Late last week, just as Manish was zeroing in on me after scouring the entire blogosphere to find a guest blogger who could make the rest of the Sepia Mutiny gang look good, a friend approached me with a plan. I was on my first visit to Hyderabad – the rapidly growing capital of Andhra Pradesh – and the friend was trying to convince me to go to Ramoji Film City, a Universal Studios type setup on the outskirts of the city.
“But this is not like Universal Studios at all. It is a functioning studio, not a theme park. No trip to Hyderabad is ever complete without a visit to the film city. It is a happening place. We should go.”
“Happening place? I see you’ve never been to K-Mart.”
“No, but this is happens to be largest movie studio in the world. Sometimes you can even see live movie shootings. Imagine seeing Nagarajuna in action. We are going.” This from the increasingly hysteric friend, who was starting to drool.
So we went. And it was a very disturbing experience. I might have grown up building elaborate temples for film actresses, but I know as well as you that not everything I see in movies is true. Like the blood spurting out of people is tomato ketchup. That the vamps are all drinking Sprite, not vodka. That there is a small possibility the email Aishwarya Rai wrote to me asking me to go check out her topless pictures on the internet may not be from her. All this I know. But then, this trip proved to me, there is so much more to add to that list. Such as the Taj.
The friend and I entered the studio, and after a cursory glance at a rather crowded Wild West set (“for cowboy scenes, man”) whose highlights were (naturally) Bills Gun Factery and the Flying Fish Beach pub, we were whisked away in an Ashok Leyland bus whose top has been sawn off for a tour of the city.
As the bus wound through the city at an alarming speed, we passed several buildings – each one of them designed to appear differently from different directions. Airport from the front, Church from the back. Imperial bungalow from the front; seedy apartment building from the side. Standard deception. The friend has almost his entire body out of the bus, trying to catch a glimpse of a sitcom being shot about a couple of miles away. Meanwhile, a tour guide with a karaoke microphone starts up a running commentary of the sights, rapidly switching between Hindi and Telugu. “Remember all those Bollywood movies shot in London? Well, you remember wrong. There was one shot of the Tower of London borrowed from some old classic, and then they moved the crew here for the rest of the movie.”
Phoreen shoots are expensive, so this can pass for London, I suppose. The tour guide continues as the bus driver morphs into a speeding maniac. [Excuse for bad photography: Done.]. “And when the dashing old man proposes his undying love to the charming young girl with the Taj in the background, the couple might actually be standing right here.”
I’d had it by now. “But sir,this structure bears little or no resemblance to the Taj”
“Good camerawork can take care of it,” the guy mumbles as his driver speeds up. He continues speaking. The highlights of the Ramoji Film City, he says, are the parks and gardens with pretty flowers that form a great backdrop for song sequences. And then my friend points to a tree, claiming that he’d seen a song shot around it.
“No way people are gonna believe that’s a tree. No way.”
“ThatÂ’s what you think. Why do you think they make the girls wear those dresses – itÂ’s all a giant distraction strategy to save money on real trees.”
Oh well, at least the girls are real. Or so I thought, until I came across this. (from the Indian Express Online.)
Eight years ago, film star Sushmita Sen held a teary-eyed press conference to deny her breast enhancement. But today, almost every actress or actress-in-the-making has had one. Shilpa Shetty, Priyanka Chopra, Ayesha Takia, Koena Mitra (sheÂ’s apparently had two), Shamita Shetty, Bipasha Basu, Aditi Govitrikar, Jessie Randhawa and, most recently, Sushama Reddy have supposedly had implants.
