Chapter 433 Indian Contract

Chopra said that part of the filming of Mission: Kashmir was done near Kargil.

There was never any peace there, and Chopra had to travel to and from the set in a bulletproof car under the protection of armed police.

They heard a loud noise in the middle of filming, and everyone looked up and stared into the distance, motionless.

"That's the sound of firecrackers. The locals are celebrating Dussehra," Chopra told the crew and asked the photographer to speed up.

After work that day, he ordered people to clear the area as quickly as possible. Everyone then realized: How could Kashmir, where herders live, celebrate the Hindu festival of Dussehra?

An explosion had indeed occurred, and afterward, a rocket-propelled grenade was found at the government secretariat, 200 meters from the set. The attack killed four people.

But the filming was finally completed that day. At that time, the two sides on the border had not yet engaged in a full-scale firefight, and most of the shots were cold guns and cold foam.

So the carefree Chopra didn't take it seriously and continued filming intensively.

A few days later, the actor playing the militant was running along the canal. Local police set up a monitoring point at the other end of the canal. When they saw the "militant", they pointed their guns at him.

The counter-terror police didn't realize until the last moment that it was an actor, and when bombs exploded all over Kashmir in the name of war, Vinod was blowing up tourist boats on Dal Lake for entertainment.

The line between real combat and movie scenes is so blurred it's almost indistinguishable.

“You know, we were just a hair’s breadth away from losing a few lives. Coincidentally, the Kargil War broke out the day after we left after the filming was completed.”

"Wow, you guys are so lucky." Ron nodded.

“I should have stayed there for two more days,” Chopra said with regret. “That’s real war footage.”

"Dude, it's a blessing that no one was hurt. You're so bold." Ron complained to him.

Li Tik and several other main creators nodded with lingering fear. Which normal person would regret missing the war?

"But I did gain something. On the way back, I encountered many tanks, artillery and troops. I took a lot of shots, which can be edited into the movie later."

"What's the situation over there? I heard some people died."

"The situation is not good," Chopra sighed. "I heard the Air Force has been deployed, which hasn't happened in more than 20 years."

"So serious?"

"We met that intelligence officer during our layover. He reviewed the script for us. Two weeks! In just two weeks, both sides lost thousands of men."

"No wonder New Delhi remains silent. The war won't continue like this, right?" Ron frowned.

"According to past practice, the United States will definitely need to mediate in the end." Qiao Pulai was very confident.

There is no need to worry about nuclear war. Although the two sides have been at odds with each other for a long time, they will not joke about such things.

It must be said that the Americans are not called the world police for nothing.

Many of Baba's weapons are imported from the United States, and they can also exert great influence on India.

It is very simple to interrupt the war. Just cut off Babayang’s military supplies. It won’t be long before the fighting will stop naturally.

Babayang is also passive in air supremacy and has almost no fighter jets to show off.

Due to a variety of factors, they will be forced to give up the occupied land.

No one likes war, and countries around the world are afraid that these two will get too excited and throw fireworks at each other.

Ron carefully searched his memory and breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that there had been no large-scale conflicts during this period.

The streets of Mumbai have been in chaos recently, and the stock market, which had just recovered, has suffered another heavy blow.

"Have all the shots for this movie been shot?" Ron asked.

“There are still some gangster scenes left, which can be done in Mumbai.”

"It took two years from writing the script to wrapping up filming. It was a truly unfortunate journey."

"Fortunately, the budget is under control," Chopra said proudly.

He took out his account book and prepared to reconcile it with Ron. Seeing this, the other creators said goodbye and left.

Ron knew that Bollywood filmmaking was very rough, but it wasn't until he saw the contract on the table that he had a more intuitive impression.

There's a reason Hollywood can't make Indian films: Bollywood's contracting practices would make a Wall Street celebrity lawyer gasp and want to leap from the Oberoi's penthouse suite in protest.

Chopra contacted several music directors in advance and asked them for their ideas for the film's score and songs.

He spoke to Anu Malik, the composer of "Arabic Heart", who became emotional after hearing about his situation.

They talked on the phone for two hours one Sunday morning, and Malik promised to help for free.

He was wiping his tears on the other end of the phone, sobbing and saying that compared to their friendship, money was nothing!

Suddenly, Chopra heard a crunching sound, like something being bitten, and asked Malik, "What happened to you?"

"I'm eating a carrot," the composer replied. "Wait a moment, I'll be done soon."

Chopra listened to Malik chewing rapidly for a while, then returned to the phone, ready to shed another round of tears: "I won't take you for a penny! Don't worry about the money."

