Smruti's Blog

Lost and Found in Time: Maharaja  and the Craft of Editing “A film does not simply unfold through time; it is shaped, re-shaped, and revealed through editing - through cuts, gaps, and returns that make us question when a story truly begins or ends.” This blog has been written as part of my activity for the subject of Film Studies under the guidance of Prof. Dilip Barad Sir. The blog responds to the tasks assigned through the worksheet on "Analysing Editing and Non-Linear Narrative in Maharaja (2024)" , a Tamil action-thriller directed by Nithilan Swaminathan. The purpose of this exercise is to critically engage with the film’s use of non-linear narration and editing techniques, exploring how these cinematic tools shape audience perception of time, character development, and narrative structure. Through this reflective analysis, I aim to deepen my understanding of how editing functions not merely as a technical process but as a key strategy in storytelling. Maharaja Theatrical...

 " An Astrologer’s Day" : From Story to Screen This blog is written as the part of worksheet for thinking activity assigned by Megha Trivedi ma'am. The purpose of this blog is to reflect on the experience of watching the film adaptation of R. K. Narayan’s short story, exploring how the visual medium enhances understanding of the plot, characters, and themes. Through this exercise, I aim to critically analyze the film. Pre-Viewing Task  Observe the setting, plot, character, structure, style, and theme of the original short story "An Astrologer’s Day" by R.K. Narayan. Introduction: Unveiling Layers Beneath a Market Scene R. K. Narayan ’s "An Astrologer’s Day" is a compact yet profound short story that masterfully blends everyday life with deeper philosophical questions about truth, guilt, and redemption. The narrative, almost deceptively simple at first glance, reveals its intricate artistry through a rich interplay of setting, plot, character portr...

Unwriting the Written: A Deconstructive Journey through AI-Generated Poetry This blog post is part of thinking activity guided (check here) by Dr. Dilip Barad Sir and explores the intersection of creative writing and literary theory through the lens of Poststructuralism and Deconstruction. In this activity, two original poems were generated using ChatGPT,  composed in classical poetic forms like sonnet and iambic pentameter. These poems were then analyzed through deconstructive frameworks, also with the help of ChatGPT, based on theoretical models from Peter Barry’s " Beginning Theory" and Catherine Belsey’s writings on Poststructuralism. One poem was examined using Barry’s three-stage deconstructive approach (verbal, textual, and linguistic) while the other was interpreted following Belsey’s method of analyzing literary texts for ambiguity, ideology, and textual openness. This project illustrates how AI can be employed as a tool not only for generating literature but also ...

 Deconstructive Reading of Poems                              The poet produces the beautiful by fixing the sight on what is delightful in the present or the past.  But what if the “delight” in poetry is not in what is “said,” but in what escapes being said?                     In this blog post, I explore the intricate relationship between poststructuralist theory and poetry through the lens of deconstruction. As part of an assigned activity by Prof. Dilip Barad ( For background of task  assigned ), Drawing insights from a video lecture on William Shakespeare’s "Sonnet 18", I examine how the poem’s surface celebration of beauty is undermined by the instability of its language. Building on this, I engage with Catherine Belsey’s "Poststructuralism", which highlights the primacy of the signifier and analyzes Ezr...

 Derrida and Deconstruction  This blog us part of thinking activity assigned by Prof. Dilip Barad Sir. For background of the task check "Deconstruction and Derrida" . Video: 5.1 Why is it difficult to define Deconstruction? Deconstruction is difficult to define because it challenges the very idea of fixed meaning and stable definitions. Introduced by Jacques Derrida, it reveals how language is always shifting, dependent on context, and full of internal contradictions. Deconstruction does not follow a set method or offer clear steps- instead, it questions binary oppositions and shows how texts undermine their own claims. Since it resists rigid structures and insists that meaning is always deferred, any attempt to define it simply would go against its core philosophy. Is Deconstruction a negative term? As per Derrida Deconstruction is not what we simply understand as breaking down something or destroying something. It is rather an inquiry into the foundations of Western Philoso...

Ralph Waldo Emerson and his Works This blog is a flipped learning activity assigned by Prakruti Bhatt Ma'am. " Here " is the details for the context of writing this blog.

Worksheet: Film Screening - Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party This blog task is assigned by Megha Trivedi Ma'am, as part of thinking activity. For background details of the task visit- 'The Birthday Party' . This blog contains 3 parts: Pre-viewing tasks, While-viewing tasks and Post-viewing tasks.