Reading, film making et al

I have heard people say "Reading is a good habit, Cultivate it.'
I have to admit, I have been a rather on and off reader.I am highly selective with the things I read.Of course, I have read many school and engineering books just because I had to!! I have also read many of my favourite subjects again and again, though it was not required at all.
But generally, I would prefer watching a movie to reading a book in my free time.Its never been a pastime for me.Maybe that explains my poor knowledge of many novelists and their novels.Harry Potter and J.K.Rowling come into mind immediately.I tried to read the story of the little wizard frankly, but quite strangely, I couldn't stand it beyond 10-15 pages.

I am one of the very very few people who haven't liked Harry Potter series I guess, but I am not complaining, though it is not something I am proud of.The visual medium appeals to me more than the other mediums.I have passionately followed the works of many directors.I would not like to call them films, they are works of art , the director is a crafty story teller who is trying to tell you a story in a period of 2-3 hours and its upto the audience to like or hate the story.

That interests me more than anything.If there is one profession I love in the film medium, it is the director's.I have had this small ambition in some corner to direct!To tell people stories.I have always wondered how the directors would deal with "stars".Considering the tantrums that many of them throw, it would require good man management skills to get along with the actors and the producers, and virtually everyone around.This I think is paramount for a film's success, because the final product I think is a function of the actual process of making the movie among many many other things.

I was watching this movie "Johnny Gaddar" this weekend.I was highly impressed with the director.The guy is Shriram Raghavan.He started off with "Ek Hasina Thi" starring Urmila Matondkar and Saif Ali Khan.It was a revenge thriller, completely edge of the seat and at times brutal.I was expecting a good movie and he did not disappoint me.I loved the way the story was told.It was like a nice jigsaw puzzle that was quite beautifully solved and presented.

I also like Mel Gibson as a director.He belongs to the very elite class of people who are good actors apart from being equally good directors.I would also put Aamir Khan in that bracket.

I was checking Aamir Khan's profile on IMDB(Internet Movie Data Base) .He's been acting for 20 years, and his film count is just around 40!! Talk about being choosy with your movies.I think he's made a very brave decision to turn director. "Taare Zameen Par" was a very sensitive beautifully crafted piece of art.I really do hope he actually directs more movies.I guess I will have to be very patient for that, considering the pace and perfection with which the man works.I am sure it will be worth the wait!!

Reading a book and Watching a movie, its not very different!!!