There are the two postings by Debashree, a PPHP plant working on a film shoot in Mumbai, and giving us monthly updates on the process. The film is called Johny Johny, yes papa. And Debashree gives us the first hand account of all the work involved in the process of film making.

POSTING 1

Johnny Johnny, Yes Papa, Paresh Kamdar's second feature film, is being shot on a 35mm, cinemascope format. His first film (Tunnu Ki Tina) was shot on 16mm & blown-up. Commercially, 16mm blow-ups are rarely used for distribution purposes because of inferior projection quality. In the US & Europe, the Super 16 format, designed for making 35mm blow-ups, is widely used by documentary & independent filmmakers because it is much cheaper than 35mm & of a far superior projection quality than 16mm blow-ups. In India, however, Super 16 is not very popular because processing standards for this format are very poor.

STORY:

The film explores the relationship between a father & son and their negotiations with the city of Mumbai. The film opens in Pondicherry. Mohan is married and is generally regarded as the neighbourhood idiot. He cannot hold on to a job for more than a few days and is always in a world of his own. His wife, the sole bread-winner & anchor of the family, passes away due to an illness. From here on, the film depicts Mohan's struggles to sustain both himself & his son, Michael, in the face of opposition from his in-laws & a difficult life in the city of opportunity, Mumbai.

In an informal discussion, Paresh stressed the need to be 'clever' when it comes to planning one's first film. The idea should be such that it can be summed up in one line (e.g. 'bomb blast', 'rural love story', 'crossover film' etc!). Packaging of the story is essential when it comes to looking for producers. 'Saleability' is crucial. He found it difficult to sell Johnny because the story was not typical or conducive to formula-type reduction. Besides, regular producers don't have the time/patience to listen to long-winded plots or abstract themes.

Title: Every filmmaker needs to register the title of his/her film with the IMPA (Indian Motion Picture Association). Interestingly, this requirement has led to the boom of a unique money-making process, almost a parallel trade of sorts. Every week, hundreds of titles of non-existent films are registered. Akin to cyber squatting, it means that if a genuine filmmaker wants a title that has already been registered, she'll have to pay a huge sum for permission/copyright to use it. Though the current title of the film had been finalized weeks back, it was referred to as Daddy Don't Worry. Paresh kept his title under wraps till it was safely registered, for fear of copying!

BUDGET:

The film is being produced on a relatively low budget of 60-70 lakhs. Most of this money is being raised from personal savings (of the director/producer) and loans from friends. The NFDC has promised 25 lakhs but will 'step in' only once a substantial portion is shot. The NFDC has set down this stipulation as a guarantee that the filmmaker actually needs the amount quoted and will not disappear with the cash saved by making a film worth half.

Camera: The film will be shot on an Arriflex 3 camera rather than the Arri 435 which is the most popular camera for feature filmmaking in the country. This is mainly due to cost considerations. The 435 costs Rs. 10,000 (per shift?) vis-à-vis Rs. 3,500 for the Arri 3. More importantly, it is customary to hire these cameras on a system of credit-till-release. The 435 has much better registration and also the option of using a video cable for viewing shots simultaneously on a video monitor. Most mainstream camerapersons use the Arri 3 for action sequences because these involve rough-handling & fast lens adjustments (zoom). Being cheaper and older (in terms of wear & tear), they are considered safer for such handling.

Shooting Ratio: 1:4 (versus 1:10 or more for big-budget films). 100cans (400ft each) will be ordered for this film. Its duration will be approximately 100 minutes. Negotiations are on with the lab regarding raw stock rates. Kodak stock is the most popular but the lab in question is pushing Fuji stock which is cheaper by Rs.1000 per can and is available on a credit-till-release basis. The lab (as also for equipment hire) requires the director to sign a 'lab letter'. This is a guarantee stating that the original will not be submitted and no further prints will be made until the entire sum is paid up.

UNIT/CREW:

I don't have much information on the details of the crew yet. All the information in this posting has emerged indirectly through casual conversations. I am basically trying to get acquainted with the director & his assistants and hope to slowly ease myself into the work scene as a familiar/understood/recognizable presence.

The directorial team is very small. Paresh is being assisted by two friends, Yashwant & Suresh. Yashwant is a filmmaker & Suresh has trained as an actor at NSD. The assistants have no clear-cut, separate roles yet. There is a hierarchy only in the sense of 'director' and 'assistants'. Apart from that, the 3 of them are working together on script revisions & music discussions.

The main actors have been finalized and the director will start script reading/rehearsal sessions with them shortly.

MUSIC:

I went along for a music session that took place at the music director's house. Ved Nair is a young music composer ( done the music for Kali Salwar) who lives virtually next-door to Paresh. Paresh lives in a society called Saibaba Complex in Goregaon. It is a fascinating space in terms of the sheer concentration of film professionals, right from directors to actors (mostly from FTII). The cameraman, sound recordist, actress and music director for Johnny, are all residents of Saibaba Complex and the director's neighbours!

The song being composed is a cheerful lullaby of sorts that Mohan sings to Micky in a particularly despondent moment. Piyush Mishra has penned the lyrics for all the songs. This session was a follow-up to an earlier meeting where the director had suggested certain alterations to a particular stanza. Ved had a new version ready and his wife, a music teacher, performed the vocals for us.

The entire track had been recorded in two versions on a synthesizer, complete with different instrumental tracks. After we heard both the versions several times, the director, composer and assistants discussed the qualities of both tunes, their musicality, rhythm, appropriateness to the context and so on. The lyrics had been written first so the phonetic quality of the words dictated, to a large extent, the tune variations. Many of the words (e.g. Charrakh-choo, guturgoo) have an inherent musicality and the director wanted this onomatopoeic quality to emerge through a 'sparse' song, devoid of too many vocal embellishments in the form of complicated vocal play. Another consideration was the context: the musical capabilities of the 'character'. Such attention is contrary to mainstream song composition where the song's faithfulness to the personality of the character, or considerations of contextual realism are definitely not priorities.

