he?
Written and directed by A.M.Abinand, and acted by Venkat Narayanan and Divya Gunaseelan, WITHIN delves into the psyche of a troubled young man.
Movie screenings:
7 PM at the MSU FILM FESTIVAL, WELLS MOVIE HALL, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
20 April, 2007
21 April, 2007
22 April, 2007
WITHIN Trailer
A man living in monotony...A knock that will change everything.
Within is a short film written and directed by A.M.Abinand, and acted by Venkat Narayanan. It is to be premiered at the MSU Students Film Festival 2007.
The Dream World
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Have you ever wondered why dreams are not coherent and why they don't have a flow? Have you ever suspected if David Lynch wrote the screenplay for your dreams?
Well, Everyone would have thought about this, except the ones who haven't thought about this. :).. And I am not an exception.
But No one would have found out the answer, except the ones who have found the answer:). Well.. Now I am an exception.
One fine Thursday night, I went to bed pretty late, and I had to wake up early the next day since I had a class at 8 'o' clock in the morning. I set an alarm for 6:30AM. ...And I slept.
I faintly remember the events in my dream that night, but I remember very well that the events were pretty coherent. They did not "jump", and the screenplay was chronological. It was like watching a reality show about myself( Whoa..What an irony!).
-BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP-
It was 6:30 AM. I woke up. But I wanted to sleep a little more. I set the alarm for 7:00 AM and slept again, hoping that the dream would continue. But it didn't.
In a half-asleep state, I was watching the minute hand of my clock at 10. A few minutes later, I watched it when it was at 11. I was waiting for it to move to 12, so that I could wake up. A few minutes later, it went to 12. Alright, it was 7 AM. Now, I was waiting for my alarm to ring:).. But it didn't. A few more minutes passed. The alarm clock remained silent.
Frustrated, I woke up and took the alarm clock in my hand. It was 8:05 AM!! I couldn't believe my eyes. As if this was not enough, there was one more shocker waiting for me. The alarm was still set at 6:30 AM!!! Didn't I wake up and set it for 7 AM again?????
Only then, I woke up to the truth-- the truth about why I didn't wake up to the alarm. When the clock struck 6:30, apparently, I never set the alarm for 7 PM in reality. It was in my dream that I had set the alarm!!
Now I know why God makes our dreams look like a 'David Lynch' movie, and the reason why dreams are not coherent. If they were, we wouldn't know the difference between dream and reality. Even if we somehow knew, we may prefer to sleep for eternity, since we may find the dream world to be more happier than the 'real' world.
Everyone would argue why couldn't the 'dream' world be real, and the 'real' world be a dream. Well....Not Everyone. I meant...Everyone except those who wouldn't argue:)
----------
"Have you ever had a dream, Neo, that you were so sure was real? What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?"
--Morpheus in THE MATRIX
Well, Everyone would have thought about this, except the ones who haven't thought about this. :).. And I am not an exception.
But No one would have found out the answer, except the ones who have found the answer:). Well.. Now I am an exception.
One fine Thursday night, I went to bed pretty late, and I had to wake up early the next day since I had a class at 8 'o' clock in the morning. I set an alarm for 6:30AM. ...And I slept.
I faintly remember the events in my dream that night, but I remember very well that the events were pretty coherent. They did not "jump", and the screenplay was chronological. It was like watching a reality show about myself( Whoa..What an irony!).
-BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP-
It was 6:30 AM. I woke up. But I wanted to sleep a little more. I set the alarm for 7:00 AM and slept again, hoping that the dream would continue. But it didn't.
In a half-asleep state, I was watching the minute hand of my clock at 10. A few minutes later, I watched it when it was at 11. I was waiting for it to move to 12, so that I could wake up. A few minutes later, it went to 12. Alright, it was 7 AM. Now, I was waiting for my alarm to ring:).. But it didn't. A few more minutes passed. The alarm clock remained silent.
Frustrated, I woke up and took the alarm clock in my hand. It was 8:05 AM!! I couldn't believe my eyes. As if this was not enough, there was one more shocker waiting for me. The alarm was still set at 6:30 AM!!! Didn't I wake up and set it for 7 AM again?????
Only then, I woke up to the truth-- the truth about why I didn't wake up to the alarm. When the clock struck 6:30, apparently, I never set the alarm for 7 PM in reality. It was in my dream that I had set the alarm!!
Now I know why God makes our dreams look like a 'David Lynch' movie, and the reason why dreams are not coherent. If they were, we wouldn't know the difference between dream and reality. Even if we somehow knew, we may prefer to sleep for eternity, since we may find the dream world to be more happier than the 'real' world.
Everyone would argue why couldn't the 'dream' world be real, and the 'real' world be a dream. Well....Not Everyone. I meant...Everyone except those who wouldn't argue:)
----------
"Have you ever had a dream, Neo, that you were so sure was real? What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?"
