I am a master in India

Chapter 348 Harem Master
Ron took Urmila to visit Chopra's villa in the Little Portugal district of Bandera, a gathering place for Catholics.

Urmila loved that carefree atmosphere. Before she entered the entertainment industry, the only Catholic she knew was her school teacher.

At that time, her entire understanding of Catholicism came from Indian movies: Catholic women wore short skirts and men loved to drink alcohol.

She liked them very much because of this, and as she grew up and entered Bollywood, she found herself more comfortable with Catholics.

Unlike the formality of being with Gujarati friends, and unlike the Catholic way of hospitality, meals at a Gujarati's home consist of elaborately prepared vegetarian dishes, but no appetizers or drinks.

They were all devout Hindus, ascetics, vegetarians, and abstainers from alcohol.

Urmira used to live in southern Mumbai, but has now moved to Bandra.

Just a few years ago this place was the outskirts of the city, but now it has become the entertainment center of Mumbai.

Her new apartment in Bandera, which we'll call "home," is the former residence of a famous movie star.

She had several representative works during the parallel film movement in the 1980s, but unfortunately, she passed away.

Her sister agreed to rent the house to Urmira, and the entire negotiation process was as long as the Indian independence movement.

Urmila had witnessed her father and the jeweler shake hands and sign a contract for an apartment, and the length and detail of the Bandera apartment contract was unlike anything she had ever seen in her life.

With the help of the intermediary, both parties were wary and suspicious of each other from the very beginning.

The landlord listed all the terms and conditions, fearing that she would take everything from the room—the curtain rods, the various light fixtures, even the toilet paper holders—after the lease expired. Like military experts preparing to sign the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, they scrutinized every word and sentence of the contract meticulously.

Even after the contract was signed, the landlord, with a stern face, neither shook her hand nor wished her a pleasant stay in her new home.

The rental law has turned Mumbai into a city devoid of trust. For a three-story apartment building without an elevator, just a ten-minute drive from the heart of Bollywood, she had to endure the landlord's constant harassment and cold treatment.

When Ron found out, he laughed and called her a fool. A Bollywood star like her, having to be subservient to others?
The next day, the movie star's sister presented Urmila with property deeds and other documents.

Forget the rental terms; the whole building belongs to her now.

Moreover, the best interior design team in Mumbai even took a tour of the apartment.

Then three different decorating plans were presented to Urmila for her to choose from.

In Mumbai, the city of money, wealth can make you do whatever you want.

Regardless, it was indeed a much nicer place to live, and Urmira was very pleased.

The room has floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking pleasant palm trees, beaches, and the sea, and the light is always pleasant no matter how it changes.

After the renovation was completed and the elevator was installed, Ron stayed here for a few more days.

Urmila let him do whatever he wanted; they arranged the sofa in the living room, the kitchen, and the balcony in dozens of different ways.

Ron loves the balcony the most. In the morning, when the sun isn't too hot, he can enjoy the beautiful sea view while feeling the sea breeze.

It was a refreshing and invigorating feeling that emanated from the inside out and from top to bottom.

Ron likes to tease Urmira occasionally, and the gentle and weak girl sometimes even cries.

Just like on the talent show stage, she was too scared to watch performances that were too intense; she was pitifully timid.

However, Ron ultimately cared for her, and she had no shortage of resources in Bollywood, and could freely choose any program on SunTV.

The popularity brought by the talent show has secured her a place among Bollywood's top actresses.

Her income was actually quite high, and her family was well-off. She just wanted to escape her parents' supervision and have her own place in Bandera.

She has a timid personality and used to live with her parents. Except when she's away filming, she always goes home no matter how late it is and never stays out overnight.

Unfortunately, Ron has been obsessed with the fair-skinned Urmira lately, so Urmira had no choice but to make an excuse and secretly move to Bandera.

"Ron, what movie is Director Chopra making that needs your help?" She snuggled close to him.

"It's probably some sensitive topic; we'll find out once we go in and ask."

Ron led her into Chopra's villa, where servants were already waiting at the door.

Chopra looked the same as always, with thinning hair, and he wasn't wearing his signature baseball cap at home.

When Ron entered, the director was lying on the floor groaning, with three women squatting there massaging different parts of his body.

This includes his wife, Ron's old friend Anu, who is the chief reporter for India Today.

Ron was taken aback by the scene; the other two ladies didn't look like servants either.

“My back has been hurting lately,” Chopra said with difficulty as he got up.

“You need to rest.” Ron guessed it might be a problem with your lumbar disc or something similar.

The three ladies chattered as they entered the kitchen, but after working for a long time, they couldn't even serve up a decent dessert.

