Film Making Archives

Wk 28-25 – Weekly Notes

Updates from Week 28 of 2025.

12:28 PM
Jul 14, Monday

I am writing this on a Monday (and not on a weekend). In an attempt to ensure that there’s continuity. I really want to be consistent and even if I am late by a day, I want to be der aaye, durust aaye.

Also, this will be a little different from other weeks – simply because I am short on time. I have given myself a 25-minute window to talk about this. And I will lean on to my notes.

Listening to this as I type this. And this.

Let’s go.

💭 Highlights, reflections and notes from the past week

PS: As always, these are not in any order. And for this week, not in any particular structure either.

A/ The best and the worst of humans and our behavior is visible not in our day to day. But in adversity. And on flights. The entitlement, rudeness, want to cut queues and all that.

While on it, I want to mention that EVERYone MUST see Love Actually. And this scene. The monologue is probably one of the best pieces of writing ever. I wish I could write like this. Hats off, Richard. Oh, fun fact. Richard Curtis also wrote Notting Hill, apart from other stellar films.

B/ I havent used my laptop at all in the last few days. To a point that am making typos and having a tough time type. Which is ok, tbh. But still. I can’t even remember how I start my day. I dont know the apps I open on a day to day basis. I dont remember the bookmarks that I want to open each day. I dont know which shortcuts do what. Grrrr.

C/ Remarkable is not remarkable at all.
Saw a couple of people use it. And I was not impressed. I liked the form factor and the thinness and everything. But I dont like it enough to buy. I love the e-ink. I love the conversations that it can start. But I dont find the utility and price point marriage to be a good one.

Here’s the thing. This is one of those products that I wouldn’t buy even if I had the money.

D/ Each time I am abroad, I think to myself, why am I not living in a different country? I know the world is talking about how India is the future and all that. But I also know that I want to experience another life in an alien environment.

And, I know that I am firmly on ground, in India for another 24 months at least (if not forever) but I really have to be not here for a few years.

To be honest, it will remain a want from what I can think of.

E/ Walked an average of 10K steps over the last week.
Ate in moderation (I think).
Sleep was all over the place.
And I still gained weight!

So, I would say it was a pretty good week in terms of effort.
But outcome was zilch.

Oh, and I need to lose like 25 KGs.

F/ Need to become a lot more atmanirhbar
This trip I realized that the ones you can count on, even despite their assurances, will not come thru.

G/ Paid for quality and reliability.
I was working on a project and I realized that if you pay for quality and reliability, you may end up making less but you would sleep better and you would be happier.

I thus need to ensure that I find a way to pay top dollar to top talent and then get them to do top work. And while they do that, add the layer of reliability in that. And life can be good.

The only challenge would be when the outcome and quality is subjective, as it happens a lot in the kind of work I do. So that needs to be seen. Let’s see when and how.

H/ Projects business
Realised yet again the goods and the bads of the life spent working in a projects business. Will probably do an adulting podcast with AK on this.

I/ Filmmaking and AI
AI can now help do films FAR faster and maybe this is the time to scale up that piece. At least the TNKS bit.

I/ The want of Apple’s AirPods.
God knows how long I’ve wanted to get myself a paid of AirPods. And God knows how tough the last few months have been. And thus I havent been able to get myself one. And I dont know when this toughness will end. So that.

Reminds me of that old-age Mumbai adage – how do you know you are doing well? You start to live towards the South and start to occupy large spaces. On the other hand, am moving northward and moving to smaller spaces.

So that.

J/ Tesla in India
Tesla is opening their showroom on the 15th. And I am not invited. Sigh. Must work hard to get to a place where I am invited to better parties.

📷 Some Photos from the week gone by

Here are some photos from week 28.

The one I want to post on this blog is…

☑️ What did I get done last week?

This is a one-line report on things I got done on various things that are important to me. I will only talk about things that I got done. Shipped. Not WIP.

This week I dont want to update this. I didnt really do anything tbh.

📊 The tracker from the last week

No tracker this week. I will be back next week.

📖 Interesting Reads from the last week

No reads.

I will be back next week.

🧠 Reminders from last week

This section captures things that I want to not forget. I will copy paste these week on week and track updates. I will also add these to SG’s Office.

Skipping this week. I will get back to this in the week of 14th July.

🥡 So, one thing that defines the past week?

Fast.

That’s the world I would use for the last week.

This was probably one of the fastest weeks of my life.

Oh and in the previous weeks, the one-word reviews have been… Uncool, Disappeared, Experience, Grind, Busy for Nothing, Regular, Getting back to action, Slack, Busyness, Action, Survive, Looking Up, Survival, Taste, Community, Respect, Money, People.

—
Phew!
Lemme know what you think.
See you around.

Oh, and this too shall pass!

