Down in Colaba the backpackers area in Mumbai I was approached by an
agent to be an extra in a Bollywood movie. I jumped at the chance and
the next day I was shuttled with 30 other foreigners to a film studio.
They put me in a stunning suit, applied makeup and did my hair. I was
part of an international crowd consisting of 30 black Nigeriens, 25
local Chinese, 40 white foreigners and 40 or so local Indians all
dressed to the nines for the launch of a new video game where the
heroes come alive. Starring an Indian whose name escapes me and filmed
by an International crew this movie is rumoured to be released world
wide. On the stage they filmed a number of scenes including a dance
number consisting of 20 amazingly white Russian girls in very skimpy
silver futuristic costumesand a Vietnamese fellow who did high kicks
and backflips as he pretended to virtually play the game.
All in all it was a fascinating look into Bollywood and the cultural
mishaps of a Production Manager (Terry Bamber of Casino Royale and a
multitude of other hits) who didn't know how to control an Indian
filmcrew. His shouting and dry British humour only seemed to
exasperate the situation. The Indian crew purposely seemed to defy his
every order and at times I was sure the poor fellow was going to
collapse due to stress at any moment. It was here that I met a
fascinating Chinese girl whose connection to India goes back 150
years. We were told off at least five times by the director for
talking when we weren't supposed to (we were very good and quiet for
the actual filming) by the end the director even told us off by our
first names.
Well fed but paid under $1 an hour I really don't think this is my
career path. Amost every traveler gets a chance to take part in
Bollywood due to the demand for white faces so I don't think I will be
missed.
Ty
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