Bharat Rakshak

Gentle Rakshaks
The purpose of this thread is
To arrive at a baseline on how to modulate Public opinion in India and the world with regard to Pakistan.

Our responsibility is to educate people so that they can question the government for its inane policies against Pakistan. All ideas are welcome.

There have been couple of posts regarding the topic. I am cross posting them with due reference to the author.

JE Menon wrote:>>Generally,
>>Coming to the part of BRF postors not being relevant. No matter what they feel, they cannot change anything because the rest of India is apathetic. That in my view is a reflection of defeatist attitude. One must what one can to create the awareness, to articulate their concerns in their own way to the Indian leadership. Failing to do that is failing to do one's duty.

Thank you Raja for stating this so simply. This is something that cannot be said too many times. If we don't speak, we will have no voice. If we do not state our case, we will not be heard. And if we do nothing, nothing will be done. Act. In whatever capacity each of us can, even if we can succeed only in causing one person to pause for thought at a time.

We must articulate our point of view, and make our arguments in a civil, decent and tactful way, keeping the audience and their probable predispositions in mind. Remember we have that most powerful of weapons in our arsenal, reason, which is much more of a force multiplier and a weapon of mass conversion like no other. Yet even with reason, we must be reasonable.

Altair wrote:

JE Menon wrote: We must articulate our point of view, and make our arguments in a civil, decent and tactful way, keeping the audience and their probable predispositions in mind. Remember we have that most powerful of weapons in our arsenal, reason, which is much more of a force multiplier and a weapon of mass conversion like no other. Yet even with reason, we must be reasonable.

JEMenon ji
I proposed earlier that we make a documentary movie, a BRF home production, with all the wisdom we have accumulated in a visual format for mass audience. We must include interviews and clips in a narrative format.Facebook and other cyber marketing will do the rest. We can send the message in a more popular way and faster way to most number of people.
JMT
Altair

JE Menon wrote:A very good idea Altair. I suggest coming up with a documented plan of action to achieve this, and put it up here. Those who are in a position to support the enterprise will certainly contribute. There are numerous people on BRF with a very diverse range of interests and capabilities, as you know.

Just to give you an idea... a download link to the Shahnawaz Pirzada article shown above was put up some months ago on BRF. There have been 253 downloads, and I'm quite certain that many of the BRFites and lurkers who downloaded it distributed it as well. Simple things can help a lot.

What you are proposing is something of a more powerful and high-impact nature. Take the lead and take it forward. Even if nothing comes of it eventually, for whatever reason, you would not have wasted much except time on a virtuous endeavour. Move on then to the next idea on the same issue. Act.

abhijitm wrote:

JE Menon wrote: We must articulate our point of view, and make our arguments in a civil, decent and tactful way, keeping the audience and their probable predispositions in mind. Remember we have that most powerful of weapons in our arsenal, reason, which is much more of a force multiplier and a weapon of mass conversion like no other. Yet even with reason, we must be reasonable.

how about starting another web site similar to... say longwarjournal? I feel the views of BRF experts should be accessible to public on one site than expecting them to go through the pages of forums. BRF has knowledge on pakistan, indo-pak relationship unmatch to any other website. This should be accessible to public in more subtle and simpler way. Well that means disclosing identities of those writers, may be.

Round table discussion on current affairs by the experts may also help...

JMT.

Raja Ram wrote:Altair, Jaideep,

I am planning to record my talk on Cyber warfare today at the Institute of Economic Education and Policy, Chennai. Will post it up some place, if it is successful.

JE Menon wrote:abhijitm,

If you have an idea, and the capability, go ahead and start one. Several of our guys have started blogs, with powerful messages and no doubt an impact that is certainly more than may be immediately obvious.

Take for instance this site, started by someone a long time ago. It has remained dormant for years, probably due to valid reasons. But someone can take up where the site creator - who apparently learned to create websites while doing this one (going by one of the page titles) - left off. It was one of the first independent sites that came up looking a the subject, and has a treasure trove of old articles. It was created just a year or so before the planes were flown on to the WTC Towers...

http://pak-terror.freeservers.com/index.htm

BTW, it is one of the sites linked on the front page of this TSP thread.

@Raja - Great News

@Altair - here you go... Consider also the possibility of consolidating all of the good doc's video compilations relevant to the issue (if he permits, which I have almost no doubt he will).

