THE TOTAL TOLLYWOOD.COM REVIEW

Confessions of a film maker is written, directed and produced by Anish. Though there are a few characters in the film, the only lead role in the film is done by Kamal Kamaraju. The film is about an aspiring film maker's take on how the film industry is now mafia-like. It tries to show the frustration of an aspiring film maker in the present scenario of film industry.

The film starts off with a note that a dead body is found on a staircase. It is identified to be that of Kamal Kamaraju's and the mode of death is suicide. Kamal records the last 10 days of his life and makes it as a video diary. This is recovered from his belongings after his suicide. There are instructions on how to edit the video and that is what is the rest of the film.

Kamal Kamaraju gave excellent performance in the role of Kamal Kamaraju himself. Frustration, agony, hopelessness, helplessness kind of expressions are consistent on his face and body language. Kamal and director Anish have got some guts in making this film. The content of the film is bold, starking reality, thought provoking, opiniated and abusive.

Director Kamal in the film has a great script but he fails several attempts to launch it as a film. He is frustrated because he has been working in the industry for the last 10 years and has been in good books with many makers as a hard worker. Yet, his film never kicks off. The reason, he attributes, is that the industry is run by stars rather than creators. 'That is why we dont see original scripts', claims the film.
Nepotism, mediocrity are the main targets of attack in the film. The script comments on almost all the top stars and recently released films. There is no beating around the bush for these comments. The comments are very specific and can be easily associated with those stars and those movies. The film also tries to discuss on how the present generation of films are sowing bad seeds in children's minds. 'A is for Adults in the entire world but here A is for all' kind of slogans (referring to A certificate) read strikingly in the film.

Leaving content aside, Anish did a good job with the making of the film. Novelty - is the word here. From the word go, the film narrates in a different style. The camera always focussed on one character narrating 10 days of his life. Run time of the film is 90 minutes and the audience are glued to the seats for the entire time. However, there are a few parts in the film that were dragged a bit. Some trimming could have worked better.

The side of the coin that I liked in this film is the guts of the makers, few facts spoken, a different movie, Kamal's performance and the tribute paid to classic movies. The other side of it is the abusive language, opiniated message and no proper justification for the frustration of the director. He loses his heart with just an attempt? And though the film runs a disclaimer that it is strictly for people older than 18, the language used in the film is still unacceptable.

The film shows lot of frustration. Lots and lots of it. He shows his frustration on the film stars ('Stop making films for yourselves'), media ('Stop Lying') and the audience. But is it in the right direction? Film 'Industry' is about entertainment business. There is lot of money, livelihood and sustainance involved in this business. The makers have their own graph in doing a film. For example, compare the openings of a debut film of a superstar's son and that of a new debut hero. That should prove the point. It is the human tendency. If Tata brand released a new car and some tom dick and harry company released almost the same car, which one would you buy?
The argument can continue against the content on the above lines. Some of the points raised in the film might be valid. At the same time, they can be argued against from any view point. That is why the Confessions of a film maker comes with some bold (frustrated) reality but is also strongly opiniated. One more thing I accept with the director is 'No one should be bigger than cinema. Cinema should be bigger than those involved'.

(As told by the director, this could be the first and last screening. The film might release on DVD soon and also might be telecasted on some websites).