In the evening, Alan returned to the hotel after sending his bodyguard to drive Aishwarya Rai back to her residence in Mumbai.
Here, you even have to take a shower by yourself, which is a bit inconvenient. But when you are away from home and the conditions are a bit simple, you can still bear it and make do with it for now.
…
Mumbai... known as the Upper Shanghai of India. Alan heard from the locals that even if places like Upper Shanghai in China were given another 50 years to develop, it would still not be able to surpass Mumbai.
This statement reflects both the confidence and ignorance of Mumbai people.
Allen smiled, not even wanting to complain. Indians are sometimes so inexplicably confident that outsiders may think they are a little abnormal...
Just like now.
After picking up Aishwarya Rai early in the morning, the two prepared to visit Bollywood. When the convoy arrived at the gate of Bollywood, Allen's car was stopped!
The security personnel said they didn't have an invitation and there was no movie being filmed there, so they wouldn't let them in to visit.
It's clearly a remote wilderness, but you need an invitation to get in?
If they don't enter through the main gate, does that mean Master Allen's motorcade will have to take the dirt road next to it?
Aishwarya Rai looked at Allen awkwardly and opened her mouth to explain.
"Don't say anything, it's okay, we don't need an invitation."
Allen narrowed his eyes and patted the passenger's headrest and said, "Go... let them know whose car can be stopped and whose car cannot be stopped."
"Yes, sir!"
The bodyguard sitting on the passenger seat pulled out a small submachine gun from under the seat, pulled the bolt with a click, checked it, then opened the car door with the gun in hand and swaggered down to "show the invitation."
If the Indian security guards on the opposite side are not afraid of death, let them see what a fire invitation is!
…
Aishwarya Rai leaned against the car window, staring blankly at the bodyguard who got out of the car, raised a submachine gun in one hand, pointed it at the sky, and fired a few shots. The Indian security guard at the gate was so scared by this scene that his face turned pale.
The bodyguard held the Indian security guard by the back of his collar, like a chicken, put the muzzle of the gun into his mouth, lowered his head and muttered a few words. A few frightened Indians came out of the gatehouse and hurriedly opened the door.
"Look... these people are just mean bones. It's not enough to talk to them nicely. I need to use other methods, and I am very good at this method."
Alan pointed to the opened iron gate. Bollywood was right before his eyes.
…
In some ways, Indians are actually very similar to Koreans.
They are all the same servile, cowardly people, and they all always need to act according to other people's wishes.
They always act like dogs for others without realizing it, and they think that it is others who need them, rather than them being dogs for others.
Like Koreans, they also like to steal things and are inexplicably confident in their own culture.
Recently, Indians and Koreans have become more similar. They also like to change the names of cities to get rid of some of the previous stereotypes, such as the colors left on them by colonists or masters.
Koreans changed the iconic city name of Hancheng to Seoul, thinking that by changing the name, they could have a national history of tens of thousands of years.
Indians also want to change their name. After all, the current Mumbai is not called Mumbai. The current Mumbai is still called the name given to them by the British.
Bollywood is even more direct. The Indians stole the name directly from Hollywood, changed the first letters, and transformed it into Bollywood, simple and crude.
…
Bollywood is known as the center of Indian films and is also one of Mumbai's business cards. However, after listening to Aishwarya Rai's introduction, Allen felt that this place was not suitable for his investment.
In some aspects, this place is very similar to Hong Kong.
Bollywood's film production is very special, it is family-run rather than corporate-run.
Although they also have companies, these companies are empty shells and are used externally.
Internally, Bollywood is actually controlled by eight families. Each of them has one or more studios responsible for filming, and the source of funds...
Indian banks are not allowed to provide loans to the film industry!
This is illegal, so most of the Indian films currently are either solely funded or financed. Where does the money come from?
Behind each of the eight major families, there is a cooperative relationship with one or more local Indian gangs. They take black money from them, then launder the money through the film industry, and finally return it to those gangs.
It is said that these gangs sometimes fight each other because of the amount of investment and the uneven distribution of spoils.
