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iJOT Story Consulting
Right stories. Told right. Together
🎥 Ideas That Move the Craft Forward
Explore powerful insights, tools, and reflections from across the story-first filmmaking universe. From screenwriting and editing to industry trends, AI, and film reviews—these are not just blog posts, they’re building blocks for the next chapter of Indian cinema.
🪄 Welcome to the Story-First Blog
Over 90 posts. Thousands of insights.
One shared purpose: to inspire, challenge, and equip creators with the mindset and craft to reshape Indian filmmaking from the inside out.
Use the blog to:
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Learn the emotional and technical fundamentals of storytelling
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Understand what makes great acting, direction, and cinematography tick
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Analyze award-winning films and why they work (or don’t)
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Stay informed on the transformation sweeping through the Indian film industry
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Discover what the world’s best—from Pixar to Nolan—can teach us
This is a space for creators who think deeply, feel deeply, and believe storytelling can change everything.
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) - A Great Story with Brilliant Storytelling Craft
There are films that dazzle.
And then, there are films that anchor.
In a world obsessed with box office numbers, franchise formulas, and digital spectacle, It’s a Wonderful Life remains an astonishing paradox — a story with no explosions, no CGI, no marquee gimmicks. And yet, almost 80 years later, it still leaves audiences across generations quietly wrecked, deeply seen, and somehow... healed.
Why?
Because It’s a Wonderful Life isn’t just a movie.
It’s a mirror. A map
Sajeev Varghese
Dec 26, 20259 min read
🎬 Nepotism Isn’t the Culprit — Arrogance, Conceit, Deceit, and Mediocrity Are
Nepotism may open doors. But what happens inside those doors — the neglect of preparation, the absence of humility, the betrayal of craft — that’s what’s eroding India’s cinematic soul. Until the industry learns to revere story over surname, performance over perception, and authenticity over artifice, Indian cinema will continue mistaking visibility for value and marketing for merit.
Sajeev Varghese
Nov 28, 20258 min read
Truth on Trial: What "All the President’s Men" Can Teach Indian Cinema About Storytelling
What All the President's Men did have was story-first filmmaking — a fierce respect for truth, process, and the audience’s intelligence.
Alan J. Pakula’s direction, William Goldman’s surgical screenplay, and Robert Redford’s quiet conviction combined to create a film that didn’t shout; it revealed.
It didn’t tell us what to think; it invited us to question. It turned journalism — not heroism — into high drama. Every frame pulsed with honesty, tension, and purpose.
Sajeev Varghese
Nov 3, 202511 min read
Gandhi (1982) - When One Film Redefined How the World Saw India
When Gandhi premiered in 1982, it did more than win eight Academy Awards — it reminded the world that India’s greatest export is not spectacle, but soul. It was an Indian story told through universal truth, made believable through craft, compelling through performance, relevant through conscience, and meaningful through humanity. That is what true Story-First Filmmaking achieves — it opens the Global Gateway not through scale, but through sincerity.
Sajeev Varghese
Oct 18, 202512 min read
India’s National Film Awards Are at a Crossroads: Stop Rewarding Hype, Start Valuing Storytelling Craft
Here’s the opportunity: if the National Film Development Corporation of India recalibrates its criteria—anchoring awards in Story-First principles aligned with global standards—then Indian cinema can finally reclaim its rightful place as a global powerhouse. Imagine awards that value transformation over vanity, substance over spectacle, storytelling over stardom. Imagine the ripple effect: stronger scripts, disciplined performances, producers who prioritize craft, & audiences
Sajeev Varghese
Oct 4, 202511 min read
The Nepotism Con — Bollywood Playbook Reloaded
For too long, dynasties have sold lineage as legacy, wealth as craft, and PR as storytelling. The Ba***ds of Bollywood is glossy, ironic, and loud — but underneath, it’s the same old playbook that launched Aditya Chopra, Karan Johar, and now Aryan Khan.
These spectacles waste time, insult intelligence, and drain credibility. While the world celebrates Oppenheimer, Parasite, Drishyam, and Article 15, Bollywood clings to myths and mirages.
Sajeev Varghese
Sep 13, 20256 min read
🧨 “Param Sundari” – A Case Study in How Not to Tell a Story
Param Sundari isn’t just another forgettable film—it’s a flashing red warning sign for the Indian film industry. In its attempt to bottle the outdated lightning of Chennai Express, it exposed something far more concerning: a continued disregard for truth, for authenticity, and for the intelligence of audiences who crave emotional resonance and narrative depth.
Sajeev Varghese
Aug 31, 20256 min read
Broken Dreams in Andheri: How India’s Casting Studios Crush Aspiration
Every time a young actor steps into a casting room in Mumbai, they carry more than just a portfolio.
They carry hope. Hunger. And heartbreak waiting to happen.
Malhaar Rathod’s story isn’t an anomaly—it’s an indictment.
Sajeev Varghese
Aug 24, 20259 min read
🎬 Case Study: Coolie and War 2 — When the South Followed Bollywood Into the Abyss
Coolie, directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj (yes, the same director who gave us Vikram), turned into a walking tribute to Rajinikanth's aging stardom. War 2, directed by Ayan Mukerji, after the Brahmastra disaster, another YRF factory product, was so drenched in green-screen testosterone that even the shadows felt artificial.
Sajeev Varghese
Aug 16, 20256 min read
🎬 The Great Indian Cinema Con Game: The Box Office Bluff & The Ratings Racket
We’ll unpack how Bollywood lost the plot over the last three decades, how it engineered an elaborate house of mirrors to hide its cracks, and why the world — and even its own loyal fans — have finally stopped buying the ticket to the illusion.
Sajeev Varghese
Jul 9, 20256 min read
Why Emotional Intelligence Is the Actor’s True Superpower
In a world flooded with method clichés and surface-level performance hacks, emotional intelligence grounds you.
Sajeev Varghese
Mar 30, 202510 min read
Irrfan Khan: A Masterclass in Becoming the Character
An actor who didn’t chase the camera but let the moment find him. And when it did, he held it with grace, humility, and astonishing humanity
Sajeev Varghese
Mar 23, 20259 min read
Could Chhaava (2025) have Been Oscar Worthy? 🎬🏆
Every year, the Academy Awards remind us of one brutal truth: Indian cinema is capable of greatness, but it keeps falling short.
Sajeev Varghese
Mar 2, 20259 min read
The True Torchbearers of Acting in Bollywood: Rajkummar Rao & Sanya Malhotra 🎭
Acting in cinema is not a vanity project—it’s a craft, a responsibility, and an art form that demands surrender, not self-promotion.
Sajeev Varghese
Feb 17, 20257 min read
Chhaava (2025) – A Historical Biopic That Roars But Doesn’t Soar
Laxman Utekar’s Chhaava leans on grandiosity without the depth to match it. Despite its authenticity and scale, it struggles to transcend.
Sajeev Varghese
Feb 15, 20255 min read
Mrs. versus The Great Indian Kitchen: The Slow-Burning Truth of Gender Roles in Indian Homes
The Great Indian Kitchen (2021)—a quiet, simmering revolution in storytelling that refused to blink in the face of domestic patriarchy.
Sajeev Varghese
Feb 11, 202518 min read
Film Acting 101: It’s Not About You, It’s About the Character
Bollywood actors must shed their ego-first approach and embrace the character-first philosophy that defines truly legendary performers.
Sajeev Varghese
Feb 6, 202510 min read
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