The Odyssey

An epiphany during an introductory lecture on Philosophy during my freshman year doing Telecommunication engg led me to the ‘revelation’ that Plato’s Allegory of the Cave was the symbolic base of the Matrix trilogy. That awakening sparked something leading me to take the proverbial red pill, pursue writing and eventually a masters degree in Philosophy and seek a career in filmmaking.

I fell in love with travel during lazy childhood summers spent going over National Geographic magazines that my grandfather brought for us and how they would transport me to other places and times.

To me, documentary filmmaking is like a ‘Behind the Scenes’ of life, and a filmmaker, a traveler not bound by time, space or self, capable of traversing them all in a non-linear fashion.

As is with life, documentary filmmaking also comes with the sheer thrill of the unknown, there are no guarantees of walking away with anything initially hoped for or predicted. This can be perfectly summed up by the eternal debate amongst filmmakers, critics and fans as to whether Hearts of Darkness is better than Apocalypse Now. I used to love the film, but now I relate much more to the documentary, and as everyone who has had the pain/pleasure of being at student shoots knows, pretty much any day can turn into an apocalyptic episode. And thats exactly what I love about it and want to keep at it. One of the few things that seem right to me in this world are the fact that careers like this exist for people like me.