The discussion then moved on to the selection of an appropriate playback singer based on the following criteria: -quality of voice (age/maturity) -ability for abhinaya -dedication to the art -mainstream/commercial vs. earnest artiste

This discussion led to animated and entertaining anecdotes about leading Bollywood playback singers! Everyone present (the sound engineer, Shantanu had joined us mid-way) seemed to share a common interpretive framework by which to understand such distinctions as 'good' or 'bad' singers. Those considered unfit for recording such a song were mainstream/commercial singers, established artistes with an exhaustive body of work and firmly entrenched in Bollywood singing conventions. A "filmi" singer is one who has "good, clean throw", which implies technical perfection but no emotion, no "singing from the heart'.

Most playback singers are used to a discontinuous form of recording line by line, where they react to a 'click-track' rather than fellow/live musicians. Multiple tracks are layered and different instruments are recorded on different days depending on availability. Singers have a hectic work schedule & do not rehearse with the composers. Hence, very often, "singers mukhda gaatey-gaatey, antara bhool jaatey hain!'

The discussion then moved on to the 'golden age' of Kishore kumar & Lata Mangeshkar when rehearsals were a way of life and the sound engineer didn't have to 'decorate' the composition with effects like delay or looping. Ved wants to record the song in one take with live instruments including a piano. Live recordings for film are an anachronism these days and very few studios have the facilities required. Mehboob studio has excellent acoustics for a live arrangement but is now apparently disused. The main priority however, is a committed singer, ready to rehearse prior to the recording & open to the idea of a live, single take.

CASTING

Of all the things in existence, an actor's ego is surely the most fragile. Which brings us to the delicate task of casting.

For this production, the direction team first drew up a tentative list of actors thought suitable for the various roles. These choices were dictated by script requirements like age and 'look'. The actors' past work was considered to assess skill, range and potential. The director then asked a select group of friends with a similar sensibility to give their reactions to this list. All of them were familiar with the script and had a clear conception of the characters. This sounding-out process helped narrow down the options to two actors per character. Actors for the main roles (3) were then called in for a screen test. The actors auditioning for the roles of Mohan and Johnny read scenes together. In the script, the characters of father and son are each defined largely by their relationship to the other. Therefore, during the screen test it was essential to have the actors reacting to each other's lines. This also gave the director a sense of their chemistry together.

Prior to the screen test, the director had briefed the actors about their characters and the context in which the scenes take place. Care was taken to ensure that the character was not so rigidly delineated as to disallow any interpretation on the actors' part. The actors were free to appropriate the characters according to their understanding with particular gestures and speech rhythms. According to Paresh, a screen test is also a crucial indicator of the actor's temperament, or more accurately, 'attitude'. One can observe how the actor responds to directorial instructions and thus avoid any unnecessary but inevitable ego clashes on sets.

How does one gauge an actor's possibilities? How does one measure skill quotient? Each director has her own parameters to define 'good' acting. The final selection is, obviously, a hugely subjective process. A very talented actor was rejected because his face evoked a feeling of 'karuna'. The director wanted this quality to emerge indirectly through the character's actions rather than immediately through an overt physical manifestation.

Once the main actors were selected, the director and assistants started calling up actors to fix meetings. This is how it happens:

The ADs call up actors: Film circles are fairly closed and incestuous - everyone knows everyone else at one degree of separation. The institutions where you trained (FTII, NSD) and the school of thought to which you belong (both are co-dependent) determine your network of colleagues and acquaintances. For any task one simply taps this rich pool of contacts. Very rarely do the supersets of radically opposed ideologies (eg the Shahrukh vs. Irfan schools of acting) intersect.

The actor arrives at the office: Most of the actors had no clue about the story or their role when they came to meet Paresh. They arrived with tentative expectations and great sartorial diversity. The clothes revealed their level of interest, attitude and most importantly, the kind of work they were looking for. To project the desired image, the right 'look', some actors came in muscle vests and tinted glasses with their hair slicked back, others wore shorts and a stubble and still others were in their best 'interview' attire.

The story is narrated: This stage of storytelling is crucial. As I realized soon, this is a fine art and can make or break deals with producers. It is also a delicate exercise in negotiation when it comes to narrating to actors. How the story is told, with what level of enthusiasm, what aspects are emphasized, which scenes are skimmed over - depend on the effect desired. Paresh initially told the story at length to each actor with great involvement. After the third meeting, the ADs suggested a different format. What happened was that the actor might have been called in for a miniscule part but eagerly heard the entire hour-long narration in a state of suspense. He/she was told about their part only after. The nature of the plot is such that apart from the two principal characters, all other characters have comparatively smaller parts. The father and son meet various people in their journey of struggle and so, no character has a long, sustained presence. After much discussion it was decided that it would be better to give a short summary of the story and then explain the particular scenes in detail. This would avoid much disappointment for the actor who is trying to guess his role throughout the reading.

The style of narration then changed subtly but significantly. The scenes for which the actor had been called were described in detail, the manner at times reassuring, at times placatory.

The actor speaks: Some actors were disappointed as predicted. "Asli role to Yashpal ko de diya" and everything else pales in comparison. Some actors felt that they could use the roles to their advantage because of certain eccentricities of the character. Actors with training, who take their art seriously, who have great dreams for the future and are just starting out might easily feel let down when approached for small roles. Other experienced actors might even have felt slighted had it been any other director.

The main considerations for accepting the role tended to be number of scenes, good dialogues, and scope to display talent. More importantly, a lot of actors agreed because they trusted the director and his treatment of their characters.

Once the suspense came to an end, the atmosphere became more relaxed. Interesting stories were exchanged. An actor told us how at one script reading session the director would only read out his lines. When asked about the story, he would say, "bas aap hi ho, chha jaaogey sir!". Later he found that he had a totally inconsequential part. Others told stories of narrations in cinemascope! - detailed and dramatic descriptions of shots with exaggerated gestures depicting camera movements complete with sound effects ("slooow zoom in, then an off-screen sound of gun shots, bang! bang!, our hero collapses, pause for effect, dead!")

