The People I Met...

It’s the people who make life worth living for. And there are so many of them with such a variety of personalities within them that they can never cease to amuse you. In the past two months I have met a so many people. So similar yet to distinct. In a matter of just few days this acquaintance grew into a bond that will remain for a lifetime. However big or small their stature on the set is, everybody has a role to play. Many of whom are sardonically useless too! Only on a film set will you ever get to know 100 people at once! The gaffers, the spot boys, the junior artists, the coordinators… faces and people who I will always remember…


Sajid: my director. You’d be a fool to be around him and not learn anything. He is cynical, people have perceptions about him, he is in your face and honest to the extent of being rude.. he is Sajid! We have exchanged very few words but passively I have learnt the most from him.

Vik Sir: He is the man behind those incredible shots. He makes them all look so good. And he made it all look really easy as well. He has taken the brunt of my work most yet has been kind enough to not deter me ever. I don’t think a person of his stature would ever spend so much time teaching a new comer like me her job. I was stunned to see him walk up to the DJ console and jive for he is otherwise so serious. Great to have been worked with a maverick like him.

Anshai: my chief AD. He is composed, well most times! He knows a lot, he knows his job well and he is good at it. He has silently stood by me, fought for me and fought with me as well, but at the end we have had a blast together!

Ali: Very diligent, assiduous and super fun. He belongs to a different school of thoughts, but that school surely has some good teachers. He has been patient with me and yet driven me nuts at times when he would call me off work and pose in front of my camera! I have more pics of him in my camera than my own!

Avni: she is young and an atomic bomb of energy. We would all sink deep into our beds after a 12 hour long shoot and this little one would still have the energy to dress up and party all night. She has shopped at all possible places in London when we couldn’t even manage to shop for our dailies. She has learnt London tubes like she would be living there forever and she has eaten at ping pong more than the owner himself would eat there! We have had rough arguments on set yet some fond memories that will never evade from my shoot, I share with her.

Rohini: I thought, a chik Camera Assistant! And she proved me wrong… glad I am. I saw her picking heavy light equipment and moving around camera stands and kino’s and thought this frail young girl has a lot of muscle. She and I shared a common passion for food and that is what got us together. Our pack was beginning to shape up. We have hung out everyday almost. We ate food together on set however bad it was. We shopped together and we loved every bit of it. I found a very good friend in her in no time.

Momo: is more madness. She is on ecstasy all the time. She looks doped out to people or that is what she wants people to perceive of her. The one chik who shared common passion for life apart from Rohini was Momo. Her dance moves that Avni so loves ;-) her eating habits that Rohini so hates ;-) her piercing that everybody so talks about ;-) OMG she is mad! Rohini Momo and I could inverte London with our madness.

Niki: Niki is the loudest among us all. But that's becoz of her enthusiasm for anything! She can give you an impression of being submissive, but you should see her at work. Aggressive is her second name. She cannot speak hindi, she got detained once for her Kenyan passport, he has lived in Canada for 8 yrs and calls Toronto 'Trono' for some strange reason and can easily get away as a 20 yr old! Niki you are absolute fun!

Claude: he would talk less but always talk sense. Initially he would give me tips on my clap and that really helped me. Then he gave me advice on how to behave on set and helped me too! His advice has never failed. His wise cracks would go over my head. He was omnipresent. He was the only guy on set with a license to hold up a shot! Everytime we were all ready, he would come with his little light meter and count numbers minus 4, 2.8, +5-4… he was the villain of the film like Akshay said! Always popping at the wrong time! I have not seen Claude ever sit on the set.

Deepakji: I have annoyed him the most! Deepakji slate le lo… deepakji clap aa raha hai ke nahi? Deepakji ye deepakji woh! He was unperturbed… always absorbed in his work. One other person who would constantly be on his feet with the walky-talky in his ears giving him instructions and deepakji following it like an subservient child. He taught me lenses, he taught me how to clap without bugging anyone ;-) He has been a great support on set for me without whom I would have lost my job in two days!

Shaunak: I have grown fonder of him during our London visit. I couldn’t sleep that one night I fought with him. He is total ladies man and at work the busiest among all. But he really works hard. We see him working hard for what he wants to be and at this rate you will get there sooner than you blink Shauny! He is a darling and will remain forever.

Nazar: he was shooting the making I felt like shooting him down every time he would occupy my place near the camera! He is the reason why I said ‘end slap’!!! He is the reason why I called out numbers wrongly many times. He is the only one who laughs on his jokes. Yet I adore him.

Raju Bhai: our spot boy. Very very experienced and has taken care of me like his I were his own daughter. I do not know or wish to know what his intentions were but he never made me feel homesick. I would get tea whenever I asked for it, he would keep choco chip cookies for me, he told me stories of people he worked with and just listening to it was delightful.

Micky: he was our dolly boy who did not have many friends on set I observed. He would keep to himself and a few people around. But he was immensely fond of me. He got me chocolates, marshmallows and cider! He even got me a hamburger once! He is a rockstar really! He had his own rock band where he played the guitar, rode on a lambretta with flared jeans and long hair… hahaha… super cool!

Ricky: my radio man. I have not seen him frown even one day. He would always greet me with a warm smile and a heavy burden of 4 walky-talky’s for each one of us ADs. His energy from beginning to end of the shoot was the same. So good to know you as a friend.

Sue: This woman is what I want to be when I become 40. She is so full of energy that she can put a 16 year old to shame. She drove Akshay to set and did multiple other things that I could never grasp. She has 2 sons who are more friends than kids to her. You’re a cool woman and no pretence!

Lee: umm, the date is still due! Such a player, he promised every girl on the set to take out on a date but never did. This ex-shippie is an incorrigible flirt and you cannot ignore him really. Our local line producer who speaks hindi and would put us all in splits instantly. His favorite target ajay, avni and me! Super smart and super good at his work, Lee is a killer guy!

Ajay: He is one person who has never been stressed on set however big the set up is. He would always be smiling and his smile would piss the hell out of my director but he wouldn’t sweat even one bit. Ajay would come out with e uncanny one liners and leave me amused. I love his sketches and looking at him one wouldn’t ever guess he would sketch so well. He is an absolute delight to be around with and work with.

Ritiesh’s gang: Nitin 1, Nitin 2, Kamal and Vinod are madcaps. The only star gang that I found fantastic. They are all super fun people and really good friends.

Boman sir: He is a gem really. The one day I spent 20 minutes chatting with him made me grow fond of him. Thorough gentleman, so humble and down to earth and so warm! He is fantastic on screen we all know but he is even better as a human being.

Few of the many people who made work seem so easy and so much fun. I can never thank them enough for just having been a part of my learning curve. I hope to cross paths with them sometime soon and show them proudly how much of a difference they made to me as a person.