Wednesday, July 04, 2007

One last confession....


It’s a little over 2 weeks since COF released online. Its been something alright. Initially I just caved in to the pressure and the comments. I didn’t know how to react and sort of went into a shell. Also what was bothering me was I never had a chance to sit back and just enjoy the fact that I’d released my movie. There was tremendous backend support work which I had to do and am still doing.
I understood what it takes to have a pay-movie-site….things go wrong…people don’t get passwords….they don’t know how to login…there are video buffering problems,all kind of shit happens, I have had customers call me direct to my house…etc etc.
Through all of this I was trying to upload a higher quality video…but have failed so far…the uploads speeds just aren’t good enough here in India…but that’s alright.Anyways….so, it took a couple of weeks for everything to be streamlined….and now with almost minimal backend support, the movie is doing fine, no great!…

Its a small piece of history, maybe in telugu cinema, if not Indian cinema...a full length feature film...shot on hi-definition....
it had a blog running, building a community around it....released trailers on youtube and finally released the film itself on the web....small but siginificant....I wonder who can claim to have made some decent money on something like this too?
Meanwhile, its been wonderful connecting with every single person who has paid and watched my movie….thats a privilege very few filmmakers have….its also a privilege to hear the choicest abuses right at your face….but the compliments that come through, more than make up for the former. :)

Anyways….so, it took a couple of weeks for everything to be streamlined….and now with almost minimal backend support, the movie is doing fine, no great!
The feedback I have been getting has been tremendous….people have either loved it or hated it….and that’s fine…I have tried to write back to most of them…
The number of hits has been gratifying,overwhelming…..33,000 hits at the time of writing….thats great!...
ofcourse a small percentage of people have decided to pay $5 and watch too…. I’ll keep you guessing on the actual number :)….but I’ll admit its enough to pay off my credit card bills for now….I know for a fact that 1 out of 5 people have shared passwords...which is great for the movie...not that great for my purse though :) oh well, you win some you loose some,right?

So yes….what does a filmmaker go through once his film is released huh? Well I think its unique in each case….I believe my movie has been a success, more for me personally…I made a movie…I said what I had to say…and I got a few people to watch it…and some of them loved it….thats good enough for me…for now.
Made on a budget of 4.5lakhs, in 30 days….shooting for not more than 4 hours each day…editing and other post work for nearly 3-4 months, depending on when studios were free…I feel vindicated whenever I read or hear from someone who has understood the movie and what it stood for….I have put a lot more at stake professionally than financially.

In the PFC community, I would like to thank ‘Striker’ and ‘OM’….the very first reviews which came out were from them….their views and thoughts gave me a lot of confidence in the initial days….when more such reviews poured in, I felt vindicated.

And ofcourse, OZ….thanks for just having the vision to build a site like this….What a community of people these are….what a collective passion for cinema!. By taking up a cause like ‘confessions’ and several others, you truly stand by what you say your site is all about.
lol...this is beginning to sound like an award acceptance speech....so yeah, I'll continue..stop the music, let me finish...

thanks to everyone at PFC....we may not know each other by faces....but we know each other by our collective passions for cinema.
thanks to everyone who followed my blog....you didnt know me or my film then....but decided to spend some time on it.
thanks to everyone who wished me well....every great review and every bad review....if someone feels for your movie....good or bad....its an honour either ways.
thanks to my friends and family....for not questioning why I decided to do this...and supporting me all the way through.
thanks to anurag kashyap...I dont know you personally and I dont think you have watched it...but your outlook on cinema has been inspiring to me...a scene in my movie was based on your feelings.
(PFC viewers take the trouble to guess which one :))
thanks to kamal, for living the role and carrying the film on his shoulders....(remember guys, just one actor in a movie and 1hr:45mins, its not as easy as it sounds,its fucking tough.)

and finally....
thanks to our constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression, for which PFC and my blog is evidence of...

ciao.
for now...
Anish Kuruvilla

37 comments:

jk said...

Yet to watch buddy...Dont want to share a 5$ ticket with my 5 roomies...so just waiting so that i can watch alone....1 ticket for one..not for whole family/roomies

jaris said...

Hey Bidu,
Is that a farewell speech?
If yes,then it was f****ing good.

We all know,It was an amazing experience for u.
I was fortunate to have been present when the movie was screened.