Most of the actors shared stories that revealed and played upon a sense of distance from the mainstream modes/parameters of acting. I heard how an actor who had a role in a big-budget historical epic was asked to land up for the shoot without any knowledge of the script. He would ask the make-up man or assistants persistent questions to try and piece together his character! An artiste came for his second day of shooting to be informed that his character was now to be shown with a shaved head! He had no clue as to why. Most character actors in 'big' films do their scenes and try to guess where it might fit into the film. They're totally in the dark as to what the story is and where it's going. Television has another work ethic altogether. Production houses resemble factories and churn out a large number of serials. Directors change after every few episodes and no one quite knows what exactly is happening. Yashpal Sharma once asked a TV director what the scene being shot was about. "Aapka koi dialogue nahi hain" was the reply!

SCRIPTING

After a series of brainstorming sessions with the ADs, the director met with the script-writer (Pramod Sharma) for an intensive script-revision exercise. Holed up in a hotel for 3 days, Paresh & Pramod thrashed out possible variations in plot detail in an effort to finalise the script. The script was fine-tuned in terms of: - Plausibility - Coherence - Growth/development of characters 'Rhythm' in plot structure.

The main focus was to locate an appropriate point of resolution for the various narrative conflicts in the text. The denouement had been a major stumbling block. In the previous draft, the film ends at a railway station. All narrative threads get tied up and sub-plots get unraveled against this familiar backdrop of (indeed, catalyser of) 'happy endings'. Now, such an end is being considered to be too 'predictable'. The search is on for that elusive 'perfect' end.

The script-writer and director differed on the treatment of the heroine's narrative trajectory. In an earlier version she is forced to work in a beer bar due to exigencies of her financial situation. Heroine ke life mein conflict mangta hai, but according to Paresh this is too drastic a fate. It is a little 'far-fetched' when one considers the character's (moral) 'character'. According to Paresh, the beer bar sequence would disrupt the 'tone'/mood of the film as it "doesn't belong to the world" of Johnny. His fear also was that the real climactic moment, involving a crisis in our hero's life, would get displaced.

The crucial thing is to create 'moments' in the text. The development of a character/relationship is mapped out in terms of a series of moments, moments when something passes between two people.

LOCATION-HUNTING

Over the past two weeks the ADs conducted an exhaustive recce and compiled a list of possible locations. Several alternative sites had been photographed. These photos gave the director a preliminary idea of the interior/exterior 'look' of the place. A shortlist was then made based on the photographs. A team comprising the director, Cameraperson and AD proceeded for the final selection.

List of locations according to Script requirements: Flyover in a crowded area where father & son happen to cross a young girl everyday. (options: Marine Lines, Chowpatty, Charni Road) Building under construction where father & son live for three days. (options: Jogeshwari, Malad, Andheri) Garments factory & office space where they come looking for work. (Jogeshwari) Park.

Locations like flyovers and parks come under the jurisdiction of the BMC. To shoot at such places one needs to get permission from the BMC, RTO and Traffic police officials. One can of course, shoot in a guerilla style taking long shots without drawing attention to the shoot and vacating the area quickly. The BMC charges Rs.15,ooo per day for film shoots. If the shoot is at a beach then the Coast guard also enters the picture. The local police station needs to permit the shoot and a nominal amount has to be paid. However, the "unofficial" figures can be very high! Looking for the construction site was not very easy because a number of overseers contacted flatly denied the use of their buildings for shooting. They had strict instructions to turn away any 'filmi types'. Bombay is more wary in terms of hiring places for shoots because of a familiarity with the phenomenon of 'shooting'. There is an entire history at work here and people are more aware of the realities of a shoot and the payment problems in the 'industry'. On the other hand, this also leads to the problems while negotiating rates of hire because people immediately try to work out the budget of a film once they know who the actors or director are.

Based on the discussions between Director & Cameraperson one could identify the following criteria for selection:

Demands of the Script: This involves the basic, barest definition of the space required. E.g. Crowded flyover.

The Right 'Look': This means two things. The director tries to find a location that matches his/her 'vision'. Thus, for Paresh the 'ideal' building would be situated in and emerge out of the architecture of the City. It would offer a view of a typically urban landscape made up of billboards, flyovers, and the famous Mumbai skyline. On the other hand, the 'look' also refers to an assumption of modes of reception and recognition of the image by a viewer. How will the image be interpreted? Will the complex of associations implied be conveyed? Basically, does it look like I want it to?

Cinematic Considerations: How does one look at a space from a cinematic perspective? The act of viewing itself becomes a complicated process that requires a certain amount of expertise. One needs to view the location at the appropriate time of day (dictated by the script) in order to check out the available light. The implications of aspect ratio need to be remembered. The cameraperson, Vivek Shah, constantly checked out angles and possible frames for an image of cinemascopic proportions. What one looks at is also guided by certain principles. The cameraperson looks at factors like the camera angles possible within the constraints of the available space, 'angularity'/how lines converge or diverge, depth offered by the components of the space or in the background, colours, backdrop (if required), place for lights, etc. One also needs to look out for possibilities for 'cheating' between places, cutting from one physical site to another while maintaining an illusion of being the same 'location'.

A Certain je ne sais quoi: A range of intangible qualities become important depending on the subjective perception of the director/cameraperson. These are qualities like 'atmosphere' and 'feel', which leads to an entire debate on subjective perceptions of the 'dynamism', 'energy', and 'mood' of the space concerned.

Serendipity: And finally, one cannot really make a film without this faculty! Very often, locations are discovered thanks to happy coincidences!

IMPPA (Indian Motion Picture Producers' Association)

Any person who wishes to make/produce a film needs to be a member of any of the 4 producers' associations in Mumbai - IMPPA, Guild, AMPTTP (Association of Motion Picture & Television Programme Producers) & WIFPA (Western India Film Producers' Association). Established in 1937, IMPPA was set up in order to safeguard the interests of film producers. Being the oldest such organisation in the country, it enjoys great respect and authority in the industry.