Well, that's the verbal contract in Bollywood, there's nothing in writing at all.

Of course, Qiao Pulai still maintained a minimum of respect for the leading actors.

He would draw up a contract but usually would not sign it.

“In our business, contracts mean nothing,” he said.

A star's salary depends entirely on the box office performance of his previous movie.

To reduce the risk, he would appear in three or four movies at the same time, playing a policeman in the morning, a terrorist in the afternoon, and a vampire lover in the evening.

Chopra reached out, took a piece of paper from the table, and handed it to Ron.

That is Bollywood's most closely guarded secret, a contract.

It describes the star's specific compensation in terms that would amaze legal professionals, and records his oral account in black and white with Chopra's typical exaggeration.

Dear Sanjay: Theme - Mission Kashmir

First, I think the progress that has been made over the past few weeks around the above theme, both in terms of the script and the soundtrack.

And (most importantly!) the passion and dedication you've shown towards this project is amazing, and I truly believe our filming schedule is moving forward in great strides.

Second, I appreciate your sincerity, but I value our friendship more. I don't want any misunderstandings over trivial details (such as compensation) to affect our partnership.

So I want to be honest and forthright with you about the salary issue and put it in writing to prove that we have reached a consensus on this matter.

Third, although I want to pay you the salary you deserve based on the market price, please don’t forget: I am different from ordinary people. I disdain to ask for help from certain specific people in order to obtain funding that is not innocent.

The salary we have agreed upon is twenty-five lacs. If the film does not do well, then I will pay you Rs 0.

Hope you'll understand! Best wishes!

Vidhu Vinod Chopra

PS: If the movie is a hit, I will pay you an additional bonus of 25 lacs.

The line "and also" was written by Chopra. The contracts he signed with the three leading actors were exactly the same, except for slight changes in the names and amounts.

If the film breaks even, second-lead actor Hitik will be paid 11 lacs. If it flops at the box office, he'll only get 1 lac. If the film is a hit, he'll get an additional 10 lacs bonus.

The lead actress Preeti's remuneration is 15 lacs (if the film breaks even), 1 lac (if it fails at the box office), and another 10 lacs (if it is a big hit).

Regardless of how the actors' subsequent remuneration changes, Chopra has left herself a foolproof way out.

If Mission Kashmir doesn't do well like his last film, he will have to pay a meager two lacs to the three lead actors.

Chopra also made similar arrangements with the music director, photographer and other cast and crew members.

No one could get an advance on their wages, and sometimes they didn't even get paid after the work was completed.

"My last film, 'Arabic Asam', didn't do well and my art director didn't get paid a penny," Chopra said.

But he managed to compensate the other party by hiring the same art director for the commercial and paying him three times the market rate.

"This is the reality in India. The same thing cannot happen in the United States."

"Hollywood lawyers and agents would rather commit suicide than sign such a contract." Ron nodded.

Chopra laughed and said the same thing Anand had said: India is a country of affection and loyalty, and will never play tricks once an agreement is reached.

In response, Ron could only say "Haha".

If he hadn't known the third brother's business reputation in the international market, he would have almost believed it.

Chopra wanted to set the gangster drama in the Kama compound, which was Ron's territory and he could do whatever he wanted.

Post-production is expected to take a few more months, after which the film will be released.

Ron didn't care much about these things. He came here today just to eat melons.

However, another piece of news recently caught Ron's attention.

Congress members are demanding a reopening of the inquiry into the 1992 Mumbai riots.

They saw an opportunity, a great opportunity for the Shiv Sena to lose power.

The Shiv Sena is becoming more and more extreme and has turned Mumbai into a complete mess.

Many people say that the resources that the Congress Party failed to use up in its 40 years in power were used up by the Shiv Sena in just three years.

Large companies have withdrawn from Mumbai, and employment rates in many areas have become increasingly depressed.

Coupled with the impact they had on the cultural and sports circles at the beginning of the year, the public's impression of the Shiv Sena has been greatly reduced.

The general election in Maharashtra a few months later was seen by the Congress Party as the best opportunity to turn the tables.

If they get their way, Thackeray will certainly be the target.

What could be more demoralizing than sending the leader of the opposition party to jail?

The 1992 riots were a perfect excuse. Everyone knew what happened, almost the whole country knew about it.

The Shiv Sena cannot escape. As long as the Congress comes to power, they will be in trouble.

It is obvious that the Shiv Sena is also aware of the problem and they are trying their best to remedy it.

(End of this chapter)