I wrapped up shooting on the 4th of Sept. Had an after-shoot bash at a pub in delhi, it is by far the best party i have attended. It was all about us. We all danced, it is so funny to see people dance like they do, in real life they have a different personality. Fazal, my associate, rocked the floor, Matty was his usual dancer self. However the show belonged to Ravi Sarin and my DP Sethu Sriram. These guys when drunk and on dance floor are awesome. I took a small break to say thank you and wish my luck to my lead actress, hadn't had a chance, she was with the second unit. She has truly been god's gift. Not only she is incredibly talented but she is also a great person, her performance was spot on and she blended well with the crew. So had to thank her. It is kindda emotional when you pack up your first film. It is like returning from the war zone with your buddies, limbs intact (when the producers are good) and you know life will take everyone to different directions so you need to say few things and that must be said. Returned to the floor and now the music was better, to my taste, so danced like crazy. Finally everyone left, Ravi Sarin had tears in his eyes when leaving, but i was the most emotional one, no i wasn't drunk and no tears in my eyes. I was just relaxed, happy and sad that the film shoot ended.
4th Sept evening. As i rolled the last shot of the film the making camera was rolling and it captured me saying PACK UPPPPPPPP.......it was hugs all around ....I thanked everyone in the team for being part of my film. Yes they get paid, yes they are subservient to a Director's wishes but for me they are not employees who i have helped hire. For me they are my partners in the creative quest for making our movie. Incidentally we became the first film unit to shoot in Red Fort at night, you don't get to shoot in any ASI monument after sunset. Also i worked hard at ensuring that my film set doesn't become a blame game spot as is so common on a film set. Thanked the crew and came home. The last 20 days had went by in a flash. Each day had it's own problems, the rains did play spoil sport but they also knew when to go away. My DP told me I am a lucky guy, especially with the rains.
It was me and Ashish hugging, together we have launched each other, it is beyond our wildest dreams. It has always been his idea, i did not have the audacity to think it was possible but he said it was, i trusted him like I have always done. So we had a quiet word, Thank you is a small word so nobody said it. I had to make sure that I did justice to the faith he had put in me as an actor and most important as a Producer. It is not his money but money borrowed from friends and relatives and that means it is a huge responsibility on me to do more than my best to make the film as well as I can. So that when I hand him the print of the film after Edit, Music, Sound Design and D.I. and say "Thank You, for the opportunity.........". He is proud of me for what i have done, until that day I guess I will always have nightmares about something going wrong at the shoot and wake up worried, as is happening to me every second day. One person I could not thank that day was Sarika, Ashish's wife. She had opened her house and heart for me. Staying at their place I never felt like I was away from home. A lady who ensures that, is a gem and is a mother figure for me. It has been Ashish's movie all along, he was my writing partner for this film, lead actor and the producer, more than that he was the guy who thought it was possible. It was his vision, I was merely the guy who ran with it. I highjacked the movie from him when we went on the floor and will hand it to him again after the edit and get out of the way. That will be my day to say Thank You, on the 4th was merely me thanking the Actor Ashish for being a part of my film and going through the emotional roller-coaster ride.
As i look back i remember the day when Manish, my E.P said he hadn't seen any film unit work as fast as we did the day we shot at Red Fort. Why am i hearing it ? It was not me who did it...it was Ads, the lightmen and the camera unit. I was not a factor but yes i was not a hindrance. So felt proud of the team we have got. I also remember the day we completed the last shot at the Dhingra's Farmhouse, man was i relieved! I will never be able to thank my producers enough for not talking to me about it. I was already aware of the difficulty they were facing. But to be fair to me i couldn't speed it up any more. I was squeezing my unit as much as I could. I am yet to thank Manav for taking me to Coffee and Dinner every night after shoot, it was hugely relaxing, to know your Producers have your back when you are on the floor.
I think the D.P plays a huge role in making the film, in a sense he becomes a partner in crime, he doesn't know the story and i don't know the visual so we help each other in the warzone often fighting, often arguing but we are both serving the story. As i have a responsibility to server my Producers and make the best film i can, it is his responsibility to give me, on film, what i have in my mind. To make matters worse even i am not always sure what i want, so he has to convince me against my wishes, sometimes, and give me what i want. He is smart enough to know that I will be a hindrance in that process, sometimes, but will thank him at the edit floor, I am thanking him already on the edit floor. I wish I could say the same for myself, that my producers will thank me when they screen the film that i have given them. What a day that will be when I will look Ashish in his eyes and say "It was your vision and it is my pleasure to give it you wayyyy better than you had imagined, if you are the guy who has the audacity to envision it I am the guy who can match that audacity by my delivery" Until the day i am able to say it I will be cranky, stressed and prone to nightmares.
But so far i have loved it, people have generally said good things about the promos and the way I have run my sets. I believe in 360 degree feedback, most of them good and some of them bad. I am working on the bad stuff after selecting what needs to be worked upon. No i will not treat actors shabbily on my sets no matter who they are and yes people in the crew who don't know how to do their jobs and don't learn it and to top it up they tell me they are answerable to higher authorities will always be treated as shit. When it is MY SET IT IS "MY" SET anyone who believes otherwise will see the worst side of me and man it is ugly!!!
I will also need to say thank you to Matty and it will be as elaborate as I have to say to Ashish, waiting for the right time.
