Indian science fiction movies - a perspective

Traditionally, the genre of science fiction eluded the Indian film makers depriving the audience of quality sci-fi entertainment. What could be the reason for this? – Are Indian film makers scared of venturing into sci-fi? Is the Indian audience too premature to understand and appreciate quality science fiction? I jumped from one puddle of thought to another and gathered some information which I will share with you.

I was in my school when I first saw Shekhar Kapoor’s Mr. India – I was transfixed and blown out of my bloating imagination.  It is one of the biggest blockbusters in the Indian film industry. I never loved any villain more than Mogambo. The characters became immortal and so did their sharp and short, yet hard hitting dialogues. It was one of the first attempts to make a science fiction and people loved it because of its simplicity and grandeur. Shekhar Kapoor started it but I am disappointed that he never attempted another science fiction. But how Indian science fiction movies evolved from that time?

After an inordinate 20 years, Indian’s got a new science fiction hero – Krrish. The Krrish sequel was again a massive success. Robot (Enthiran) and Ra-One also pulled huge crowd to the theatres. Suddenly after 2006, the box office floodgates were thrown open by sci-fi geeks as Indian audience took a fresh look at the silver screen. With this kind of response, it is very clear that Indians enjoy science fiction, but they were denied the ultimate fantasy because of the myth – Indians don’t understand science fiction. This myth was completely busted by the phenomenal success of Avatar, directed by James Cameron. The movie grossed Rs.142 crores, beating Dabangg’s collections in India.

I think it is not the audience but the film makers who lack the love for science. The Indian movies I mentioned earlier in this article are also far below the international quality as far as inclusion of authentic scientific facts are concerned. According to me science fiction movies can be categorized into 3 broad categories – Physics, Biology and Geology.

Physics include topics such as space, gadget, artificial intelligence captured in films like Gravity and Matrix. Sci-fi movies with Biology as its central theme deals with subjects like extinct species, cloning, medicine – Jurassic Park and Sixth Day are examples of such movies. Geology based science fiction talks about natural calamities, weather change etc. – These are showcased in films like Volcano and Day After Tomorrow.  Now there is a fourth category – fantasy fiction which includes all superhero films like Spiderman, Superman and Harry Porter. Our Indian science fictions belong to the lower end of fantasy fiction because we have still not evolved from superheroes.

It’s time that the Indian film industry evolve to match the intellect of the Indian audience. You don’t have to be a science student to create quality science fiction movies – you just have to love science.  Steven Spielberg and James Cameron are both college dropouts but they love science, read science and then apply their imagination and creativity basis scientific facts. We have seen enough of flying cartoons – give us a break. I request the Indian film fraternity to read science journals and novels to come out with some genuine science fiction and not just petty fantasies. Science fiction helps to create interest and love for science among children and young adults. It broadens our imagination and enhances our understanding about scientific facts. We have started to see efforts being made and I am sure we will get what we want soon.

Innovative Flexi Filling Option for Filling Stations

Whenever I go to the petrol station for filling, I have to wait in long queue and often end up getting late for the work I was out to do. I thought of finding an innovative solution.

While trying to solve the issue of queuing or managing queues better I came across two perspectives – all customers do not have the same volume requirement and the other is that when customers are in a hurry they are willing to fill lesser volume if that helps them get back on the road faster. They plan to fill up the rest when they are not in a hurry.

This triggered the idea of Flexi-Filling. This can be accomplished by:

1. Displaying waiting time at the entrance of the station 
2. A customer in a hurry sees it and decides whether he wants to go for the flexible filling option
3. Create flexible filling options by creating separate lanes for customers with lesser volume requirement 

 How it would work? 

1. Install a display screen at the entrance of the station on which customers driving in can see the number of cars already in queue and the approximate waiting time.
2. This will allow him to decide whether he wants to go for the faster filling options 
3. Create separate lanes for smaller volumes…like… 11 litres to 19 litres…Less than 10 litres etc
4. The dispensing units should not dispense more than the volume specified 
5. Bikers can be directed to these lanes 
6. Cars in a hurry can fill up limited volume for the immediate journey and then fill up the rest later 

Photo credit: Vivek Jena

World's first 3D Pen

Writing and painting had always been 2 dimensional. But things are about to change with 3Doodler around. This amazing innovation doesnt really look like a pen, but can be used like a pen to create 3D writing or drawing. Instead of ink the this Pen uses plastic strands. This innovation melts the plastic strand when the device is switched on, the melted palstic comes out of the other end of the device allowing users to give a third dimension to their imagination. This device can prove very handy for a lot of creative work for various kinds of designers. I think this should also help school teachers who wants to explain 3 dimensional things innovatively.

Completing the Creativity Triangle

To get an innovative solution to a problem we need to have knowledge, skill and ideas which are parts of the creativity triangle.

We gain experience and knowledge from books and our environment. We use the acquired knowledge and exercise our abilities to develop our skills. Only knowledge and skills are not enough to get a creative solution, we need ideas and ideas are powered by “Creative Thinking” without which the entire triangle remains dormant. It is like the electric power without which even the most sophisticated electronic device is nothing more than a piece of trash.

The highly competitive and challenging environment we are in, demands a lot of innovation and constant improvements, so it is absolutely imperative to activate the Creativity Triangle inside us. But, how to activate thinking?

We can follow some basic rules to activate the creativity triangle:

1. Dont ask for solution, search for solution

2. Challenge conventional thinking - always ask "but why?"

3. Do not stop after you have got the first idea. Remember, that you need to keep the Creativity Triangle active, so keep generating lot of ideas. Think of this model as a machine inside you that will perish without thoughts, so generate new ideas everyday to keep this model alive untill thinking becomes a habit.

The Future of Future

We spend inordinate amount of time every day to catch up with the future. We do this by learning things which aligns us with “tomorrow”, synchronising our capabilities with the needs of the “future”. Once we transform into more intelligent species, we push our imagination and the frontiers of science to define a new future. The dynamic future is like the fast expanding universe with millions of thoughts and ideas spewing into its enormity every moment.  So, what is the future of future? Let us look at the past and then it will be easier for you to understand my thoughts about the future of future.

Post the invention of steam engine and the industrial revolution, mankind have never looked back. Then came the age of computers, which surprised our imagination with unthinkable levels of speed, accuracy and automation. Our technological advancements are accelerating at a much higher speed, than it was before the dawn of internet. The speed of information flow has been phenomenal. So, with every major breakthrough, the speed at which we advance have only increased. In other words we are shortening the life of future. Even the smartest mobile phone becomes obsolete within a year. Our grandfather would have dreamt of faster and sophisticated cars to evolve in hundred years but we can imagine piercing through the twilight sky in our flying cars in just a few decades.

Photo Credit: Sam Howzit

I believe there are two elements which are integral to this inexorable march of technology – Imagination and Speed. I am not aware if the speed of imagination can be measured, but in future, humans should be able to imagine at a speed at which the universe is expanding. To reach that speed, humans would have transformed into Transhumans (a much advanced human-like species also referred as “posthuman” supported by gadgets embedded in their bodies).

As the speed of our imagination merges with the galactic speed and as technology catches up with imagination, we might start measuring “future” technological advancements in terms of a weeks or even days.