Becoming a member of an association is essential because it facilitates all the subsequent steps in the making of a film. Labs, studios, artistes, everyone requires you to produce an association ID as a measure of accountability. Most importantly, the association provides a platform for settling disputes of various kinds.

IMPPA provides the following services:

Registers titles for feature films, TV shows, documentaries and music albums in various languages.

The Censor Board has given them the responsibility for censoring all 'publicity', which includes material like posters, publicity stills etc.

A first-time filmmaker/producer would need to first register herself with the IMPPA following which she would get an identity card. Subsequently the title of the feature film is registered. This ensures protection for one year during the period of production. The title is renewed the next year but in case production goes on for more than 3 years, the IMPPA will require documentary evidence to prove that the claim is true and not an effort to stall. Registration of the title will then be renewed for another year.

Once the film is ready it is sent to the Censor Board which again requires clearance from IMPPA. A censored film gets copyright protection for 10 years. The title is also automatically 'protected' by IMPPA for 10 years. After this period the title "is in the open"!

Bodies like IMPPA are recognized by Indian courts and have the authority to settle certain legal disputes. For this purpose a Joint Tribunal of producers, distributors and exhibitors is convened for hearings. While I was at the IMPPA office a typical case came up. A moderately successful filmmaker had recently passed away intestate. This automatically made the eldest son the legal heir of his films. This matter is now being contested by the younger son who challenged the court order for the films' copyright. In such situations the court refers cases back to the IMPPA hoping for an amicable result under arbitration law. The decision of the arbitrators is deemed final. Thus the son has called for a meeting of the Joint Tribunal for a hearing. According to IMPPA officials, 99% of such disputes get settled by the organization, without involving the courts.

Apart from the producers' associations, there in an entire network of independent associations set up to safeguard the interests of different sections of the industry. Writers, actors, junior artistes, songwriters, distributors, exhibitors, technicians - all have separate associations which supervise traditionally problematic areas like remuneration and copyright (if applicable). The Mumbai film industry is an extremely disorganized sector with payments not coming on time if at all and no scope for redressal. The Junior Artistes' Association is a prime example of the significance of these bodies as it has succeeded in getting accident insurance for its members and is trying to standardize a minimum wage. The IMPPA can 'ban' an errant producer by sending letters to all associations including the Censor Board effectively preventing her from proceeding with the film.

False Registrations:

Registration of titles has become a highly lucrative scam and hence a very tricky process for filmmakers. A film, Run, that currently has its promos on TV was registered under the music album category. It is 80% complete and cannot change the title at this stage. On the other hand, it cannot get a censor certificate till cleared by IMPPA. The guy who has the feature title copyright now claims to have started pre-production. He has demanded 5 lakhs to 'surrender' the title. The cost of registration was Rs. 250!

A registered title can be surrendered to IMPPA but cannot be given to any particular nominee. It is up to IMPPA to release the title based on the waiting list of persons seeking it. Another film, God Only Knows, was registered months in advance of the shoot and in all possible permutations like Only God Knows, God Knows Only etc in order to protect it! Similarly Munnabhai MBBS also has versions like Munnabhai BA LLB and Munnabhai MBA to prevent cheap spin-offs (also keeping alive the option of sequels). Similarly, some producers have 60-65 titles registered in the hope of striking gold with one of them.

Once the locations had been finalised (permissions were still being sought) the direction team, DOP and his assistant went back to the chosen sites.

The scenes to be shot had been grouped location-wise. Before each trip, all of us would meet at the office and read the scenes for that day's location. The director would describe the action taking place in the scene and the mood in terms of emotional content. He would then suggest some basic shots. For the VT shoot, Paresh had a number of specific shots in mind. This was to be a montage and so, independent shots could be planned beforehand. The VT montage would depict Mohan and Johnny's first impressions of Bombay, Mohan's bewilderment, his sense of unease and Johnny's intense excitement. Based on the tenor of the sequence one had to plan specific actions for the characters and specific conceptual shots. For example shots like Mohan & Johnny crossing a busy road, walking outside VT station amidst a sea of commuters, looking at film posters in fascination, Mohan loses sight of Johnny in the crowd and panics and so on. At the location we basically had to find interesting frames and spaces to suit the shots.

Getting permissions for shooting in public places like VT and Churchgate is a very tricky affair involving several parties. Since there was no elaborate scene to be shot and there were no lengthy dialogues it had been decided that permission would be taken only for the crucial locations like the Churchgate subway. The rest of it would be shot in hand-held guerilla style. The actors would rehearse their movements and lines but the camera would be brought in only at the last minute. This would hopefully give people very little time to react and we would leave before the crowds realized what was happening. We'd given ourselves 15 minutes for setting up each such shot from start to finish! (how this plan actually turned out will be described in a later posting!)

For locations like the garments factory and the under-construction building the system of planning shots was just the reverse. These locations were fixed and had elaborate scenes. The space would largely dictate the shots. Shots are planned keeping in mind the particular geography of these spaces, possible entry points and exits, vantage points for the camera, space constraints as well as potential.

On reaching the location a complete shot-breakdown is worked out based on:

Movement demanded by the scene: The first thing to be decided is how the characters are to utilize the space. Their basic movements are chalked out. For example on the bridge, Mohan & Johnny regularly cross Reena on her way to work. The film at no point emphasizes Reena as Mohan's love interest and these fleeting encounters are meant to build a simple human bond, born out of increasing familiarity. So we know the essential action required in these scenes.

Camer angles: After the above brief by the director, the cinematographer decides the exact positioning of the actors and plots out the routes of the action. These decisions depend on and at the same time decide, where the camera is to be placed. The main factors considered are-

Lighting conditions: All the exterior day scenes are being shot with available light. In cases (like the bridge) where we can afford to block off parts for the shoot, reflectors and skimmers are the maximum aids used. Therefore, it is crucial to examine the position of the sun at different times of the day and see which portion of the location gets best light at which time; note the number of hours of strong sunlight available in a day which will decide our working hours/schedule and dictate the kind (speed) of stock to be ordered for the day. All the day scenes are shot on 64D Fuji stock. Towards sunset Vivek switches to 250D or 500D.

