Production Photos by sambrill.500px.com
FRANK
Wedding procession wake up call, wagons rolled at 3:30. We were travelling to the small town of Bundi, travelling through the night to arrive in time to film what would be the climax of the film. Jaipur for all of its filmic and infrastructural convenience is very inconvenient for locating clean fresh-water rivers. For this we had a small film-making exodus to the parting of the waters where Janan, our heroine, makes a last ditch attempt to swim home.
Hassan and Malalai were wading into the thick of the river maelstrom. In this beautiful part of the country a ribbon of water ran through jagged rocks, which made for a dramatic setting.
The adventurous location for the filming made getting the equipment across the rocks a tricky procedure. No one wanted the responsibility of dropping the RED camera in the wet stuff. In the end a human chain was created to ferry the kit to even the most precarious of vantage points.
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| The trademark “Fish-eye” |
Hidden in an unassuming tool-box was an unpleasant surprise for any unsuspecting DIY enthusiast. The 8 month foetus of Janan had been perfectly created out of hair and silicone awaiting this scene in the script. Now it was time to take it for a test swim. Hassan, again bare-chested, nursed the effigy whilst Malalai and the DP looked on, concerned. In fact, most of the village came out to have a look, as we set up on the busy bridge. It very quickly became a rather macabre live performance – staring the tiny life-like model.
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| Baby in a box |
At last we had a good attempt at covering the final sequence in one day but there was still time enough to get the taxi scenes against an obligatory sunset. And that was it. The Indian unit was now finished with the rest of us waiting to be shipped back to the UK for the next part of Utopia.
After a two day train journey to Kochi in the vein of Darjeeling Ltd. More adventures to come!
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| Performed before a live audience. |
PAINTED ELEPHANTS ON PARADE!
This really ought to be a separate post but I thought these photos couldn’t wait.
I managed to get out to the fort at Amer early enough to see their team of elephants pulling tourists to the citadel’s summit. It really is a spectacle to see these massive animals dwarfed by their sublime settings. Skipping the queue for a ride, It was far more impressive to make the climb alongside the limbs of these amazing creatures.
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| Pink Elephants On parade! |