India: WEEK ONE PART 1

So I got a little busy. The first week of work was an experience to say the least. We traveled to the set in an area of Mumbai called "Film City." It's sort of the Indian version of the Warner Bros Studio Lot where all your favorite Bollywood films are shot. Wait til you see the pictures. The studio lot looks like a city of abandoned warehouses that are home to locals and the packs of dogs that live off the scraps of Bollywood film crews. These dusty old caves are where I was to spend most of the next two months in India.

Week one consisted of 30-45 min. journeys to and from Film City, lots of picture taking and hanging in a harness for most of my days. Along with learning names, our job was to prepare and rehearse for the shooting days ahead. The local stunt team was present and had become a group of guys that I truly enjoyed for the most part. I spent most of my time rehearsing wire moves that either myself or the actor would have to perform "on the day" for the cameras. The first day of work we were all a bit apprehensive about the catered lunch so we did the American thing and ordered subway. In retrospect, that was probably less safe than the catered food seeing how we had no idea what that subway even looked like. So the next two days we indulged in the spicy bliss of KFC crispy chicken buckets and corn on the cob. It was good but not the healthiest of cuisine which is why by the end of the week we were dining with the local Indians on who knows what and rice with a side of Naan(bread). It was actually pretty delicious in comparison to the subway and fried chicken. By then end of the week I'd learned a few things including the name of my favorite driver Jabbar Khan. He is a pleasant but quiet man who tries to help answer my every question about Mumbai, even though he speaks very little english. He helped me remember why I love this job. I was getting to freerun and flip around on wires, learn from some of the best stuntmen and riggers in the business, and explore the Indian culture along side them...