Backdrop: Vivek takes great care to frame the characters against interesting backgrounds. The choice of backdrop depends firstly on the context of the scene. On the bridge, a lot of shots were planned with local trains passing in the background which brings alive the 'character' of the location. It's a bridge connecting to a railway station and the entire atmosphere of activity, mobility comes to the fore with a simple passing train. A certain statement of the class we're dealing with in the film, the constant search for a job, and Reena's middle-class working girl status are subtly emphasized through the image of the local train which is quite emblematic of Mumbai's working class. Shooting on-location would be meaningless if one didn't get the flavour of the surroundings.

Shooting in cinemascope poses its own challenges. Every frame including a close-up needs a right balance of elements and lines. (more on this in a separate posting).

Context and Axes: Paresh and Vivek work out the angles desired based on the context and aesthetic choices. Whether it's a low-angle shot or ground-level shot will depend on the effect to be created. Requirements of continuity demand that a particular action axis is defined. All the shots in the scene are then worked around this axis. The axis is chosen keeping in mind that in cases of cross-cutting between OTS shots or 2 MCUs, both the characters should have interesting backdrops.

'Treatment': This is a favourite word in film circles and signifies the director's individual, idiosyncratic visualization of a particular scene in terms of acting, camera movements and overall style of shot-taking. Paresh wanted the garments factory scenes to be shot in a very restrained and simple manner. Most of it is in static close-ups and long takes with very little standard or 'regulation' cross-cutting. In fact the entire film has very few tracking or trolley shots and no crane shots (yet!).

Paresh was also very clear that the shot-taking should at no point become too 'descriptive' in the sense that one gets bogged down by describing each stage in a continuous action. At the same time, the cuts should not be so abrupt as to look like jump-cuts because it would clash with the simple style of the film.

This initial shot-breakdown being complete, the DOP went back to the locations for a third visit. This time he was accompanied only by his assistant, Manikda. Vivek took several stills of the location from different angles and at different times of the day. This gave him a sense of whether the planned frames would eventually work visually and which were the best angles possible.

CREW

How is the crew organized? How organized is it?

The industry is characterized by freelancing professionals who work on a 'project-to-project' basis, taking their expertise from one production to the next. Bombay provides a dense network of knowledge, technology, talent and experience which serves as a permanent work pool for the industry. This work pool is 'permanent' only insofar as it provides a constant supply of professionals to cover niche tasks. The individuals who build it are extremely mobile, freely moving around, in and out of the network.

On most productions it is the job of the Executive Producer (EP) to select and hire the crew. In the case of Johnny Johnny, Yes Papa! (JJYP), since the director was also the producer, it enabled him to chose his own crew. From the time that the story was being finalized, the director was in frequent consultation with friends and discussed every new idea. A core direction team (comprising Paresh, Yashwant and Suresh) thus evolved out of regular meetings, script discussions and a desire to work with the other. Pradeep officially joined the team during the final stages of pre-production. Paresh and he had worked together on some television programmes in the past. I, of course, occupied an ambivalent position born out of quite unusual circumstances! Thus a team of four assistant directors came about - four very different individuals, more importantly, four persons who would be working together for the very first time and under conditions of stress and constant proximity.

Direction teams, unlike the camera department, are usually put together in an assembly fashion (in a purely descriptive sense). Each assistant is hired independently, and a team thus created. How will they function as a team? The dynamics of the group; their personal coordination, definitely plays a significant role in their professional coordination. The risks involved reflect the risks in the movie business itself.

At present there are two systems of organizing direction teams in the city. The first is the traditional 'Bollywood' system where there is a Chief AD supported by a group ranked First AD, Second, Third and so on. These A.D.s handle different jobs like action continuity, costume continuity, prop continuity, script supervision, clap, crowd management and so on. This is a fairly flexible system with no fixed parameters for job designation. There are broad heads of work division and each assistant evolves her own style of working. A big film can have anywhere between 6 to 10 assistants and a small-budget film can work with just 3. Work can , after all, always be divided and sub-divided till infinity. The Chief A.D. supervises the working of the entire team and ensures continuity in the shot taking. She is the second-in-command taking care of the details and minor hiccups.

The second is the 'Hollywood' system. Here the concept of a 'chief' AD is done away with. There are simply 1st, 2nd, 3rd A.D.s etc. This system is strictly hierarchized with each rank signifying a well-defined and fixed job. Each assistant has a fixed area of work and control, and is solely responsible for this. There is an office-like efficiency and assistants walk around with clipboards, walkie-talkies, digital cameras and laptops. The new breed of young directors like Farhan Akhtar, have popularized this system with a view to bringing about a semblance of order and 'professionalism' to the industry. Now, however, the lines between the two are getting quite blurred as the industry catches up with technology.

On JJYP, there is no official hierarchization of assistants. It is understood that Yashwantji is the 'chief' assistant as he oversees the functioning of the team and is the senior-most in terms of experience. The ranking terminology is never used. The lines of work are semi-defined to bring about some clarity and at the same time to encourage involvement in all areas of the film. There is always a danger that one might get trapped in a blinkered state of hyper-focused efficiency.

It is characteristic of the low-budget film to ensure that the assistants see a lot of each other! Having limited resources, the workforce is smaller and subsequently everyone has to share the work of each other's departments. This was most evident in the pre-production period when location-hunts were being carried out on a war-footing and several last-minute details were being looked into. An atmosphere of professional camaraderie and equality leads to a casual and intimate style of functioning. However, in spite of all the laughter and affection, there is no place for inefficiency. What might seem as a chaotic work system from the outside is actually a fluid model of efficiency which allows constant adaptation to situations. At the same time, there is no premium on 'professionalism' which equates with a clinical detachment and robotic efficiency (the words betray the implicit value judgement).