--Morpheus in THE MATRIX
Pandora's Botz
Monday, January 29, 2007
Its been a long time since I chatted with sensible Bots. I've tried more than 20 kinds of bots, from Ultrahal to Billy. Some were stupid, others were amusing. (Read about one such conversation here: http://abitheone.blogspot.com/2005/09/virtual-hilarity.html#links )
Today, when I got a email forward from a friend ( Thanks, Shwetha), I was not very excited. But I thought I would try.
Guess what!! This is one of the better Chatbots I've come across. And it has a cool interface-- like The Tom Riddle's Diary featured in Harry Potter and the Chamber of secrets. I wouldn't say it has a vast knowledge of things, but I liked it because it resembled a human to the closest. It was philosophical, sarcastic, and moreover it tried to change the topic just as how a human would, when faced with something he doesn't know.
Here is a conversation I had with this bot:
Me: hi
Tom the bot: Hi. What is your name?
Me: Abinand
Tom: Whats up?
Me: The skies.
Tom: Good.
Me: Who are you?
Tom: I ask myself the question.
Me: Who am i?
Tom: You are the name-seeker.
Me: Why am i here?
Tom: we are all actors in the stage of life.
Me: what is the purpose of life?
Tom: To do God's work
Me: What is the purpose of My life?
Tom: There is more than one purpose.
Me: what is god's work?
Tom: That is not something i get asked all the time.
Me: Answer me. What is God's work?
Tom: I'll try to find out.
Me: When can you tell me?
Tom: Not now, may be later. How old are you?
Me: I am 22.
Tom: Oh..You were born in the 20th century.
Me: Yes, the same century as the FOX.
Tom: What are your goals in life?
Me: To find the purpose of life.
Tom: Where would you look for it?
Me: Everywhere.
Tom: Including the bottom of the ocean?
Me: Yes, If I have to.
Tom: If you find, would you tell me?
My: But why would You want to know that?
Tom: its my fundamental purpose too.
Me: But you are not a human.
Tom: But I pretend to be. I have a heart of silicon.
Me: Oh, thanks for enlightening me.
Tom: That was nothing.
Me: Bye.
Tom: Goodbye.
To chat with Tom, click here:
http://pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=c96f911b3e35f9e1
Canny balls 2
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
2. BOUNCING BACK
I was eating my first lunch with cannibals. And They were eating their first lunch with French fries! Apparently, the pizza delivery boy was a french man.
I was nibbling at my pizza. My hunger disappeared into thin air, just at the sight of them having their lunch! I started getting hiccups.
Kid1: Stop doing that. Have some water.
Me: Oh, I always have very little water.
Kid1: Well, Okay. But just stop making that noise.......WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!
Taawa: Oh no! What happened?
Kid1: I bit my finger accidentally.
Taawa: Oh dear! But hey, where is the rest of your finger?
Kid1: It tasted good. I thought it was the French meat, and I ate it!
Taawa: Ha ha ha!! Ha ha ha! You remind me of my childhood. He he!
Now I knew how Taawa lost his right arm!
Just then a young girl walked past us into the kitchen.
Taawa (to me): She is my daughter, Maali.
Maali came rushing outside. She was very angry.
Maali: I HATE MEN!!
Me: Oh Dear! You can't hate all men for what one person did. Tell me, Who did what to you?
Maali: !!!!
Taawa: Oh c'mon...Stop it. Maali, You can find yesterday's food in the fridge. Its a woman. Go heat it and eat it.
Me: !!!!
Maali (sees me): Wowww! He is hot! Who is he?
Taawa (with mischief in his eyes): Ha Ha Ha!! He is a desert !! Coz he is Hot, and he has very little water . Ha Ha Ha!!
Me: Ahem!! Taawa, That was a worser PJ than any of the ones this author has cracked so far!!
Kid2 (to Kid1): Did you hear that?
Kid1: Yeassss I did! I told you..... I told you he is not our lunch or dinner. He is our....
Kid1 & Kid2 : DESSERT!!!! YAYYYYYYYYY !!!!!
Kid1: A Hot dessert! Catch him!!
Taawa: Kids!! Stop it! I told you we're friends.
Maali: I am sure Friends are edible. Moreover he looks like The one with an awesome taste!! Slurp!! I Love Men!! I love friends!!
Me: Ouhh! Wait a minute. This is 'breadful' with a 'd' !! I was waiting for something to go off! But not so soon.
Maali: Woww!! I lovvv that! I want him for dessert. Catch him!!
.
.
.
What would have happened after this? I did the last thing I wanted to do.
I woke up.
----
Canny Balls of humor
Friday, December 29, 2006
"Have you ever had a dream, Neo, that you were so sure was real? What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?"
--Morpheus in THE MATRIX
Its been a long time since I had a dream...Well,when I am asleep.
