Part 26
The director stood up again and started by saying “I do have to apologise to you gentlemen. I know that you have been holding off on the film that Anudeep has said would be his last.”
“I think that you may change your minds when you see the last video. The band told me that they would record a ten minute raga and my first thought was of a proposed scene from that film, probably the only one to look as if it would work. That in mind, what you are about to see is the result, in two days only, of that scene, including all of the audio and video shooting. Prepare to be amazed.”
The film filled the screen and they had cranked the sound up to movie strength. There were smiles as the music started and I saw several dignitaries tapping the table. There were gasps when we came in on the elephants and the dancing after that was almost mesmerising. The final five seconds of us coming together and kissing as the music came to a sudden stop before the screen went black made even me have shivers down my spine. In the silence that followed you could hear a pin drop and everyone looked at the head of the studio. He asked the director how many takes did that need and the director said that the half up to the elephants was the result of about six but the scene from the entrance of the elephants was a single, and the only, take needed. “Amazing” said the boss “I am impressed and heartily approve the project if it continues to be as good as this. What do you say, gentlemen?” as he looked at the others with him. They all said yes and the room erupted in applause and cheering.
As everyone started mingling I saw Guptar and Birgitta bearing down on me. Birgitta gave me a hug and said that it was totally amazing and how dare I kiss another man. I laughed and told her that Anudeep was the total professional and we stopped just after the fade. She then said that we looked and sounded like lovers on the clip and Anudeep told her that this is what creates interest, purchases and income. He went on to explain the back story to the film segment with the two of us as newly married Rajah and Ranee. He said that the first hour of the film would be Bollywood farce with failed love scenes, lots of innuendo, even more dancing and quite a bit of singing. And the scene before the one we had just seen would be the wedding, which he estimated would take a week or more to film. What he didn’t tell them was that the last half an hour would be smooching and love songs in true Bollywood style.
He did tell them that the cheering was because the head of the studio had approved the project and that would release about five hundred million rupees into it which would be used to pay for everything, even the expenses this week; something Lajpal would appreciate. Guptar asked what happens next and he told them that I was needed to do an extra overdub over the next couple of days and then would be flown home. Aganee let them know that she would be staying with me as a language mentor. Anudeep then said that he and his wife would have to go to the UK to start putting the show together with the band so Guptar invited them to stay at the mansion and also attend the wedding, which Anudeep accepted.
Birgitta and I needed to freshen up and, after we had touched up our lipstick she asked “Just how much did they pay you for these two videos.” I told her that we had got four million rupees; or about four hundred thousand pounds for the band. I said that I had not been told what we were paid for the duet video but it could be around the million rupees. Her face went white as she took it in so I helped her back outside and got her a drink while she sat and contemplated the scope of what we had got into. “You will still marry Gaurav?” she asked and I said “Of course I will marry him, I love him and this changes nothing about our future together. It may just mean that he will need some time off to be here in India while I am filming; that is, as long as I pass the screen test.” I thought a moment and then added “As long as he is happy with it. He is a modern man and I think the glamour and glitz of this place would appeal to him.”
As the evening was winding down, an aide came up to me and asked quietly “The head of the studio politely asks if you would join him in his stateroom later on. I can assure you that he is a very powerful man.” I turned to him and said “Please tell him that I do not care how powerful he is. When I leave here I am going home to be married to the one I love and he will be the one to take my virginity. If that does not please the powerful man I can pack my bags tomorrow and leave with the others and never come back.”
I saw the blood run from his face and then he smiled at me before he went back to the ‘powerful man’ and reported his failure to procure me. I walked back to the band to warn them of predators and Anudeeps wife overheard what I said. She went to Anudeep and he went to Lajpal who was standing with the director. As a group I saw them go to the head of the studio and a very serious conversation followed with the upshot being that the head of the studio left the room and, as I was told, left the hotel in his helicopter. Anudeep came to me and apologised, saying “The man has done this before. He broke a good actress who was a star in the making because of his needs. I am glad you rebuffed him. Don’t worry, there will be no come-backs from this as the public sentiment is moving against such behaviour and he cannot chance being pilloried in the press. He will keep it quiet as long as we do.”
I thanked him for being so brave and gave him a kiss on the cheek, after which his wife said that she thought he was brave as well and pulled him away to take him up to their room to see just how brave he was. The following morning I did not get breakfast in bed but the maid said that I should shower and dress and go down to the dining room. It turned out to be a working breakfast where we thrashed out the timing and the logistics of the following few months in the UK. Janet said that Jack had found a hotel in one of the seaside towns that had a big ballroom and she had sent him a text to book the whole place so we could be there alone to practice the show. She did have a preliminary list of venues for the tour as well as a list of hotels we would use and most already had bookings made.
When the Hidjeet couple, Janet and the rest of the band were ready there was a trio of helicopters ready to take them straight to the airport. No more coaches at this end. Tavleen took me aside and wished me luck and then told me that all of the beautiful dresses she had been wearing for dinner, as well as the jewellery and shoes, had been packed into a new suitcase for her to take home. She said that the other girls had new suitcases as well. Balnoor had one with his very handsome suits. She said that she had asked and was told that if you wear it with pride, you own it. We both agreed that if nothing else, we had something to wear at my reception.
I went outside with Aganee to wave them off. Anudeep and his wife had their own helicopter and would join us later in the UK. We all had a hug and I thanked them for the opportunity they had presented and Anudeep told me that it was the two masters we had recorded that created the opportunity. “When you hear talent, you need to see how deep it runs. Remember that the deeper the river, the calmer the surface, and you, my dear, present as a completely flat and beautiful river.” As he left I pondered his words and when they had taken off I looked at Aganee and she said “Don’t look at me, I didn’t understand it either.”
It was very much quieter after that and a bit of an anti-climax. However, we needed to do the overdub and the studio manager told me that they would set up a screen test this afternoon. Aganee took my arm and we went for a good walk around the site, sometimes being stopped for a chat and sometimes being invited into a sound stage to see what was going on. It was a good release as well as good exercise and we were well received wherever we went. A few women came over and shook my hand or gave me a hug, telling me how happy everyone was that I put the brute in his place. So much for it being kept quiet, I reckon that the rumour mills here would be grinding and his rebuff may hit the next edition of the tripe magazines where only a few would believe it.
We went and had a lunch and I was taken off to do my screen test while Aganee started poring over the Hindi translation for me. The screen test proved to be as stressful as I expected. No more helpful admirers, just hard-boiled film people who got me speaking from lines, singing to a backing track, moving, walking, sitting and even lounging on a bed; all scenes likely to pop up in a Bollywood movie. The last test was when they gave me a scenario that I was a woman who had just been jilted by her husband who had told her that he was going off with a younger and more sexually adventurous girl. I was told to think about it for one minute and they would put a timer on me then and, if I could pass two minutes of realistic ad-lib, I would be considered good actress material.
I had a think and thought about the head of the studio and, when my time started, I gave a performance that would win an Oscar. In fact, at five minutes in they had to stop me and I had only just got going. Fishwives, eat your heart out.
Marianne G 2021