We all bidu log, will always be with u.
Kamal,u were amazing and u definitely have a splendid future.

Bidu,U should have left a note at the end,mentioning about the new story ur trying to work on.
I guess the picture, says it all,
WALKING TOWARDS A NEW HORIZON.


Amit,Swap,Pradeep ..missed u guys comments on the movie.

WB,Don bhai kidhar ho aap?
u can mail me at
rizvisiraj@gmail.com

Plz do keep in touch.

Bidu, my best wishes are with u.
Plz keep us posted, as it has become a habit of checking the blog vryday, and reading the comments.

I guess this break will create more suspense about ur new venture.

GUYS THE NEW SCRIPT ANISH IS WORKING ON IS FABULOUS.

IT WAS GR8 KNOWING EVERBODY,
I APPOLOGISE FOR HAVING PASSED RUDE COMMENTS TO THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE CRITICISED ANISH.

I'M SORRY

U GUYS TAKE CARE OF URSELVES AND HOPE TO SEE UR COMMENTS.

CHEERS

BYE
SIRAJ

kamal said...

thnaks siraj..that really peps me up...by the way people who miss it on my blog i would like to put up a notice unicef is looking for a young filmmakers to comeup with scripts for short films on early marriage
please go through for details

www.unicef.org/india/media_3046.htm

Anonymous said...

Anish, Kamal and all others who made COFM possible, all of you, take a bow! Doesn't matter what ppl say, doesn't matter what you earned or lost, you made it happen whatever you had to say, and with great conviction. I think that deserves a great applause in itself. Great job guys!

~Deepti

jk said...

Just saw the movie.

Not a GREAT movie...will let you why :(

Liked 3-4 scenes....which are really gud:)

Just a Small Question..buddy :)

IF A!= ADULT & A = ALL ...IS COFM RATED at all? You would have just started with a RATING as "A".

Keep Going..love to watch Different movies...U R Bold enough that you gave a try..I am still waiting :(

Anonymous said...

Hi Mr.Kamal,

I saw your movie..One roaring applause to u guys...U guys r very brave..Once again a gr888 applause...

I agree with you that children are really getting spoiled watching the dirty s*** in our telugu movies...

Great that you took a chance to change the system of film industry...That's really a very nice movie to watch...
Let us know if we can help you guys in any ways..

Once again I like the way you did..
Hope the same with others...Atleast from now we can expect some meaningful movies to come up.

Regards,
Ankitha.

harsha said...

Kudos to ya' all for the brilliant performance and efforts !!! Definitely worth the watch...
and err.. I have a "confession" to make too.. "i did share my password with a friend of mine"

hehehehe....
Way to go Guys!!!!

Unknown said...

HI,

Basically i am from banglore, i am not yet seen this movie but i read the reviews and comments. You done a splendid job. I like your boldness. I am eargly waiting for this movie.I encourage your attempt and ALL THE BEST for your future projects.

Anonymous said...

Hi anish..to be frank,this was the first time I got a chance to see ur blog.I had a link popping up in one of my frnds blog. For a moment it looked like I new ur face, I only realized later (when I actually browsed thru ur site) that u've acted as the brother of raja in Anand movie. :-)

First of all let me congratulate u on ur successfull completion of ur movie.Wish u all the best.I too am very much passionate abt movies and movie making in particular.But did not get the platform right to start with. As i've now moved on to s/w feild, do not find much time to even think of it.but still that passion remains.I allways imagine myself directing a movie.Whenever I see a movie, I imagine my way of making it.I ponder in to what went wrong in the movie.

sry, I keep talking endlessly abt movies. anywasy all the best for u future.If u feel like we can stay in touch, plz do mail me at saicharms@gmail.com (may be i can learn from u regarding movie making) :-) hope u dont mind sharing few :-)

Anonymous said...

Sorry Anish

well, i payed for the movie to watch it online (being a begger that i am), but then the technology used to stream the movie was such, that its not like Youtube and all... so the stream stops every 5 secs and then buffers for the next 10 mins... so even if i pause the stream, it doesnt buffer. it was practically impossible for a connection like mine (512KBps) to watch the movie online....

