Chapter 156: Work Begins
Ron never went faster than 50 mph in Mumbai, whether riding or driving.
Because there are too many people, you can't drive fast, even if you want to.
But on a dirt road like Varanasi, the driver can actually drive the car at 80 or 90 yards per hour.
Because the road is narrow, the lower side of the road overlooks a steep slope, while the higher side of the road often has rows of people and livestock walking along the road.
Ron and his crew's bulky bus was huge and rickety, and the driver turned every corner violently and sharply, with no regard for their lives.
Mary held Ron's arm tightly all the way, her body tense, not daring to relax for a moment.
"Who is this white man?" The driver still had the leisure to chat with Ron.
"She's my master's girlfriend," Anil answered quickly. He tried to act nonchalant, trying to hide his inner pride, but ultimately failed.
White people are rare in the first place, and ordinary Indians have a sense of awe towards foreigners, let alone a white girl and an Indian man becoming a couple.
This is enough to shock the whole of Varanasi and be talked about by people all year round.
"Wow! Girlfriend, you found a white girl as your girlfriend?" The driver and everyone in the car looked at Ron in surprise.
"You could say that." He nodded.
"Where is she from?"
"Europe."
“Is Europe rich?”
“Yes, most people there are richer than Indians.”
“Does she speak Hindi?”
"Not really."
“People in her country don’t speak Hindi?”
"That's right."
“Neither Hindi nor Urdu?”
“They only speak English.”
"Oh my god, poor idiot."
Mary couldn't hold it any longer. She pinched Ron's hand and quietly exerted force.
"She is very tall, taller than Indian women."
"Yes." Ron smiled and nodded.
"Don't let her go hungry. Give her plenty of milk."
"good."
"milk."
"Yes." Ron answered patiently.
When the driver talked to him, he deliberately raised his voice to make sure everyone in the car could hear him.
Not only that, he also wanted to share the news with passers-by.
Whenever someone walked outside the window, the driver would honk the horn to attract their attention and gesture with his thumb to indicate that there were foreigners in the car.
"A foreign girl found an Indian man as her boyfriend."
He slowed the car to a snail's pace, letting every pedestrian take a good look at him.
This kind of novel experience doesn't come often, and it's enough for him to show off for two or three months.
The journey that was supposed to take a quarter of an hour ended up taking him an hour.
Ron and his friends got off the bus. There was a sign in big red Hindi on the back of the bus saying that the bus was strictly limited to 48 people.
But in fact, there were seventy people crammed into the car, and two or three tons of cargo, but no one cared.
The bus groaned and sped away, leaving them in endless silence, so quiet that the breeze blowing past their ears sounded like the whisper of a sleeping child.
"Let's go." Ron took the lead. Neither he nor Anil was unfamiliar with the surroundings.
This place is only a few kilometers away from the city center, which is considered a suburb and is also on the way to their own village.
Unfortunately, even though it is so close to the city, there are still not many people around.
On both sides of the dirt road are endless sugarcane fields and corn fields. They are all more than one meter tall and look like a maze with thick walls from a distance.
"I haven't seen anything like this in a long time. It reminds me of my childhood."
Shiv is also a rural boy from Bihar, just next to Uttar Pradesh. The scene before him reminded him of his hometown.
"There aren't many telephone poles here." Mary turned her head. The sparse wires looked too shabby compared to the spider webs in the city.
"People in the countryside rarely need electricity, unless a large family pays for it themselves."
Well, the Suhr family is it.
The Durga Temple they were going to was a tourist attraction. Ratan said that it was usually very popular and had many believers.
As they approached, a child herding cattle came forward shyly.
Anil gave him a candy and chatted for a while, and found out about the latest situation of the Durga Temple. There were not many people there today.
When passing by a village entrance, a huge advertisement on a dirt wall attracted everyone's attention.
It was an oil painting with red letters on a yellow background that read "Two is good enough", and below the red letters was a simple sketch of a family of four.
This is an Indian birth control advertisement. It starts with "Don't have more children, and don't have more than three."
Later, another layer of criticism was applied: "There are two of us, and there are two children."
The latest picture is two leaves and a flower, which means only one child will be born.
As new and old advertisements are superimposed, the amount of parenting promoted gradually decreases.
It is said that Mrs. Gandhi forced the sterilization of eight million Indian men, which sparked riots, and she was hastily resigned a year after the policy was implemented.
It is almost impossible for Indians not to have children.
The Nandi Temple next to the village has been weathered, but the sculptures here are grand and ancient, with a unique sense of grandeur.
Shiv was very excited. He was also a devotee of Durga. After a few words with the monks at the temple, he almost immediately decided that this was the filming location.
