One take at a time

The clinical execution of vanity can invoke either a repulsive reaction or unabashed enchantment. I fell undoubtedly in the latter category as I couldn’t bring myself to look away.

I have been exceptionally lucky to have very close friends that have a myriad of interests other than mine. One of them recently turned Director in the Bollywood movie industry and invited me on set to watch the shoot of one of his upcoming Hindi Bollywood movie. It was on this occasion, I first witnessed a celebration of vanity and fame that I hadn’t seen before.It was a night shoot but I had no problems keeping my eyes wide awake. As an engineer by education and vocation I was even more amazed by the volume of the non-glamorous activity.

There were many setting up lights, the diffusers and the focus beams. These lights looked ordinary in real life but looked absolutely magical on the Director’s live feed. The cameramen and the director of photography were constantly checking for focus and marking on the path of the camera dolly on the floor. While they focused, I watched an Assistant director on the screen getting his face smudged and sharpened as the range of focus was being decided. The sound guys were hovering the boom mikes as if they were about to drop from the sky. Then there were countless others, moving around the teams running small errands and clearing items that shouldn’t be seen in the frame. It all seemed organized but equally mildly chaotic.

And then, like breaking news, I heard a murmur that there were ‘Actors’ on set. As my eyes hovered, I saw the actors playing the lead roles come in my line of vision. They were significantly different to be hushed about in whispers. The lead actor’s broad shoulders were a dead giveaway of how much time he spent in a fitness studio while the lead actress’s pretty aloofness suited her lofty status well. There was a certain protocol here for which I needed no explanation. The lead roles always expected chairs to be free next to the director’s chair. The remaining free chairs were intended for ‘senior’ actors who weren’t necessarily senior citizens rather just aged in the industry. The other cast found seating a tad bit away and patiently waited for the scene to be set. Meanwhile, the stylists hovered around the lead actors endlessly.

It was here that I witnessed the clinical execution of vanity. The stylists went about with such seriousness fixing the loose strands of hair, the make-up, arranging the apparel to look just right. And they remain undeterred even after the fact that every time they were finished, the actors would run their hands through their hair or move around the set dislocating the apparel settings. It seemed endless to me but relishing to them.

Eventually, the director would be convinced of the scene set up and would call for action. Silence would be proclaimed around the set and when it was found, the director would start the proceedings. Then the actors would assume the role they are playing and recite few lines from the script. There would be multiple takes of the same scene with some minor alterations from the director. I witness the scene live and on the monitor. While I almost couldn’t watch to bear it live, I couldn’t stop watching the magic on the monitor. It became clear to me that the director wasn’t imagining reality but shaping it in his imagination and matching it through a camera’s lens. I had always imagined this to be true but experiencing it first hand was thrilling.

As soon as the scene ended, the actors came back to their chairs and instantly started checking their twitter and chat feeds. The takes were verified on playback and the best were chosen. One of the other assistant directors started checking for continuity between the scenes. Meanwhile the stylists continued to chat about how it could have been even better if that one strand of hair had been in place! There was pride evident in each of their work. They were creating fiction out of reality. Once the director was happy with the take, the remaining staff quickly set about prepping the set for the next scene. While the actors receded to their vanity vans, the others sprung back in to action. I was riding these waves of intermittent flurry all night.

Movie sets are creative spheres with another time space continuum. A two hour movie would be edited over seven hours of footage that would be assimilated over three months of effort. During all of this, spot boys would run around providing endless cups of tea and coffee paused by dinners and lunches. Security would ensure the set would stay clear of loitering strangers. And stylists would design, sew and hem continuously.

All throughout, there is managing of egos and creativity. It is non-rational requirement management of the highest order. It convinced me that such kind of production can only happen in an industry in which the movie stars only played a role that the industry had created for them. And seeing my friend at the helm of all this was a very proud moment.

What he is arduously creating is a product that celebrates vanity and that no one technically needs. But in a country of 1,2 billion souls, the majority of whom work very hard for their needs, these movies provide just the entertainment that everyone wants.

Being witness to this art was superbly satisfying, despite waiting between the scenes.