I am shattered, but I have that email from Aish I can go back to.
karthik, you’ve barely scratched the surface. btw, did you see the “frontside-airport backside-hospital” set ? what about the “frontside mughalgarden backside hindutemple” ? they have a complete “north india village” set with some telugu film posters – only obvious gaffe. ramojirao studios is an amazing place. i spent a good week doing postprod work on my film there & was completely floored – like the whopping revenue made by ETV ( ETV channels, based inside ramoji studios, try to fill the void in “private regional language programming”, oriya, bengali, that sort of stuff & are staple diet on DirecTV for firangs ), the number of IITians heading their creative & marketing department, umpteen Hollywood B-movies shot over there, the “camera department” as they call it is a super-expensive showroom with latest Arris & Panavisions overbooked for months, its a veritable goldmine. turnaound time at their labs rival Prasad, and they have a very bluecollarish “get work done” ethic as oppposed to the unnecessary “hey we’re so cool” factor i saw at other studios. i worked with two blokes incharge of the arri sr3 they rented out to me, and both these guys were barely literate – some highschool atmost, yet had been to london, nyc & most of europe with that camera…i became fast pals with them by the time we finished the shoot, & it was quite an eyeopener – about 2 crore rupees worth of equipment manned by two very competent trustworthy rustic hyderabadis, and there were 1000s like them. whatever else one might say about ramoji’s profit motives, he has generated huge employment opportunities for the locals in that area, and i would place him way ahead of the rest of the studio crowd, like the filmcity gang for example. thanks for the writeup, brought back lots of good memories.
Storytelling at its best (last line of the post had me in stitches)! I’m so glad you’re guest-blogging!
best. line. ever. :)).
Ennis,
your tour guide didnt mention the part where they have the greatest number of different streetlight “in the world?” i went to filmcity in 2000 and we had this private tour…it was hilarious.
my favorite was the “Rocky Mountain Fudge Factory” hehehe
For some reason, the “Wild West” photograph brought back memories of this bollywood flick that i had watched a long long time ago (can’t remember the name though) in which Feroz Khan and another hero (don’t remember who) play cowboys fighting the local posse!! Picture this – Cowboys, complete with horse, leather chaps, hip holster and stetson – in a rustic north indian village!! I believe I was quite young and impressionable at that time, but even back the thought did cross my mind as to “what in the world were they thinking?”
You are sad that your dreams are shattered but did you have to go ahead and ruin it for the rest of us. What good can come of this slanderous post. The least you could have done is remove Bipasha’s name from the list.
Come on man, you did not think they were…
Damn, I feel the same way I felt when I told my neighbours kid about Santa.
(OK, visualize this : hands on both ears, and head shaking from side to side) Nana, nana, na, na! Nana, nana, na, na!
Repeat after me – “They are real, and they are spec..tacular!”
(Stomps his feet and storms out)
Now I shall go back to my fantasies about all these fine ladies, unspoilt by the revealations here.
i thought that i was the only one who got sucked into going to ramoji film city — went to hyderabad for a dear friend’s wedding and a trip there turned into part of the wedding festivities.. how you ask? not entirely sure to this day. but honestly, once you’ve been there you’ll notice scenes from that place cropping up in all kinds of movies and tv shows, it really is quite popular.
by contrast — i went to some of the shooting of bunty aur babli, and was shocked to see them shooting scenes right in the middle of downtown benares, lucknow, kanpur… the director, shaad, wanted authentic shots, even if it meant holding back massive crowds to finish a scene. but according to everyone on the set his choice to shoot “on-location” is very very rare these days. ramoji film city and other film cities remain popular despite how silly it can look.
Could Wild West Factory have been the location for the ever entertaining Mukkala Mukkabla of Kadhalan (Humse Hi Muqabla for the Hindi version)? I have to confess, I spent countless hours recreating Prabhu Deva’s unbelievable contortions…especially the one where he pulls his shoulder pad and the corresponding-side leg slides in. I’m the only one? Darn.
great to see you here Karthik.
All film cities rock. I visited the MGR film city years ago…….and it was pretty neat. Whole village sets, right adjacent to a city “market” set…..
Dude, you still believe in Santa.
Hey, good to see you here. One less url on my daily round-up of blogs – atleast for a month!
Southie-dadi, I was thinking the same thing! My school friend’s an actress in Hyderabad who might actually love to blog about her life there. She’s done some telugu films on location in London in freezing november in mini-skirts… you have to admire their enthusiasm. I’m dying to go. Some people hold wedding parties in the 5-star hotels inside… Hotel Tara and Sitara.
Oh! it is very interesting post. Really it is a great post.