Let me be inspired.

There is a thin line between inspiration and blatant copying. A thin, but a definite line. Unfortunately the ailment of copying afflicts many of our ilk (artists in general). We have innumerable such instances in our very own bollywood where music directors, film makers shamelessly rip-off compositions, stories from the rest of the world, in particular hollywood and pass off as their own.

Fortunately there are some self-respecting individuals who go an extra mile to create something 'original'. I do not understand this psyche though, the need to copy something and call it your own. How can one feel proud of something that is not their creation, it just takes a little more feeling and thinking to create something that is entirely yours. Something that you can take pride in.

Having said that, one needs to point out the fact that no artistic creation is hundred percent original. The human mind is such that it soaks-in everything that it is surrounded with, like a sponge, especially a creative mind. Everyday life, your surroundings, the strangers you meet or pass by, the tiny glimpses into someone else's life and everything else that happens around you, to you or someone else is enough to draw creative inspiration from. Life and nature is so dynamic that one can never run out of ideas. So when an actor emotes, or a painter gives life to the canvas, it most likely is a trickle from the sponge that has soaked-in so much. It's an amalgamation of the experiences, observations, feelings that lie there in their minds. Some obvious and some that they are oblivious to.

I can spend hours in book shops looking at design books. The human mind and it's capacity to create amazes me! To think that at any given point innumerable minds are coming up with innumerable ideas substantiates the magnificence of the human mind.

My ChungKing Express DVD has an introduction and wrap-up by Quentin Tarantino (it was released by his Rolling Thunder pictures in the US). Amongst other things, Tarantino talks about the common influences that he shares with WongKarWai in movie making. One of the things that he says and that i remember is that, one doesn't necessarily need to learn the art of filmmaking formally to make good films. One just needs to love the art. And this holds true for any creative field. One just needs to have that love and passion to run that extra mile. Our very own RGV is a fine example. He never learnt filmmaking anywhere. He just loved the movies and is one of the very few filmmakers who push the envelope and give bollywood it's share of good, popular cinema.

In my spare time (and i have had lots of it for sometime), i love browsing through websites. It is truly joyous to see such good work around you. Work that stimulates your mind and you don't feel dead anymore. I find myself both humbled and inspired at the same time.

I shall be posting links to some nice and some weird websites that i come across. Let me start with these two:

http://www.emilianorodriguez.com.ar/
http://www.designchapel.com