Chapter 155: Knock Knock Swoosh
Shiv and his crew set off two days earlier than Ron and his crew, but arrived in Varanasi a day late.
There was no other way. There were four different track widths for the thousands of kilometers of railway, and they needed to change shifts and reverse constantly along the way.
After three or four days of hard work, even a handsome guy like Lanka who works out every day becomes sloppy and haggard.
Long-distance train travel in India in the early 1990s was a physically demanding endeavor.
However, Lanka was in high spirits and felt very proud in front of his family.
Just before leaving, his family advised him to give up the idea as soon as possible and return to Dubai to do the fabric business.
Lanka told them that he was going to be the male lead, but his family didn't believe it at all.
It was not until he showed him the actor's contract and the train ticket to Uttar Pradesh provided by the crew that Lanka's brother Hitesh hesitantly flew from Dubai to Mumbai.
After everything was verified, his brother Hitesh immediately informed his parents in Dubai of the news.
They were excited, in a dreamlike state, and genuinely happy for Lanka.
Lanka also believes that the two years of suffering are worth it, and he no longer racks his brains to find excuses for not being able to get roles.
For example, it's the monsoon season right now, so filming is impossible. Ganesha festival is approaching, so everyone's on holiday. Then comes Diwali, and then there's the festival of worshipping ancestors, so the crew has completely stopped working...
I no longer worry about being questioned by friends and family back home in Jaipur, “Why aren’t you famous yet?”, “Haven’t you made a name for yourself yet?”, “Even so-and-so is famous, why isn’t it your turn yet?”…
He can now tell everyone openly that he is about to succeed.
Before leaving Mumbai, his brother Hitesh gave him another 50,000 rupees, which was more than three times his salary.
Lanka did not expect to make money from the film, what was important was that he became a filmmaker in Bollywood.
He was full of ambition, but after joining the crew, he kept a low profile and listened to the director's instructions with absolute humility.
Lanka doesn't care about money. He once told director Shiv that he would come even if the crew didn't provide him with food.
Lanka also brought running shoes, fearing he would gain weight from the extravagant meals. He planned to exercise every day and eat jaggery and peanuts when he was hungry.
He also treated his colleagues on the crew with great enthusiasm, running around to help them carry their luggage along the way.
After arriving in Varanasi, he even paid for lunch for everyone out of his own pocket. They hadn't had a proper meal in the past few days.
"Lanka, take the people to the hotel to check in." Director Shiv waved his hand and handed the people to him.
"Right away!" Lanka hurriedly took two mouthfuls of rice and started working again.
"He's a very energetic young man." Ron watched all this with a smile.
"This guy is pretty good. He has taken on all the work of stage management." Shiv was also satisfied with Lanka's performance.
"Let them rest for a day and go to the countryside tomorrow." Ron just looked at the group of people and saw that they all looked tired.
It was obvious that they had been exhausted along the way. If Urmila was with them, her condition would probably be no different from that of having diarrhea.
Schiff agreed to this arrangement, and after three or four days of train travel, his back still can't straighten up.
Ron took him and another producer to the hotel and arranged a meal for them as a pre-shooting encouragement for the main creators.
As for accommodation? Sorry, the entire crew of more than 40 people, including the director, stayed in the homestay arranged by Ratan.
As I said, the budget is limited, so do it as cheaply as possible.
The homestay that Ratan found was run by his friend, and the accommodation fee was only 60 rupees per person per day.
Not only was the room leaking, but mosquitoes almost flooded the entire B&B at night.
Everyone complained constantly, but they were used to it. It was the same with all low-budget film crews; there was nothing strange about it.
After enjoying a delicious dinner in a high-end hotel, investor Ron, producers including Mary, director Shiv, and screenwriter Ravi sat together to discuss the next filming.
"The filming location has been found. It's near the city center, where there is a temple of Durga." This was also the location that Ratan helped Ron find.
"I need to take the photographer to check it out." Director Schiff did not comment.
Once he gets into the role, he becomes less talkative. As a director, he needs to be responsible for his own shots.
Whether the shooting location is suitable or not is determined by the lens, and other people’s opinions can only be used as a reference.
Ron admired his attitude very much. After all, he would make money only if the movie was well made.
"Mary and I will go with you tomorrow."
"I want to go too." Lena raised her hand quietly.
"You take care of Urmila in the hotel." Ron pushed her back.
"She has her own assistant..." Lena muttered a few words, but did not insist.
Ron gave her an appreciative look. That was good.
Lena's skills are so bad that a few Indian men can't get close to her. Urmila is weak at this time, so she must be protected.
"Do we need to let the leading actors and actresses familiarize themselves with the script first while we're on location?" Mary asked.
"No need, I've already told him the plot." Director Schiff shook his head indifferently.
Strangely enough, the lead actor Lanka has not touched the script yet, and he has no plans to ask the director for it.
His close friend Raj agrees with this approach because even big stars would not do this.
In Bollywood, asking the director for the script is a taboo unless you don't want to stay on the set anymore.