The camera teams are organized in a wholly different manner. The producer hires a Director of Photography who then brings his own team along. This basic team includes assistants and camera attendants. The cinematography department functions as a self-contained, sovereign unit where the DOP guards the interests of 'his' team with possessive authority. The DOP occupies quite an interesting position on the unit. He (cinematography is the last remaining male bastion in the industry) enjoys an elevated status by virtue of his specialized knowledge and is also a friend-sovereign-teacher for his team. Camera teams function as alternative knowledge institutions where assistant camerapersons slowly learn the intricacies of the craft under a respected/chosen teacher and generally go on to become independent DOPs themselves.

Camera units lead a nomadic existence, rather like a traveling circus, a troupe of skilled trapeze artistes. It's a mobile community structured by and around its craft. Workng on a project-to-project basis, they set up tent wherever required and go about their work in a systematic manner. Long association results in an established work pattern in the team. The vocabulary and codes that evolve with time are understood by all and each person knows his role perfectly. There is an easy and masculine sense of camaraderie born out of shared journeys away from home, a reversion to the bachelor days of boyish fun, coupled with a shared pride in their skill with technology - that shrine of masculinity, oh-so-mysterious to the average female!

THE UNIT

DIRECTION:

Paresh: director/producer. Chief/boss/seth, basically the guy with everything at stake. Yashwant: Though there are no official demarcations of rank, he would be the Chief AD, the one who oversees the affairs of the direction team & ensures smooth operations. Coordination with the actors, their remuneration discussion and obtaining dates are some specific tasks. Scheduling and continuity supervision. Is planning his first feature film. Suresh: Trained as an actor at the National School of Drama, he coordinates with the Art Direction department in planning properties and their continuity. Rehearses with actors and supervises script. Pradeep: In-charge of managing the background for each shot. This means he coordinates with junior artistes to provide typical 'passing' in the background plans their movements, entries and exits. Clap. Has recently organised financiers for his first feature film. Debashree: Writes continuity and coordinates with the Costume Department. Only woman around on most days.

All the assistant directors basically try to cover all the aspects of the shoot between them. Some specific tasks have been allocated to each one to enable a certain clarity during shoot. Apart from the four assistants, some of Paresh's friends regularly attend the shoots and help out with difficult tasks like crowd control, background management and other immediate problems.

CINEMATOGRAPHY:

Vivek: Director of Photography. Bariwali was his first feature as DOP. Gujarati with marked Bengali sympathies. Manik: Chief assistant. Lighting. Universally known as Manikda. Rajesh: Assistant cameraperson. Focus-pulling, lighting, maintains camera continuity. Salim: Camera Attendant. Magazine changing, loading and unloading. Gopal: camera attendant. Carrying and positioning camera, fixing tripod. Sailesh: camera attendant. Fixing battery, setting bubble on tripod. Light boys: hired on a per day basis depending on requirement. On some outdoor shoots we had no lightboys at all, on other interior shoots we hired around four.

SOUND:

Salim: Sound Recordist. Has now left for a Salman Khan film in Moscow. Lucky. That's only the title of this other production. Mehboob: Sound Recordist. Took over after Salimbhai left. Yashwardhan: Assistant. Boom operator.

PRODUCTION:

Pai: Production Manager. Organises short-term finances, location hiring/bribing/permission/contacts, works out deals with film lab, music studios, equipment suppliers….Fondly known as 'Paisa' from Pai saheb and other equally obvious associations. Kishore: Production Assistant. Deals with local authorities and cops. Organises conveyance and meals. Sorts out intra-unit problems and complaints…Coached me in conning my first sweet-old-lady-who-owns-prime location for our shoot. Anand: Production Assistant. Same as above. Between the 3 of them they take care of all the administrative requirements of the shoot. Rasheed: Spotboy. Runs general errands like providing water and tea, serves lunch, fetching last-minute essentials like cigarettes. Attends to requirements of unit and actors. Farooque: Spotboy. Same as above. Roped in occasionally to play a crucial roles like 'waiter' or 'The Man in the Background'.

ART DIRECTION:

Alok: Art Director. Mohan: assistant.

COSTUMES:

Ekta: Costume designer Nasir: Dressman Rahim: assistant to dressman. My errant knight.

MAKE-UP:

Ravi: Make-up man. Only does 'art' films. Sakina: hair stylist for Madura, the actor playing Reena.

DRIVERS:

Shankar: Regular. Drives the office vehicle. The others are hired based on a per day requirement basis.

All of the above comprise the entire production unit, present for each shoot (except the costume designer). The lightboys are hired as when required and the hairdresser, Sakina, is present only for Madura's shoots.

As I learnt early on, a production unit has certain unwritten codes such as an established system of address. Everyone calls everyone else 'xyz-ji'. This old-world form of 'respectful' address has found much favour in the film industry. It actually helps maintain a certain amount of professional distance and creates an atmosphere where the very politeness of the form of address disallows (to some extent) ugly exchanges. Representatives of departments like make-up and dress are called Make-up dada and Dress dada respectively. The guys in charge of properties (art direction) are clubbed together as Setting dada. Ours is a particularly calm, well-behaved and pleasant team (I am told by someone who would know) and I'm inclined to believe that it's because of the ji factor!

****************************************************************************

POSTING 2

The first schedule

The first schedule was to be shot over 11 days fro the 13th of Match to the 24th with a break of one day in the middle. The schedule had been carefully planned taking into account avilability of actors, locatons and of course, finaces. The results of the camera tests were great and everything was in order.

The shoot started off with a bang. Literally. The scene being shot was of Mohan & Johnny's arrival in Mumbai. The first shot showed Mohan standing bewildered amidst a sea of mobile bodies outside the Victoria Terminus. Suddenly a man rushing to office bangs into him and says: "Mumbai mein aisey khadey rahne ki jagah nahi hai @#$%!". This line set the tone for the day: hurried and hassled.

