All the films experience that I had consisted of my participation in the Doordarshan and All India Radio English lessons for school primary classes, with the manuscripts provided by the British Council. I had no idea that Sir Richard planned to record podium gentry's reactrion while shooting crowd scenes. I had received no such specific instrucations to this effect.
In the middle of all this bustle, Ben Kingsley, Sir Richard's Gandhi, coolly took out a wad from behind his lower lip - it had been put there to give the lip a protuding look - and told me of his dieting and sunbathing to acquire a Gandhian personality. "Only fruit and boiled eggs for lunch," he lamented. If nothing else, the vegetarian food and enforced fasts did certainly seemed to have been of great help to make him look as amiable as the real Gandhi.
Incidentally, all through the shooting of Gandhi Nehru had wads inserted behind his cheeks and Patel a plate beneath his lower teeth.
"Roshan !" shouted Sir Richard at his Nehru suddenly. "What're you doing ?"
"I'm trying to push out sleep from my eyes," Roshan said sheepishly, making a brave effort to lift his heavy eyelids. Perhaps, a late night bash at the five star Ashoka Hotel where the unit was accommodated by the Government of India ?
"We haven't even started shooting," Sir Richard said with sham anger.
Thus were passed my two days' stint of shooting with Sir Richard, in fun and frolic. The two days in my mind are etched as two wonderful eternities that I spent with Sir Richard.
On the way to payment counter and departure launge - we were given free conveyance both ways, from and to Ashoka Hotel - a riotous situation started to develop. The Indian extras came to know that their European counterparts were being paid Rs 300 a day each compared to Rs 75 for each of them. One noticed Sir Richard's security personnel hovering in the background, with wood-blocks in their hands. However, the militant extras listened to the reasoning of their well-wishers and an ugly situation was averted.
In the intimate Press circle, my employment with Sir Richard spread like bush fire. Some wished to know my role; others my economic gain. The former I requested to watch the flick. To the latter, I repeated what I told Sir Richard while taking his leave : "I'll come running as a puppet on the string, if called. Pay or no pay !"
(To be Continued)
PS : To be fare to Sir Richard, he did, presumably, sent word through Alique and Saeed that I accompany the unit to Mumbai. But I had then a paralytic mother, who could neither be abandoned in Delhi, nor taken along to Mumbai for an uncertain career.
o0o
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