Ramoji Film City - Day 2

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Ramoji Film City - Day 2

By our second day in Ramoji Film City, we had learnt to thump every structure, statue and pillar to find out whether they were real or ‘fake’. If they sounded hollow, then they were ‘fake’. Otherwise, just by sight or touch, you could not tell them apart. (By ‘fake’ I mean made of fiberglass, plywood or Plaster of Paris.)

Some structures in the Ramoji Film City are ‘real’. Hawa Mahal is solid granite stone. Thinking that it must be made of wood, I had thumped it rather forcefully and later my palm tingled with the impact for a long time. Afterwards, I was a bit wary about thumping.

And now I will tell you about the leading role that I played in “Sholey No. 3”, which is a 3-minute movie shot at the ‘Movie Magic’ theater in Ramoji Film City. I had missed my chance of becoming a Hollywood heroine at the Universal Studios in 1981, but this time I did not lose the opportunity.

Back in 1981, we had taken the ‘Universal Studios Tour’. This tour shows you all the techniques of film-making. At the end, people from the audience are invited to participate in the shooting of a ‘clip’. The day we visited, they had planned to show the clip of an ‘airplane rescue’. The airplane had supposed to crash in the sea.

On the stage was a very big glass jar. Three people from the audience (who could swim.) were asked to jump in it with ‘fake’ rescue apparatus. The shooting of people in the glass jar represented ‘sea-rescue’. Meanwhile, the people in the fake airplane were holding fake Oxygen masks to their noses (The noses were real). The children picked up from the audience were unbelievable. They must have ‘hammed’ their way in the Guinness book of world records, because they acted so exaggeratedly, reeling about, flopping on the floor and writhing in pain for all their worth, for the lack of Oxygen.

Back in 1981, I was young and young people have lots of inhibitions. They lose the inhibitions as they become older. So, in 1981, I could not volunteer but now in 2007, I could and I DID.

At Ramoji’s also, they were about to show us the film-making techniques. They needed ‘one female and two male’ volunteers and I was the first to jump up. Two boys in their early twenties also came forward shyly.

I think Avi is still not used to my unpredictability even after 36 years of marriage. He was aghast at my audacity. I will never forget his expression of disbelief as he said ‘Who, Charu, tu?’

This exclamation should go down in history on par with “Et tu Brute?”

However, Avi is a sport. After the initial shock, he cooperated and held my paraphernalia -- purse and water-bottle and brochures and fruits -- while I went to the Dressing Room.

I was given a bright red ‘ghagra-choli’ with mirrorwork, to wear and a bright yellow ‘chunari’ was draped over my boy-cut hair. Some pufunctory makeup was applied and I was transformed into Basanti.

The makeup girl explained the scene to me. It was the scene from Sholey where Basanti in her ‘tonga’ is chased by the dacoits. There was no dialogue to be delivered. All I had to do was to sit in a stationary ‘tonga’ (without a horse) and act as though I was driving Dhanno. From time to time I was supposed to look back in apprehension at the approaching dacoits, act frightened and urge Dhanno to greater speed.

Dressed in Basanti’s clothes, I came out and profusely apologized to the two boys that they had to make do with a grandmother for a heroine. I thought that they will be doing the roles of Biru and Jay, but it was not to be.

I stepped on the stage and sat in the tonga. Those two boys were given the job of sitting down and shaking the tonga vigorously.

I was supposed to look scared and tense, but I was having so much fun that laughter was just bubbling out of me. The whole thing was a lark for me.

That must have been very incongruous because Basanti was not supposed to laugh while being chased by the dacoits.

It is a good thing that I never thought of taking up acting as a carrier. I would have been a total flop because my own mood prevailed over the mood demanded by the scene.

Software has been a good enough field for me.

So that is how I played the part of Basanti in ‘Sholey no.3’

The sound effects and the background of the dacoits were put in later and to our surprise, when they showed the clip, the whole sequence really looked as though I was being chased by the dacoits. It looked authentic.

Avi told me later that while I was changing in the dressing room, purposely they showed me driving the tonga furiously on a background of the Amsterdam airport.

That must have been hilarious.

Would you believe it? After pulling this stunt, I started feeling shy and started avoiding eye-contact with people. However, in the virtual world of blogging, I have no compuctions and can brag to my heart’s content.

So, now yours truly is not only a blogger but also an accomplished heroine of a three-minute film.

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Photos

The 'Hawa Mahal'
The solid, granite 'Hawa Mahal'

The garden
One of the gardens

The Angel Fountain
The Angel Fountain

The flowering trees
The flowering trees along the road

The road
The beautiful road

The pyramid
This 'Stepped Pyramid' is not in Egypt, but in Ramoji City

The Entrance
This Entrance to the 'Movie Magic'

The 'Hollywood'
This "hollywood" is in Ramoji City, India

The Zoo
The green zoo

The view from the top
One view from the top

The view from the top-2
One more view from the top