Working with Mani Rathnam for the movie Ayutha Ezhuthu was the pits...
Truth is, working with Mani Ratnam involved us being in a pit.. It was the third day of shooting and we had done it all... Stomping through shit (super art direction by Sabu Cyril) in Rameshwaram on the first day .. Riding on open top lorries in the blazing heat of Theni in the second day... and now the third day dawns..its literally dawn and we are asked to strip our tops off and get into a huge 10ft X 10ft X 10ft pit.
Its in times like these you tend to question the film maker's liberties in the quest for art.. the movie is about students we presume.. he has not given us the script.. we are part of a song sequence.. and we are getting paid 250 rs per day.. thats all that has been told.. and please bring your bags and a rain coat as well... hmmm..ok.. with bags packed and hopes of a long career in tinsel town.. i leave to Rameshwaram from Chennai...
Reach Rameshwaram the next evening, after crossing Pamban bridge, truly breath taking feat of modern engineering.... break for the night... shooting to begin tmr.. great.. so i get to see the famous temple with the long corridors.. you dont need to read this post to know that the temple is a brilliant sight to see.. but the paint jobs done by the restoration committee in the temple is pretty lousy.. i am guessing the colours have been chosen in keeping with the colours that were used by those who first constructed the temple... and with more guessing i assume that the actual creators of the temple (think its a chola king) must have had limited choice of paints and hence forced into these colours.. well the point is, i feel the colours used in the temple (most South Indian temples) are insulting to their architectural marvel...gawdy and vulgar.
Not as vulgar as what we were told to do the next day... there is this pond of shit.. or something that looks like shit.. the choreographers are ready..Kala and Shanthi... they make us form rows.. then the hero Surya appears.. he comes and stands at the front... now we all just walk straight.. then beat our chests and shout oh yuva oh yuva oh yuva...hmmm.. only prob was that walking straight is basically through slush (read shit).. why did Mani have to come to Rameshwaram to shoot this when there is nice slush and shit in Chennai... god only knows.. and unfortunately for most Indian actors...Mani Ratnam is god !
Once that is done, a few more shots follow, rain sequence, where a huge fan with super wind power thrusts the water that comes from these huge fireman hoses and basically fakes a rainy day... wonder if they are gonna use a filter cos its bloody sunny and its two o clock in the afternoon... but we proceed to get drenched.. and to make matters worse.. none of the actresses take part in the rain sequence.. no wet sari dance..no wonder the movie flopped...(is this what prompted Mani to add that non consequential kissing scene between Vidya Balan and Madhavan in Guru ?)
Work done for the day, we travel by night to Theni we are told.. great.. Rameshwaram is done.. Theni cant be worse.. right? WRONG !!! Sleep for three hours at the most.. and we are at the shooting site.. a bloody quarry.. its really really sunny.. and the giant fans are here as well.. but there is no hose.. hmmm... what purpose does the fans serve ? Oh crap....they are going to replicate dust storm... Mani Mani Mani... cant you just concentrate on getting a nice tight script instead of the stupid song sequences... Hell my skin feels like paper, and my hair is worse... We all breath a huge sigh of relief once the Theni shoot comes to an end.. and are even more happy to know that we will reach Pollachi by 8 p.m.. that will give us a good night's sleep.. the nice lodge in Pollachi and the nice weather aids our nocturnal ambition of a decent sleep..
Masth is up early the next day.. he has a nice hair wash with a whole satchet of shampoo.. .takes out a new vest... spanking white.. all dressed... we leave to the shooting sight.. its 6 a.m in the morning.. the assistant dirctors ask us to strip and get dirty.. we have to get into a pit.. what the hell are a bunch of students going and singing songs while stomping on shit and digging in pits ?? i dont ask Mani that.. would love to ask him sometime later though.. for now.. i strip.. so does Vish... Masth and Mak have worn vests with sleeves.. and one of them has a sparkling brand new white one.. we get into the pits.. and are given our digging tools.. hell, i am not being paid enough..
Anyway, everything seems to be ready.. when there is a noise heard at the top.. we are down below in the pit...Mani is upset about something we realise.. he is screaming... then the assistant director comes running (by the way the Assistant Director has now become a movie hero, apparently made a good debut in Paruthiveeran, i have not seen the movie so not making any comments.. but he was a nice guy for sure) why is that vest so white, he asks.. its ruining the shot.. make it more dirty.. and before he knows what's happening Masth is surrounded by people throwing mud on him and rubbing him with dirt.. while Mak has actor Siddarth (who joined us in Theni) rubbing mud on him in a rather sensual way (ok this is slander or libel..its fun to cast aspersions though).. basically, the Masth's new vest dies an early death...
Two more days in Pollachi, and we return home with our money..Esha Deol makes a brief appearance, not really great looking..but atleast some lady has come for the shoot with us..not to forget Mirchi Suchi, to whom Mak (he who had the brief fling with Siddarth gives a chilly)..and thanks to Masth's brilliant pin hole camera...which was something from the stone age (Masth had advised Mak against bringing his brand new cam, for safety reasons)..not a single photo came out...atleast the movie will have us we hoped... movie is out four months later and I get the most screen time (15 seconds)..Mak never appears.. but someone consoles him with the lie that he appeared in a couple of posters outside the city limits of Chennai.
Rather disappointed with the cinematography though.. He didnt capture my best aspects... Two years later, Mani comes knocking.. he has a role for me.. based on India's biggest industrialist.. sounds interesting.. but he tells me that there are a few song sequences.. so what do you think ?
Many thanks Mani.. but no thanks.. why dont you ask that guy with the big surname.. he will suffice... can't romance Aishwarya Rai at my age, Mani... maybe next time..
Although (to paraphrase Roald Dahl or Saki..not too sure.. from the story The Open Window)... Romance at short notice is my speciality...
