Movie-making, Bollywood style!

I worked on a small documentary-style project with my flatmates, (as mentioned in another post), and I've been meaning since the project ended filming to get something written down about it! So here's a little something-

Two of my three flatmates are enrolled in cinema courses here in Mumbai, and made a small documentary-style video that deals with the migration to Mumbai from other states in India. Many of the migrants that the script was focused on (yes, there was a script, it was shot in the "style" of a documentary) were from a state called Bihar, in North-eastern India, where life is a bit more difficult economically/socially for its' residents. A common job that migrants take here in Mumbai is the driver of a "rickshaw" (no, not the carts pulled by human beings) but more like a 3-wheeled taxis that resemble a bumble-bee.

Shooting at various locations in and outside Mumbai, my experiences ranged from pleasant to excruciatingly uncomfortable- One of our scenes took place at a slum, and for 2 days we shot amongst what some people consider sub-human living conditions. For me, this was not the case. I received such generosity and respect from complete strangers who weren't receiving any sort of compensation. It brought a smile to my face to feel all the positive energy and curiosity from the kids who quietly stood behind me hoping to sneek a peek of what I saw through the viewfinder. It was if they were being presented with a glimpse of another world through a small screen when I stooped down with them to review and critique different takes of what I had just recorded. Their faces were with filled with such awe at what I sometimes become tired of looking at, but with them I felt lucky to have the opportunity to be there at all.

Another one of our scenes took place at night on small roadside chai vendor. What turned out to be an all-night shoot, we became the local entertainment for all the residents who lived in and around the streets we shot on. By the time our lights were up and I was ready to start shooting, what seemed like a hundred people had slowly gathered to watch us film our little movie. Mostly guys, they were excited to see our fight scene in the flesh, and were impressed with our use of fake-blood.

The generosity of the complete strangers who worked with us on the filming was astonishing to behold. During the filming of "fight-scene, we had a snag when the police showed up, and started poking around. We knew something like this might happen, so we had a bit of money set aside for baksheesh. The owner of the chai stall where we shooting stepped up to bat for us and talked to the police, and bargained a payoff of only 200 rupees (about 5 bucks). We definitely owe him a debt of gratitude for helping us out. Even though I am appalled at police corruption, I do understand the reasons for it in India.