Sidharth Meer Volunteers to do "Opening and Closing Titles"

Around the same time that Rajeev volunteered to do "Making of Abhimanyu", Sidharth Meer offered to make the "Opening and Closing Titles" for the film. Here's what Sidharth had to say(as it is) about what made him volunteer

My reasons for working on Abhimanyu are varied.

1. I worked with Onir first on Sorry Bhai. I did the opening and closing titles for that film. It was probably one of the best working relationships I've had with anyone from the indian film industry. Having a chance to work with him again is not something I would want to miss out on.

2. I also happen to be in a transition phase. I recently spent the first 4 months of the year in Los Angeles, working on my motion graphics and visual effects skills with some of the best artists in Hollywood. Currently I am working on a brand new reel and website and this gives me an opportunity to have a good piece to add to it.

3. Not really relevant but my brothers name is Abhimanyu.

Best,

Sid

Thanks a lot Sidharth for lending a helping hand !! You can find more about Sidharth's work here

You too can volunteer for Abhimanyu. To discuss, drop an email to abhimanyu.anticlockfilms@gmail.com

Rajeev Kohli Volunteers to do "Making of Abhimanyu"

In another nice development "Rajeev Kohli" has volunteered to do "Making of Abhimanyu". Here's what he had to say on being asked "How he got to know about Abhimanyu and what made him volunteer?"

Its all thanks to Facebook where genuine makers, technicians and audiences can interact with each other....

I had always liked Onir's approach towards film making, where in he makes sure to entertain and at the same time deliver a message too...and I found him on facebook....

Thats from where I got to know about ABHIMANYU, and being in this line for almost 17 long years I have experienced myself and seen others too, that if you are out to do some genuine stuff of which you are confident from with in, things tend to become that much more difficult at that required moment.....I have hungered for such support and know the right feelings and emotions attached to it....and CSA is a serious subject which needs attention and should be reminded very often to all....

Hence I gave it a thought and came to a conclusion that, if offering my talent and professional services reduces even a decimal of burden off the makers, it would be of use....

We all make money when the opportunity strikes similarly we all should be able to make ourselves available when the opportunity demands, thats what I think....

I really feel proud for taking such a decision and hope that I live upto what I have taken up.... I shall do it with full faith and dedication, is what I can promise now and always....

All the best to our whole team and new members who join in future....

Cheers!!!!

Rajeev Kohli writes film reviews here, you can know more about his work here . You can connect with Rajeev on facebook here

You too can volunteer for Abhimanyu. To discuss, drop an email to abhimanyu.anticlockfilms@gmail.com

Mumbai - 2 :: Kolkatta - 2

It wasn't unexpected to be honest. Mumbai being the heart of India's film industry and the place where the Abhimanyu Crew(and Harish) is based at it had to be bigger when it comes to contributing funds for 'Abhimanyu'.

Mumbai' Devashri Mukherjee's contribution has helped Mumbai reach a tie for now with Kolkatta for most contributors from a city. Though we are expecting more funds from both Mumbai and Kolkatta it will be exciting to see which city out of the two takes the lead or is there a surprise in waiting ?

Which city are you betting on to win with most contributors ?

Innocence Lost At 7

in the lap of joy... (not for long) 

A tender child of 7 was touched and his body was infringed upon. And the child didn’t know the word to define his then present condition. As he grew, he called it rape. People said, “correction boy, it’s called  child sexual abuse”.  With the liberty of language and the plurality that life endows, the vocabulary enriched and the miseries multiplied in direct proportion. 

Adjectives changed - “careless” childhood, “callous” adolescence “careful” adulthood and now “thoughtful” 30. But the issue stood the test of time. The issue of the past that was still incomplete. So much so, that all the actions of today were a response to what happened yesterday… The child was angry because of he said he was raped, the child was happy because he said he was not happy like this ever, he said he was scared of men because it was a man who inserted and asserted his manhood on him. it gave peace, tranquil and satisfaction   to define nowness basis thenness.  

Until one day, the child decided to stop “growing from”, and start “growing into”.  He decided first to complete his past. His resolute was to cleanse himself of the hatred and pardon himself foremost and not think he is responsible as “he was”, but whittle his path on what “he will be”.  He decided to deal with every issue that bothered him “headstrong”; he spoke to every problem in his life - the man who ripped him off his innocence, the people like his parents whom he thought did zilch, the friends who ran a vilify campaign in school that impelled him to make a botched attempt to end his being, the woman who shut  the door on him because she got a flying hearsay that he was a sex maniac … and everyone else whom he had a grouse about, and also the ones whom he presumed had a burly  grip of gripe against him… The world watched as he defeated his weakness, shed his inhibitions, dealt with every creature that he once said was an evil ogre… and completed the conversation. In the end, there was no conclusion as such, there was no interpretation… but the yearning in his heart was quenched with this act. He decided then, that he shall not presume things about people and will not trouble himself with the poison called hatred. He then understood that his ability to relate with the pain of others was in fact his strong suite that he was born with. It was his nature, and experience nurtured it.  He realized that it doesn’t matter what went in the making of he. He is so, and that’s the truth.He is what he is now. no present and future dooms due to past gloomy looms. 

