Part 35
The Head of Studio was now starting to turn grey and Mr Singh called over the hotel manager, saying “Sam, do you think you can help our friend there to his room and then get someone to help him pack. Then, I think, you can call a cab and see him off the premises.”
The now ex head of studio was led away, probably wondering what had gone wrong. Mr Singh pointed to the aide and said “You, young man, I admire your bravery tonight and I want you to report to my office manager in a couple of days. That should give you time to pick up anything you need from your old office.” The aide said ‘Thank you sir, it will be an honour to work with you.” He then turned to me and said “I repeat what I said when I first met you, dear Gayle. You are the sort of actress we need for the future. Now I feel very tired, can you help me to my suite, young man,” nodding towards his new aide. The aide seemed a bit reluctant to touch him at first but Mr Singh took his arm for support as he made his way out of the dining room to a silence that you could cut with a knife until the make-up woman said “That went well, didn’t it?”
Gaurav looked at me and asked “So what did happen the last time you were here?” and I told him that the aide had been sent to invite me to a bedroom and I had refused in no uncertain manner. “Following that Anu and Lajpal got into the bastards ear and he left the hotel in his helicopter.” The screen test guy was standing by us and he chipped in with “You should have seen the trade papers after that. It was all conjecture though, so Mr Singh could not actually do anything until he overstepped the mark or one of his victims stood up and accused him. I consider myself honoured to be here tonight and see both events happen in front of the owner of the studio.”
Anu came over to us and I apologised for causing a scene and he said it all had to come out sometime. The screen test guy then laughed and said “I just realised who you were berating at the end of the screen test, it was magnificent to watch and I was sorry to have stopped you. I sometimes look through that clip to see if there were any swear-words that you didn’t use in either English or Hindi but I have not been able to pick one yet.” He looked at Gaurav and said “With your looks and voice you will pass the test if you are just one tenth the actor that your wife is. I will see you in the morning.”
The conductor came over to us then and Anu gave him a hug saying “I know you will make it work, old friend. There were times that I just didn’t have the strength to complain but I am now a new man and you will see that we will do great things.” He then said “Meeting tomorrow at eight in the Intimate Sound Stage; we will go through what is needed before our first show in two weeks. We will have some work to do before then.”
Jill and Joyce came over while we stood there and one asked “Just what was that we saw then?” Anu laughed and said “Here we had life like a game of tennis. When Gayle was here last time the nasty man sent and aide to proposition her for him. She said no and some of us followed that up with him. He left the hotel in a huff. I think that may have been thirty- love to us. In between he has been plotting his revenge and the addition of the orchestra so that Gayle and the band would be squeezed out gave him, he thought, an overhead slam. Now we are at thirty / fifteen and I think he expected Gayle to react so that he could shut her down completely. What he didn’t expect was her approach shot and rally, followed by her getting a bonus point when one of the ball-girls hit him in the goolies with an ace. Mr Singh, the owner of the studio, called game, set and match before our ex-head dug himself into the ground.” The girls looked amazed and wandered off, muttering to themselves.
The guests now all took their leave to go and get some sleep. In bed I gave Gaurav the thing I had denied the Head of Studio and we slept until six when there was a knock on the door and the maids brought in our breakfast. We had that sitting at a small table and then our maids came back to take away the trays and one told us to be dressed casually for seven thirty. Gaurav asked me if it was like this all the time and I told him that we were told what we needed to know so that no-one stood out, unless they were meant to. “That is the way they do things around here.”
When we went downstairs we were all taken to the Intimate Sound Stage which had been set up like a meeting room. It got quite crowded with the addition of the twelve musicians now added to the inner circle, as well as twenty dancers and some technical guys. Mr Singh was there, looking a lot better and his new aide was now being very attentive to him with reverence, rather than fear. Beside him sat Anu, Lajpal, the choreographer and the conductor.
Mr Singh opened the meeting by thanking us all for being here and that he hoped that since last night we all realised that we were here to create a legendary tour that will be spoken of for years to come. He deferred to Lajpal and sat down. Lajpal listed off a long stream of place names, some I had heard of and others I hadn’t. This created a buzz among the crowd. He then went on “As those of you who know the country can tell; we will be going around anti-clockwise with the last show back here in Mumbai. Each stop will be four nights, Thursday to Sunday, unless there are religious reasons that any night cannot go on. In that case we will add to the front or back so that the four shows will occur.”
He looked around the room and went on “As you can tell; it will take most of the year and there will be just two or three days a week for resting. You will all amass paid holiday time at the end of it and I do expect that those who get through to the end will get a bonus. We do have a list of replacement personnel should they be needed through injury or illness. The timetable will be that we go into rehearsal starting tomorrow. The dancers already have some moves that have been planned and can work on those. Anu and the band can look at the playlist and see if there are any changes they want to make. We will be on stage in the Main Sound Stage and will be working from there until we leave for the first show in Poona. Our intention is to film a complete show for showing on TV and the issue of a ‘Live’ DVD. “
He deferred to Anu and sat down to applause. Anu stood up and looked around. “Friends” he started “This time last year I had expected to just fade into the mists of time. Then I heard myself in a setting that had eluded me most of my life and my world spun on its axis. Through the work of Gayle, Tavleen and the rest of the Dhawanees, I have a new sound and a new voice that has been shown to be popular. Last year I spent six weeks touring the Indian centres of the UK in a coach and it was like being reborn. I want, no, I demand that we make this show one that we will be proud to say that we took part in. It is not just another show, it will be my epitaph, and, for some of you, it will be your springboard to fame.”
He looked around and carried on “Since the DVD of our London show was released, we have had enquiries from singers that I have worked with, as well as some who I haven’t, asking to be on the show. With that in mind, almost every show we do will have a guest singer from the city area where we are playing. We will set aside two songs for that guest and they will supply a disc and the music well before the show. We will have Gaurav here, who only a few here have heard singing, unless you have bought our latest CD; along with Gayle, who you all would have heard on our previous two albums. We have a head start on the show as we will work it around the UK tour show as well as the new double album of my greatest hits and there will be a showing of the DVD here, in this room, this afternoon where we can discuss the play-list and where we can add a guest singer. It will allow our extra musicians a chance to see where they fit in. I think we can wind this up for now so we can have smaller meetings and I will see you all here after lunch. Thank you all.”
There was applause as he sat down and then we all started talking among ourselves. The choreographer gathered up his dancers to go to another rehearsal room and the extra musicians came over to us and started asking about the tunes. Gaurav was dragged away for his screen test and I found myself standing with Anu, Anna and Mr Singh, who ushered us into another, quieter, room. We sat down and the aide organised cold drinks for us and Mr Singh opened up the discussion with “I have known Anu for a lot of years and have always felt that he was being smothered by the weight of the studio. However, I do not rule the place by force and allowed things to go along as they were. I am so sorry, my friend, for not seeing what Gayle and her friends saw in you. When I heard the original set of masters that had been produced by unknowns in London I had my eyes opened.”
“The fact that you embraced the new you made my heart sing; and when I looked that the London DVD I wished that you were at the start of your career rather than at the end. I will tell you that I will do everything in my power to make the tour, and the following film, the best things to have come out of this place. I will put my trust in you and Gayle and my office will listen to anything you have to say regarding the two projects. If you want someone in, just ask. If you want someone out, they’re gone; no questions asked. This young man will be the link between us. By the time you go on the road he will have all the contacts and authority he needs to make things happen. Thank you for the opportunity to make amends.”
He stood and the aide assisted him out of the door. I sat there wondering just how much responsibility now sat on our shoulders. It was ours to make or break.
Marianne G 2021
