Old work and commencement of PJH plans

10th April 2013

I haven't updated this for sooo long! Finally, I have convocated! (yet to make a comic out of that day)
I feel all gyaani and professional now, although still somewhat naive and a student, still.

I'm posting some old work for starters. It's been too long since I've posted so I'll just start with this!

Here's some Paranorman fanart and a sketch of Ellen Page I'd done long ago that didn't end up lookin anything like her! Enjoy!

Tooth - Rise of the Guardians

26th Dec 2012

Rise of the Guardians has finally come to India!! :D And besides a few story glitches here and there (and also, I was hoping for a better end for 'Pitch'), I absolutely LOVED it! I loved the fact that they brought a totally insignificant character (Jack Frost) into the limelight, and the acting of Jack and Pitch was absolutely brilliant. I loved all the characters and loved almost everything about it. :) So I had to do some fanart. So I drew a sketch of 'Tooth' (Tooth fairy) from Rise of the Guardians!

Most of my friends didn't like her character, and thought it was the weakest of all of them. But I think she was kind of a catalyst to get the story moving, just like 'North'. The drawing and the colors completely from memory - proving that it must've been a really great character design. (Now I gotta find his/her name). Hope you like it!

Warrior Review

13th April 2012

When En told me I'd feel happy after watching Warrior, I gave him 'the look'. How can I film named 'Warrior' make me happy? He said I would like it. Of-course I liked it, not only that, I loved it. It was absolutely stunning. Technically the shots weren't artsy and I don't think that was the purpose of the director anyway - but it sure had a lot of continuity. The film goes through a lot of emotional conflicts more than anything else. After a point you're in their shoes. From the beginning you know what the end is gonna be - the two brothers will have to fight against each other - it is predictable. What you don't know how they will arrive at that point, and you want to know who will win and what will happen to them after that.


Warrior was very close to 'Fighter' in terms of the concept, but it was so much more emotionally satisfying, it breaks my heart. Nick Nolte who plays the father has acted so well that after a long time I cried for a character. Tom Hardy makes you hate him and Joel Edgerton makes you want him to win at every point. It's gripping throughout and it makes your heart ache. It makes you cheer with them, laugh with them, get angry with them and feel pain with them. Absolutely wonderful.

A Seperation Review

12th Feb 2012
Watched an amazing film today, that I've been planning to watch for a looong time. It's an Iranian film titled 'A Separation'. It's absolutely beautiful, and I think it's a mus-watch for every film student. The actors were so believable and real that it was getting really hard to read the subtitles simultaneously! I just wanted to delve into their performance. It was stunning. The story is simple - a story about a separation of a married couple, and an incident that takes place in their lives which makes you wonder whether they will stay or separate. On a moral ground it asks so many questions, it makes you choose between two grey people throughout the film. It was so honest, and simple, just the way it happens in reality. The emotions were rooted, and not only did I sympathize, but empathized with the characters of the story.

Lastly, (spoiler alert!) I'd like to write about some of the most beautiful parts in the film.
When the dad's father almost dies and he later bathes and cleans him, while scrubbing his back he sinks into his shoulders and cries. His father, suffering from Alzheimer's doesn't react. It is so real and candid that it makes you uncomfortable.
When the daughter confronts her father, asking him if he knew about the maid's pregnancy, we see what he goes through, trying to lie to his daughter and yet teach her the values and lessons of life. So much in this film is about trust, and doing the right thing, even though you have to do some wrong to reach there. It leaves LOTS of room for interpretation to the viewer, and that's how effective it makes cinema look.
At the end I waited till the credits went off the scene, even though they were in arabic. I wanted to know whether the daughter would ever come out with her decision. And more than that, it was the aftershock of the movie's greatness.

So those who haven't seen it yet, try your best to get a hand on it. You won't regret it. :)

'A Separation' by Asghar Farhadi

Iron Giant Review

8th March 2012

Woke up to the sound of many people cheering. I'm going through a very tough phase right now. I'm fighting with a lot of decisions that are um - not exactly work related. So I couldn't whole-heartedly join the celebration. I knew it was my last year here, and that I would never get to play again in MIT, but I could get myself to go downstairs. So the morning started off pretty terribly. I am now in class, trying to work on my backgrounds. I gotta admit, you really do need A LOT of energy and enthusiam to fuel a project like 'The Mailox'. A shortfilm takes time, patience, and a LOT of self motivation. So once again, I watched 'The Iron Giant' - a HIGHLY underrated 2D animation feature directed by the one and only - Brad Bird!

I gotta say there was so much I didn't notice the first time. Though the effect of the story stayed the same (I was in tears when the giant says 'You stay, I go') there was so much more to see in terms of animation and staging. I also noticed some of the shots would have not been possible without 3D. I saw so many shots that I can refer to while animating! For example, Hogarth running away from the camera, Hogarth on his bicycle, clicking a photo etc. it makes you laugh, and cry, and learn about life. I love the part where a deer in the woods get shot, and Hogarth explains to Giant how he perceives death and the idea of a soul. :)

Well, some fruit out of the uneventful morning! Will start with my backgrounds now!

Day 13 - Leon Sketches

27th Dec '11

Sketched while watching the movie for the second time.. LOVE this film! :) There's a sadass hindi re-make called 'Bichchoo' which means Scorpion. In the Hindi version they replaced Leon's favorite plant with a scorpion and reduced the age difference between Mathilda and Leon. Its damn sad. Anyway here're the sketches. It took a really long time to get Natalie Portman's younger face right. :-s Looks sorta similar by the last sketch.






Sketched while watching the movie for the second time.. LOVE this film! :) There's a sadass hindi re-make called 'Bichchoo' which means Scorpion. In the Hindi version they replaced Leon's favorite plant with a scorpion and reduced the age difference between Mathilda and Leon. Its damn sad. Anyway here're the sketches. It took a really long time to get Natalie Portman's younger face right. :-s Looks sorta similar by the last sketch.