Dil hote jo mere seene mein do, dusra dil bhi main de deta cinema ko.
(If I had two hearts in my chest, I would give even the second one to cinema.)
That line once slipped out of me — half in jest, half in truth. Because cinema has always been more than entertainment. It has been a second heartbeat.
We’ve all watched films. We’ve laughed in the dark halls, cried silently while the music swelled, clapped when the hero finally won. But how many of us ever think about what lies behind the curtain? About the invisible hands that hold up this world of dreams?
The World Behind the Screen
A film is not just a hero and heroine, a song and a climax. It is the collective labor of hundreds.
Someone builds the set brick by brick, painting cracks into walls that will never exist outside of that stage. Someone lights the frame so that shadows fall exactly where they should. Someone holds a boom mic above their head for hours, their arms trembling but never dropping, because if they do, the scene has to be shot again. Someone stays awake long into the night fine-tuning sound that the audience will barely notice, yet will instantly miss if it isn’t there.
And then, after months of sweat, chaos, and compromise, it all comes together on a 70mm screen as if it had always belonged there. A world that looks effortless, even though nothing about it was easy.
The Noise We Hear, The Silence We Miss
Ask people what they know about a new film, and the answers usually circle around gossip. Who fought with whom. Who is dating whom. What went wrong at the box office. News channels and social media thrive on that noise.
But the silence — the endless rehearsals, the technicians who never see their names in lights, the background dancers who pour every ounce of energy into one shot that lasts five seconds — that rarely finds a voice.
I have always felt that gap. It bothers me that the narrative of cinema has been reduced to gossip and stardom when the real story lies with those who never appear on posters. Maybe this series exists to close that gap, even if only a little.
Why This Story Matters
Cinema is often called escapism. And yes, it can be — the dark hall is a place where we forget our bills, our failures, our heartbreaks. But if you look closely, cinema is also a mirror. It shows us who we are, who we wish to be, and sometimes who we fear becoming.
To me, that mirror is sacred. And ignoring the people who polish it, who hold it steady, who risk their own reflections never being seen — that feels wrong.
When I say I would give cinema a second heart if I had one, I mean it. Because every film I’ve loved has taken something from me and given something back.
What Lies Ahead
This is only the beginning. In the coming pieces, I want to take you into the spaces we rarely notice:
- the restless energy of a film set,
- the quiet discipline of a script reading,
- the nervous laughter before a first take,
- the exhaustion of a night shoot that ends just as the sun comes up,
- the relief in the air when the director finally calls it a wrap.
These are the moments that make cinema real, even before the camera rolls. They may not make headlines, but they shape the stories that eventually do.
In the End
Cinema, for me, is not only what we see on screen. It is also the invisible orchestra behind the curtain. And maybe through these blogs, I can share a little of that music with you.
I am Raghav Gautam, and this is the start of a journey into the stories behind cinema.
And if someday you need help with storytelling — whether it is photography, film, or simply shaping your own narrative — you can always contact me here.