On my last day in Mahabalipuram I was in an internet cafe in the morning and this man came to me and said "you're going to be in a movie today!" I thought this was a little weird but I had met a couple of swedes the night before who said they were going to be extras in a movie so I knew it was for real. He told me I would be with him all day and that I would get 700 rupees for my work and meals... I asked him if I could get to Tiruvanamalai that night and he assured me I could. Having learned from the past I made him promise if I couldn't he would put me up for the night in Chennai and that he would also get me to the bus station either way. We shook hands and he said he would be back for me in half an hour...I hurried to pack...
The first good sign is that half and hour later he was back...actually on time! I couldn't believe it! I headed with him to his car at another guest house and we waited for 2 British extras to get there gear and we headed to some science center building half an hour away. First they fed us and it was tasty, and then work started...
There were about 100 school children walking up the driveway to the main entrance and me and a British girl, dressed in our normal clothes had to walk down the other way... it seemed to be a big budget movie as all the kids had special made uniforms and it was a large production (I think)....
It turns out that it was a really big movie with one of India's most popular stars....
From this set we headed to the next one in Chennai... Here some of us got costumes! Check me out! I am supposed to be a scientist... Note the padding stripes on my knees!
I got this cool outfit from the Outfit bus, it was an old bus with all kinds of clothes and a sewing machine outside... They did lots of on the spot work for some of the actors...
We waited for while outside, then got to go to an airconditioned area inside...it was in a convention hall redecorated to show off new robots...after sitting for an hour we went back out for lunch! It was a feast! And what a feast! So yummy! Best part of the day!
Then we got to wait some more and finally they were ready to shoot! I had to walk past some exhibits and point them out to some younger Indian girls as if I was explaining things! I had lots of fun making up what to say! Unfortunately it made them burst out laughing but hopefully no one will notice and the scene will make the film! Then we had to do it a couple more times, sometimes I was alone just browsing...we all had similar things to do, but the two Brits might have a closeup!In the same scene we at least a hundred kids being shown around by a guide... and many other people looking around...It must have been very hard to organize all this...apparently the kids' school gets paid for their involvement... It was also fun to be the token white guy! It was like the opposite of a Hollywood movie....
Here is a car that was later covered with bullet holes!
You can see all the people trying to catch a glimpse of the star....he was not there but no one would listen...every once in a while security would push them all back and then 2 minutes later they would be climbing the fence...I felt funny being there while it was not such a big deal with hundreds of people trying to push their way in!
As it got dark I was worryinbg about catching my bus abnd they kept tellin gus just one more scene, and then I went to look for the car with my bag and everyting in it and it was gone! I panicked that they took some of the other extras to the train and I had lsot everything...but after 5 frantic minutes I found everyone and they had jsut moved the car... The man in charge of the extras, who was super kind then said ok no more scenes and paid a taxi to take me to the bus station.... It was a fun day! And I made about 15 dollars learnign how movies are made!
