I join the millions of movie fans saddened by Roger Ebert's demise. In his passing away, the world of cinema has lost a qualified, popular and knowledgeable sounding board.
I was first introduced to Roger Ebert's work through my good friend Prasad (who blogs here, by the way) - a movie aficionado in our midst. It was at that time, that I also got introduced to good movies outside the realm of the ones that were staple "Hollywood" fare in India: movies involving alien invasions, a British spy, a sinking ship or dinosaurs running amok.
Just as I was beginning to awaken to a world of good movies, I left the USA. Maybe I was looking at the wrong places but somehow between living in India, then Singapore and holding a traveling job, my movie watching became limited to inflight choices - not the best way to enjoy a movie. And Roger Ebert faded into the background.
All that changed dramatically when we moved to the USA a few years back. With a reasonably well-stocked public library nearby, we were able to watch movies that we have always wanted to watch. Good ones, bad ones, famous ones, classics - we started ticking them off one DVD at a time, making up for lost time. And Ebert's words became the hand guiding us to the forgotten delights of movies. And on occasions, delights of forgotten movies as well.
As a teenager, I remember waiting restlessly for The Hindu to be delivered to our home in the morning so that I could relive the experience of Steffi Graf's on-court exploits or a scintillating knock from Sachin the previous day through the prose of Nirmal Shekar and R Mohan respectively. This was the closest to watching a sporting event live a second time, if that is even possible. Ebert's words, similarly, gave me the opportunity to prolong the enjoyment a good movie had to offer. Reading his thoughts about a movie that we watched quickly became a post-viewing learning ritual.
Over time, "Ebert enna solraar?" (What does Ebert have to say?) became the benchmark that helped decide which ones we would bring home. The ones with the most stars or the "thumbs up" naturally made it to the top of the pile. And when we did stumble upon a good one of our own, we would be on his review page even as the end credits rolled by on the screen.
I'm not a movie expert in any sense nor do I possess the intellect to critically analyze one, looking for deeper meaning or a "thesis" in the plot. But over the past few years, I have been able to develop a taste for good fare in my own limited ways and appreciate the nuances of this medium through the words of a great master. And God knows that it has been a truly enriching experience for me personally.
A Shabari that helped identify good movies for our pleasure and shared his passion for the art of movie making is no more. Rest in peace.
I was first introduced to Roger Ebert's work through my good friend Prasad (who blogs here, by the way) - a movie aficionado in our midst. It was at that time, that I also got introduced to good movies outside the realm of the ones that were staple "Hollywood" fare in India: movies involving alien invasions, a British spy, a sinking ship or dinosaurs running amok.
Just as I was beginning to awaken to a world of good movies, I left the USA. Maybe I was looking at the wrong places but somehow between living in India, then Singapore and holding a traveling job, my movie watching became limited to inflight choices - not the best way to enjoy a movie. And Roger Ebert faded into the background.
All that changed dramatically when we moved to the USA a few years back. With a reasonably well-stocked public library nearby, we were able to watch movies that we have always wanted to watch. Good ones, bad ones, famous ones, classics - we started ticking them off one DVD at a time, making up for lost time. And Ebert's words became the hand guiding us to the forgotten delights of movies. And on occasions, delights of forgotten movies as well.
As a teenager, I remember waiting restlessly for The Hindu to be delivered to our home in the morning so that I could relive the experience of Steffi Graf's on-court exploits or a scintillating knock from Sachin the previous day through the prose of Nirmal Shekar and R Mohan respectively. This was the closest to watching a sporting event live a second time, if that is even possible. Ebert's words, similarly, gave me the opportunity to prolong the enjoyment a good movie had to offer. Reading his thoughts about a movie that we watched quickly became a post-viewing learning ritual.
Over time, "Ebert enna solraar?" (What does Ebert have to say?) became the benchmark that helped decide which ones we would bring home. The ones with the most stars or the "thumbs up" naturally made it to the top of the pile. And when we did stumble upon a good one of our own, we would be on his review page even as the end credits rolled by on the screen.
I'm not a movie expert in any sense nor do I possess the intellect to critically analyze one, looking for deeper meaning or a "thesis" in the plot. But over the past few years, I have been able to develop a taste for good fare in my own limited ways and appreciate the nuances of this medium through the words of a great master. And God knows that it has been a truly enriching experience for me personally.
A Shabari that helped identify good movies for our pleasure and shared his passion for the art of movie making is no more. Rest in peace.