"The chef took the day off today," Anu explained sheepishly.

“None of you are qualified Indian women; none of you know how to make an omelet,” Chopra complained.

“You chose all of these concubines yourself,” Anu stabbed him.

The other two women also chimed in, listing all of Chopra's faults and embarrassing deeds.

"Okay, okay, it's my fault," Chopra pleaded. It was only then that Ron realized that the three ladies in the room were Chopra's wives.

But don't get me wrong, the other two are exes, and Anu is his current wife.

Ron was greatly surprised. If the timing hadn't been wrong, he would have asked Chopra how he did it.

Two exes and one current girlfriend—three women who not only get along well but also give him massages?
Wow, even Ron doesn't have that kind of skill now.

According to Chopra, both of his ex-wives frequently visited his residence, and they did not lose contact.

When he married Anu, he took her to his first mother-in-law's house. The old lady touched Anu's forehead with a tirak and blessed her, saying, "From now on, you are our family's daughter."

Chopra did not believe that one should stop loving their ex-wife after a divorce, and more importantly, he did not believe that their ex-wife should stop loving them after a divorce.

Wow, Ron decided to ask him for advice in private.

This guy is a master; Ron urgently needs to solve this problem.

Yes, he also wanted to lie on the ground with eight different women massaging different parts of his body.

After chatting for a while, the two got down to today's main topic.

“Take a look at this.” Chopra handed over a script.

"A war drama?" Ron asked curiously, as this subject matter was quite rare.

"The point is not the war itself, but where it takes place."

“Oh,” Ron glanced again, “Kershinmir?”

"Yes, the background is the conflict in the Ksemmir region."

“This topic is quite sensitive.” Ron roughly understood what he meant.

“You know, Ron. I grew up in Punjab, and even my old house was burned down by militants.”

Chopra was obsessed with that place; he was eager to try subjects that others dared not film.

The film begins with an officer named Khan, whose son is seriously injured, but no doctor dares to treat him.

Because the armed group threatened to kill the entire family of any doctor who dared to treat the family members of soldiers.

The Khan could only watch helplessly as his son died. He was heartbroken and believed that the terrorist was responsible for his son's death, so he vowed to take revenge.

Because the story takes place in the Ksemmir region, the background is very complex and involves various considerations of human nature.

It's likely that even militants have their own hidden stories; they too face various forms of helplessness and can only drift along under the coercion of fate.

Tsk tsk, this is unacceptable! The Indian military would definitely not be happy to see this kind of movie.

"Is the script already finalized?" he asked.

“No, not yet, I’m hesitant.” With that, Chopra simply picked up the phone and called the screenwriter.

Soon, a young screenwriter from Gujarat and Vikram, a writer whom Ron knew, arrived at Chopra's house.

They discussed the plot development on the spot, trying their best to explain the complete structure of the story to Ron.

Indian film scripts are more often told than written.

The director had to express his views with unparalleled passion, and although Chopra spoke Punjabi with great enthusiasm, they communicated about the script and lines entirely in English.

India's film industry is dominated by the middle class, putting newcomers who are not fluent in English at a significant disadvantage, and they must catch up as soon as possible.

Ron had worked on Indian films, and all the director's instructions, whether it was explaining the plot, directing the actors, or giving orders to the production crew, were given in English.

Recently, he also invited Shah Rukh Khan and Amit Bachchan to lunch because of his appearance on "Got Talent," where they discussed their favorite American movies and TV shows.

I also heard them complain that ALL India TV forced them to speak Hindi in their interviews, even though they didn't know the Hindi equivalents of certain English words.

Vinod's study is filled with English scripts by foreign directors, and he says that "Kashmir Mission" is the last Indian film he will direct.

If the box office performs well, he wants to use the profits to make a Hollywood film.

He was gambling with his career; apart from "When the Clouds Rise," the other films he made flopped.

Chopra's film company has already lost 100 million rupees, and if "Kashmir Mission" also fails miserably, he will be unable to establish himself in the film industry.

"If the movie doesn't make money, I'll have to mortgage my house," he said helplessly, spreading his hands.

"Why do you have to make movies of this kind?" Ron thought he was just bored.

As for talk of bankruptcy, just take it with a grain of salt. One of his wife Anu's brothers is a major shareholder in a Maldives resort; he doesn't need that kind of money.

For renowned directors like Chopra, audiences already have a general understanding of the story before entering the theater.

The media will continue to follow up on such controversial films, which can easily touch on sensitive issues.

"I think this is a good story, with both depth and commercial value."

Moreover, it concerns his hometown, so Chopra can hardly resist.

(End of this chapter)