The Birthday Party by Harold Pinter

Click here to read more views about this movie.

                                        
                                       

            As part of online thinking activity after the film screening of The Birthday Party (1968) directed by William Friedkin. Main subject of the movie is ‘Trivia’ ( opposite to great events) for the texture of the film, all trivial things or objects glorified here with such a deep meaning like talk between Petey and meg during reading of newspaper, cooking ,looking I the mirror etc. Cinematic language is very powerful here with Picturesque technique. 

Respected Sir, Here is my views on post viewing task.

1) Why are two scenes of Lulu omitted from the movie? 

Ans. It’s not easy to give the reason that why Lulu’s scene omitted in movie but simply from the main concern of the play which revolve around the Stanley, so it doesn’t want to create any unnecessary scenes which divert the audience’s attention and what Lulu complaining about Nat Goldberg that is happen behind the scene. So we can’t believe what really happens. 

2) Is movie successful in giving us the effect of menace? Where you able to feel it while reading the text?

Ans. While we are reading the play at some level it create that effect but not that much like film does because the audio and visual effects are more effective that reading the text. In movie , we find the effect of menace clearly in the Interrogation scene where the number of the questions asked and through the loud sound effect and Stanley was sweating in fear and frustration and when Stanley hears about the two strangers , he runs in fear. 

3) Do you feel the effect of lurking danger while viewing the movie? Where you able to feel the same while reading the text

Ans..Yes, I found the lurking danger where camera focus on street light in beginning sequence that light is going and coming, knocking of the door that some dangerous thing will going to happen, blackout effect to the texture of the movie. 

4) What do you read in 'newspaper' in the movie? Petey is reading newspaper to Meg, it torn into pieces by McCain, pieces are hidden by Petey in last scene.

Ans. According to me , Newspaper connects to power when anyone reads it like Petey , he is superior because it’s the source of information and knowledge, somehow it tells reality from which the Petey is connected but Meg is unaware about it. When you read it you hide yourself from others like wearing masks. McCann tearing newspaper which hidden by Petey at the end means he wants to hide the reality of Stanley from Meg that he torn internally by that two men.

5) Camera is positioned over the head of McCain when he is playing Blind Man's Buff and is positioned at the top with a view of room like a cage (trap) when Stanley is playing it. What interpretations can you give to these positioning of camera? 

Ans. In McCann’s turn during the game of blind man’s buff , camera focus on the his head that he is powerful one as ‘head’ is also used for highly powerful and intellectual (rationality) as in ‘Waiting for Godot’, Estragon is playing with hat by wearing it on his head while in case of the Stanley, camera focus from the top where the room looks like the cage for him that he is suffocating in that and want to come out of it. 

6)"Pinter restored theater to its basic elements: an enclosed space and unpredictable dialogue, where people are at the mercy of one another and pretense crumbles." (Pinter, Art, Truth & Politics: Excerpts from the 2005 Nobel Lecture). Does this happen in the movie?

Ans. Yes, these all are very well represented in the movie hat all characters are at the mercy of each other, it showing that Meg, Petey and Lulu worried for Stanley but it’s only pretended no one of them can help Stanley from stay away that two strange men at the end. So, it’s like pretence crumble of all characters after the entry of that two strange men. 

7) How does viewing movie help in better understanding of the play ‘The Birthday Party’ with its typical characteristics (like painteresque, pause, silence, menace, lurking danger)?

Ans. Movie helps us in better understanding of the play because pauses, silence, effect of menace, lurking dangers which can’t properly understood in reading the play. When we watch the movie , we feel every emotions of menace with help of Camera language , it’s focus on particular trivial things like the hatch of the door which is not present in the play, street light, car mirror, long sort of the roads, blackout effect , sort from top to show room as a cage which can’t be felt while reading the play then sounds and sights of tearing paper, knocking of the door, sound of cup , sound of drum which have deep symbolical meaning that it’s sound of the of the Stanley’s heartbeats which we hear, it creates more sense than trivial dialogues. 