The child is me. The child is Abhimanyu. I am one of the many Abhimanyu's in this world. And I am just one of the many Abhimanyu’s in this story that’s told by  Onir. A survivor, A Fighter, not a Victim. 

It is much the need of time, for incest as a reality looms in our world today. A film that tells people don’t feel sorry for them.  Feel sorry for yourself, for pity is all you have. 

As a person who has let past be where it belongs, and has let bygones be bygones… and is now being present in his present I clearly can define what thoughts I had as someone who dealt with the gory incidence of child abuse. It was a time we cried, we died, we failed, we bled, we failed, we wailed, and eventually we hailed, we conquered and we won... But we still weren’t one with the possibility called tomorrow and the reality called now. 

Abhimanyu is one such bridge to this gap that throws light on what goes around in a survivors mind. It promises to show fellow survivors a mirror that will help rethink and reengineer their present.

Abhimanyu could be your friend – listen to him and understand.

Abhimanyu could be your brother – share with him and take what he shares.

Abhimanyu could be your husband – tell him you would be there for him, but you want him to be there for himself. 

Abhimanyu could be your child - hug him, communicate! Tell him, let’s take action, now.  and tell him later.. It doesn’t matter what happened. It just happened. It just happened. And what happened need not be defined. It just happened. 

Do you know of an Abhimanyu. 

Stand up for him! And help him stand for himself. 

OWN ABHIMANYU! Co Own this film. 

A film that has a noble intent to make a difference.  

About the deal… read the side scroller 

Asif Shah from Nepal Joins Abhimanyu

"Love knows no borders", we are being reminded of this day in and day out. Be it contributing money or be it offering help of sorts, people from all parts of the world are volunteering for the film.

In a wonderful recent development "Asif Shah" a reknown film maker from Nepal has joined the Abhimanyu Team as an AD.



This is our first such big collaboration with someone outside of India and hopefully we'll be seeing a lot more interesting developments in this global collaboration space.

If you too want to volunteer for Abhimanyu or Omar in any way, write to us at abhimanyu.anticlockfilms@gmail.com

Facebook Fan Page

In about a month since it's creation the Abhimanyu Fan Page on Facebook has grown quite fast, amassing 646 fans so far. This is just the beginning and we are sure as time will progress we'll have lots more friends who'll connect with us over Facebook and other places.

Here's what the growth chart for Abhimanyu's Fan Page looks like, isn't it going great ?



If you'd like to help us grow, don't forget to suggest your friends to become fans of this page by clicking on the "Suggest To Friends" link on left side of the page(right below the picture).

In case you haven't become a fan, you can do so now by visiting the page. Let us know you think we are doing and if there's something else we need to do or something that we need to do differently.

Abhimanyu on Twitter

Hello Tweople !!

This post is especially for you. As part of our efforts to reach out to you guys we now also have a presence on Twitter. iamabhimanyu is the official Twitter account which you can follow to get latest on Abhimanyu and everything about it.

Looking forward to a nice time tweeting !!

WHY ABHIMANYU

I have been wanting to make a film about CSA(child sexual abuse) for the last three years. Had worked on a full length feature film script called You and I which was about a girl who has the fear of the male touch because of being abused as a child.

As a person i love children and as i read stories in the newspaper and other research material about children being abused I am angry and anguished. But then what is the point. The idea is to act. to take the feeling of anger and transform it into positive energy...energy for change. For me that positive energy takes the form of cinema. Cinema that cares and believes in change.

You and I lay unmade for three years.... none of our male stars wanted to do the film and the corporates and other financiers/producers just thought that this is not what people want to see. after all what are we.?... not artists.... but paid workers ... creating to suit taste palette .... not to guide and make better audiences

For me the solution is not to sit and cry, but to find a way to do what i believe in. to speak for the silences in society.... to speak for Harish and many more like him who have been abused as a child. At this point i though why not make 20 minute short films with stories that need to be told and link them together so that they can be released as a feature film in India. The ultimate goal is the normal audience and not festivals.

