Keep Smiling...............: Woohoo ! Dhruva

It's five days since Dhruva's been in Italy. I know very little of what's happening as he's pretty much disappeared into the experience.

The experience of Cinemadamare

They started work on filming, Day 2 itself.

Yesterday was one rare chat and I was like "I understand no calls, no sending pictures.... but why you not putting any pictures even on instagram, or even changing your dp?" and he's like "I will, I will....just that there's so much better stuff to do here every minute amma".

And suddenly I have news....with pictures too. No, not from Dhruva. My news now comes from my good loyal friend, Girija, a net browsing expert, who has proclaimed herself my press reporter for the trip. Must say she's done brilliantly well, from sending me a picture of his bus, a group picture of his, press coverage of the event, and even telling me that his film was being screened yesterday. Imagine.

I msgd Dhruva to ask about the screening and he's like "how did you know ma.....yeah, my first Italian film, I directed, wasn't great because we did it in two days, but it's a start"

And today he messages that he won the 'Best Director' for his film, 'The Search'.

Wow Dhruva !

They have a weekly competition of films, of what they've filmed during the week, and his was best film. I was so thrilled, especially so because he's been really keen on Direction, and this was his first go at it. His first live action film.

Girija asks me how it feels.....and that's when I looked in to see.

I saw not just a deeply happy and fulfilling space, but quickly so many dots from life connected. His crazy passion for films since he was four, and one that never waned through the years. I remember family saying "picture picchi vaadiki, you should control it". And me seeing a joy and focus that I could only stand back and watch in amazement.

I've myself seen Jungle book with him about forty times, Bambi twenty, Jurassic park six, Harry Potters countless I think.... until more recently, Interstellar three times. Ofcourse I'll go only for those which I like. He's a huge Star Wars fan and wanted me to watch avengers, but that's just not my kind :)

He's as picky as I am... wouldn't watch any and every film. It was just those few that he'd go again and again. And understand them from different perspectives each time. Then he'll watch interviews of the directors, actors, screen play writers, music composers, any angle that took his fancy....read up about them..the extent to which he goes amazes me.

Our discussions on movies would hold me spell bound even years before he was into filming.... "did you notice the lighting shift from light to shadow ma, you get what that means" "close your ears and imagine this scene without sound, you'll understand it differently " "I love how they don't break it down for you, and you yet get it"...." ...that's what I love about Nolan".....and on and on.

A couple months back he went all the way to Mumbai just to attend a Christopher Nolan talk.

Today I see all of that manifest in the winning of that competition.

In Italy.....in two days...competing against so many others....a first film ( he has otherwise trained in animation and not live action). If I sound like I'm going overboard, well it's a moms version :)

While up until yesterday I was just so happy for him having the experience of filming with experts and young filmmakers from around the world, and in Italy, the win is surely a recognition and a validation.

Last night Diksha saw a clip that her anna was streaming live on instagram,...and she's like "I don't think I heard even two people in that whole group with the same accent". That says a lot for the experience and exposure he's having there.

Here's some pictures I managed, between his Instagram stories which has one video of his film screening, and what Girija sent me:

The bus in which they're touring Italy, each week in a different town. They've now moved from Fimucino to Genzano he wrote, and while the drive was in the night he said it was amazingly beautiful. Even the bus is so cute.