Yet Untitled 052 - I am not Vasan Bala
Admiration for a filmmaker whose films I have not seen
Dearest Yet Untitler,
Vasan Bala is a lovely filmmaker living in Mumbai whose name is totally not identical to mine, but for some reason, I keep being asked whether I am him. I receive invitations meant for him. People look me straight in the face and ask me whether I am him. There could be various reasons for this; I presume that my name lives on peoples’ phones directories just below his. Whatever the reason, after 11 years of being asked whether I am Vasan Bala or not, I have decided to write about it!
Why 11 years? Eleven years ago, in 2012, Vasan came into the public eye (and mine) when his film Peddlars came out and was chosen for the International Critic’s Week at Cannes. He has since made a lot more great cinema, all of which I have not seen, including Peddlars.
Our paths only crossed in 2018 after my first Netflix show as a writer - Sacred Games - came out and Vasan moderated a Q and A with the creators before a fantastic audience who were thrilled with the show’s success. Vasan struck me as a Passionate Filmmaker. The capitalization of the P and F does not do enough to relay how much Passion for Film we’re talking about. However, for me, more than the passion was his genuinity - evident in Vasan’s questions, his curiousity and admiration for what we had pulled off. I became a fan of his there and then without having watched any of his work.
Vasan and I haven’t met much since that panel discussion in 2018, but I have been following him on social media ever since. He takes the most cinematic photographs of his daughter (wouldn’t want to post them here without his permission) and before long, I found myself pushing to take better pictures of my daughters (“Hmmm how would Vasan do it?”). Vasan essentially channels what he loves - filmmaking - onto another entity he loves - his daughter. As you know, loyal readers of YU, I am all for this!
Looking at the pictures he takes of his little a girl I see the care and the craft he puts into those images - which to me means that I’d likely enjoy his cinema a lot.
But I still haven’t watched any of his work!
After that Q and A in 2018, Vasan and I had one conversation during the lockdown about the potential hire of one of his erstwhile colleagues on a project I was on. It was a short conversation, but it was pleasant, respectful and he gave me a good chunk of his time, answering all my questions patiently. I spoke to his erstwhile colleague a day later, and while I don’t remember the conversation vividly, the loyalty and mutual respect that existed between them lingered in my mind.
It all fits with what I already knew about Vasan: that he carries a mountain of goodwill behind him. Anytime his work comes out, the filmmaking community steps behind him - a bit like I felt him step behind me and my co-writers when he moderated the Sacred Games Q and A panel.
Did I tell you that the stuff he makes is so much fun! Just check out the trailer to Mard Ko Dard Nahin Hota - another of his films I haven’t seen 🙈.
Thank god I rectify the mistake when someone asks if I’m Vasan Bala. I feel I take myself way too seriously to be able to impersonate him (the man calls himself an “Amazing Nonsense Artist” on social media); but you know, I wish I could imbibe some of the joy with which he approaches his work. Not that my work doesn’t give me joy, but I’m in awe of how his work exudes it. Here’s another of his films I haven’t seen 🙈🙈🙈, but I love how the trailer makes a murder heist plot look like such a fun ride:
I don’t know why I haven’t watched more of Vasan’s work till now. Perhaps the person himself has been enough. I eschew this part of my business that places the work above the people. This is something that I seen misused far too often.
It also makes me so hopeful - that the most minimal presence of one kind of life in mine can already have such an enduring, positive effect. While I am yet to partake of Vasan’s art, I am already - totally - for Vasan the person. May his tribe increase. And if someone mistaking me for him results in one more genial, supportive, respectful and passionate filmmaker (and father) being referenced in our environment - even temporarily - I do not have a problem 👍👏💪.
Thanks for reading!
Lots of love,
V
Now I have top recos of what to watch! Thanks Vasan. I mean Vasant.