"I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse." -Don Vito Corleone in The Godfather
Yes,for movie buffs getting a chance to watch movies all night along with a certaincrowd of similar maniacs was an offer we couldn’t refuse. The offer wasprovided by the Chennai RTFF (Roof Top Film Festival) in a fashion similar tothe Don. And all we did was kneel down and kiss the hand.
Therevival session of the Chennai RTFF was held on the night of September 17,2011. Some members met a couple of weeks prior to that at the Haji Ali (Specialmention to their amazing faloodas) and we decided the way we would like to takeit forward. Gearing up for a night of amazing movies, the RTFF google groupkept swarming with mails on the genre selection and what a democratic move thatwas! The usual confusion over any voting process was loud and clear there aswell.
So thecurator for this edition – @Sandeep Makam - took a call saying “ I’m going todecide and you’re going to watch”. (He was very polite with the call thoughlike De Niro). So a blind date it was. The whole event was set up@thestartupcentre and by 9 we had a houseful audience. In fact more people thanthe beds could accommodate. So how does it work? Do you guys actually sit upand watch movies all night? Yes, we do but we don’t sit up. We lie down! Bedsare put all over the place so that you can stretch yourself and relax watchingthe movies. Are we allowed to eatinside? Yes, we provide a lot of short eats and cool drinks. And we love it ifyou can bring some along for all of us too. So who chooses the movies? As Itold – the curator does. But then a list of movies is provided so that theleast watched is watched. It’s not a committee it’s a few people who just lovesitting together and watching movies, so we go with the flow.
"Mama always saidlife was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."– Forrest Gump
Soback to the night, heist night was what was chosen! So a lineup of interestingmovies was put to vote and finally decided on The Bandits to start with. Astarter to a segment in which we actually debated on is it a heist? Is it acomedy or is it a Romantic flick? Well, we stayed to our own opinions stronglyjust like any movie critic would. After the first movie, stomachs started tochurn. Food was the calling. A night snack when was arranged. @Sudish Kamathgets up and sparks a debate on whether the Ajith starrer Mankatha was a heistmovie? Right, discussions followed till we watched the short film of Shor in theCity (which was terrific). And then we move onto the next flick – The Killing.But then someone comes calling suddenly.
"Wait a minute,wait a minute. You ain't heard nothin' yet!" - Jakie Rabinowitz/Jack Robinin The Jazz Singer
Why did we talkabout Mankatha a while ago. Well, let’s spill the beans. Director Venkat Prahbumade his entry. The awesome dude who made movies like Chennai-28, Saroja, Goaand Mankatha. And what did we do? For starters, we were not kind to him apartfrom serving him food. We bombarded him questions on the good and bad of hisfilms and cinema in general. The man put up with us and answered us quietelaborately. Tackled googly’s brilliantly, stood his ground on explaining someserious questions and always had a joke in hand. And yes, he did reveal a lotof secrets which we can’t talk out. (Sorry boys, you missed it). After stayingwith us for more than an hour, he left. With all the bombarding of questionsyou have to tell – “Eppadi kelvi kettalum, pathil solraa macha!” And yes, he might aswell join us for our future sessions!
Venkat Prahbu !!!
Well, that aint itall. Followed up with the Italian Job (1969) and City of Fire. Now, to allthose who slept half way through those were the last movies, Your snores keptus awake. Thank you! To most of the crowd who were up all night. Who noticedthe sun rise? No one! Thus, we are movie maniacs.
That’s how specificwe are in our choice of movies and our trying to understand the vast ocean ofcinema. We are not critics but you know the fact. Everyone has two jobs – “Oneis his usual job and second is being a movie critic”. Our Lingua Franca is Cinema!So folks, Come join us in our fiesta for movies. We love to experiment with genresand movies around the world. After all, the Supply is always more than the Demand.But then we get the good stuff in here.
So a big call to allyou movie lovers, come join us!
To follow the various activities of the RTFF -- Follow the twitter handle ChennaiRTFF As well apart from the various handles linked above follow @vsnipz for the October Edition update and @javeeth for the November Edition!
As well --> Read Sudhish Kamath's Blog on the RTFF Revival HERE !
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