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CONFESSIONS OF A PASSIONATE EX-

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''Movie reviews at Behindwoods are not as easy as what the audience might think it is'', Behindwoods, Dhananjayan

When I walked into Behindwoods, I had just one thing in mind. That one thing that many people have in their minds too. ‘Save Cinema’. I obviously did not know from what, but yeah I wanted to save cinema.
 
When I sat on my chair, relieved of the fact that I was finally there after a month long hardcore interview process, I learned that my colleagues were far more up to date about cinema than I was. I was surprised. So much that I just could not bat an eyelid and when I finally managed to bat one, the calendar had secretly swallowed two full years.
 
At Behindwoods, I had no training. I instead, was offered a large number of experiences and plenty of chances to learn from my mistakes. From writing news stories and articles to music reviews and slideshows to working on special events to serving as the creative head of the video team, I had absolute fun. It is probably in the gene of Behindwoods – to work with a smile on our faces. However, when there is a movie release, our faces suddenly turn serious. 
 
Movie reviews at Behindwoods are not as easy as what the audience might think it is. It is an arithmetic calculation of the directorial excellence multiplied by the exuberance of the audience divided by the technicalities in the movie. Yes, it is as ‘head-scratching’ as mentioned. It is Math. A subject most of us hate. Finding X has always been a nightmare for us. Now you know why we are all serious about it.
 
Of course we’ve made mistakes. Sometimes when I wake up in the morning, I would see my Twitter feed filled with hate messages and comments. People have rechristened me with interesting names (mostly unpleasant) and have also suggested me other career options like begging and looting. I sometimes wouldn’t even know why I was being targeted (so would the people who target), until I get to office and find out that it was some post in Behindwoods by someone that offended them. 
 
But over the last couple of years, I have made miniscule attempts to save cinema. I have even written columns about fan fights, piracy and other issues that linger in cinema. However, there is a bitter truth that I soon learned. People just don’t care.
 
For them, cinema has always been a hobby, a pastime, a mere source of entertainment out of their busy schedules. So they obviously wouldn’t care about the hundreds of lives that eat, drink and breathe cinema every day.
 
People continue to watch new movies online and fan fights continue to prevail in full josh. Whenever we post a picture of Ajith, we would be called Ajithwoods and when it is a picture of Vijay we become Vijaywoods. We just cannot help it. For them, it is entertainment. Sometimes I have even wished there was an actor named “Behind” so that people would call us “Behindwoods” when we post his picture.
 
But ultimately, what makes Behindwoods one of the top entertainment websites of Tamil Cinema?
ANS: It is because we have a strong and passionate team that works day and night (literally) to keep the audience up to date of what is happening in Tamil Cinema.
 
From Videos to Interviews to News stories to articles to slide shows to Box Office Reports to Music Reviews to Movie Reviews – they all appear as mere products of Behindwoods to the general public. But there is a humongous amount of effort that is being put in to build every element of these products.
 
We are huge from the outside. But nobody would ever believe that a leading entertainment website churns out so much content from a three bedroom apartment in Guindy. It is not about the space we work in, but the people in it, who form a successful organization. 
 
Sincere thanks to my fellow colleagues who traveled with me these couple of years, making my life at Behindwoods worthwhile.
 
It is indeed hard and disappointing to walk out of this remarkable media house. But I would always keep my head raised high as a proud ex-employee of Behindwoods. 
 
I would also like to thank all celebrities like Dhananjayan sir, SJ Suryah sir, Parthiban sir, Sreekar Prasad sir, Vedhika, Surbhi, Taapsee, Dany, Anandhi, Hip Hop Aadhi to name a few and many others who have directly or indirectly appreciated my work.
 
I do not believe in superstitions. But there is one superstitious belief that Behindwoods has taught me. If you are ambitious about something and work with utmost passion to achieve it, the universe will bring it to you.
 
I will see you all from the other side of cinema.
 
Abhishek Krishnan
Ex Senior Sub Editor
 


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This page hosts the views of the authors of the column. The views are generally about films, movie reviews, movie news, songs, music, film actors and actresses, directors, producers, cinematographers, music directors, and all others that contribute for the success or failure of a film. People looking for movies online, movie reviews, movie analysis, public response for a movie, will find this page useful.