Guddu wrote: I too like the idea of a web site supported or backed by brf. It's simpler to set up and could be a compendium of articles about pak, about Indian interests. Those experts who like to blog can all contribute in the same space, making it easier for readers to come to a single source for the best insights. Western journalists would also find it a source of incisive ideas...yes they do modulate public opinion in the west. The movie is also a great idea, needs special skills, but cannot be updated very few months.

Ajatshatru wrote:abhijitm wrote:

BRF has knowledge on pakistan, indo-pak relationship unmatch to any other website. This should be accessible to public in more subtle and simpler way.

I would agree with Abhijit. Some of us having been following this thread for years and people on BRF, perhaps, have much more detailed knowledge on certain topics than some non BRFites ((in fact, there is an overload of info. (in a good way) coming so thick and fast every day that sometime it becomes slightly difficult to assimilate so much of info. one reads everyday on this forum and esp. on this thread)).

Also, when I talk to some people on the streets, the most common refrain often is: 'Oh, it is the politicians of TSP that are evil etc while the common man in TSP also wants peace like us'....

It is also slightly difficult to explain to someone in 5-10 minutes, when talking with him/her, the systematic havoc and destruction perpetrated by the TSP by, among other things, the use of aatankwaad as a state policy, the extent of indoctrination/brain washing that may have been carried out on the common Abduls in TSP in the past few decades etc.

Some people (non-BRFites) when suggested to go through the TSP thread on BRF may be reluctant to go through pages and pages of discussion on this thread so perhaps a one or two page summary (with main bullet points) which could be forwarded via e-mail and facebook etc, as well as a separate site which has various articles on this subject may be a good way forward.

shiv wrote:
Altair - movie productions for YouTube type distribution is not difficult. Apart from actually starring in one I have done the whole lot, storyline, animation, narration etc. in more than one "production", although the video quality has been kept deliberately poor for several reasons including bandwidth issues until a few years ago. It is dead easy to narrate a storyline and mesh it with visuals and I love doing that.

The aim IMO should be a series of zero budget 10 minute films. But the narrative needs to be gripping and the visuals exciting for it to work. Ideally a nice "face" should do the narrative between visuals.

Altair wrote: Shiv
This movie would be for the younger generation starting from 14 year old to 30 year olds. These people would have a opinion which can influence the next generation thinking of India. Our ancestors already screwed up with all pappi jhappi,sarso da saag and punjabi orgy. Let us make an honest effort to shape the next generation opinion about Pakistan because if we do not, many will be infected by the leftist media and WKKs.
This movie would be a pre-emptive strike into the hearts and minds of the young India. My being here in BRF was influenced by "Top Gun" and the dog fights in that movie and I am sure some here would have had a similar influence. One good movie can influence many lives. It must be informative and inspirational,emotional and thrilling.It must be infectious, an absolute bomb.
Every college going student and fresh passouts must watch this movie. They are the future of India.

First steps:
1. A script needs to be written.
2. Peer evaluation of script by BRF oldies and others
3. Script freezing.
4. Storyboard the entire script.
5. Refine the storyboard multiple times till we get it right.

steps 2 and 5 are the toughest part and will make or break our concept.

Funding and actual production would be next and would be no major issues there(I hope!)

Since you have experience in this and if you can start a thread, we will follow your lead.

There are many people here who can contribute to the script. I am sure they all will, given a chance.

Altair

Rajdeep wrote:I had similar idea about starting a biweekly podcast with a buddy of mine.
Its a given that it wouldn't have been as knowledgable as other BRFites. (we are in our mid 20's)
Maybe this could be something that can be considered by other members.

Kukreja wrote:

abhijitm wrote: how about starting another web site similar to... say longwarjournal?

something like the huffington post or the more recently started firstpost in India would work just as well. A spinoff of the site could be reviving the bharat rakshak monitor in a fashion similar to what the blogger acorn does with Pragati (it reaches people not only though a website, but also through email and print)

The world has changed multifold in the past couple of years itself. Governments have fallen not by smart bombs but by revolutions fueled by genuine anger of people. How did they get angry? Certainly,Not all of them were paid by the organizers. Majority of the protestors in those revolutions were genuine. Its the message which was received by the public which prompted them to act.

We need to script the correct message.
We need to send the message to as many people in as little time as possible.