PS: This series of posts is inspired by Thej and his weekly notes. The previous editions are here: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09 (missed), 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 (missed), 16, 17 (missed), 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 (missed), 23, 24 (missed), 25, 26, 27

PPS: Please do point typos.
Grammarly is not working well and I don’t have energy to cut paste edit this in some other spell check thing.

PPPS: In case you see me being inconsistent in anything – work, writing, reviews etc, PLEASE do point out.

231021 – Morning Pages

A longish post about random things, thoughts and ideas that I had yesterday. And some plans for the day.

6:35. Just woke up. Slept really late. The last few days have been a blur. I am not sure when a day would start. And when that day would end. While I enjoy such a life, the rewards that I seek for such a life are not really there. If I could fix the reward bit, I would be a changed man. Right now I am groggy. I am literally yawning like no one’s business. And there are so many sore spots on the body. No, it was not a restful sleep.

So, the morning pages. I have some lingering thoughts about a dream. In the dream, I am on top of some hoverboard or something and that’s going so damn high that I can see the entire world. The hoverboard is tethered to an aircraft. Along with me, on his own hoverboard is VG. And while he’s there, he’s on the phone. Where else.

I think this is after a while that I have remembered a dream. Not sure if this is a good thing or a bad.

Yesterday was otherwise ok. Did some work. Avoided some work. Got some praises. Got some brickbats. Made a few tough phone calls (have even tougher calls to make today). Had decided that I would fast. Could fast till about 4. And then ate so much that an average human being would eat in like a week! Had infinite cups of coffee. That is probably acting up and making me feel so blah about myself.

But hey, here’s the thing. I’ve been at this and the email to Team SG since 6:35. It’s 7:15. The last 45 minutes have actually made me happy, cheerful, and all that. Just because I am typing and letting things that are clouding my head on a computer. And sharing with a few people that I genuinely care for. And want to be cared by.

And while I am doing that, I am sipping onto the water. I’ve had almost one liter of water. Will have another liter. Oh, lemme talk of another thing that may construe as TMI. I am done with an electric toothbrush. For the last two days, I have been using a good old hotel toothbrush. The kinds that you dispose of away after you are done. I have been giving my teeth a vigorous rub down. And while I am not sure if it cleans anything but I love the experience. Something that I did not get with an electric one. So that was the big reveal of the day 😀

In other things, I have to write about the filmy day I had yesterday. Made me realize how important films are as medium and how much I long to be a part of the business.

So three things happened.

A. I saw the second trailer of King Richard (2021). The first one is here and the new one here.

And I realized how powerful stories could be. I mean just the trailer moved me the first time I saw it. And now, with the second one, I know that I relate to that father to a T. The film, the story made the life purpose clear to me. I made me realize that I want to be King Richard! You know, the kinds that help create a Serena and a Venus! And more. I really want to be the shoulder to multiple giants. All those random acts of kindness that I engage in, all the artists that I try and support, the Team SG itself is an attempt in that direction. Let’s see if I can do it.

You may want to see this thread on Twitter.

B. While looking for a reference for work, I happened to look at the trailer of Love Actually and I realized I want to make a film like that. Where simple stories of love are brought to life. Of course, there is Modern Love and all that. But Love Actually is a brilliant example of hyperlink cinema and I think it is among the greatest films ever. I’d love to make a film like Love Actually.

Here’s a random trivia. Love Actually is by Richard Curtis. Who also wrote Notting Hill. And I quoted Richard Curtis in a line in the acknowledgments section of #tnks.

Here’s an idea. What if I make a film about love? Maybe about a person trying to find love? I remember I was at DocEdge a few months ago a lady was filming her experiences of how she’s going about finding love. It was a non-fiction documentary and I think there is merit in doing something similar. But then, do I want to copy? Nah. Let’s see what cut can I identify.

C. One of the crew members on Bil Bulaaye reminded me that around this time in 2019, my first short film was released at MAMI. It was among the highlights of 2019. It allowed me to amplify what I do with films. Of course, I have a very little hand to play in its success (or not such a large success), but it is my first. And it’s special.

And here’s a bonus 4th. I read about the story of Rockstar (2011) and I loved it. WHAT AN INTENSE STORY! Of course, the word is on the street that it’s a shitty film but I loved the story. Must must must get in the business of stories, Mr. Garg. #note2self.

So yeah!

Guess this is about it. Here’s the journal.

