Day 2 in Mumbai

6/8/09


Today was a good day. We met a director who directed a new film called Pankh. The film is very controversial and the filmmaker is having trouble with the censorship. It’s about a boy who has gender identity issues after he spent his childhood as a girl actress. He is very conflicted about his identity. The cross dressing has roots in Indian theatre and the first film was with a cross dresser. He was a very funny guy and I really enjoyed the interview. The studio we visited was white feather productions.

Also, we had our orientation today. Sandhya was nice and laid out the general rules of the program. Then Hansal Mehta the program director spoke. He was very eloquent in describing the history of Bollywood films and what to expect on the program. He said even if you are uneducated you can do film. He also said screenwriting is very simple and that you can’t learn it from a book. He talked about the chaos in making a film and the passion that goes into filmmaking. We are going to go on live sets and meet some actors. I’m really excited to make my own film, but am worried about the inspiration for the film. I need to work on generating questions and ideas.

Also, I still feel totally lost because every street corner looks the same. We had to take the rickshaws which aren’t as scary as I imagined them to be. There actually kind of fun, but a little bit nerve racking. The girls on the trip are very nice and we are getting along great so far.

The smell was really rank on the way to the mall as we passed the slums. It’s a very different way of life. We went to the mall on our own for dinner. I was worried that the rickshaw wouldn’t start, but it was fine. The accommodations are less than stellar, but they’re not bad.