People will do the rest. It is a simple job really. We have been doing this for ourselves since we joined here in BRF. We only need to carry the message outside to as many people as possible. Some of them have been doing their part. We need to do more and more.
We must brainstorm ideas on various ways to send the message and what to send.We can then take it from there.

I was off for a forum hibernation due to some new frontier et al. but..... mew mew mew.... <licking chops>

Was waiting for sometime for this sort of initiative.... I dislike quoting self, but since this was just an FYI kind - I posted this in purqa phorum

I remember some jingos were talking about taking short films at some point to counter the crap spun out by JNUwallahs? Well apparently there are some interesting news that caught my attention.

There was this Las Vegas convention called NAB. It is a great place for getting insights into the latest tech trends. It is a no frills, techie convention of the cinema/tv world. Anyways some of the things I heard

- Canon, with its vast range of pro quality video equipment **unwittingly** introduced the most revolutionary change in Hollywood film making, when it introduced the D5 MkII with full HD and 24P video. It was mindbogglingly simple - a DSLR that can shoot video with its inherent strengths of superb Depth of Field options and a large aperture to boot. Plus an affordable(as in easy pricing for glasses at say 2k $ for a great tele, compared to the scary priced ones for movies running above 10k+ $) and sometimes expendable (as in "use and throw" for big budgets like Iron Man2's Monaco GP scene) motion picture camera! Nowadays tons of movies, shorts and TV series (episodes of "House" for example) are shot with DSLRs

Now it seems canon is riding the wave and is coming out with a better 7D (in June?) for serious movie enthusiasts.

- On software side, Apple caught attention with their next gen "Final Cut Pro". A student asks a seriously kickass editor about how he knows only the other software (Adobe's) and the editor-saar saying in a frugal way, "dude, you are the editor". Anyways, price is steep for the package, but if you are student, the student version goes for less than 140$ and you can do a professional documentary or a story.

Combine the above two points and technically you can give ANYONE a ride for their money. I saw some awesome, awesome footage by those who just had their wits, a DSLR and some versions of the above two points

Turns out Final Cut Pro X is cheaper than thought, though a bit of a dog to use!

Anyways, why aim lower than a 45 minute expertly produced documentary, with some fine interviews, archival footage etc?

I dont want to commit anything in public. But incase I can be of help, those who are see-near maulaners, you know which shopfront I crawl in to sleep for the night

First steps:
1. A script needs to be written.
2. Peer evaluation of script by BRF oldies and others
3. Script freezing.
4. Storyboard the entire script.
5. Refine the storyboard multiple times till we get it right.

steps 2 and 5 are the toughest part and will make or break our concept.

Movies can be made on zero budget if you are going to use YouTube or similar distribution. I have been making Aero India DVDs or VCDs for years, and a few have even been sold (for BR). On YouTube it's even easier and let me relate some experiences.

No one can make a "great movie" in the first shot. The best movie is one that works, not one that we imagine will be good. In my experience I have found that the biggest numbers of hits for documentary and story type videos are ones where the narrative in interesting. the visuals can be anything. All visuals will be believed as genuine and mistakes will not necessarily be noticed. Audio is more important. charts and text on screen do not work.

Point 2 is ver easy. Point 1 - that is "A script needs to be written." is the single most difficult part. I guarantee I can turn most scripts into a Discovery/NatGeo type narrative but decide the script first. Give me a script and I will produce a video - but I have to like the script and not fall asleep.

I suggest a series of 5-8 minute videos on individual topics to go on a dedicated YouTube (or other) portal. Why 5-6 minutes?

It is extremely difficult to hold audience attention for longer. Also bandwidth limitations come into play.

Translation into different languages should also be considered...
I can translate the script in one foreign language.

I mailed Shiv Saars book to all I know.

Shiv
I see your point. I will pen down a script. Please reply with your email id.
Thanks

This is an interesting thread, that may actually serve an important purpose, if its intention is properly served.

It brings to my mind the Steven Soderbergh film "Traffic" (2000), which I highly recommend. To read about the film, check this out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_%282000_film%29

SPOILER ALERT - I'm going to reveal some of the plot in this paragraph: In a nutshell, the movie "Traffic" tells four intersecting stories about the cocaine trade. It provides the audience with a look at the situation from four different perspectives, including; the US "Drug Tzar" (who has a junkie daughter), a Mexican police officer (whose partner is killed), an American police officer (whose partner is killed), and the wife of an indicted American narco (who hired an assassin, and helped save her husband's narcotics empire).