8) With which of the following observations you agree:

o “It probably wasn't possible to make a satisfactory film of "The Birthday Party."

o “It's impossible to imagine a better film of Pinter's play than this sensitive, disturbing version directed by William Friedkin”[3]. (Ebert)

Ans. I agree with the second point that it is satisfactory film which presents the trivial things in a better way with the help of the camera language and sound effect as I have mentioned in point no -7. 

9) If you were director or screenplay writer, what sort of difference would you make in the making of movie? Who would be your choice of actors to play the role of characters?

Ans. Movie is quite good and effective to creates effect of menace though the texture of the play that is given in the film. So, I think that there is no need to change anything in it. 

10)Who would be your choice of actors to play the role of characters? 

In Casting I will choose 

Stanley: Irfan Khan 

Petey: Anupan Kher 

Lulu: Shraddha Kapoor 

McCann: Sidharth Malhotra 

Goldberg: Riteish Deshmukh 

For Meg’s character I can’t find any proper actor. 

Thank You, 

Talk with an Author Mahenrdasinh Parmar

            

         

Click here for reading original stories from  Gujrati Literature app

On the Friday, 15^th September 2017, Department of English MK Bhavnagar University has arranged a session with Gujrati short story writer and acclaimed  essayist Prof. Mehendrasinh Parmar  on his Gujarati short stories like Polytechnic, Now Which Polytecnic and  Udana Charakaladi.

                     Last Year, we have talk on Intellectual Indubhai, short story written by him where he read his story in front of us , it’s golden opportunity to hear the story from the Author himself because in literature, it can be said that it’s not easy to understand the point of view of an author or poet behind his/her particular work and we can’t know that which meaning is given by them like in Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter’s , case when people asked them about the meaning of their plays, they said that they are not sure for the particular meaning it’s up to the audience that how the meaning can be taken by viewers.

                  In the beginning, he talked about  his troubles to published his stories because the subject of that, it’s not normal but serious one that is of the problem of sanitation ‘Suachalay’(Toilet) with connection of  the Hindi movie Toilet- Ek Prem Katha (2017). He has written his stories in 2002 about the problems of women collectively in first two stories while in third one it presented individually in his surrounding areas of Bhavnagar like ground of A.V school, Navapara. When we see this movie, we find many similarities with these stories but it’s not clear that it based on it. It’s like George Orwell’s work ‘Nineteen Eighty four’ which is published in 1949 but it talks about the future situation of 1984,same thing we find here that story written earlier (2002) about the recent problems  but it connects future situation of 2017 also . At some level of art of film making, movie Toilet fails in connecting the idea as love theme or problem of sanitation highlights in that. In all these three stories, I  liked the most is third one because of it’s tone of dialogues in comic relief otherwise all three stories are best in it’s dialect ,stress at important place, tone of Gujrati  language which is effectively spoken by writer himself.

Thank You, 

Young India, New India

 

On September 11, 2017, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing a Student Leaders Convention on the occasion of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya’s Centenary Celebration and 125^th Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda’s Address at Chicago World Parliament of Religions.   

  

            At department of English in MK Bhavnagar University , event of the online webcast arranged and students have seen listen PM’s speech on the main theme of ‘Young India ,New India’-A Resurgent Nation: from Sankalp to Siddhi. Speech of PM reminds nation that critical views of Vivekananda about the young generation of India in relevance of today’s situation in which Modi also criticize young people who waste their time in religious things,chanting only about different things like in that auditorium where speech is given all young people chanting ‘Vande Mataram’  similar like in time of Hitler but Modi said that those who keep country clean have the first right to chant Vande Mataram. He said “when I asked all countrymen whether we have right to chant or not while we chew paan and spit it out on Mother India, I know this will hurt many people.”