Emoticon: :|. I woke up groggy and sad and miffed. But as I wrote the morning pages and daily mail to Team SG, I am little more cheerful.
Mindful Index (on a scale of 10): 0. Super duper distracted.
Things that I am grateful for
1. I have found a set of people (Team SG) that I can rant to. While there is no commercial transaction per se for being that, I love that I have a few people that I can be myself with.
Things that would make my today great. Just one thing.
1. If I can salvage a tough client situation that I am in, it would be great. In fact that would make this entire week, entire month great.
A daily affirmation.
My happiness and sadness is controlled by no one but me. I need to become un-fuck-withable.
Amazing things that happened yesterday?
1. I had decided that I woudl fast. I could control myself till about 4. It was amazing. Need to try and see if I can try to not eat till 4 today as well.
2. I gave gyaan about EBC to a senior from MDI (Visham). I loved it! That was great.
3. I loved that there was a car at my call to drop me to the hotel. I realized that I love having such conveniences.
What could have made yesterday better?
1. Work. I am missing deadlines on various projects. I need to find a way to not do that. I know I am juggling multiple things. But there has to be a way to manage things better. Maybe not sleep enough. Maybe start the day early. I dont know. I need to find a solution. The life I have chosen will make me chase every opportunty I get. Maybe there is an answer somewhere?
2. If I could speak to AS, it would have been great. She and I have been trying to talk for almost a week now.
Quote for the day
You are what you do. Not what you say you’ll do. This is very very important to me. I am often on the side of merely saying. I need to tick over to the do part.

This is about it for the day. And here’s the streaks…

OMAD – 0
#book2 – 0
NOFAP – 0
#noCoke – 0. Had one. Regular. Not Diet. Killing myself softly 😀
#noCoffee – 0
#aPicADay – 15. Yesterday’s here.
Daily Journal – 16
Money spent – 2512. Thankfully I am spending less!
Killer Boogie – 0
10K steps a day – 0
Surya Namaskar – 0
Daily Mail to #teamSG – 16
10 mins of meditation – 0
Minimaslism Counter – -3 +1.
Morning Pages / Meditations – 16

310821 – Morning Pages

I talk about events as engaging work, wanting to write for a living, minimalism and how India is where the future is and yet me wanting to move out!

7:12. Woke up a few minutes ago. I am a little groggy. Guess it’s the sleeping on the floor ka side effect. Two more nights. And then one night on a train and then a hotel bed. Damn, I miss hotels and their beds. Damn, I miss life as an event manager! I think of all the things I’ve worked on, I was the most engaged when I was doing events. And I have a feeling, if I dive head-on into films, I would be far more engaged than I am when I am on any other project. I enjoy the time I spend while I am writing but then writing doesn’t pay. Damn this world where I need to find money to engage in things I love.

Anyhow. Let’s not get into a rant.

So yesterday was ok. Did some work. Did some time pass. Met a client f2f about 4 months after we started working. It was good fun. Got rogered as well (I am failing as a marketer there). Need to pull socks. But that’s the part and parcel of life. I can’t have all things work smoothly all the time. There would be ups and downs and that’s ok.

Today is a long long day. I need to wear shoes and go to another client’s office. I dont know how that would pan out. I hope I dont get rogered there :D. Then I need to visit the set of the next short film that I am working on. Not that I add any value but it’s the closest that I can get to doing an event. Just that I am the guy who controls things at the event. And at the set, it’s the director.

So that.

Oh, I must log that this trek to EBC is not turning out into a good idea. I have bought way too many things (shoes, clothes, accessories). And while it’s money, it’s also the mental load of owning all those things. I mean I have mentally decided that I will give away the new shoes to the porter that will help me carry my things. And other accessories to travel shops in Nepal. Just that, this effort of buying expensive things and then thinking about them is not cool. I need to become stronger with this resolve of staying a minimalist. And I need to have more money to be able to not worry about spending large sums on one-time purchases and then discarding what I bought. I mean this pair of shoes is probably the most expensive I’ve ever bought (at 8K) and I will just give it away after I wear it for like 5 days! So that.

No, I can’t complain that this is a side effect of minimalism. It’s just that I find it wasteful. And no, there’s no solution.

Ok. What else?

So the other day I was talking to MK about how I want to live and work out of India. And how I am supportive of everyone moving out of here. You know, the political and economic environment. And he told me that maybe I need to rethink this. In the sense that as an entrepreneur and a capitalist, he is of the opinion that the future is in India. I can’t disagree. We are the second-largest domestic market, of people that have more and more discretionary money to spend and on top, aspirations to second to none. So there would be a few years of consumerism. And that means there would be more and more opportunities for people like us. You know, while in the gold rush, make axes? So that. No, I haven’t changed the resolve per se. But when MK talks, I listen carefully. So I need to think more about it. Maybe I would think about it over the next few days.

So I guess this is about it for the day. Short post but this is all that I am thinking about right now. Here’s streaks…

OMAD – 0
#book2 – 0
#noCoke – 173
#noCoffee – 16
#aPicADay – 0
Money spent – 5396
Killer Boogie – 0
10K steps a day – 0
Surya Namaskar – 0
10 mins of meditation – 0
Minimaslism Counter – -2
Morning Pages / Meditations – 263