Now, the trouble is with Bollywood is that you have to be prepared to take your entire wardrobe with you. On this occasion I was asked to bring:
3 - 4 very smart day and evening options
Jewellery
Scarves
Pashminas.
Luckily I have a car otherwise I'm not sure how I would have carried everything. Anyway, I loaded up the car and set off for the City. I arrived at base way too early so took my time sorting out the clothes and managed to take a couple of photos of the surrounding area:
I had decided to wear my business suit as I thought it would be likely to start the day with a business meeting. I was right and after a fried breakfast we were all taken by minibus to a restaurant that was previously used for filming. I was given a man as my business partner and within seconds out came the grape juice and plates with remnants of dinner on them. Bollywood filming always takes ages as everything seems to be filmed at least 20 times so you always know that wherever you have been placed, you will be there for the next two hours... On the other hand, it was easy work in a lovely atmosphere and all we had to do was to pretend to eat, drink and talk. Finally, filming moved to shoot from a different angle and as we couldn't be seen we were able to get up and stretch our legs and were free to find the coffee and biscuits. This is always a bit like a treasure hunt - I have no idea why they don't like us to find them and they always seem to be in a secret location. Anyway, I finally tracked the coffee down and went off to the conservatory to find a friend of mine, Jon. As soon as I put the coffee down on the table the A. D called,
"Lunch!"
Now, lunch on a Bollywood can be very strange. The Indian food is for cast and crew only and not for anyone else. Off we went to the catering truck where roast port and all the trimmings were waiting for us. During lunch we were informed that for the afternoon there were too many of us so some would have to go home. This found us, after having eaten, all standing in a straight line whilst one of the A.Ds chose who they wanted. Believe me when I say what an unpleasant experience this was - it took me right back to school days when the Captains would slowly build up their teams by choosing people one by one and I was always left thinking "Please don't leave me till last!"
Various people were pulled to one side - they were going home. It was such an awkward situation as not only were they going home but they would only be paid for half the day. People had come from all over, three ladies in particular, had come from Southend and were dismayed to find themselves going home. However, the A.D was adamant so home they headed.
As for the rest of us, we were told to change into our second outfit - preferably another suit. Well, I have to tell you, that yes I do have another suit but I hadn't worn this particular suit for a good two years.... I squeezed into this suit which was too tight and too short - especially when I sat down....and then even worse news. We were to take our cars and drive ourselves into Southwark. I was very unhappy at this as I knew the building they wanted to film at and I knew that parking would be extremely limited even on a Sunday. Why they couldn't run us there in a minibus I will never understand. If I am told at the beginning of a job that I may need to use my car then that's fine. It then becomes my choice. However, being told I had to take my car just about made my blood boil... On hindsight I should have said "No thanks" and gone home with the first lot. We couldn't even pair up as we were told all the cars couldn't stay where they were so they all had to be moved. I drove round and round looking for a space - the agency called me twice to see where I was - I was just at the point of giving up when somebody moved and I grabbed the space. It then started raining... We hadn't been given the name of the street the building was in, just the building name so it took some time, and a lot of asking people as to where it was .
For the rest of the afternoon, I sat beside some magazines and read them cover to cover in the background of the shot. We eventually finished late afternoon and were told to return tomorrow at a different location. Great - I was really looking forward to it....
No comments:
Post a Comment