In Pictures: Behind the scenes of Bollywood film shoots

Dedication and persistence: This song from Chameli was shot at Rajkamal Studios. It was raining heavily and Mumbai was inundated. Inside the studio, they had filled the set with water. Hats off to Kareena and the entire team for working like they did for the song Bhaage Re Mann Kahin. They had couple of sets of the exact same costume ready. Every time a retake was needed, an all-dry Kareena would have to step into the artificial rain and water to shoot. When a cut was announced and she changed, the team would quickly dry the wet costume and keep it ready in line for the next time. Can you imagine? Too bad, my wife kept calling me anxiously as the flood waters raged outside and I had to rush home. I wish I’d stayed and shot more. I was moved with the dedication and persistence of the shoot. It exemplified what the unseen world of Bollywood meant. This is the reason why this shot made it as the cover of my book.

The phoren craze: 

I have seen women from the Eastern bloc countries like Eastern Russia, Ukraine and even Uzbekistan growing in numbers, so much so that Indian extras are now being completely replaced. The last time I saw some Indian girls was on Shaadi Ke Side Effects where you had both foreigners and Indians. I’ve been told that they’re preferred since they are white skinned, willing to do whatever the director suggests, wear whatever they are told, are not fussy about exposure or camera angles. This was a set for Mission Istanbul and costumes were so itsy-bitsy that I was amazed the girls could move at all... 

The kind of comments Vivek Oberoi and Zayed Khan were making at them within ear shot was also appalling. Since the girls didn’t know Hindi, they were none the wiser.

Not so Sunny side up: 

When I reached the sets of Ek Paheli Leela, I saw Sunny Leone covered from head-to-toe in a modest salwar kameez. So many people did not recognise her. Later, I shot her being escorted to the sets in costume. Her demeanour and body language had changed. Like she had become someone else. But she’s obviously worn and done worse in her past porn career, and had no issues with me shooting what could only be called ‘clothed pornography’. The assistant director didn’t want me shooting her intimate scene as he wanted to keep it secret till the trailer was out. Sunny may not speak Hindi and has the standard set of three expressions. However, there’s no denying that the camera loves Sunny and she loves it right back.

Jugaad:

This was the set of Extraordinaari starring Rituparna Sengupta and Abhishek Gupta that released this May. It was the rainy season and this scene required it to rain. But every time they rolled, the rain played truant. When this happened once too often, this is what they did to make it look like rain. I wonder whether audiences realise the amount of jugaad that goes into movie-making.

The show must go on:

Amitabh Bachchan was shooting for Dev. This shot needed him to come out of a white Ambassador car and walk up the Asiatic Library steps where he’s shot at. During a retake when the star sat in the car, he’d not removed his hand from the car roof he was holding while he sat inside when the AD, who thought he was already inside, slammed the door shut. As he shouted and winced, everyone on the set froze. Bachchan was in pain and disturbed. Ice was rushed to him, and it was assumed it’d be a pack-up. To everyone’s surprise, he not only gathered himself, but agreed to give the shot. No wonder he’s Big B!

Destiny's hand:

Kisna was one of the most lavishly made movies of its time. Subhash Ghai spared no costs. A R Rehman and Ismail Darbar did the music, the film was shot in sync-sound under Dilip Subramaniam, cinematography was by Ashok Mehta while Saroj Khan did choreography. The way the sets and costumes changed colour and lighting to look completely different every single day left me amazed. It would be a delight to find everything looking so beautiful from behind the lens. Too bad destiny played a cruel hand and the film flopped miserably at the box office. Had it clicked, who knows what trajectory Vivek Oberoi’s career would have taken.

Three seconds of fame:

This set was for Shaadi Ke Side Effects. These extras were posing alongside Farhan Akhtar. They had to stick their necks out for the day-long shot. “Left se teesra sar seedha rakh...arrey hil kyon raha hai?” I thought it was a nice idea. It reminded me of Dulha Bikta Hai (1982) till I saw the film. This shot ran for just three seconds. The editor obviously had no idea and couldn’t care less about its execution.

Starry nakhras:

I chased the Phantom team for four-and-a-half months to shoot stills on location, but in vain. Then, I heard they were shooting at the Gateway of India. I just showed up and confronted the production team. They let me shoot. But I had barely shot 3-4 frames before the AD came to me. “Katrina ma’am wants you out. If you don’t go she may get moody and not shoot.” I left. Often these stars don’t notice who holds up the reflectors or lights up their smokes. And yet here I was, noticed.