I was frustrated, coz i wanted to watch the movie badly... I managed to hack into the COFM server. and i downloaded the movie. .which is in a weird format .vvf...if someone wants to view this movie badly.. then i can share the movie.... i can give you the download link which is on COFM website itself...but only if Anish bhai gives permission.... i'll upload the movie somewhre if you want... dunno whre, but help me find a server or something... coz the file is like 200MB..

sorry Anish.. i didnt mean to pirate the movie, but i was forced to rip it.

and yes.. Anish, i love your movie..... I strongly feel that you are my Voice. I badly wanted to watch the movie after seeing the teasers... Its worth the hacking.

Anonymous said...

hi anish...ur movie rocks..i watched it long back and just came to see updates in your blog..

itrockrz(site developers) sucks
why did you hire such low grade guys..
they killed the interest of almost all the indian viewers of COAFM

hope you come up with good team nxt time...
fuck u itrockerz
suck my ass

Unknown said...

maybe EVERYONE in A.P. love movies ....but after going through the blog, n your interview on IB I finally found a Fool(Anish :P ) that has a True Love n Passion for Cinema, in this F***ing World of brain-dead Hypocrites !!

never mind Success n Failure wen you are satisfied with your Work ..keep moving, you hav a Loong way ahead ....All the Best :)

who am I to advice you ?? .. I just want you to remember that " Majority need not always be Right! "

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Unknown said...

why arent you writing anymore ?

Anonymous said...

Oi, achei seu blog pelo google está bem interessante gostei desse post. Gostaria de falar sobre o CresceNet. O CresceNet é um provedor de internet discada que remunera seus usuários pelo tempo conectado. Exatamente isso que você leu, estão pagando para você conectar. O provedor paga 20 centavos por hora de conexão discada com ligação local para mais de 2100 cidades do Brasil. O CresceNet tem um acelerador de conexão, que deixa sua conexão até 10 vezes mais rápida. Quem utiliza banda larga pode lucrar também, basta se cadastrar no CresceNet e quando for dormir conectar por discada, é possível pagar a ADSL só com o dinheiro da discada. Nos horários de minuto único o gasto com telefone é mínimo e a remuneração do CresceNet generosa. Se você quiser linkar o Cresce.Net(www.provedorcrescenet.com) no seu blog eu ficaria agradecido, até mais e sucesso. If is possible add the CresceNet(www.provedorcrescenet.com) in your blogroll, I thank. Good bye friend.

Raghavendra Rao said...

Hey Anish, Avakayi biriyani!!
pere too much undhi..Good Luck Mate! Kummeyyi Assalu..
May be this is the route..
If not the Anurag Kashyap way,
then may be the Vishal Bharadwaj way!!

Anonymous said...

Where can I watch the movie. The site confessions... seems to be down.

Anonymous said...

iS THE MOVIE AVAIBLE ON WEBSITE STILL....OR ARE GUYS PLANNING TO RELASE A DVD IF ANY ONE OF THE BOTH IS GONNA HAPPEN INFORM US BY POSTING EAGERLY WAITING TO WATCH.

Anonymous said...

When are you guys planning to release a DVD

sam said...

anish,
I didn't watch ur movie.I can't find online also.Please tell me how to watch ur movie.I am ready to pay..i read the review and really loved it ...please email me .

Jagadiswar Jaggari said...

Hey Anish,

I watched this movie last year and in fact I liked it. Want to watch it again. Where could I buy a copy of this movie?

Regards,
Jags

Unknown said...

I have been unable to find a copy of this movie.The link you are showing in this site is broken

PN said...

same here...if i can forward you link,i'd really appreciate :)

Millennial MOM said...

Hey Anish,
Avakaya Biryani is really good.I always appreciate cult films.And I found your movie to be simply amazing for a debut.Keep on the good work.

Cheers,
Vani.

Anonymous said...

where is d movie?? i'm ready to spend $5 or $10 for d movie....can u plzz giv me d liink....

Anonymous said...

Anish,
Really wanna see ur movie "confessions of a film maker" dude..!! but donnow where to watch it. Please let me know how can I... please...
And wats the next venture??
tk care
bye
Sam

am said...

Anish,
Your trailer & your thoughts evoke a lot of interest. Unfortunately I am unable to find the movie anywhere on the net. Can I get a copy?

My kudos to you for thinking differently, originally and loudly.

SasanktheDada said...

where can i see this movie?

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