…
"How do you know so much about this?"
Alan couldn't believe that the little girl sitting next to him knew such inside information.
"So what? This is all public information. Anyone who wants to enter Bollywood knows what's going on here. The authorities don't care because they can make money and pay taxes. Ordinary people don't dare to intervene. They can avoid a lot of trouble by saying they have connections with a certain gang."
Aishwarya Rai said this with some disdain, and it seemed like she had a very bad impression of Bollywood.
“…”
Do Indians play so openly?
Alan was a little surprised that the play here was so unrestrained. It seemed that they had learned the routines from Britain but not the essence.
If you are laundering money, you should at least pretend to do it. Now you are doing it openly. When a politician with stronger tactics comes along one day, won't this be a ready-made experience package?
In Allen's opinion, this kind of play is tantamount to seeking death.
But they're still fine right now, which is fucked up.
Maybe it’s because of the different national conditions. If Indians dare to do this in any other country except Africa, they will be doomed because their method is too crude.
…
Walking along the main road, there are two rows of low office buildings with only a few floors on both sides of the road.
Here are the office buildings of some brokerage companies.
Alan looked out of the car and saw rows of Indian women sitting inside.
How to describe it?
If you put up a small pink lamp at the door and the clothes become cooler, it would be just right!
All Indian films, regardless of genre, are collectively referred to as musicals.
Musicals have a particularly high demand for extras, especially those in large-scale dance performances, which gives these small agencies an opportunity.
Each of their agencies has at least dozens or hundreds of extras signed on.
Most of these extras are women.
That is, the lowest class of female models and actresses in Bollywood.
If these people are spotted by a director or actor one day, they will be able to soar to the sky, but this sky is only limited to Mumbai.
And usually... they would occasionally earn some extra money, some quick cash to support their lives.
This is also the reason why this place is blocked off from outside. If ordinary people come in here, just seeing these beautiful girls will make their eyes dizzy.
Women who dress very conservatively outside are not conservative at all here. Although Alan still thinks their clothes are very conservative, for Indians, this white dress is not conservative. If it is cooler, it will be even more dangerous.
…
Originally, he was planning to take a good look at Bollywood, but as he walked around and listened to Aishwarya Rai's introduction along the way, Allen had lost interest in Bollywood.
"Bollywood movies were very popular in the Soviet Union before. They imported many movies every year. We could also provide them with Russian dubbing and subtitles. They were also very popular in the Middle East, but I don't think they will be popular this year..."
Aishwarya Rai was somewhat proud when she talked about Bollywood movies. She talked about the glorious history of Bollywood movies in front of Allen. It can be said that her movies are popular both at home and abroad...
“…”
Alan waved his hand in disgust, not wanting to watch any more. He decided to go to Bangalore as soon as possible because it was too rubbish here.
…
Due to its large area, Bollywood was built in the suburbs. The further you go in, the more remote the place becomes, and there are slums next to it.
It's a slum, not a civilian area.
These people living in shabby huts were the ones who left the deepest impression on Allen about India. They were very tanned and very thin.
When the children watched from a distance, they saw several black things rummaging through the garbage, just like wild dogs rummaging through garbage.
There were some homeless poor people on the roadside. Some of them looked at the convoy consisting entirely of Rolls-Royces with dull eyes. They may have never seen a Rolls-Royce in their lives and only felt that this convoy was very imposing.
Alan could even see the nervous looks on their faces. They wanted to dodge, but their bodies were so tense that they were too scared to move and just stood there stupidly on the side of the road.
A bodyguard in the car in front rolled down the window and pointed a gun at these people. It was not until this time that these "eyesore" poor people saw this group of foreigners with guns, and then they came to their senses and stumbled back to dodge.
Aishwarya Rai looked at this scene without any discomfort in her eyes. She was a little naive, but she looked down on these poor people from the bottom of her heart. These people were untouchables who did not even deserve a surname.