I decided that lets keep the budget so low that the risk factor be minimum. I would have a cast and crew who trusts my intention and help me do this at minimum costs. Anticlock films(Sanjay Suri and myself) would invest half of the budget and the other half we decided to raise from an interactive audience.

The idea is not just money.... but an active audience which cares and makes it possible for a certain kind of films to be made. They participate in making of OUR film. We jointly own the film.

For us ABHIMANYU is an experiment... an experiment to prove that the audience cares.... and I need all of you to start actively contribute in making this film.... Give it a thought.... we can do this together....

First contribution from Mumbai

It took just a day since our first contribution came from Delhi for Mumbai to catch up. Yes, we now have our first contribution from Mumbai and guess what ? This one is from a man too. Finally it seems men have started to catch up with women in contributing for the film :)

Let's see whose our next contributor, a lady or a gentleman and from which city, country.

Contribute Money Online

Hey Guys,

As per your demand and suggestions to have a way to contribute money online, we now have a widget to contribute money online. The widget is on the right side of the blog and looks like this.

Using this widget not only can you contribute money but also track the progess of funds raised so far.

To pay just click the button titled "ChipIn!", on clicking it you'll be taken to the next screen where you can specify the contribution details. You can pay via credit card and paypal.


Just give this widget a try and see how it works :)

First Male Contributor for Abhimanyu

Hi Guys,

Just wanted to share that we've just now received another cheque for Rs 10,000 from someone in Delhi who doesn't want to mention his name. This is the first contribution from a male and is also the first contribution from Dil waalon ki Delhi. Hope to see more males from Delhi and elsewhere catching up soon.

Thanks a lot Man.

Keep your love pouring !!

Abhimanyu AV

Films and Dreams !!

This post is for you

If you are one of those who like the idea of seeing your name appear in credits of a sensible bollywood film ?

or

If you are one of those who love the idea of co-owning a film about something people care about?

or

If you are one of those who is excited about the idea of investing in a film about a social issue and making profits from the same ?

Whichever the case be, if you've reached this line it means you can relate to what we are doing. Through its latest and one of it's kind offering, AntiClock Films invites you to co-own our upcoming film. This film will be a regular feature made out for 5 short stories of socailly relevant(and often kept hidden) topics. If you find the idea of co-owning a sensible film exciting, we invite you to join us by investing money in our venture. These are the three slabs for investment

Rs 1,000 - Rs 5,000 - Gets your name on the Abhimanyu website as a token of appreciation from us for believing in us and being a part our film.

Rs 5,000 - Rs 25,000 - Gets your name in the end credits of the film as a token of appreciation from us for believing in us and being a part our film.

Rs 25,000 - Rs 1,00,000 - Gets your money returned on the release of the film and your name appears in the end credits of the film

Rs 1,00,000 - Rs 15,00,000 Gets your name acknowledged in the beginning titles of the film and proportionate share in the profits

Cheques to be made for Anticlock films pvt.ltd

and sent to ONIR / 404 C Mandar Off seven Bungalows/ Mumbai _4000 61

For any questions/suggestions drop an email to abhimanyu.anticlockfilms@gmail.com
or call Amar at +91 98337 48111

Introducing Omar

OMAR tells the story of how because of fear of society and law Gay men very often get blackmailed and are scared to do anything about it. This film is based on real life stories and incidences. It questions the law and a society where the concern should be addressing the deep and growing violence in society but decides to all up in arms against an expression of adult consensual love.

We believe that independent cinema exists to give a voice to those working against the tide and outside the system. OMAR is one of five short films directed by Onir to tackle important issues ignored by mainstream Indian cinema. Our idea is to release each film for educational/awareness/festival purposes and eventually compile all five short films into one release for the general audiences.

These topics are too important to let slide into the shadows. We at Anticlock Films call upon individuals, corporate houses, and NGOs who share in our indignation to join our cause in shedding light upon such daily tragedies. We want this project to be a completely independent, community endeavor free from studio criteria like star-power and opening weekend sales. This is a movement towards cinema that has content- entertains by way of enriching oneself.

We at ANTICLOCK FILMS offer you an opportunity to be a part of a process of the making of a film, to be a part owner of a film. You can do this my contributing monetarily for the making of the film. To that end, we’ve established three different ways to help:

Rs 1,000 to Rs 25,000 – Acknowledgements in the end credits( Treated as donation/pledge)

Rs 25,000 to Rs 100,000 – Return of your contribution at the time of the final film release and acknowledgement in the end credits

Rs 100,000 to Rs 15,00,000 – Acknowledgements in the beginning titles of the film and proportionate share in the profits.

