I am a master in India

Chapter 155 Knock, Swoosh
Schiff and his crew set off two days earlier than Ron and his group, but arrived in Varanasi a day later.

There's no other way; the railway, stretching over a thousand kilometers, has four different track widths, so they have to constantly change trains and transfer along the way.

After three or four days of this ordeal, even a fit man like Lanka, who works out every day, became slovenly and haggard.

In the early 90s, long-distance train travel in India was an extremely strenuous physical activity.

However, Lanka was in high spirits and proudly showed off his achievements in front of his family.

Just before he set off, his family advised him to give up the idea and return to Dubai to do fabric business in a down-to-earth manner.

Lanka told them he was going to be the male lead, but his family didn't believe him at all.

It wasn't until he produced the actor's contract and the train tickets to Uttar Pradesh provided by the production team that Lanka's brother, Hittish, hesitantly flew from Dubai to Mumbai.

After everything was verified, the older brother, Hittash, immediately informed his parents in Dubai.

They were excited, as if in a dream, and genuinely happy for Sri Lanka.

Lanka also felt that the two years of hardship were worthwhile, and he stopped racking his brains to find excuses for not getting roles.

For example, it's the rainy season right now, so filming is impossible. Ganesha is approaching, so everyone's on holiday, then it's Diwali, followed by the Anglican festival, so the entire production has stopped…

No longer worrying about the questions from relatives and friends back in Jaipur, such as, "Why aren't you famous yet?", "Haven't you made a name for yourself?", "Even so-and-so is famous, why isn't it your turn yet?"...

He can now openly tell everyone that he's about to make a name for himself.

Before leaving Mumbai, his brother Hittish gave him another 50,000 rupees. That's more than three times his film salary.

Lanka didn't expect to make money from this film; the important thing was that he became a Bollywood filmmaker.

He was full of ambition, but after joining the film crew, he became extremely humble, listening to the director's instructions with absolute modesty.

Lanka doesn't care about money. He once told director Schiff that he would come even if the crew didn't provide meals.

Because he was worried about gaining weight from the good food, Lanka brought his running shoes. He planned to exercise every day and eat coarse sugar and peanuts when he was hungry.

He treated his colleagues in the film crew with great enthusiasm, running around helping them carry their luggage.

After arriving in Varanasi, they even paid for lunchboxes for everyone out of their own pockets, as they hadn't had a proper meal in the past few days.

"Lanka, take the men to the hotel." Director Schiff waved his hand and handed the men over to him.

"Right away!" Lanka hurriedly shoveled down a couple of mouthfuls of rice and then got back to work.

“He’s an energetic young man.” Ron smiled as he watched all this.

"This kid is pretty good; he's taken over all the production management work." Schiff was also satisfied with Lanka's performance.

"Let them rest for a day, and go to the countryside tomorrow." Ron had just looked at the group, and they all looked exhausted.

Clearly, they had been through a lot on the journey. If Urmila had been with them, she would probably be in a similar condition, like she had diarrhea.

Schiff agreed to the arrangement, and the three or four-day train journey left him with a back that he still can't straighten up to this day.

Ron took him and another producer to a hotel, where the main creators arranged a meal for them, which could be considered as encouragement before filming began.

As for accommodation? Sorry, the entire crew of over forty people, including the director, stayed in guesthouses arranged by Ratan.

As I always say, if you have a limited budget, go for the cheapest option.

The guesthouse that Ratan found was run by his friend, and the accommodation cost only 60 rupees per person per day.

Not only did the room leak, but at night the mosquitoes almost flooded the entire guesthouse.

People complained constantly, yet they were used to it. That's how it is with low-budget film crews; there's nothing strange about it.

After enjoying a delicious dinner at a luxury hotel, Ron, the investor, Mary and the other producers, director Schiff, and screenwriter Ravi sat down together to discuss the upcoming filming.

"The filming location has been found, near the city center, where there is a temple to Endless Mother." This was also the location that Ratan helped Ron find.

“I need to take the photographer to see it,” Director Schiff said noncommittally.

Once he gets into character, he becomes less approachable. As a director, he needs to be responsible for his shots.

Whether a location is suitable or not depends on the camera angle; other people's opinions can only be used as a reference.

Ron appreciated his attitude; after all, he could only make money if the movie was well-made.

“Mary and I will go with you tomorrow.”

"I want to go too," Lena quietly raised her hand.

“You take care of Urmila at the hotel.” Ron pressed her back down.

“She has her own assistant…” Lena muttered to herself, but did not insist.

Ron gave her an approving look; that's a good girl.

Lena's skills are so good that several Indian men couldn't get close to her. Urmila is currently in a weak state, so she must be protected.

“Should we let the male and female leads familiarize themselves with the script first? While we’re filming on location,” Mary asked.

"No need, I've already explained the plot to him." Director Schiff shook his head dismissively.

Strangely enough, the male lead, Lanka, hasn't even touched the script yet, and he doesn't plan to ask the director for it.

His close friend Raj approved of this approach, because even big stars shouldn't do this.

Asking a director for the script in Bollywood is a big no-no, unless you don't want to stay on set anymore.

