Bollywood Baby
BOLLYWOOD Jan 2007
Well you all knew we would end up Bollywood superstars if we did actually make it as far as Bombay and we do so hate to disappoint!
It turned out lucky that I was too unwell to travel with Curt to Bombay's slums because otherwise I could never have been scouted to appear as an extra in Bollywood.
I had gone for a walk, miserable and sick around Colaba, to clear my head and try and decide on whether or not we would have to return home to Australia when I was stopped by a cool looking guy called Ali who asked whether or not I would appear as an extra for a shoot the next day at the Taj studios.
I explained that I was going to catch a plane that night to Dubai and walked off only to return a few seconds later and ask for his card "just in case".
That night, I ended up in Bombay hospital instead of on a plane to Dubai and after talking with the doctors made the difficult decision that I was going to have to return home to have tests and so on and work out whats really going on with me.
Bombay hospital by the way was great, quick and easy and my prescription cost me 7 rupees to fill. It astounds me that India could be so fantastic and a country as rich a England be so pathetically hopeless when it comes to health care.
So I'm not on the plane and Curt and I now have no set time to depart Bombay. So we team up with our man AJ, quite seriously the most lovely guy! who had become our constant companion and sound friend for the time we were in Bombay and organise our little Bollywood adventure. That is to say I may have met Ali and therefore got the ball rolling but wthout AJ's enthusiasm and infectious joy of adventure we probably wouldnt have had the heart to organise it as Curt and I were quite stressed out and down.
But it was the coolest thing and Im so glad we did do it.
We ended up with another girl Kat and were driven into the studios by a crazy german guy who not only scouted but regularly acted.
It turned out we were to appear in Anand Sami Khans new music video, although we didnt actually know who he was or what we were doing for most of the shoot.
Turns out Adnan Sami Khan is one of Bollywoods most famous singer/songwriters and reputedly the worlds fastest keyboard player as well (!??)
Obviously because we are so sheltered and boring in the west none of us had any idea who he was but his audience apparently reaches over 2 billion people throughout India, Pakistan and Asia.
http://www.adnansamikhan.com
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adnan_Sami
However this being India the shoot was hysterical without any of the hysteria that I'm sure would accompany a Hollywood shoot of the same nature. There seemed to be five people for every job ( as with everything in India ) and while we had a great time, eating yummy food, chatting to other extras who were all very interesting, one being a journalist , another a artist based in Calcutta the shoot seemed both creative and fun and completely shambolic at the same time.
In the end Curt was singled out to do a walk on part, they tried to comb his hair ( unsuccessfully) and dress him in 20s gear for a nostalgic scene while they tied o get me into a dress with a bust size of double AA which I thought was hysterical.
Eventually I now appear in a very strange shawl and a pair of jeans in the supposed 20s scene.
AJ partnered me and we had a great time, sitting at our fake cafe table and saying a long list of swearwords at each other while trying to look like we were having a polite conversation. I nearly managed to get Aj to laugh while we were actually shooting but his determination to be in the shot won in the end.
It was excellent fun and we will keep you all posted for the release of our upcoming debut!
Well you all knew we would end up Bollywood superstars if we did actually make it as far as Bombay and we do so hate to disappoint!
It turned out lucky that I was too unwell to travel with Curt to Bombay's slums because otherwise I could never have been scouted to appear as an extra in Bollywood.
I had gone for a walk, miserable and sick around Colaba, to clear my head and try and decide on whether or not we would have to return home to Australia when I was stopped by a cool looking guy called Ali who asked whether or not I would appear as an extra for a shoot the next day at the Taj studios.
I explained that I was going to catch a plane that night to Dubai and walked off only to return a few seconds later and ask for his card "just in case".
That night, I ended up in Bombay hospital instead of on a plane to Dubai and after talking with the doctors made the difficult decision that I was going to have to return home to have tests and so on and work out whats really going on with me.
Bombay hospital by the way was great, quick and easy and my prescription cost me 7 rupees to fill. It astounds me that India could be so fantastic and a country as rich a England be so pathetically hopeless when it comes to health care.
So I'm not on the plane and Curt and I now have no set time to depart Bombay. So we team up with our man AJ, quite seriously the most lovely guy! who had become our constant companion and sound friend for the time we were in Bombay and organise our little Bollywood adventure. That is to say I may have met Ali and therefore got the ball rolling but wthout AJ's enthusiasm and infectious joy of adventure we probably wouldnt have had the heart to organise it as Curt and I were quite stressed out and down.
But it was the coolest thing and Im so glad we did do it.
We ended up with another girl Kat and were driven into the studios by a crazy german guy who not only scouted but regularly acted.
It turned out we were to appear in Anand Sami Khans new music video, although we didnt actually know who he was or what we were doing for most of the shoot.
Turns out Adnan Sami Khan is one of Bollywoods most famous singer/songwriters and reputedly the worlds fastest keyboard player as well (!??)
Obviously because we are so sheltered and boring in the west none of us had any idea who he was but his audience apparently reaches over 2 billion people throughout India, Pakistan and Asia.
http://www.adnansamikhan.com
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adnan_Sami
However this being India the shoot was hysterical without any of the hysteria that I'm sure would accompany a Hollywood shoot of the same nature. There seemed to be five people for every job ( as with everything in India ) and while we had a great time, eating yummy food, chatting to other extras who were all very interesting, one being a journalist , another a artist based in Calcutta the shoot seemed both creative and fun and completely shambolic at the same time.
In the end Curt was singled out to do a walk on part, they tried to comb his hair ( unsuccessfully) and dress him in 20s gear for a nostalgic scene while they tied o get me into a dress with a bust size of double AA which I thought was hysterical.
Eventually I now appear in a very strange shawl and a pair of jeans in the supposed 20s scene.
AJ partnered me and we had a great time, sitting at our fake cafe table and saying a long list of swearwords at each other while trying to look like we were having a polite conversation. I nearly managed to get Aj to laugh while we were actually shooting but his determination to be in the shot won in the end.
It was excellent fun and we will keep you all posted for the release of our upcoming debut!
posted by Bella&Saunders at
5:18 am
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