Ramoji Film City Day 2

By our second day in RamojiFilmCity, we had learnt to thump every structure, statue and pillar to find out whether they were real or fake. If they sounded hollow, then they were fake. Otherwise, just by sight or touch, you could not tell them apart. (By fake I mean made of fiberglass, plywood or Plaster of Paris.)

The solid, granite 'Hawa Mahal'

Some structures in the RamojiFilmCity are real. Hawa Mahal is solid granite stone. Thinking that it must be made of wood, I had thumped it rather forcefully and later my palm tingled with the impact for a long time. Afterwards, I was a bit wary about thumping.

One of the gardens

The Angel Fountain

Back in 1981, we had taken the Universal Studios Tour. This tour shows you all the techniques of film-making. At the end, people from the audience are invited to participate in the shooting of a clip. The day we visited, they had planned to show the clip of an airplane rescue. The airplane had supposed to crash in the sea.

The flowering trees

On the stage was a very big glass jar. Three people from the audience (who could swim.) were asked to jump in it with fake rescue apparatus. The shooting of people in the glass jar represented sea-rescue. Meanwhile, the people in the fake airplane were holding fake Oxygen masks to their noses (The noses were real). The children picked up from the audience were unbelievable. They must have hammed their way in the Guinness book of world records, because they acted so exaggeratedly, reeling about, flopping on the floor and writhing in pain for all their worth, for the lack of Oxygen.

Beautiful road

Back in 1981, I was young and young people have lots of inhibitions. They lose the inhibitions as they become older. So, in 1981, I could not volunteer but now in 2007, I could and I DID.

'This 'Stepped Pyramid' is not in Egypt, but in Ramoji City

At Ramojis also, they were about to show us the film-making techniques. They needed one female and two male volunteers and I was the first to jump up. Two boys in their early twenties also came forward shyly.

Entrance to 'Movie Magic'

I think Avi is still not used to my unpredictability even after 36 years of marriage. He was aghast at my audacity. I will never forget his expression of disbelief as he said Who, Charu, tu?

This exclamation should go down in history on par with Et tu Brute?

However, Avi is a sport. After the initial shock, he cooperated and held my paraphernalia -- purse and water-bottle and brochures and fruits -- while I went to the Dressing Room.

The Hollywood in India

I was given a bright red ghagra-choli with mirrorwork, to wear and a bright yellow chunari was draped over my boy-cut hair. Some pufunctory makeup was applied and I was transformed into Basanti.

The makeup girl explained the scene to me. It was the scene from Sholey where Basanti in her tonga is chased by the dacoits. There was no dialogue to be delivered. All I had to do was to sit in a stationary tonga (without a horse) and act as though I was driving Dhanno. From time to time I was supposed to look back in apprehension at the approaching dacoits, act frightened and urge Dhanno to greater speed.

Dressed in Basantis clothes, I came out and profusely apologized to the two boys that they had to make do with a grandmother for a heroine. I thought that they will be doing the roles of Biru and Jay, but it was not to be.

I stepped on the stage and sat in the tonga. Those two boys were given the job of sitting down and shaking the tonga vigorously.

I was supposed to look scared and tense, but I was having so much fun that laughter was just bubbling out of me. The whole thing was a lark for me.

That must have been very incongruous because Basanti was not supposed to laugh while being chased by the dacoits.

It is a good thing that I never thought of taking up acting as a carrier. I would have been a total flop because my own mood prevailed over the mood demanded by the scene.

Software has been a good enough field for me.

So that is how I played the part of Basanti in Sholey no.3

The sound effects and the background of the dacoits were put in later and to our surprise, when they showed the clip, the whole sequence really looked as though I was being chased by the dacoits. It looked authentic.

Avi told me later that while I was changing in the dressing room, purposely they showed me driving the tonga furiously on a background of the Amsterdam airport.

That must have been hilarious.

The greenery zoo

Would you believe it? After pulling this stunt, I started feeling shy and started avoiding eye-contact with people. However, in the virtual world of blogging, I have no compuctions and can brag to my hearts content.

The view from the top

So, now yours truly is not only a Sulekha blogger but also an accomplished heroine of a three-minute film.

The view from the top