Everyone knows that India has a four-level caste system, and these people belong to the fifth level, the untouchables who are not even worthy of being recorded - the Dalits!
The convoy whizzed past, and the dust it raised fell on their dark skin, just like wild dogs digging up garbage, with their bodies covered in dust. No one cared about them, and no one would ever care about them. The surroundings returned to peace.
…
After taking Aishwarya Rai to a shopping street in Mumbai to buy a whole set of jewelry, there was nothing else to do.
For others, Mumbai is most famous for its Victorian buildings, which are full of the characteristics of the British colonial period. Ordinary people may be interested in taking a look at them.
But Alan was not interested in this, because this thing was everywhere in Britain.
The architecture of the Victorian era is the architectural style of his new castle. There are Gothic spires and domes. Apart from the slight difference in the architectural form, the common point is that they all believe in splendor!
Abroad, ways to show strength include luxury cars, luxury houses, beautiful women, famous watches, etc.
The Victorian-era house style, whether it was a church or a castle, liked to be made magnificent and golden, which is how the houses were covered with gold and gems.
People in some places may look at this kind of building from today's perspective and feel that it has a bit of a nouveau riche vibe.
But if they really were asked to buy it, they couldn't afford it.
London's Big Ben, suspension bridge and Houses of Parliament are representative examples of Victorian Gothic architecture. Big Ben is also covered in gold and gems. Doesn't it look tacky?
Isn’t this still the hometown in many people’s dreams?
Allen just felt it was too expensive to cover his new castle with gold, so he covered it with diamonds instead.
The castle's exterior is designed according to the popular designs of the Victorian era.
Through the house, you can show your financial strength and power when friends come to visit. This is not like in some places where people emphasize low-key and humbleness.
How can people believe in your ability when you can’t even manage your home well?
Blow with your mouth?
…
And now he is being asked to visit these former Victorian buildings in Mumbai. What's so good about them?
It's like you, a person living by the sea, go to an inland city in the northwest to taste seafood.
You don't eat at home, but go to inland cities to eat.
Are you free?
…
From Mumbai to Bangalore.
If you drive, it will take about twelve or thirteen hours, and that's when the road conditions are good. Alan, who had no confidence in India's infrastructure, listened to the advice and did not choose to take the car.
If you take the train, it will take about 24 hours.
As for why taking the train is slower than driving, don’t ask…
The reason is that India’s national conditions are special. This is not a train, this is a tin can!
No matter who's train is filled with people, it won't go fast.
In the end, Allen had no choice but to fly to Bangalore, which was fast and only took less than two hours.
Apart from being a little dangerous, there's nothing wrong with it.
Only Air India can fly from Mumbai to Bangalore. Foreign planes do not fly this route. The company responsible for flying this route is Air India, an airline under the Tata Group.
The relationship is complicated, but Allen has no choice but to believe in the Tata Group, whose founder is extremely hostile to Britain.
Fortunately...
Although the plane was a bit old, it finally landed safely at Bangalore International Airport.
This airport is a bit run-down, just like their planes, but it seems like they are going to expand it soon...
…
It is about 30 to 40 kilometers from Bangalore International Airport to Bangalore city, which is not too far. In Alan's opinion, the environment here is better than that in Mumbai.
Because Mumbai is a port city with a large population, many immigrants, and is relatively dirty and messy, while Bangalore has been planned as a heavy industrial center since India's independence. It is considered an industrial city, and there are several Indian military industrial enterprises around it.
In terms of population proportion, workers make up the vast majority.
Although it is not a good description, a city with more workers always seems more organized than Mumbai where people of all classes live together.
This time, Allen's destination was not to see the scenery first, but to send someone to inquire about the news after arriving in Bangalore.
On the road, while chatting with Aishwarya Rai, Allen accidentally heard that a big company, IBM, came to Bangalore last year.
Last year, Indian officials also established a new industrial park and supporting facilities here to serve the IT industry.
Moreover, the construction of supporting facilities had also begun, which Aishwarya Rai did not quite understand, and she only said that a microwave communication station was to be built.
…