Truth is, working with Mani Ratnam involved us being in a pit.. It was the third day of shooting and we had done it all... Stomping through shit (super art direction by Sabu Cyril) in Rameshwaram on the first day .. Riding on open top lorries in the blazing heat of Theni in the second day... and now the third day dawns..its literally dawn and we are asked to strip our tops off and get into a huge 10ft X 10ft X 10ft pit.
Its in times like these you tend to question the film maker's liberties in the quest for art.. the movie is about students we presume.. he has not given us the script.. we are part of a song sequence.. and we are getting paid 250 rs per day.. thats all that has been told.. and please bring your bags and a rain coat as well... hmmm..ok.. with bags packed and hopes of a long career in tinsel town.. i leave to Rameshwaram from Chennai...
Reach Rameshwaram the next evening, after crossing Pamban bridge, truly breath taking feat of modern engineering.... break for the night... shooting to begin tmr.. great.. so i get to see the famous temple with the long corridors.. you dont need to read this post to know that the temple is a brilliant sight to see.. but the paint jobs done by the restoration committee in the temple is pretty lousy.. i am guessing the colours have been chosen in keeping with the colours that were used by those who first constructed the temple... and with more guessing i assume that the actual creators of the temple (think its a chola king) must have had limited choice of paints and hence forced into these colours.. well the point is, i feel the colours used in the temple (most South Indian temples) are insulting to their architectural marvel...gawdy and vulgar.
Not as vulgar as what we were told to do the next day... there is this pond of shit.. or something that looks like shit.. the choreographers are ready..Kala and Shanthi... they make us form rows.. then the hero Surya appears.. he comes and stands at the front... now we all just walk straight.. then beat our chests and shout oh yuva oh yuva oh yuva...hmmm.. only prob was that walking straight is basically through slush (read shit).. why did Mani have to come to Rameshwaram to shoot this when there is nice slush and shit in Chennai... god only knows.. and unfortunately for most Indian actors...Mani Ratnam is god !
Once that is done, a few more shots follow, rain sequence, where a huge fan with super wind power thrusts the water that comes from these huge fireman hoses and basically fakes a rainy day... wonder if they are gonna use a filter cos its bloody sunny and its two o clock in the afternoon... but we proceed to get drenched.. and to make matters worse.. none of the actresses take part in the rain sequence.. no wet sari dance..no wonder the movie flopped...(is this what prompted Mani to add that non consequential kissing scene between Vidya Balan and Madhavan in Guru ?)
Work done for the day, we travel by night to Theni we are told.. great.. Rameshwaram is done.. Theni cant be worse.. right? WRONG !!! Sleep for three hours at the most.. and we are at the shooting site.. a bloody quarry.. its really really sunny.. and the giant fans are here as well.. but there is no hose.. hmmm... what purpose does the fans serve ? Oh crap....they are going to replicate dust storm... Mani Mani Mani... cant you just concentrate on getting a nice tight script instead of the stupid song sequences... Hell my skin feels like paper, and my hair is worse... We all breath a huge sigh of relief once the Theni shoot comes to an end.. and are even more happy to know that we will reach Pollachi by 8 p.m.. that will give us a good night's sleep.. the nice lodge in Pollachi and the nice weather aids our nocturnal ambition of a decent sleep..
Masth is up early the next day.. he has a nice hair wash with a whole satchet of shampoo.. .takes out a new vest... spanking white.. all dressed... we leave to the shooting sight.. its 6 a.m in the morning.. the assistant dirctors ask us to strip and get dirty.. we have to get into a pit.. what the hell are a bunch of students going and singing songs while stomping on shit and digging in pits ?? i dont ask Mani that.. would love to ask him sometime later though.. for now.. i strip.. so does Vish... Masth and Mak have worn vests with sleeves.. and one of them has a sparkling brand new white one.. we get into the pits.. and are given our digging tools.. hell, i am not being paid enough..
Anyway, everything seems to be ready.. when there is a noise heard at the top.. we are down below in the pit...Mani is upset about something we realise.. he is screaming... then the assistant director comes running (by the way the Assistant Director has now become a movie hero, apparently made a good debut in Paruthiveeran, i have not seen the movie so not making any comments.. but he was a nice guy for sure) why is that vest so white, he asks.. its ruining the shot.. make it more dirty.. and before he knows what's happening Masth is surrounded by people throwing mud on him and rubbing him with dirt.. while Mak has actor Siddarth (who joined us in Theni) rubbing mud on him in a rather sensual way (ok this is slander or libel..its fun to cast aspersions though).. basically, the Masth's new vest dies an early death...
Two more days in Pollachi, and we return home with our money..Esha Deol makes a brief appearance, not really great looking..but atleast some lady has come for the shoot with us..not to forget Mirchi Suchi, to whom Mak (he who had the brief fling with Siddarth gives a chilly)..and thanks to Masth's brilliant pin hole camera...which was something from the stone age (Masth had advised Mak against bringing his brand new cam, for safety reasons)..not a single photo came out...atleast the movie will have us we hoped... movie is out four months later and I get the most screen time (15 seconds)..Mak never appears.. but someone consoles him with the lie that he appeared in a couple of posters outside the city limits of Chennai.
Rather disappointed with the cinematography though.. He didnt capture my best aspects... Two years later, Mani comes knocking.. he has a role for me.. based on India's biggest industrialist.. sounds interesting.. but he tells me that there are a few song sequences.. so what do you think ?
Many thanks Mani.. but no thanks.. why dont you ask that guy with the big surname.. he will suffice... can't romance Aishwarya Rai at my age, Mani... maybe next time..
Although (to paraphrase Roald Dahl or Saki..not too sure.. from the story The Open Window)... Romance at short notice is my speciality...
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