"You know what's best?" he rambled on. "There's a wooden guesthouse nearby for tourists. It can be used as a filming location for our rural drama."
"No problem, I'll contact the B&B." Ron could handle this kind of thing easily.
His native Brahmin identity can sweep away all obstacles.
"We'll start work tomorrow." Director Schiff made the decision immediately.
He didn't even wait until tomorrow, and ordered the crew to build the scene, arrange the scenes, schedule, etc. in the afternoon.
Ron took Anil to find the owner of the B&B here.
After all, it is a tourist attraction, very close to the city, and there is a handicraft market nearby.
The Temple of Durga Puja here always attracted many tourists in the past.
Therefore, it is not surprising that places like B&Bs appear. The owners have installed electricity, telephones in every room, and various commonly used electrical appliances.
Yes, Ron finally felt the modern style, and the room layout was quite Indian rural style.
After chatting with the owner, I learned that the B&B here was originally designed to attract foreigners in the city center.
They might be curious about rural India and make a special trip to experience it.
As it turns out, most of the people who actually visit here are from big cities in South India.
On every special Hindu holy day, tens or even millions of people come to worship at the Ganges.
Hotels and inns in the city center will be fully booked, and later visitors will spread to the surrounding B&Bs.
"I don't have much business here on weekdays, but during festivals, it will be crowded with people," said the B&B owner.
His three daughters stared at Ron, wondering why they had never heard of such a handsome young man nearby since he had a local accent.
"We want to borrow your B&B to shoot a movie for about twenty days." Ron stated his purpose.
"No problem," the boss agreed without hesitation after learning his last name, "as long as you let me have a shot in the movie."
"No problem." Ron can make the decision on this matter.
A considerable part of the story of "A Tribute to the Unapproachable Mother" takes place in the countryside, so the crew will stay here for a long time.
Ron will help them with the early preparations, so that when the film officially starts shooting, he will be free to do other things.
The actors have already taken their places on the set, and Urmila has recovered well, thanks to Ron's miraculous skills.
Other supporting actors have become stagehands, some helping to carry equipment, some climbing up and down to set up lighting, and some cleaning...
This is how the crew of a low-budget movie is like, with a shortage of staff and everyone having to do multiple jobs.
Lanka, who is usually active at work, is pestering the producer at this time.
Last night’s sleeping experience is hard to describe. Not to mention the mosquitoes, the actor who shared the room with me was a heavy smoker and snored loudly when he slept.
Lanka barely slept that night and asked the producers to change his room. To make his case, he even recorded his roommate's snoring on his Walkman.
Ron couldn't help laughing when he heard this, and waved his hand to ask the producer to change his room.
"I heard that your parents are going to sell their business in Dubai and return to Jaipur?" Ron already knew about Lanka's background.
"Mr. Soul, you know that business in the Persian Gulf is not easy right now."
The Gulf conflict shattered the economic growth momentum in the Persian Gulf region, and the Lanka family's business was also affected. His mother was preparing to sell her jewelry and return to her hometown of Jaipur to buy a house.
"How long have you been there? Do you know Dubai?"
"Of course, my parents have been running this business for many years." Lanka assured him.
"Do you know Daoud?"
"Oh! Mr. Sur, do you know him?" Lanka was a little surprised.
"No, I have a travel agency in Dubai. I just want to know what's going on there. You know, these gangs often target Indian businessmen."
"Don't worry, Dawood is rich, but he can only hide in his apartment in Dubai and dare not come out. Dubai is not Mumbai. Gangs have to keep their tails between their legs when they go there."
This is one of the reasons why Lanka likes Dubai. The security there is much better than that in Mumbai. The drivers drive in a very orderly manner and never honk their horns all the time like Indian drivers do.
The gangster boss who escaped from Mumbai has long lost his glory and has become a complete loser.
After listening to Lanka's explanation, Ron had a rough idea in his mind. It seemed that he had been too cautious before.
"Are your parents still urging you to go back and inherit the business?"
Lanka laughed and took out a makeup photo to show Ron, saying that his parents asked him to send it back.
"They used to just pray to God: 'Please let my son change his mind and come home soon.' Now they can't wait to tell everyone that I'm the leading man."
Ron smiled knowingly. Parents all over the world are probably the same.
Everyone in the crew was busy, except Ron, who was idle.
"Mira, how do you feel today?" He moved closer to the leading actress again.
Urmila felt embarrassed by his affectionate name, but she was too shy to remind him.
"Much better. Dr. Soul's medicine is very effective."
"What should you call me?"
"Ron...Ron Baba..."
Emma, that’s right, the old pervert really enjoys being called that.
He was about to make a few jokes when Ratan suddenly came over with his uncle Prash, looking excited.
(End of this chapter)
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