on set!!

first thing first: HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACOB!!!!

ok -- now to the juicy stuff. i spent the last two days on various sets and want to share. on monday i finally had my orientation, where not a whole lot was said but i got the impression that things were under control and that's all i really wanted to know. the program coordinator, Safeena, is a very nice woman, and the film program basically exists because her husband, Hansel, is one of two heads for White Feather Productions - a company that produces around 4 films a year. Hansel takes us to his sets (he also directs) and around to the other sets that are going on and we hang out. and that's about it.

on monday we visited the set of a film that was just about to go into production and was having its first day filming shots for the trailer and promo stills etc. hansel has an adorable habit of forgetting about us and leaving us in places for hours at a time after saying "back in five minutes" so we hung out aimlessly watching them do one shot over and over and over again for about three hours, trying to find people who spoke english to talk to us and generally just observing the process. it wasn't hansel's set, unfortunately - so i couldn't take pictures. however, the set was just absolutely gorgeous - in this giant bar/restaurant called Shiro in south mumbai, and they take such care to make every shot really color saturated and light the female stars really well it was kind of breathtaking to watch.

On tuesday hansel picked us up and we went to his set, which is in its last few days of production and is just finishing up the song and dance numbers (!!!) - in the car on the way over (it took three hours to get to the set b/c of flooding), he handed us an indian newspaper, and on the first gossip page were pictures of all the actors we had been hanging out with yesterday. apparently they were very big time and we just had no idea. his movie was being shot in this amazing dilapidated old abandoned mill that's right on the water in south mumbai and we watched while they finished up the last of the shots they needed of the lead actress (a huge bitch - but very pretty and extremely photogenic). however, she was a horrible dancer, and at one point as it started to pour on set and rain came through the ceiling the director commented, "she's so bad even the ceiling is crying" - it took about 15 takes for him to be satisefied with less than two eight counts of choreography.

were on set for about 7 hours (add three hours there and two and a half back) so it was a ridiculously long day -- especially since i am still jetlagged - but it was sooooo much fun to watch the dancing. i was talking to one of the dancers (a tall lanky guy with light blue eyes -- very attractive - - he's been working and dancing in bollywood for ten years.) and he was telling me that they rarely have rehearsals for any of the scenes, they just go shot by shot learning two or three eight counts at a time - which is pretty ridiculous.

today we're supposed to hang out and rest, because we're going back to the mill for a night shoot to finish a song that has 5 guys and 5 girls dancing in this pub we saw them building into the mill and at the end of the scene they're going to light the entire set on fire (the dancers literally "burn the place to the ground") and then explode a wall of television sets. i'm ridiculously excited - but a little nervous that we're being picked up around 5:30 and he told us not to expect to be back at the apartment until at least 3 or 4 in the morning. which will really help my timezone adjustment...

more later (and pictures! - hansel gave me permission to shoot tonight!)

LOVE - h