Directors hate this kind of person the most. "Who do you think you are? What, you think what I told you doesn't count?"

Despite its seemingly open nature, Bollywood is actually quite hierarchical.

After finalizing tomorrow's itinerary, the group began checking the film crew's expenses.

A budget of three million rupees seems like a lot, but it's actually quite expensive.

Schiff's directorial salary was 30 rupees, and Urmila's was 20 rupees. The other supporting actors' salaries also totaled around 20 rupees, plus the producer, cinematographer, stylist, lighting technician, and crew laborers.
The expenses for these personnel alone account for one-third of the overall budget.

During filming, the expenses for food, clothing, daily necessities, locations, props, and equipment would be impossible to manage without at least 100 million rupees.

After a quick calculation, 300 million has been removed from the 200 million budget.

The remaining 100 million should be reserved for post-production costs, such as music, editing, special effects, and copying.

It can be said that every rupee carries a heavy responsibility, and they cannot afford to waste even the slightest bit of their resources.

To save money, they even chose the cheaper 16mm film for shooting.

Each roll of film is 400 feet long and can produce about 11 minutes of footage.

Bollywood films, even low-budget ones, are generally 2.5 to 3 hours long.

If the movie is too short, ticket buyers will feel like they're losing money.

So even if they cram in a few more meaningless song and dance numbers, the director will still make the runtime more than two and a half hours.

"In Praise of the Mother of Inaccessibility" is about the same length, and based on a 1:1 film ratio, it would require at least 14 rolls of film.

However, few production teams can achieve such a high ratio of finished film to finished film. Projects with sufficient budgets usually stock film at a ratio of 10:1 or 15:1.

Ron and his crew certainly couldn't afford such extravagance; a 2:1 ratio was the maximum. This meant that for each shot, the actors would have a maximum of two opportunities.

It's best to get it right in one take; too many takes will inevitably get you scolded.

Even with such frugality, about 28 rolls of film are still needed for shooting.

This stuff is entirely imported; there are currently no substitutes in India.

The price of film, which was originally $70 per roll, was raised to $100 after the high import tariffs were added.

28 reels of film, which is about 100,000 rupees. Tsk, that's equivalent to 6.25 Sri Lankan salaries.

During post-production copying, the 16mm footage is converted to 35mm film after shooting, which is a common practice for low-budget Bollywood films.

It can be said that the entire production team racked their brains to save costs.

Ron never considered increasing the budget; it was impossible and against the rules.

Businessmen are profit-driven; only by controlling their budgets can they make money.

The next morning, when Ron woke up from the rolling hills, director Schiff was already waiting downstairs.

He was accompanied by a producer and a photographer carrying a briefcase.

The three looked haggard, their arms, lips, and ears covered in large mosquito bites.

"Gentlemen, did you sleep well last night?" Ron asked, yawning, completely oblivious to these details.

"This is bad; some mosquitoes haven't had enough to eat," Schiff said irritably.

"I'll have someone send some mosquito repellent over," Ron chuckled.

Today he will personally lead the team. Ratan has returned to the countryside; he has a hemp business deal to do.

Without the van, the group had no choice but to travel by bus.

Fortunately, Ron had lived in Varanasi for a period of time before and was quite familiar with the city.

He spent his middle and high school years here, and it has been less than three years since he left.

Varanasi has a population of over one million, making it a truly large city.

Here you'll find wide, bustling, and commercially vibrant streets. At nine o'clock in the morning, it's rush hour, with cars and people thronging about, creating a constant roaring and clanging noise.

The aroma of fresh food wafted through the air, and the snacks, loaded with seasonings, aroused everyone's hunger.

Ron only bought some portable biscuits and milk tea before urging everyone to hurry to the bus terminal.

Despite being called the main station, it was actually just an uneven open space with no roof and no service station.

The drivers have to call out to passengers themselves. Each bus has Hindi writing on the front and sides, indicating the destination and departure point.

But Ron still went up to each of them and chatted with them, asking each driver where they were going.

"Don't the signs on the front of the bus indicate where it's going?" Mary couldn't help but ask.

“That’s right, but that’s not reliable.” Ron remained unmoved.

"What do you mean, the labeling is unreliable?"

“Of course,” Ron shrugged. “Some of those drivers are going to places nobody goes, those off-the-beaten-path little places. So they put up signs for more popular destinations.”

"You mean the place they're actually going to isn't what the sign says?"

“That’s right, it’s a North Indian specialty.” Ron said with a broad smile.

"Why?" Mary asked, puzzled.

“You know, that’s why people who want to go to popular places come to them. Then, the driver might be able to persuade them to go to less popular places instead. Business, Mary, purely business.”

“God!” Mary exclaimed. You never know what outrageous things India has in store for you.

Ron eventually found the bus to the difficult mother, and the group filed in and urged the driver to start the bus.

These two old Bedford buses, with their worn-out springs, swayed and rocked like tugboats in a storm.

The roof, sides, and floor of the car made various creaking and groaning noises, and each time the brakes were applied, a long and sharp screech was heard.

But they set off anyway. The sooner the production started, the sooner Ron could go and discuss the branch factory.

(End of this chapter)