Pramod Sharma, the scriptwriter, took the clap for the muhurat shot. Coconut pieces were also passed around in honour of filmi tradition. All the locations for the day had been finalsed and were in the Churchgate area. We were to start with a montage sequence. On a good day, Churchgate station is terribly crowded. We had decided to shoot on the weekend to avoid the major commuters' crowd. After the first shot we moved to an intersection outside VT station. The camera was positioned on a divider and except for the DOP, his assistants and the director, everyone else left the area so as to attract as little attention as possible. The actors had been fitted with cordless microphones. The situation was quite precarious, as we didn't have permission to shoot at this spot. Now, the camera was placed almost in the centre of heavy traffic, the assistants were standing around the camera in a bid to camouflage it (!) and the director was to indicate 'Action' via a relay of hand signals to the A.D.s…At this moment , while we were on our second take, a cop arrives, parks his bike alongside the camera and asks to see the permission letter. All hands immediately point o Pai saheb, the production manager!

Permissions. The very word strikes terror in the hearts of independent filmmakers. Each tile, each footpath, each subway falls under the jurisdiction of different sets of authorities. First there is the police who have to allow the shoot o take place and control crowds. Then comes the RTO which charges a fee for shoots in public spaces. VT and Churhgate would also bring in the Railway authorities. And the Churchgate subway is privately owned. So, often, one location might need permission from and bribes to 4 separate parties. In order to land up with a piece of 'official' stamped paper, one has to go through a lengthy process involving red tape, inefficiency and the inevitable palm-greasing.

The alternative is to risk shooting without permissions. This involves an inconspicuous, blink-and-you-miss-the-camera style. Shoot and run. A hand-held camera, single takes, no lighting, end claps, a getaway van and smooth-talking production guys are absolute essentials. The cops, though, will invariably land up. They seem to have an almost esoteric system of sniffing out any shoots in the neighbourhood. Shoots are perceived to be extremely lucrative opportunities. Kishore Sawant and Anand, however, managed to handle them with expert ease. They tried every trick in the book, from convoluted talk to hints about money having changed hands at the 'highest levels'!

Nasirbhai

Nasirbhai. Dressman. Had to quit school in class 7. That was in 1974.

Nasirbhai was fascinated by the movies as a little boy. This fascination was intensified by the fact that his father had a strong aversion to the glamour industry and strictly disallowed his family from going to the cinema.

The family owned some small businesses including a taxi service and garments factory. In the 1970s, their fortunes saw a major reversal and they had to sell it all. Father started to ply his own taxi and the brothers had to pitch in with odd jobs.

Nasir became an apprentice to a watch-repairer. Soon, however, he realized that his heart was elsewhere… Nasir pawned off his wristwatch. With the fifty rupees he got for it, he bribed a man at the neighborhood cinema hall and was recruited as a door-keeper. Everyday, at 12:30, 3:30, and 6:30, he would check tickets and direct people to their seats. Once the show started, he stayed inside and watched the entire film, standing the whole time. The boy was overjoyed. And the best part was that he was actually getting paid for this! His salary was a princely sum of Rs.4 per month.

Gradually, as his courage and curiosity increased, Nasir started visiting the projection room. He would quietly stand in a corner and observe the projectionist at work. Coincidences that we dismiss as flimsy devices in films are accepted in life. One day, the projectionist was late for the 3:30 show. Imtihaan, a film starring Vinod Khanna and Tanuja, was playing that week and the tickets for the show had already been sold. At 4 0'clock, when the projectionist had still not arrived, the manager started to panic. People were already seated and getting restless. Nasir summoned up all his courage and volunteered to run the film. With the manager's permission he loaded the first reel and started the film. By the time the projectionist reached, Nasir had found a new career.

Nasirbhai's father had no knowledge of his job as a projectionist. As far as he was concerned, the boy was totally ignorant of the phenomenon of filmmaking. A year later, in 1975 when Sholay was released, Father happened to stop his taxi outside the same theatre, Anjar, in Jogeshwari. And he spotted Nasir.

After much begging and pleading, Father accepted Nasir's profession.

Nasirbhai worked as a projectionist for 14 years, first at Anjar and then at Savera in malad. Savera has now been converted into a studio. It was during this time that Nasirbhai started to take an interest in costumes, clearly one of the obvious indices of the glamour inherent in cinema. He often imagined how he would dress these very stars. He developed an understanding of 'continuity' and was exposed to a variety of styles suited to occasion and character.

A projectionist's salary is not very much and Nasirbhai tried his hand at several jobs. He was familiar with the garments industry as his family used to have a garments business. He started working as a zariwala, doing specialized work. In 1994 he started working on a serial, Intehaa, as a dressman. From then on he has worked on several serials, feature films and documentaries as a dress man, freelance designer and assistant Costume Designer. His most recent film is Rajat Kapoor's Raghu Romeo.

He was never able to reclaim his wristwatch.

Shoot Cancelled

Every now and then, minor miracles take place to renew the faith of a filmmaker who strives to do something she/he believes in. An authentic garments factory was required for two days of shooting. Pradeep checked out several factories, negotiating with 'seths' who quoted exorbitant rates because it was a film shoot. Eventually he came upon Anand Enterprises. It had the perfect look in terms of scale and design. That's when the miracle happened. The owner flatly refused to accept any monetary compensation for the use of his factory! His assertion was that "bhagwan ne humko bahut diya hai" and if his work is undisturbed he would be more than happy to lend his space.

We shot on the 16th of March from 9 am to 6 pm. All the scenes went off smoothly, as per schedule.

17th March, 2004. We had completed one major scene and were lighting up for the next. The actors were rehearsing their lines, costumes were being readied, properties being set up…Pareshji got a call from the film lab. They had processed the stock used in the first 3 days and there was a major problem. All the negatives indicated that the camera registration was defective. There was an error in alignment and the film had been exposed in such a manner that the sprocket holes had also been exposed. The resultant image area on each exposed frame had shifted to one side.

