Break 2

These little breaks between shoots give me time, not just to sleep and meet people outside the job but also to assess everything. Without any bias or prejudice, I know what we’re doing on set everyday is game-changing. I have to say, our lead actors are just beyond inspiring. Their level of concentration and commitment is extremely humbling. I wish I could name names but I don’t think I’m allowed. Once the movie comes out you’ll know what I mean. The way they internalize their words and gestures it’s, wow. Their work, it’s unquestionable.

I cannot wait to get to a stage where someone will say that about me.

It took forever but I think I’ve found a comfort level at work, a voice too. I hope this confidence or whatever this thing is lasts for a while.

Mansi

The Yedi AD

Day something.

I’m not sure what day it is but i do realise i have a lot of catching up to do. Haven’t been able to blog since the second schedule started, not that many people read this but it’s just a question of diligence.

plus it’s a little tough to blog about the film without giving away things i cannot. so it’s a tricky thing. But here’s what i can say, Meenal’s art Rafey Sir’s framing and Rajat’s eye, it’s a really freaking remarkable combination. Every frame looks like a goddamn painting to me and just wow. I don’t know how much i can reveal about the cast but i have immense respect for so many of them. They understand their craft ever so well and just nail it every single time. Very inspiring.

I also must mention the attack of the monkeys. Shooting in Old Delhi would have been incomplete without it. Suddenly the terrace was taken over by our cousins and if we locked the doors they were smart enough to enter from the vents. that was straight out of a crazy Sci Fi movie.

anyway no more monkeying around. I will go now and get ready for a 2pm to 2am shift.

Mansi
The Yedi AD

Day 42 – Joy x Joy

List of reasons to be joyful today:

• @mrrajatkapoor liked all 3 people we auditioned for Ajju’s Father.
• The main location looks incredible after @meenal_’s art direction.
• I get more than enough time to prep for my big interview on the 5th evening. I’m gaining a wee bit of confidence about it but I’m still mostly a nervous wreck, though only when I think about it. Thanks to the movie I have a great distraction and something bigger to focus on. Thank God for small mercies.
• Gorged on a chocolate cake that was waiting for me when I got home.
• I think I failed to mention this before but I’m observing Lent. So for the 40 days I’ve given up being impatient, annoyed and whining. That is going surprising well.
• Last but not least, I saw where Akshay Kumar is shooting his next movie!! OH MY BEJEEZUS! (Yeah! i was kinda kidding about that. I’m sure it’s great and all but I’ve seen The Dark Knight Rises being shot. Nothing tops that.)

This was everything I saw today. But now I must go and work. Till the i/view is over I’m not going to be very good company. Good or bad, I need it to be over. Fine. Yes! I need it to be good. I need to nail it. Being Type A is not a choice. So just bear with me and wish me luck.

Mansi

The Yedi AD

Day 41 – Last of the Auditions

On my way to the hotel, I came across a sea of namaazis. The entire stretch from from the Metro station to our hotel was blocked for vehicles. So I had to put my feet to work and somehow walked past this. This is the benefit of being ahead of time – you can stop and take pictures at your leisure. And as you can see here, i do that often. What a wonderful sight. Rather inconvenient but wonderful nonetheless.

Our last audition for Ajju’s Father was at 5. That’s all we could pull out from our hats. Now it’s up to Rajat to pick and choose. I don’t even know what to write about anymore. My mind’s been taken over by ‘Incredibly Loud and Extremely Close’. What a movie. Such a pleasure to watch. Given that movies and stories are subjective, one could debate the resolution endlessly. But what in my opinion is not up for debate is that it was a splendid movie. Shot to the max, the cast acted the hell out of every scene and what flawless direction. I need to go buy the book and find the final draft.

So surprised that it went under everyone’s radar all this time. The most disheartening thing has to be that, discounting myself, there were maybe 15 other people in the whole of DT audi 7. So, please catch while you still can. It is clearly not going to last long.

This was today’s very satisfactory Ankhon Dekhi. Kal dekhte hain kya hota hain.

Mansi

The Yedi AD

Day 40 – Pink and Yellow and Green and Blue.

So that might not make a lot of sense to people. But it will to Meenal and to the good people who read my short story last month. That was the title of a 20-page story i wrote about self loathing and a corresponding inability to love. Not autobiographical. (Shifty eyes).

How it relates to Ankhon Dekhi is that all these colours and more are being added to our main house – Bauji’s house. It looks great, especially the yellow. I’m biased towards all things yellow. But the blue rooms with the tinge of green also look so charming. Then we have two pink doors, and a lifebuoy soap, which will be present in a corner.

Meenal and Munish will be back from their recce in Manali tomorrow morning. If you don’t follow him on twitter, here’s a little bit of what you’ve missed. There’s more where that came from, so @munishbhardwaj is the man you’re looking for.

As soon as he’s back, we have to go the Bauji’s home with an architect because, and this is funny so read closely, the walls shake as soon as you hammer in anything. We knew that the terrace is dicey and not too many people are allowed in certain areas. But yea…if the walls come crumbling down then it might not be such a good thing. But don’t worry. Surely that won’t happen. That’s what we are going to go and ensure tomorrow.

Isn’t every day is a wonderful new adventure? Lovin’ it!

Mansi

The Yedi AD

Day 39 – AD in the Art Dept.

So this is the good thing about working on a small film, you get to be involved in pretty much every department. Like today, I got to spend all day shadowing Meenal, understanding what all needs to be done in our main location. It’s detailed right down to the colour of the soap. It’s pink, in case anyone was wondering. Also learning about paint textures, sunmica, light fixtures, fake walls, Durga calendars etc.