    

                                  

     

          PM also put tress on ideas of Vivekananda on separation of Knowledge and Skill in which he told that whenever question about special ability asked to the students they always says we have degree of graduation but what about skills. India known for more young generation but weakness is that they have not proper skills while Japan has more skills because of which it developed in many ways like in technology, disaster development, economics etc. when  great Tsunami happened in it we believed it will take long time to recover but in a year it developed again as it was earlier. PM express his views that young generation should do more and developed their real skills not only degrees. Its good to celebrate Tamil day rather than Rose day as part of ‘One India, Great India’.

     

      “There is no better place for creativity and innovation than University campuses. There is no life without creativity let our creativity also strengthen our nation and fulfill aspirations of other people” he said. Many promises were made during university campaigns but nobody pledged to keep campuses clean.

  

       He said that ‘Every Indian should not be a job seeker but should be job giver’ in this he has expressed his views that we can make India better and developed if youngsters are skillful and talented because our country is also one of that which have more population of young people. 

Review of movie Rang De Basanti

                                     Rang De Basanti                                         

On 15^th August 2017 , we have screened the film based on freedom fighting , it is famous for editing that is done in it with music, dialogues, narration, costumes etc.

Rang De Basanti is 2006 Indian Drama film written, produced and directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. The literal meaning of the title can be translated as ‘ Paint me with the colors of the Spring’. The story is about British documentary filmmaker who is determined to make film on Indian Freedom fighters based on a diary entries by her grandfather, former officer in Indian Imperial police. It’s like play within play narration and framed narrative is artistically edited in black and white sequences of history and present situation. She asks group of five young men to act in her film. They don’t take it seriously but after experienced that emotions and feelings of patriotism by living in rural Punjab acting being more effective and lively.

Generally in India, Freedom struggle done in two ways, 1) Non- violent which is most celebrated in history in Gandhian path and 2) Violent in which the breakers of Gandhian path like Bhagat Singh, Azad, Bismil Khan , Durga devi and others. In the retelling of this story, the bitter satire done on the contemporary Indian Society. The university campus with notorious students who never pass out, conflict between Hindu and Muslims , stereotyping that Muslims are anti-India, custodians of culture etc presented ironically in film. The dialogue is very important that ‘ No any country is perfect, we have to make it perfect’ which gives message to youth that we should take responsibility to change the things as we are talking about the Democracy so it’s our duty to fight against injustice, corruption In government corporate sector for that we need Lightness ‘Roshni’,

When we talking about Gaze to look at such situations, there are to view points Outsider and Insider. When outsider sees the act of bribe it’s illegal for them but in India , it became normal for us. We can’t find problems from inside but when outsider se, it gives different views on it best example movie ‘PK’ where Alien came from other planet and finds so many problems with Indian Society like different Religions , their different color for different significance, wrong Babas (Religious Gurus) and their false practice to make their worshipers fool. So there are vast difference between views of Outsiders and Insiders.

There are some good points as well as some points that are not mentioned in movie clearly that Bhagat Singh is not shown as Atheist as most movies fail to mention it.

Breath by Samuel Beckett

Here I am sharing my views on shortest play.

Click Here to read more views on this.

This is the video of the play. 

                                                    Breath

                   This is the short stage play of 30 second by Samuel Beckett which first premiered in Eden Theater on June 16, 1996. This is very short but significant play which is very difficult that to say many things in brief like to write poem is very difficult because we need necessary words to adjust it but in essay or novel we can write long.

              In this video by Damien Hirst, on one side we find rubbish things or nothingness in video but when we minutely see that its full of deep meanings about life that sound of inhale and exhale and cry of child in setting of place full of garbage. Similarly in the world there is nothingness and meaninglessness from birth to death yet we are searching something in form of success, fame, moksh but everything is meaningless like garbage of the medical things and technical which the sign of modern times or perhaps suggests the destruction after WWII like shown in Waiting For Godot which is absolutely meaningless event which resulted into nothingness and arise the question of Existence. Through the cry of the child ,we can assume that sufferings or pain is part of life from birth to doom.

‘Learning is a gift. Even when Pain is your teacher’

‘Suffering is not enemy, it is my call to greatness’

• H. Rollins