I heard the term “shooting” several times while I was growing up. The reason; there were several film studios in the vicinity and many neighbours were associated with the film industry. Many times films were shot in our colony, which in those days resembled a picturesque Kerala village.
Every time there was a shooting in our locality, children from our neighbourhood went to watch it. My parents and brothers were very protective and never allowed me to go. But, I was always curious and eager to watch film shootings.
A neighbour of mine was a film producer and I loved spending time at his house playing with his daughters and dogs. My mother, who is a strict disciplinarian, permitted me to go to my neighbour’s house after laying down several conditions. They were;
1) I would behave myself and not cause trouble to anyone or cause damage to anything.
2) I would not go beyond the verandah or the living room in their house.
3) I would not eat or drink anything in their house and also would not hang around when it was time for their meals.
4) I would not speak loudly or pick up fights with anyone
5) I would return home immediately if my friend’s father or any other guest(s) arrived.
6) I would not ask my parents to get me the toys my neighbours had.
After I promised to adhere to all the conditions, my mother would let me to go. One afternoon, as I was playing a board game with my neighbour’s daughters, a few vans and cars with lot of equipment and people arrived and there was a sudden commotion. I learnt that a shooting was scheduled in their house. Though I always kept my promises, on that particular day, I decided that I would listen to my heart and stayed back in their house in spite of all the activity happening there. My mother sent word to me through my neighbour’s maid instructing me to return home, probably when I did not respond to her calls. Whenever she felt I had played enough and it was time for me to return home, she would stand near the wall between our houses and call my name very loudly and I would return home immediately. Under normal circumstances, if I had not responded to her calls, she would have personally come to take me back home, but since there were so many men there, she was hesitant and so I decided to watch the shooting.
My neighbour’s house was very large. There were several bed rooms apart from a verandah, living room, kitchen, dining room, shrine room, a large office, a playroom and servant quarters. First they shot in a bedroom in the basement. The passage to the bedroom was filled with the crew and I could not see anything. To get a glimpse and also to save myself from a stampede, I climbed the stairs connecting the bedrooms and tried to peep down, but in vain. After a while, the team shifted from the basement bedroom to another bedroom and carried all the equipment through the staircase I was standing on. I was very scared to watch the crew interacting at high decibels at one time and becoming absolutely silent at another. I was once again unlucky when the shooting started in the second bedroom near the staircase. They pushed me literally aside and I landed in a passage that led to another bedroom. I saw some people getting into that room and so I followed them. That was the master bedroom. The room was air-conditioned and fully decorated with flowers and resembled a marriage hall. Within a few minutes of me stepping into the master bedroom, the entire crew shifted there. They placed the camera near the door and the entire crew assembled before the large bed. Some of them squatted on the floor and some got on to the attic holding large lights. Two actors resembling a bride and groom entered the room. The actor wore a silk dhoti and kurta and he was directed to sit on the bed. The actress wore a white silk saree with a red border and was bedecked in temple jewellery. She had a silver glass in her hand. Many from the crew were giving instructions to the actors very loudly and like obedient students, the actors listened to them. It took some time for me to comprehend what was happening around. Too many people were talking at the same time. One gentleman from the crew instructed the actress to walk through the door and go towards the actor sitting on the bed. Since the camera was placed near the door, and the entire crew stood there, it could not be done. Suddenly somebody got an idea and suggested that she enters the room through the door of the balcony instead, as the room also had a balcony. There was a loud applause for the idea and they opened the door to the balcony. It was broad daylight and the scene was supposed to be in the night. Hence they decided not to open the door, but advised the actress to start the scene from bolting the door of the balcony. (Filmmakers always think out of the box and they have a razor sharp mind. The entire crew was very innovative and was improvising spontaneously).
The actress as directed, pretended to bolt the balcony door, turned and walked towards the bed very gracefully, placed the glass on the side table and fell at the actor’s feet. The actor was then asked to stand up, hold the actress in his arms, hug her tightly, caress and kiss her. The actress had to blush and then shed tears. This was the scene. Believe me; the Director was literally giving every instruction to the actors. The actors rehearsed the scene a few times and then the crew decided to shoot. When an assistant clapped the clapboard and the camera started rolling, there was pin drop silence and the actors started enacting. Somehow, every time, somebody or the other in the crew was unhappy with the output and suggested more improvisations to the scene and the Director shouted “one more take”. The actors in between shots, checked their makeup and got ready for the shot with dedication. They tried several angles, several positions, different hugs, different smiles, different tears, but still the crew was dissatisfied. Everybody had an opinion. Some felt the actor was not showing enough excitement and some felt the actress was not blushing and emoting adequately. They made the actors do the same scene nearly twenty five times. Though I could not comprehend what exactly was happening there, I felt very awkward. I also felt sorry for the actors. The actress and her mother were little fussy and expressed irritation about the retakes, but the actor was very patient and without a frown or resistance he adhered to the Director’s instructions. (No doubt he later became a famous actor and now a successful realtor in Hyderabad
In one of the takes, as the actors changed their positions and hugged each other, the actress spotted me kneeling under the tripod of the camera, open-mouthed and starring at them. I was a six year old then. The actress felt thoroughly embarrassed to perform a “love scene” before a child and requested that I am sent out. The crew had a hearty laugh looking at me and they carefully carried (read threw) me out of the room.
Later, I accompanied my parents to the film preview and eagerly waited for this particular scene on the screen. It was a black and white film and was not as colourful as the shooting was. The scene featured only for a fraction of a second on the screen and that too was shown through the eyes of a voyeuristic man peeping into the bedroom through the keyhole. It was also a long distance shot and none of the perfect expressions the crew demanded from the actors were visible on the screen. I don’t know if the scene had any relevance to the story as well.
My desire to watch a film shooting was completely satiated that day and never again I had I got excited about it.
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