BEHINDWOODS CELEBRITY COLUMN

Another year gone by with our own catalogue of memories, moments of happiness, tragedy, achievements, failures, heartbreaks, regrets, come backs, recovery and jamboree. A year filled with exhaustive entertainment from movies, a year that saw a good number of well-made films, a liberal amount of flops that were rightly trashed and shredded in reviews and audience’s response, a year without a Rajinikanth film, a year that tested the release of Kamal Haasan’s Viswaroopam, a year that lost some of cinema’s prized gems from Vaali, PB Srinivas, Manjula, Manivannan to Raghuram, a year that had a new list of celebrities having their first brush with controversies, link ups, court cases and disappearances, a calendar full of celebrity weddings who walked the aisle, a year shouldered by young and first-time film-makers to bring audience to the theatres when stalwarts failed to create the magic with their big budget films and a year full of action, drama, excitement both on screen and off it.

As we wrap up the year 2013 with major plans for the New Year’s Eve to celebrate with our friends and family, it’s also that time of the year silently making our directory of things to do next year and positively hoping it should be a better one than this year. And that to-do list is incomplete without a New Year resolution that you hope to live by without being tempted to break it. While most New Year Resolutions are those that will benefit the individual personally or professionally, how about a New Year resolution that brings about a positive impact in some way to the movie world that never falls short of entertaining you in any given year? It could be your own way of thanking the movie industry for giving you those endless memories with your close circuit at every stage of your lives.

While you decide yours, how about a few suggestions to jumpstart your listing and give you an idea of what it could be depending on what you are already doing and not doing:

1. Resolve to never watch a movie in pirated DVDs.

2. Never buy a movie ticket in black.

3. Respect the audience sitting next to you and avoid answering calls in your loudest tone in the middle of a movie. Phones on silent mode too.

4. Resolve to never take a baby to a movie hall while you end up cajoling a crying restless kid outside the screen for most part of the film. They’re best left with their toys in the comfort of a home.

5. Attempt to contribute to a radically new film through crowd sourcing opportunities. We need more films like ‘Lucia’ for sure.

6. Resolve to defend women audience at cinema halls if they get hooted or groped by unscrupulous crowd

7. Film artists / musicians / directors are stars today because of their fan base and loyalty. Resolve to nudge your favorite celebrity to voice louder for social causes because they will listen to their fans and the public will in turn take note of their message.

8. We spend ample time with friends in schools/ colleges or peers in offices but resolve to spend more time with family this year even if it means a mandatory movie outing together at least once a month.

9.Take the health warnings more seriously than be influenced by the very act behind such warnings.

10. The industry needs more talented and intelligent individuals to   scale up the quality of films churned every year. So if you do believe in taking the plunge, resolve to study a focused course, convince your parents and join the film fraternity by standing up for what you want.

While the above are just pointers to what the resolutions could be, get innovative with your own litany of resolutions related to the movie world and share it with your fellow readers here. In the meantime, promise yourself to party very hard this New Years’ Eve and enjoy every bit of the celebration like there’s nothing but a brighter tomorrow. Let the disappointments and unfavorable happenings of 2013 disappear in darkness as you look forward to a more positive bright year. With hearty wishes and warm handshakes, here’s signing off with a quote that best captivates the spirit of welcoming 2014.

"Ring out the old, ring in the new, Ring, happy bells, across the snow: The year is going, let him go; Ring out the false, ring in the true" - Alfred Lord Tennyson.