As one enters the shooting location, one finds a series of changing rooms, shooting assistants chit-chatting and arranging the camera set-ups for the second unit of the show, and make-up artists rushing in and out of the green rooms.
A long walk down, one comes across the seafacing side of the place, where an artificial chawl has been erected, replete with teashops, public taps and toilets. This is the main unit of the show. On the way, one comes across the ruins of what must have once been the popular mill. The place is full of coloured graffiti work.
On the set, the houses in a row, at least on the outside, are decorated with torans and lanterns and painted in greens and pinks. It's close to 4 pm. The place is breezy and mildly sunny. Boats and yachts adorn the sea.
Meanwhile, the day's scenes are
being shot in one of the houses in a corner. Nakusha (Mahi Vij) and her
mother Babi (Chinmayee Sumeet) are doing a flashback scene, in which
Nakusha is being convinced to turn ugly from a pretty face.
Nakusha is minus her dark-skinned look, in a pink dress.
There's a cut in the scene. The house inside is littered. The scene will be shot again in the kitchen.
This
time, it's only Babi and the close-ups of her expressions. She emotes
as if someone is armtwisting her and as if she's got burnt on her
wrist. She screams. Anyone sitting outside would fall for her screams
as real.
The final cut is announced.
Everyone begins to
disperse. In the earlier half of the day, scenes between More (Pavan
Malhotra) and Ganpat (Kaaliprasad) were shot, in which More offered to
marry Nakusha after being exposed to her pretty face. The mother is
obviously against a corrupt officer marrying her daughter. A detailed
scene between the parents, Nakusha and her brother (Jay) were shot.
Babi resists and her wrist is burnt. Before the next big scene is shot
and the day is called, Chinmayee Sumeet phones her husband Sumeet
Raghavan and discusses domes tic issues. Mahi Vij talks to her mother
and discusses what's happening back SAMBIT SAHA home. Jay takes a break
and finishes his lessons for his unit tests the next morn ing. Pavan
Malhotra changes from a shiny red shirt to a shiny blue shirt and
starts rehearsing for his next scene with Unit No 2. Chai and samosas
make rounds.
Assitant Ayaz ensures that everyone has eaten. getVij's
make-up artists cracking on her oilbased make-up. In a span and of
minutes, she's dark ugly with marks on her face. She shoots a patchwork
scene with Sumeet and then heads for the next in which More
propositions her for marriage and she doesn't know which way to run.
The day is called off post 11 pm.
Now, the sea can only be heard.
Boats with lights are sprinkled across. The breeze stings the skin.
Soon the AD calls, "Pack up!"
Hindustan Times
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