Total budget of each short film is – Rs 30,000,00 (Rupees thirty lacs)

Funds in Place by Anticlock Films – Rs 15,000,00 (Rupees fifteen lacs)

Please spread word and help support a film that wants to make a difference. Thank you.

Team Abhimanyu

The following would be crew for Abhimanyu

Director : Onir

Producer : Sanjay Suri and Onir

Story Screen Play : Merle Kroeger and Onir

DOP : Arvind Kannabiran

Dialogues : Ashwini Malik

Music : Rajiiv Bhallla

Lyrics :Amitabh Varma

Editing : Irene Dhar Malik

Sound Design : Arun Nambiar

Production Design: Sriram Sujeet

Publicity Design : Siddharth Dutta

Graphics : Sidharth Meer

Online Marketing : Mayank Dhingra

Overseas PR: Manan Singh Katohora

Making of Abhimanyu : Rajeev Kohli

Asst Dir : Amar Kaushik

: Sundeep Malani

: Ashif Shah(Nepal)

Production Manager: Mohan Joshi

Production Assistant: Akhil Chaudhary

Line Producer: Archana Balan

Styling: Aki Narula

So guys, what do you think about the team ?

Abhimanyu nominated for TMG Global Award

It isn't often that a film gets nominated for awards just on the basis of it's script and the track record of its Director. In a pleasantly surprising developemt Onir's "Abhimanyu" and "Omar" have been nominated for Triangle Media Group's Global Awards. Both Abhimanyu and Omar have been nominated under the category of Best Educational Movie.

The awards have been launched by former TMG Honorary Award winner, the Right Worshipful Lord Mayor of Leicester Mrs. Manjula Paul Sood LL.D. The final winners will be announced later this year by Media Lawyer Professor David Flint in Sydney Australia who is National Convenor of Australians for a Constitutional Monarchy and former Chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Authority

You can read more about the announcement here

Testimonials by Contributors

Here's what people who've contributed for Abhimanyu have to say about this initiative. Many thanks for everyone whose contributed.

Seema:

Hi Onir,
I like that u are asking for financial help, fearlessly ,for Abimanyu
U cn count me in for 25,000.00, and maybe a little more as things progress. I deeply care for the issue at hand.

Luv
Seema

Based on your last couple of films, I trust U will do justice to this sensitive ,unexplored and very prevelent subject , in India .

I pledge Thirty Thousand Rupees towards Abhimanyu.

Good Luck
Seema

Deep Basu

Onir is a gud friend and i love the way he makes his films...the story of abhimanyu really touched me and i seriously wanted to be a part of this film and would like to be in all THE films in the near future made by anticlock films and Onir .

Nandini

I have contributed because these messages of social justice and conscience are very important for our times and country and deserve to be well-depicted in film; I can think of no one more able to do this job than Onir, director of My Brother Nikhil.

Cheers,
Nandini

Mahua

I was in college with Onir and have followed his amazing work over the years. I am happy to support Abhimanyu and am looking forward to its completion.

Best, Mahua

Hiyaa:

Why I contributed to Abhimanyu...well...the reasons are personal first and then the social cause comes up.

I met Onir at Sanjay's place a couple of years ago. He and Sanjay (who is my cousin) had just completed 'My Brother Nikhil' and we got chatting. I probably now exchange more news with Onir than Sanju though it is mostly online. I have been assisted by Sanjay when I needed assistance really badly (Thank you Sanju, it meant a lot) and he is such a gem of a person. I wish I could do more but I am starting with what I can. They both are making films that do have a reason for being there. I feel both of them are worthy of more recognition than what they get. I am a huge fan of both of these wonderful people and I am so glad to know they are making films that do leave a mark on the audience. It makes me think of them as doing their bit for humanity in their own way.

Why shouldn't I be a part of it? Guys, I am really proud of you both! I hope to contribute to your other ventures too and I hope the amounts get bigger and better. Social issues in India are a hush. Incest, abuse, rapes...these are a few of the things our citizens like to sweep under the carpet and pretend it doesn't exist. It does exist and every 6th person one knows has actually, in his or her own lifetime been through it. Yes...these five films are something I will definitely be a part of...and more projects thereafter. I sure am in !!!

I encourage others to do their bit...every little assistance counts.