The movie was a commercial success, but more importantly, it gave many viewers a new understanding of the drug trade, and it did have an impact on conversations, perspectives, and -- who knows -- but in time, it may actually have a policy impact.

I think the idea of a movie about TSP/terrorism is a very good one, but I don't think that the documentary format will do what needs to be done. For superior effect, it should be a movie that will draw a wider viewership, that humanizes the victims, and that lets the analysis of the situation happen on an intuitive level, rather then as some kind of factual argument, as you might expect from a documentary. The Soderburgh movie had a very strong cast, including; Michael Douglas, Don Chedeale, Benicio Del Toro, and Catherine Zeta Jones. More importantly, it laid bare the hidden dealings of different people who were involved in different ways, and in the end, the viewer got an education that inspired second thoughts on old-worn opinions and beliefs. Altogether, it was a very powerful movie.

I think a movie should be made that would show the TSP and terrorism for what they are, but not as a cold, facts-focussed documentary, but as a raw, revealing expose on the human impacts of the TSP and terrorism.

Done right, this will make it harder for American politicians to openly support the TSP. It might even give some of the gulf state financiers of the TSP a second thought, and hopefully, also a good number of Pakistanis.

Keep in mind, the recent revolution in Tunisia was sparked, in part, when ordinary Tunisians came to understand exactly how others viewed the ancien regime as corrupt, and Tunisians as victims, through the WikiLeaks revelations. This was an indignity they could bear no longer, and they threw their dictator out of power.

Wouldn't that be something, if this movie could spark a similar revolution in Pakistan?

Rather than jump the gun with a bunch of YouTube videos, wouldn't it make more sense to write a script and pitch it to some Bollywood (or Hollywood) producer? (Perhaps even Steven Soderburgh, who had such success with "Traffic".) Potentially, this could be a huge money maker, and I know there's already interest in the topic, but no film of the kind out there.

Perhaps what's needed is a group of writers to flesh-out a script/screenplay? (I wouldn't suggest doing that via an internet forum, though).

Any thoughts?

My personal feeling is that "Pakistan" cannot be summarized into one movie. Aspects of Pakistan - Pakistaniyat, failed governance, terrorism, racism, poverty, nuclear program can be summarized in short movies.

I have absolutely no experience of movie production for the big screen but have built up some experience in what happens to documentary/short movies on the net. If they are good and free they are often picked up by TV channels.

In the case of even a small budget movie - the cost of failure is too high especially for people who have no prior experience. Writing movie scripts and handing them to people is the way some people make a living and we will have to compete with them. The movie director will need to make a profit and may well change the script making it totally pointless to talk about Pakistan because many uncomfortable truths will have to be told.

The cost of failure should be zero. One can easily upload 200 or 250 short clips on YouTube/other sites. Even if two succeed and the rest fail we win.

Altair wrote:Shiv
I see your point. I will pen down a script. Please reply with your email id.
Thanks

bennedose at hotmail

Ravi
I started this thread with your idea. I had a vision of a movie large enough to impact the GenNext in India, but Shiv has a point. We have no experience in this arena and holding onto people's attention is pivotal. We can start off with short films and if we have even a low to moderate success we can think of something big. However if you can bring a game changer into this idea like an angel investor and a professional film maker, we can discuss options.
Either way we need a bomb shell script and a bomb shell screenplay. Lets just start off with that and see where we go.
JMT

Shiv saar
I sent a mail to you.
Altair

This project should also pay some attention to duplicity of UK, US and most importantly China

jamwal wrote:This project should also pay some attention to duplicity of UK, US and most importantly China

jamwal
We will cross the bridge when it comes!
Altair

^^^ You know, I didn't mean to 'throw a spanner into the works' with my suggestion.

There's no reason why there cannot (or should not) be two efforts undertaken. One; to establish a library of short documentary-type films for dissemination via YouTube. Two; to write a screenplay that can be pitched to a suitable film producer/director, whether in Bollywood or Hollywood (or perhaps a joint production?).

Both efforts would be worthy work to undertake, and the latter would quite likely be very profitable.

Could people provide some inputs regarding content? Let's hear some views on that. I hear my own thoughts so loudly that I will hear nothing else unless people say things.