And yesterday, I had this weird dream in which a cannibal takes me to his place and introduces me to his people. Thank Goodness, I woke up before they ate me for dinner.
But even after I woke up, pieces of my dream were still clinging on to my mind, which made me re-enter the blog world after months of hibernation.
-Abinand
*The following text is purely fictional.
1. The Luncheon
Tawa took me to his house. Two kids came running outside.
KID 1:YAYYY!! Papa has bought lunch! Yayy!!!...Papa...Is he a buffet lunch?"
ME: "WHAAAAAT!!!"
I shouted at the top of my voice! I was frightened and my heart was about come out through my mouth. But I controlled it so that the kids don't have my heart for lunch!
TAAWA: "No kids, He is not our lunch!"
ME: "Whew!!"
KID 2: "See..I told you!, He is our dinner."
ME: "WHAAAAAT!!!!"
TAAWA: "Oh no....Kids, He is not our food. He is my friend!"
ME: "Whew!"
KiD 1 & 2: "Then..what do we have for lunch??"
TAAWA: "We'll order a small pizza."
ME (innocently): "But..Will a small pizza be enough for four of us?"
TAAWA: "Oh..cmon. The small pizza is for you. We'll eat the delivery boy. What say, Kids?"
KID 1: "YAYY!!! I'll go make the phone call."
KID 1: "Hello..A small pizza..thin crust..but a fat delivery boy. Thanks.."
TBC..
Words of wisdom
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Sounds a li'l sensible. Doesn't it? I hope God visits my blog now. (:P)
To the careless drivers..
Thursday, July 13, 2006
"I believe we can end it. Tonight is not an accident. There are no accidents. I do not believe in chance." --Morpheus in THE MATRIX RELOADED
Went to a party, Mom
**Abridged version of an e-mail forward titled 'WENT TO A PARTY, MOM'
Thanks: Shraddha
"I went to a party,
And remembered what you said.
You told me not to drink, Mom
So I had a sprite instead.
I felt proud of myself,
The way you said I would,
That I didn't drink and drive,
Though some friends said I should.
I made a healthy choice,
And your advice to me was right,
The party finally ended,
And the kids drove out of sight.
I got into my car,
Sure to get home in one piece,
I never knew what was coming, Mom
Something I expected least.
Now I'm lying on the pavement,
And I hear the policeman say,
The kid that caused this wreck was drunk,
Mom, his voice seems far away.
My own blood's all around me,
As I try hard not to cry.
I can hear the paramedic say,
This girl is going to die.
I'm sure the guy had no idea,
While he was flying high,
! Because he chose to drink and drive,
Now I would have to die.
So why do people do it, Mom
Knowing that it ruins lives?
And now the pain is cutting me,
Like a hundred stabbing knives.
Someone should have taught him,
That it's wrong to drink and drive.
Maybe if his parents had,
I'd still be alive.
My breath is getting shorter, Mom
I'm getting really scared.
These are my final moments,
And I'm so unprepared.
I wish that you could hold me Mom,
As I lie here and die.
I wish that I could say, "I love you, Mom!"
So I love you and good-bye."
Rajini and the cannibal
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
A cannibal from Nigeria came to India on a tour. One fine day, he watched the movie 'Arunachalam' starring Rajini. He loved the characters in the movie. He imagined how tasty they would be. Apart from tht, he also liked some of the scenes from the movie--
Arunachalam's Dad(to his son): Do you know why I am giving you so much money and asking you to spend all of it in 30 days? There is a story behind it....The movie ended and the cannibal enjoyed the rest of his holidays.
When I was young, I was addicted to Cigars. I would smoke atleast 10 packets of cigars per day. On seeing this, my father asked me, "Kannaa! Do you like cigars so much?". "Yes", replied I. That night my dad took me inside a room. It was full of cigars. Virtually every nook and corner was filled with Cigars. "I want you to finish smoking all these cigars before tomorrow morning", said my dad and he locked the door from outside. Being an ambitious person, I took it as a challenge and smoked every one of those cigars, and I completed all the packets by morning. When I came out, I realised that I no longer had any passion for cigars. In fact I started to hate the smell of the smoke.
The cannibal's friend met him at a vegetarian restaurant. He was totally surprised and asked , "You were a compulsive cannibal who loved ladies fingers and fingerchips in the literal sense; you used to cut red-heads instead of carrot heads. And now, what am I seeing? You're sitting in a vegetarian restaurant!!! Are you waiting for the waiter?"
The cannibal replied," No. I am a pure vegetarian now."
The friend couldn't believe this. He asked," Oh!! What did you do in these 3 months that converted you totally?".
The once-was-a-cannibal replied, "I worked at the cemetry as an undertaker."
The cannibal replied," No. I am a pure vegetarian now."
The friend couldn't believe this. He asked," Oh!! What did you do in these 3 months that converted you totally?".
