I am back from my vacation to India. Thanks to a friend of mine, I got an opportunity to visit the sets of Bandini on Thursday afternoon. Though not pre-planned, it was an enjoyable and educational experience overall.
When I reached the sets I first met Sameerbhai (Bapuji) who then introduced me to the 2 actors playing Saumilbhai and Rasik. After we came out from that rook we met Khemi and she took us to a room where most of the other cast members were chilling out. (It was someone's makeup room ? not sure but I think it was Prashant's).
We entered the room and I had the opportunity to meet with Shardul (Maulik), Prerna (Kaddu), Prashant (Kanji), Rasikaji (Tarulata), Arjan and Toral. Prashant (Kanji) was strumming a guitar and entertaining the others. I congratulated all of them and told them what a wonderful job they were doing as a team. I also told them about India-Forums and all of them were aware of 'us' and how they get feedback from all that we members post on this forum.
I mentioned to Prashant that he should come onto IF and check out the female fan-following that he has on the forum. The other cheered at this and teased him a bit about it. He was very pleased to hear about his fans at IF and was very grateful for the way his role is being appreciated by the viewers.
Next it was time to move onto the sets. The shooting was taking place in what we see as the 'aangan' of the M-mansion near the staircase going up to the storeroom. There I saw Aasiya sitting on a couch rehearsing her dialogues with her assistant. She was dressed in the sari she wore for the fashion show and had her hair down. She looked very, very pretty. I got introduced to her and said Hi. Since she was busy rehearsing I did not disturb her further.
At the sets, I got a chance to talk to the actors individually. I complented Rasikaji on the way she so effortlessly brings out the various shades of Tarulata's character onto the screen. She was happy her performance is being appreciated and said 'Thank You".
Next I talked to Shardul. I requested him not to log onto IF at the present time. He said not to worry, he was already to top of things and had read all our posts calling him a 'cry-baby' and how there were posts asking who is a bigger 'cry-baby' ? him or Santu? He said to wait and watch and that Maulik will not be a cry-baby any more. I told him that I felt his role going negative from now on and he said there were only 2 choices ? either he keeps crying or he goes negative. And he can cry only upto a point. Then we proceeded to talk about how he has grown as an actor and he very humbly said that all the credit goes to Rasikaji and RR who guide him all the time. But the credit goes to Shardul also for following through on all the advice and tips that he gets from his seniors.
Shardul has said a special 'Thank-You' to all here at IF. He really welcomes and appreciates all the feedback he can get from all the posts. He also shares all that we write here with his co-stars.
Just 1 minute before the shooting begins Ronit Roy comes from his make-up room dressed in a black kurta and dhoti and accompanied by his security guard. The track they were shooting was in relation to the Hiten-Toral pre-wedding happenings.
They had just finished shooting the fashion show and all the cast were still in the fashion show outfits. The scene I watched being shot was the one where Kanji and Taru come, DM welcomes them and gives Kanji a dinner plate. Maulik bringing food for his mother and them sitting on the stairs where they feed each other Gulab Jamun. DM looks on. They first practice and then do mock shots where improvisations are done if and as needed before going for the final shoot. It was a treat to watch such fine actors perform together in one shot ? RR, Prashant, Rasikaji and Shardul.
In between the practice and mock shots Sameerbhai called RR out and introduced me to him. We shook hands, he asked my name and said hello. He graciously posed for a picture and then had to go back to the shoot.
When Prashant was not needed on the set he came and sat in the chair next to me. We continued our conversation and I told him how his fans missed him when he was not seen in an episode. I told him that we are loving the Kanji-Taru track where his taming Moti and that his fans are calling themselves 'Kanjikas' which made him laugh. (Kanjikas ? fuzzy, bumtrinket, chalia, dkmystery, Radhika, ? if you love his smile, you girls should hear him laugh. Also, he looks as good without his paghdi as he does with it).
Then I watched the scene being fine tuned before the director gave the call for the final shot. I asked him how many episodes they had banked? Apparently they do not have a bank of episodes and it done on a day to day basis and they are always cutting it very close.
I would like to make a special mention of the men and women who work 'behind the scenes' and whose names do not come in the credits and the viewers never to get to hear about them. These are the people who are working extremely hard, running around and co-ordinating everything, whether they are refreshing make-up and hair, moving sets, light boys, spot boys, etc. The 20-22 minutes that we see everyday look so glamourous on screen but so much hard work is also put in by other people besides the actors into bringing it to life, people who remain faceless and maybe also nameless to us. When I reached the sets it was lunchtime for them. They were eating their lunch sitting on the street side outside the building where there were mud puddles and stray dogs walking by. I felt they should have at least one room allocated to them where they can sit and eat in peace.
P.s. - If you guys have any questions do feel free to ask and I will try my best to answer them. I was there for a little over an hour and there was so much going on all around. I was trying to take it all in and it was a bit overwhelming.
