When I played fly on the wall...

The scriptwriters' workshop had an enthusiastic participant from Sandalwood.

When I played fly on the wall...

The scriptwriters' workshop had an enthusiastic participant from Sandalwood. Ramesh Aravind, who took a whole week off from film shoots in Bengaluru, just can't stop raving about the "enlightening" time he had in Chennai, watching great films, listening to the big daddies of the business and discussing Archie comics with none other Shekhar Kapur!

Ramesh, who describes his presence at the workshop as an "observer", thinks he was twice blessed because he went with the curiosity of a participant and the experience of a filmmaker. "I never thought playing fly on the wall could be so rewarding," he says.

Igniting minds

"Hearing filmmakers like Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, K Balachandar and Balu Mahendra hold forth on why stories will always score over special effects was not just inspiring, it also proved that the more rooted our stories are, the better they will translate on screen," says the actor who considers Rajkamal Studios his school of filmmaking and acting.

"I learnt the craft of filmmaking at Rajkamal. For 10 years, I studied there. I watched films, read books and enjoyed shooting the breeze with like-minded 'students'. In many ways, this past week has been a glorious 'back-to-school' experience," he remarks.

What are his takeaways from the workshop? "The video conference session with Jean-Claude Carriere, who won the Palme d'Or for writing at Cannes; watching Indigenes, the French film that was nominated for the Oscars; and of course, discussing Archie with Shekhar Kapur!"

Back in Bengaluru, Ramesh will get busy dubbing for Krishna Nee Late- Aagi Baaro, where he has a "dream" role.

"I play the one and only male lecturer in a girls' college," he grins. And after that, he's got his next directorial venture to focus on, the plot of which he's cagey about. Will he practice everything that he picked up at the workshop then? "I will certainly try," he says, earnestly.