Chapter 418 Times Have Changed
"Bombay International School?" Ron asked.
"Yes, my brother's granddaughter is just six years old, and we want to find a suitable school for her."
"Oh, I see." Ron nodded.
The Bombay International School is located in the Bandra area, not far from Bachchan's villa.
Standing on the balcony outside, you can even see the school’s brand new red roof.
It is very beautiful and has become famous in Mumbai.
When Ron founded it, he positioned it as a top private school, the kind that even if you have money you can't get into.
All-English teaching, foreign teachers, international curriculum system, luxurious facilities, regular overseas exchange activities
These are the ones that every Mumbai household flocks to, especially the last one.
The International School of Mumbai organizes a study tour to Europe every year and can recommend outstanding graduates to some British and German universities.
That's a place to study abroad in Europe. Although there are only a dozen or so, the rich people in Mumbai are still scrambling for it.
Of course, they can spend some money to send their children to fake universities abroad to gild their reputation. This is not difficult.
The difficult part is getting admission into a prestigious school, and the International School of Bombay provides such an opportunity.
When the school first started recruiting students last year, in order to build its reputation, Ron directly hired the admissions guidance teams from Jianqiao and Stanford.
Then, Smith and Leon worked together to establish this talent delivery mechanism.
The results are very good, especially after the first batch of study abroad places were confirmed this year.
He had anticipated that the Bombay International School would be popular, but he did not expect Bachchan to personally approach him about it.
"Is it difficult to get your child enrolled in school there?" he asked curiously.
"It's like climbing Mount Everest with bare hands. Do you think it's difficult?" Baqiang spread his hands.
Mumbai hasn't had any new schools in years, and with the population expanding, enrollment is becoming increasingly tight.
In such an exaggerated community, children have to queue up to register for school as soon as they are born.
Mumbai International School is one of only two elite schools with three departments: primary school, junior high school and high school. The other one is Cathedral.
Its full name is "Cathedral and John Connon School" and it is listed in the list of the best full-time schools in Asia.
As long as you get into the Mumbai International School, it means there is a high probability that you will be promoted to high school and then study abroad.
In order to get admission, many powerful people go to the school teachers, principals, or directors.
They actively made phone calls, used their connections, and even resorted to coaxing and deceiving to try to convince the school that they were first-rate citizens.
Some people even ask the kindergarten to write a letter of recommendation, and then repeatedly ask for help and beg others before they can solve the admission problem.
Ron never cared about these things, and no one could reach him by phone.
Those who can actually contact him are of high enough status that they can secure admission places on their own.
However, this is the first time that someone has made a plea in person like Bachchan did.
"No problem, I'll call the school." Ron agreed happily.
"Thank you! My brother has been working on this for a long time." Bachchan was very happy.
Ron waved his hand nonchalantly. It was nothing. After all, he and Bachchan were from the same hometown, so this little favor was no problem.
Yes, Amit Bachchan is also from Uttar Pradesh and was born in Allahabad, which is located in the southeast.
Otherwise, Ron wouldn't have thought of hopping on a train to donate blood in Mumbai.
After this little episode, Bachchan became noticeably more enthusiastic about movies.
He has his own views on how movies should affect the audience.
"I have to capture their hearts and make them follow the plot from beginning to end." He wanted to star in a new male-led movie, a groundbreaking and exemplary work.
Bachchan has a strong sense of being the protagonist and hopes to be the only bright spot. Chopra's film should show his "smartness! Extremely smart!" as a police officer.
The former superstar also suggested: "Can we make the entire system the villain in the movie?"
He went on to say: "Ordinary people are misled."
Bachchan said he had seen "JFK" directed by Oliver Stone, and that the movie overturned his worldview.
In India, politicians and movies all feed lies to the people, no matter how smart they think they are.
But now the public has awakened and begun to realize that the corruption of the entire system is the root cause of their misfortune.
Therefore, the clichéd ending where good triumphs over evil and everyone is happy can no longer satisfy the audience.
Bachchan hopes Chopra can make a thought-provoking film so that more people can recognize the current situation.
He wanted the male lead and the second male lead, the policeman and the militant, to be killed by the same bullet when they reconciled and embraced each other at the end of the play.
“Let’s give the audience something to actually think about,” he suggested. “They’ll sit there afterward wondering who fired the shot, and then they’ll say: Damn it, that damn system is to blame!”
"How am I going to explain this to the Censorship Committee?" Chopra said, smoothing his sparse hair awkwardly.
