Oct 25, 2007 12:48 PM
3705 Views
(Updated Mar 17, 2011 05:00 PM)
Manoj Night Shyamalan. Or rather Manoj Nelliattu Shyamalan. What does his name remind you of? Er, let me guess, aliens, ghosts, crop circles and a whole lot of mumble jumble supernatural stuff? Yeah right! Thats Shyamalan alright. Manoj Night Shyamalan was born in Pondicherry in India on August 6, 1970. After his birth, Shyamalan’s parents’ moved to Pennsylvania, Philadelphia in the States. At a very young age, Shyamalan had a passion of filmmaking. His parents bought him a Super 8 camera with which he would make home movies. Coming from a family of doctors, Shyamalan’s father urged him to practise medicine, but his mother encouraged him to pursue his passion for film making.
By the time he was 17, Shyamalan, who had been a fan of Steven Spielberg, had made 45 home movies. Beginning with The Sixth Sense, he has included a scene from one of these childhood films on each DVD release of his films, which he feels represents his first attempt at the same kind of film. Shyamalan made his first film, the semiautobiographical drama Praying with Anger, while still an NYU student, using money borrowed from family and friends.[5] It was screened at the Toronto Film Festival on September 12, 1992, [6] and played commercially at one theater for one week.[6] When the film debuted at the Toronto Film Festival, Shyamalan was introduced by David Overbey who predicted that the world would see more of Shyamalan in the years to come. Praying with Anger has also been shown on Canadian television. Filmed in Chennai, it is his only film to be shot outside of Pennsylvania. Although Unbreakable was Shyamalan’s first major commercial picture, his first movie that he wrote and directed was Praying with anger followed by Wide Awake. After earning considerable reputation as a budding film maker in Hollywood, Shamalan made Unbreakable. Although the movie didn’t do too well, it was much praised by critics and cine-goers. Like a hurricane, Shyamalan entered the big league of Hollywood with his The Sixth Sense. At a budget of $40m, it grossed $670m+ worldwide in 1999. It became the biggest hit that year. It was also nominated for six Oscar awards including best picture, best direction and best original screenplay. It was with this movie that some critics started calling him, ’The Next Spielberg.’ The movie is about a ten-year old boy, Cole, who sees ’dead people’. The movie is basically a horror movie cum a phychological thriller with a jaw dropping twist in the end. The Sixth Sense was followed by Signs. Signs is about a family living in Philadelphia. Graham lives with kids and brother Merril. It portrays the familly’s battle against alien invasion in their house and how Graham, a priest loses faith in God and regains it when his son survives an alien’s attack. The movie immediately clicked with the audience. At a budget of $72m, it grossed $450m+ worldwide and also became one of the highest grossing movie in USA. Although some feel that the movie’s plot is too complex, I feel it is as good as the Sixth Sense. After the two super hits, Shyamalan made The Village. Many critics and people stated that, "With The Village, Shyamalan was off his rocker." But few really understand what the movie was about. It is about a village in the middle of wild life sanctuary and the villagers are terrorized by some creatures.
Although the movie is basically a dramatical thriller, it has some unforgettable horror scenes. Despite mixed opinions, the movie grossed $270m world wide. Shyamalan’s latest venture, Lady in The Water was released in 2005 and was known as one of the worst movies of the year. But still the movie grossed $55m at the USA box office. For once, the cynical reviews against him are justified since the movie was a disappointment. What Shyamalan reveals about human nature is more terrifying than his movies. If you see all his movies, you will see than beneath the veil of horror/thriller/suspense, his movies are actually classic dramas. Sixth Sense is a horror classic, but actually its about facing your fears. Signs is about alien invasion but its actually about human faith in God. How GHod tests man’s faith in him plays the back bone of the movie. The Village is an epitome. The movie may be a thriller/horror, but in reality it tells us about the man’s greed. How prosperity can go against man and why a peacful, quiet life is more favourable.
With his ability to fuse the element of horror/thrill and the element of human phychology his movies always attract the audiences for his typical ’twist in the tale’. Shyamalan also has a flare for acting. In his own movies, he plays small but significant roles. His next movie is The Happening which releases in mid 2008 which is about a global crisis which affects a family.