The director hates this kind of people the most. "Who do you think you are? What? You think what I told you doesn't count?"
Bollywood, which seems to be the most open, is actually also very hierarchical.
After deciding on tomorrow's itinerary, several people began to check the crew's expenses.
A budget of three million rupees may seem like a lot, but it's actually not enough to go around.
Shiv's directorial salary was Rs 3 lakh and Urmila's remuneration was Rs 2 lakh.
The other supporting roles all add up to 200,000, and there are also producers, photographers, stylists, lighting technicians, and crew odd jobs.
The cost of these personnel expenses alone accounts for one-third of the total budget.
It would be impossible to afford food, clothing, venues, props, and equipment during the filming without a minimum of 1 million rupees.
After a rough calculation, 2 million of the 3 million budget has been removed.
The remaining 1 million must be reserved for post-production costs, such as music, editing, special effects, copying, etc.
It can be said that every rupee carries a heavy responsibility and they cannot afford to waste even a single rupee.
In order to save money, even the film used for shooting was the cheaper 16mm specification.
Each reel of film is 400 feet long and can capture about 11 minutes of footage.
Bollywood films, even low-budget ones, generally run between 2.5 and 3 hours.
If the movie is too short, the audience who bought the ticket will feel that they have lost money.
So even if he had to cram in a few more meaningless songs and dances, the director had to make the film run longer than two and a half hours.
"A Tribute to the Incarnate Word" is about the same length. Based on a 1:1 film ratio, it would require at least 14 reels of film.
However, few crews can achieve such a high film ratio. Projects with sufficient budgets usually prepare film according to 10:1 or 15:1.
Of course, Ron and his team couldn't afford such luxury, so the maximum ratio was 2:1, which meant that the actors had at most two chances for each shot.
It’s best to pass it in one go. If you do too many NGs, you will definitely be scolded.
Even with such economy, you still need to prepare about 28 rolls of film for shooting.
This thing is entirely imported and there is currently no substitute in India.
The original price of film was $70 per roll, but after taking into account the high import tariffs, it was raised to $100.
28 reels of film, converted into rupees, is about 100,000. Tsk, that's equivalent to 6.25 Sri Lankans' salary.
During post-production copying, the 16mm footage was converted to 35mm film after shooting, which is a common practice for low-budget Bollywood films.
It can be said that the entire crew racked their brains to save costs.
Ron never thought of increasing the budget; that was impossible and against the rules.
Businessmen pursue profits, and only by controlling the budget can they make money.
The next morning, when Ron woke up from the hilly area, director Schiff was already waiting downstairs.
He was accompanied by a producer and a photographer carrying a briefcase.
The three men looked haggard, with large mosquito bites all over their arms, lips and ears.
"Did you guys sleep well last night?" Ron, who was yawning, didn't notice these details at all.
"It's not good. There are mosquitoes that haven't eaten their fill." Schiff said unhappily.
"I'll have someone send some mosquito repellent over." Ron laughed.
He will lead the team himself today. Ratan has returned to the countryside. He has a hemp business to do.
Without a van, the group had no choice but to travel by bus.
Fortunately, Ron had lived in Varanasi for a period of time and was quite familiar with the place.
He also spent his middle school and high school years here, and it has been less than three years since he left.
Varanasi has a population of over one million and is a truly big city.
There are wide, bustling streets with active business. Nine o'clock in the morning is the rush hour, with cars and people rushing around, and the sound of roaring, rumbling and clanging everywhere.
The aroma of fresh food wafted through the air, and snacks rich in seasonings whetted everyone's hunger.
Ron just bought some portable scones and milk tea and urged everyone to rush to the bus terminal.
It is called the main station, but in fact it is just an uneven open space with no roof and no service station.
The drivers have to attract passengers themselves. There are Hindi words on the front and sides of each bus, indicating the destination and departure point.
But Ron still went up to each driver and chatted with them, asking them where they were going.
“Isn’t it marked on the front of the bus where it’s going?” Mary couldn’t help but ask.
"That's right, but it's not reliable." Ron continued to do as he pleased.
"What do you mean, the signs are unreliable?"
"Of course," Ron shrugged. "Some of those drivers are going to places where no one goes, those little places that aren't popular. So they put up signs for more popular places."
"You mean where they're actually going isn't where the sign says it is?"
"Yes, this is a North Indian specialty." Ron smiled.
"Why?" Mary was puzzled.
"You know, so that people who want to go to popular places will come to them. And then the driver might be able to persuade them to go to less popular places instead. Business, Mary, pure business."
"God!" Mary lamented. You never know what outrageous things are waiting for you in India.
Finally Ron found the bus to the Durga Puja Temple, and they all got in and urged the driver to leave.
The two old Bedford buses, with their tired springs, rocked like tugboats in a storm.
There were all sorts of creaks and squeaks from the roof, sides, and floor, and every time the brakes hit the floor there was a long, sharp squeal.
But they set off after all. The crew could start working one day earlier, and Ron could go to discuss the branch factory one day earlier.
(End of this chapter)
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