This is what he worries about the most; he doesn't want to cause trouble for his movie.
"Don't worry about the censor board," Bachchan said, waving his hands as if to shoo away a flock of flies.
He said that his film "Growth", which was shot at the National Defense University of India, was boycotted by the military. Many officers complained to Bachchan that the plot of the film was unrealistic and hinted that they would put pressure on the censorship board.
"The worst that can happen is they can ban it. I told them, 'You want realism? Then I can make a movie that truly reflects the lives of soldiers: embezzlement on the front lines, gun smuggling, and superiors having affairs with their subordinates' wives.'"
The officers immediately retreated, saying, "Never mind all that, let's go have a drink first." Amitabh Bachchan dominated the audience like a movie hero: he faced the enemy's attack without fear and easily defeated him.
As expected of a superstar, his every gesture and words are very contagious.
However, neither Chopra nor Ron showed any excitement of being impressed.
"It involves script changes, and we need to discuss it," Chopra explained.
"No problem, the script has been revised, you can come to me anytime." Bachchan agreed readily.
After leaving Amit Bachchan's villa, Chopra suddenly turned around and asked.
"Do you think he has hair extensions?"
"What?"
"His hair on his forehead looks a little strange."
"You say that. A little bit." Ron looked a little strange.
Not just the front, but also the back of Bachchan's head, where the hair drags down to his neck in a not-so-natural way.
What worries Bachchan is more than just hair loss. He is almost at his wit's end. The first few films he starred in were all box office failures, and his acting career is facing a major crisis.
If it fails again, even a superstar like him will have to ask the director for a role.
That is why he cares so much about the script and wants to leave a deep impression on the audience.
“What do you think of his advice?” Chopra asked.
"I'm afraid the public will find it difficult to accept a movie where both the main characters die."
"That's right! The most basic difference between art films and commercial films is that the protagonist of a commercial film is still alive at the end of the film."
"Then how do you convince him?"
“I have to find a good reason,” Chopra pondered. “Like: Mr. Bachchan, our system may be destroying ordinary people. But if I kill both the leading men at the same time, our system will definitely destroy me first.”
"Haha!" Ron laughed.
"He's a superstar after all. We can't deceive him with a fake script." Chopra shrugged.
"Actually, if you had just asked, I could have convinced him," Ron said.
"Oh, yes, you are Mr. Soul. But since we are all in Bollywood, it's best not to be too direct."
"I remember he used to love playing this kind of heroic movie protagonist. What happened now?"
"Maybe it's related to a scandal from long ago."
"Scandal?" Ron asked with interest.
"Yes, the arms scandal."
Chopra said that happened more than ten years ago, when India was exposed to a major scandal in which politicians accepted bribes of $1.3 billion in the process of purchasing weapons from the well-known Swedish arms dealer Bofors, which led to the fall of the government led by Rajiv Gandhi at the time.
Somehow, the old story was brought up this year, and Amit Bachchan was magically involved.
Under pressure from public opinion, he resigned his seat as a member of parliament. His film production company's name was published on the front pages of major media outlets. His films' box office sales plummeted, the company's profits plummeted, and his property was nearly mortgaged by the bank.
Before the scandal broke, the country loved him so much that it was willing to donate blood for him.
So how could it be possible that the Indian people withdrew their love and trust in him?
No, there must be something else wrong, it must be the entire Indian system that has harmed him.
Amit was unwilling to believe this fact, and he kept repeating it in his heart.
"Have you ever considered changing the actor?" Ron said suddenly.
"What?" Chopra was surprised.
"He's old, balding, and he likes to change the script. You could have found a younger, more handsome actor."
"Doesn't this mean I'm breaking my promise?" Chopra felt a little guilty.
"Times have changed. No one cares about acting skills or status in the film and television industry anymore. Popularity is everything."
"Well, it's a pity that you just promised an admission place to go out."
"That's all trivial." Ron said indifferently.
After finally catching up with this busy man, Chopra took Ron and the others to see the exterior shots shot by the crew in Kashmir.
These shots do not require actors, so they can be shot first and used as materials for editing later.
They reveal a beautiful and tranquil place with old bungalows and waterfalls cascading through exquisite gardens.
But Ron didn't stay there for long after all. At most, he would take a break occasionally.
In July 1998, the Reddy family of Goa suddenly contacted him to discuss a business deal.
The financial crisis that lasted for almost a year has ultimately caused tremendous financial pressure on some companies.
Ron planned to go and take a look. Goa has a lot of mineral resources and he was very interested.
(End of this chapter)
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