Meenal and Munish are leaving for location recce in Manali tomorrow. So i’ll be all by myself in Delhi. Bummer! I guess the work mentioned above will keep me busy.

Good news, we seem to be closing in on Ajju’s parents. Won’t know for sure for a while but seems like it’s under control. Got up at 5 am to watch the Oscars today, so I just want to crash right now. SPOILER ALERT! Super pleased that Meryl Streep won. The woman is a Goddess.

Happy birthday call to Amreekan friend awaits. So must head out before she’s too drunk to pick up the phone. Goodnight, everyone.

Mansi

The Yedi AD

Day 38 – Parents

Been working to ensure that our Ajju isn’t an orphan in the film. Found some good actors who could probably fit the bill. Shout-out to our Delhi actors for helping me out with numbers and recommendations. @meenal_ is coming to Delhi tomorrow and work at the main location will begin. Location recce includes a trip to Manali. Not for me. But I am wondering if that’s a proper job, suitable for me to pursue as a career option.

Marcus, my professor at Harvard SSP emailed last night to congratulate me and wish me luck for a big interview that’s lined up soon. He’s so very gracious. Just getting a vote of approval from someone like him is such a confidence booster. I have to say, even Munish and Melvin have been so very encouraging. They have far more faith in me than I do in myself. My father’s already convinced it’s a done deal and planning what I should do before the big move. “Holiday”, he suggests, “3 months in Europe”. Do i love him or what. The exact opposite of Amrish Puri in DDLJ. I can totally see him saying, “Life’s too short, Mickey. Jaa! Jee Le Apni Zindagi.” (Go, live your life). Although all my money’s on the odds that he hasn’t even seen the film.

Anyway, now I’ll get back to finding a mother for Ajju. And then we continue with the Oscar Weekend. Till now I’ve caught Bridesmaids, Tree of Life, Moneyball, Carnage, The Artist (in that order), and tonight I watch The Iron Lady. Meryl is my hero. If i ever met her in person, I know i’d turn into Raj From TBBT.

I don’t know how i missed Tinker Tailor, Albert Nobbs and I can’t find anyone to go watch My Week with Marilyn with me. But The Help I consciously passed on. I got swept away by the vehement and unanimous reviews of my African-American friends who trashed it for being yet another film where “a nice white lady comes in to solve every n****’s problems”. I think i’ve missed out on a great performance by Viola Davis and I am a fan of Bryce Dallas as well as Amy Adams. So maybe i’ll stop being narrow minded and watch it as just a movie.

That’s Day 38 in Yedi Ad’s life. Tomorrow will start very early to catch the Oscars from the red carpet itself. I tweet incessantly on such occasions. So if you’re into that, great. Otherwise you might want to unfollow me or you’ll wake up to a TL that’s been hijacked by my tweets. Don’t say you weren’t warned.

Mansi

The Yedi AD

Day 37 – Neigh!

More animal actors, more approvals. This time, a horse. A mare, rather.

It really is a small world because of all the places in Delhi we went to Friendicoes to get approvals. These are the same people who got my first paycheck from Ankhon Dekhi as a donation. They got the money because they’re uncompromising in their work. Unfortunately we couldn’t get the approvals. One of the reasons being that they charge a mini-bomb for doing the inspection and signing on the dotted line. Fair enough. But for now, we have to hold our horses and try again somewhere else.

By the way, the eyes are hunting for more actors. Specifically: Males, 50-ish, Delhi-based.

So if someone’s reading this and has an Uncle/Father/Neighbour who would be interested in auditioning for us, the email address is: ankhondekhithefilm@gmail.com.

Hope we hear from you.

Mansi

The Yedi AD

Day 36 – The Dating Game.

Shockingly no one gave any grief about the schedule. Kudos to the Bombay guys for making such a clean, thought-through schedule. Everyone has time. Everyone is eager.

I feel like I’m tempting fate by celebrating early. Seems too easy to be true. Half expecting someone to call and throw a wrench in things. Let’s see.

(3 hours later)

Hurrah! There we go. Our first wrench-thrower. And a Mjölnir-sized wrench too. Coldplay, save me.

Mansi

The Yedi AD

Amma, I’m Home!

Holiday over. Back to the place with good vegetarian food and milky coffee. Home, as we often call it. As usual, grandma was devastated by the darkened skin. A tan it’s called, Amma! I like it.

Well there’s work to be done. Went over a promo script I wrote for AD about 20 times. Definitely back to my training days in Lowe. Been doing this for 6 years, and quite effortlessly might I add. But writing a movie promo script felt different. Especially for a movie I actually want people to see. I don’t know how it’s done. Just went with things that make me want to watch a movie – curiosity, clever writing, good acting. First time in years I felt nervous before sharing a script for a commercial. But it’s gone now. Awaiting feedback, brickbats, whatever. Prepared for it all.

Will keep everyone posted. Unless it’s ripped apart. Then, no. I won’t be sharing anything further on the subject. We’ll pretend it never happened. I’m good at that.

Came home to some amazing news waiting in my gmail. And then another one was delivered online. So last night was definitely a good night. Took me about 30 minutes to stop screaming and jumping up and down. The giant smile’s still plastered on my face.

Now I must go. Can’t wait any longer to scarf down some good home-cooked food. So, goodbye and have a good morning.

Mansi

The Yedi AD