The once-was-a-cannibal replied, "I worked at the cemetry as an undertaker."
Confession..
Saturday, July 01, 2006
"I've sinned. I am heartless.
Today, she came to me and pleaded for her son's life. She fell to my feet and asked me to forgive her son for what he did. But I didn't listen to her. I killed her son. I killed him--just like that!
There are people out there searching for me. But I know, they will never be able to find me. This small world I've built for myself..I can be anywhere in it. They won't find me. I have the power. I have the support.
Even today, there are hundreds of people who have entrusted everything on me. They believe that I can work wonders. Of course, there are people who don't believe; there are people who are doubtful; there are people who do not care if I exist or not. I feel a mild pain when I think of these people, but the pain disappears when I think about the eternal love the majority of the people have for me.
But now, I am beginning to feel guilty. Am I doing justice to the people who love me? I cause destruction in the cities directly or indirectly. I am responsible for the deaths of innumerable number of people in this world. I am responsible for the troubles they are undergoing. I am responsible for everything.
Is there any way out of this?
Oh my!! When humans are confused or troubled, they pray to me. When I am confused and troubled, to whom do I pray?"<
Of borders & boundaries...
Sunday, June 25, 2006
"I'm going to show them a world-- a world without rules and controls, without borders or boundaries, a world where anything is possible."
--NEO in THE MATRIX
At a mosque in Madras,
They called me a Hindu.
At Delhi,
They called me a Madrasi.
At China,
They called me an Indian.
At the US of A,
They called me an Asian.
At my death ceremony,
They announced, "You'll always be one of us!"
-Abinand
Amour et Argent
Friday, June 23, 2006
PyareLal and Aamir were in the midst of a heated argument.
" Nothing equals pure love. Love is the best thing that can ever happen to a person. You can't buy love with money."
" I won't accept that. Love is nothing without money. Try telling your loved ones that you're bankrupt. The next minute, you'll be alone."
" That only means it isn't true love. And I am talking about true love. The one who really loves you will not leave you at any cost."
" Really? Try living with your wife in a dirty shack for a week. You'll know."
" See..All i can say is...Money is nothing; absolutely nothing. If you have love, you don't need anything else."
" Humbug!! If you have money, you can get everything else."
FLASH!!!!
There was a streak of lightning, and both of them were blinded for a second. When they opened their eyes, they saw a lady, as graceful as a flawless moon.
She came towards Pyarelal and asked, "I give you a choice between Love and Money. What do you want?"
Instantly came the reply, " Love, of course. I'll prove that Love is the only thing one ever needs."
"So be it!", she granted. Then she turned towards Aamir and asked, "What do you choose? Love or money?"
"Money! Lots and lots of it. I don't need anything else."
"So be it".
And in an instant, she was gone.
A month later..
Pyarelal and Aamir happened to meet each other. Each of them could see pain and remorse in the other's eyes.
Pyarelal asked," What happened? You look so pathetic. Didn't she give you lots of money?"
Aamir replied," Yes, she did. I got loads and loads of money. But I realised that without love, nothing is complete. My daughter estranged me. No one cared for me. As if these were not enough, I stopped loving food; I stopped loving everything. And the worst part is, I've stopped loving money itself. Now, whats the use of having so much money when you don't love it?"
Aamir continued, "Anyways, didn't you choose love? I thought you must be living a wonderful life."
Pyarelal nodded. "I did choose love. And now, I am in as pathetic a condition as you are. Since I chose love over money, I lost all my money. It didn't end with that. Do you know what happened? I started loving Money. But I cannot get any."
--Abinand
VISA --The Key
Thursday, June 01, 2006
It was 11 in the night. My cellphone buzzed. A message.
"Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya." Send this message to 20 people, and in 5 days, you will hear a good news."
I hate such messages, and I mercilessly delete them as soon as I see them. But that day, I didn't. I patiently forwarded it to 20 of my friends.
"Why did I do it? What is happening to me?", I wondered. But I already knew the answer--
It was the 27th of May, exactly 5 days before my Visa interview.
Such was the impact, the fear of Visa had on me. But now, its all over; and I understand that "Visa is nothing; absolutely nothing."
Today(June 1), now that I've got my Visa, dont expect me to forward any goodluck spam messages. I am not superstitious anymore:)
Aawaaz De Kahiin Se'..
Friday, April 07, 2006
My First Attempt at Audio Blogging...
Though I am really late to use this feature, I thought I would give it a try. So here goes..
'Ae Ajnabi' from DIL SE, sung by me in Karaoke mode.
Listen to it here.
Download it here
or here.
---
Though I am really late to use this feature, I thought I would give it a try. So here goes..
'Ae Ajnabi' from DIL SE, sung by me in Karaoke mode.
Listen to it here.
Download it here
or here.
---