Category wise list of Contributors for Abhimanyu

Contribution Range upto 5,000

1. Sharad Nand Singh -- Mumbai
2. Sandip Roy -- San Francisco
3. Jayendu De -- DC
4. Deep Basu -- Kolkatta
5. Jhuma Basak -- Kolkatta
6. Gagan Meshram -- Mumbai
7. Aniruddh -- Chicago
8. Mahua De -- New Jercy
   
   

Contribution Range: 5,000 to 25,000

1. Ipshita Sengupta -- Kolkatta
2. Anonymous -- Delhi
3. Devashri Mukherjee -- Mumbai
4. Abhishek Dhar -- Bangalore
5. Shailaja Vangala -- New York
6. Nandini -- Texas
7. Datta Vinod Dave
8. Pawan Dhall -- Kolkatta
9. Saikat Roy -- Bangalore
10. Anon -- Chicago
11. Hiyaa Aashish israni -- Nigeria
12. Sunil R Nair -- Mumbai
13. Manish Talwar -- Geneva
14. Valentina Erath -- Vienna
    

Contribution Range: 25,000 to 1,00,000

1. Seema Kaul Gupta -- New York
2. Ganesh Nallari -- Hyderabad
3. Winnie Singh -- Delhi
4. Ms C G Saraswathi(Tulhir) -- Bangalore
   

Contribution Range: Rs 1,00,000 or more

1. Mrs Padmavathy Reddy(Tulhir) -- Bangalore
2. Deepak rathi
3. Shruti swaroop and Shubhradeep Guha -- London
4. Anubhav Ramesh Khandelwal -- California
5. Sitaram Shah -- Florida
6. Rahul Datta -- Dubai
7. Damini -- Mumbai

Tracking Funds Raised for Abhimanyu

Since Abhimanyu is your film, we want you to know the status of funds raised for Abhimanyu from at any given point of time. This blog will also serve as a log for various contributions that are and will be made for the film. We'll be updating the blog regularly so that all of us can track how we are fairing in our mission.

If you have any queries/suggestions/feedback for us or just want to pat our back(s) write to us at

abhimanyu.anticlockfilms@gmail.com

Introducing Abhimanyu

ANTICLOCK FILMS PRESENT
ABHIMANYU

DIRECTED BY ONIR

We are writing to you with regards to a short film we are making called ABHIMANYU, the story of a child abuse survivor inspired by the true story of Harish Iyer and his struggle to reclaim his own shattered identity after 11 long years of abuse.

In India, one out of every five girls and one out of ten boys face some form of physical or psychological abuse. Sadly, most of these incidents are never reported and innocent victims are forced to suffer in silence. The brave few that do come forward are woefully underserved by a society that prefers to look away and a legal system that doesn’t care.

We believe that independent cinema exists to give a voice to those working against the tide and outside the system. ABHIMANYU is one of five short films directed by Onir to tackle important issues ignored by mainstream Indian cinema. Our idea is to release each film for educational/awareness/festival purposes and eventually compile all five short films into one release for the general audiences.

These topics are too important to let slide into the shadows. We at Anticlock Films call upon individuals, corporate houses, and NGOs who share in our indignation to join our cause in shedding light upon such daily tragedies. We want this project to be a completely independent, community endeavor free from studio criteria like star-power and opening weekend sales. This is a movement towards cinema that has content- entertains by way of enriching oneself.

Your support (monetary contributions or otherwise) will help us realize this goal. To that end, we’ve established three different ways to help:

Rs 5,000 to Rs 25,000 – Acknowledgements in the end credits( Treated as donation/pledge)

Rs 25,000 to Rs 100,000 – Return of your contribution at the time of the final film release and acknowledgement in the end credits

Rs 100,000 to Rs 15,00,000 – Acknowledgements in the beginning titles of the film and proportionate share in the profits.

Total budget of each short film is – Rs 30,000,00 (Rupees thirty lacs)

Funds in Place by Anticlock Films – Rs 15,000,00 (Rupees fifteen lacs)

Please spread word and help support a film that wants to make a difference. Thank you.



ABHIMANYU COULD BE YOUR CHILD


SHOOTING TO COMMENCE IN JUNE. ALL SHORTS TO BE COMPLETED BY SEPT 2009



CORE CREW

Director : Onir

Producer : Sanjay Suri and Onir

Story Screen Play : Merle Kroeger and Onir

DOP : Arvind Kannabiran

Dialogues : Ashwini Malik

Music : Vivek Philip

Lyrics :Amitabh Varma

Editing : Irene Dhar Malik

Sound Design : Arun Nambiar

Asst Dir : Amar


Contact: anticlockfilms@gmail.com Amar : +91 98337 48111

Cheques to be made for Anticlock films pvt.ltd

and sent to ONIR / 404 C Mandar Off seven Bungalows/ Mumbai _4000 61