Vivek was informed. The news was unbelievable because the camera tests had been done and the results were OK. The lab was called up and the news was confirmed. As this information trickled down to the rest of the unit it seemed as if the air had suddenly become very still. If the camera was defective the entire shoot up till this moment had been a waste. Four good days of shooting. 18 cans of film stock. The stock alone meant a loss of Rs. 72,000 (at 50% credit). Add to that the daily production costs. 50,000 per day for daily wages for camera attendants, light boys, location charges, conveyance, generator, junior artistes, food… But more than anything else, it meant a blow to the spirit. This first schedule had been sustained by sheer determination. One of the major financers had backed out at the last minute. Money was being arranged on a day-to-day basis - from industry money-lenders at high rates of interest.

The shoot was cancelled. It seemed clear that this entire footage would have to be re-shot. Vivek, Pareshji, Manikda and Yashwant left for the lab to ascertain the exact problem.

Few things can be more depressing than a cancelled shoot. An atmosphere of gloom pervaded the unit. The actors changed out of their costumes and left. All the equipment was packed up and sent back. The set was dismantled and the rest of us headed for the office.

After a 3 hour tense wait, Pareshji and Vivek returned. They'd got one can printed and the rushes looked great! It turned out that the lab had made a mistaken assumption. The Arri 35mm camera has the option of using a separate gate for cinemascope ratios. One can also shoot with the normal 35mm gate which is exactly what Vivek did. In this case the exposed area extends right up to the sprocket holes. It was not a defect but a common practice. The sense of relief in the room was almost palpable. Pai, however, wasn't completely relieved because canceling the shoot had meant a straight loss of 50,000 rupees.

On the upside, Mr.Anand, of Anand Enterprises, had agreed to let us shoot at the factory for another day, for free! ---------------------------------------------------- Budget ----------

This is an approximate budget for 6 days. A minimum of 50,000 is spent per day, which basically covers raw stock, daily wages, food and location expenses. Wherever possible, we've tried to avoid the location expenses or brought it down to a minimum. We were exceptionally lucky with the garments factory and Oval Maidan, both of which would easily have cost 20,000 per day.

BUDGET (6 days)

TRAVEL & TRANSPORT: Sumo for camera: 850 x 6 = 5100 Sumo for production: 1200 x 6 = 7200 Tempo: 1200 x 6 = 7200 Qualis/ make-up Van: 2000 x 6 = 12,000 Conveyance: 3000 x 6 = 18,000

FOOD: 4000 x 6 = 24,000

EQUIPMENT HIRE: 1. Arri III: 4000 x 6 = 24,000 2. two cordless microphones: 400 x 6 = 2,400 3. Nagra: 300 x 6 = 1,800 4. lights: 1500 x 6 = 9,000 5. generator (1 day): 5,000

DAILY WAGES: 1. Camera attendants: 7 shifts x 2050 = 14,350 2. Nagra/Boom/cordless: 6 x 1000 = 6,000 3. Dressman: 6 x 750 = 4,500 4. Make-up: 6 x 1000 = 6,000 5. Hairdresser: 3 x 750 = 2,250 6. Spot boys: 7 shifts x 1050 = 7,350 7. Art department: 6 days x 1250 = 7,250 8. Light boys: 7 shifts x 6 boys x 350 = 14,700

V. LOCATION HIRE: 10,000 x 6 = 60,000

VI. PRDUCTION PURCHASES: 7,500

VII. JUNIOR ARTISTES' ALLOWANCE: 3,100

VIII. JUNIOR ARTISTES: 20,000

IX. RAW STOCK (25 ROLLS): 1,00,000

X. ACTORS: 28,000

XII. MISCELLANEOUS: 24,000

TOTAL = 4,00,000

-------------------------------------------------------------------- Correct Hai -------------- "Sometimes I feel that there is a force out there willing this film to be made!", says Paresh, and indeed it often appears to be so. More than half the film (around 90 minutes after editing) has been shot. If one looks back at the journey one can only marvel. I'm talking about money, or rather, a painful lack of it.

A quick flashback:

More than a year back Paresh set out with his script to try and find a producer. He met several big shots. Some appeared interested and some looked blatantly bored. But everyone had some standard suggestions. Get some stars or at least publicly recognizable semi-celebrities. This list included Javed Jaffrey, Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Suri, Milind Soman and Saif Ali Khan.

Another popular idea was to set the story in London. At least 3 producers were willing to consider the film if it looked a little 'crossover', the new industry buzzword. Of course, Paresh tried to explain that the story of survival just might lose some flavor and credibility if revolving around an NRI family. No?

The real problem was the story itself. The film tells a simple tale. The narrative is episodic in nature and doesn't provide dramatic plot upheavals. Suggestions to spice it up included beer bars, gangsters, kidnappings and Johnny Lever.

So Paresh decided to go it alone, with a little help from his friends. One of the first persons to lend some cash was Manikda, Vivek's chief assistant! Manikda runs a lights-supplying business and apart from the loan, also provided some lights on credit. Paresh's friends across the country and beyond, his brother and ultimately even his wife, have contributed with loans. Our DOP is currently working for free. A whole host of people like Ravi dada (make-up), spot boys, light boys, and Nasir bhai (dressman) took their payment only after the first schedule was completed. The last I heard was that Yashpal is arranging some credit from a friend!

The day we went in for the live recording of the instrumental portion of 'Bheed Bhaddakka' is quite representative of how this film is being pushed along. We were to record at Trinity studio with several musicians from violinists to drummers. The studio would cost us Rs.700 per hour. Some of the musicians had to get back to Pune that night for a concert the next day. All considered, Rs. 30,000 was required for the day. The recording began at 11 am. At 11.30, Paresh was still at the office making frantic calls to arrange the money! A DD for 25,000 was supposed to have arrived the day before, but, not surprisingly, didn't. Eventually a Good Samaritan was located who agreed to cough up 25,000 against the expected DD. This loan had to be paid back in 24 hours. Ghazala pulled out another 5,000 and the day was saved. Now this is where the benign supernatural force becomes evident: The truant DD arrived and the recording went on till 4 am the next day.

As Paresh would say: "Correct hai!"