I'm a Master in India

It was already dusk, and Ron and Mary were sitting at the outdoor tea lounge of the Trident Hotel Bandra, watching the sunset gradually sink into the sea.

The Trident is a frequent haunt for many Bollywood professionals, as well as a place where movie stars and gang leaders often come and go.

They observed others here, and were also observed.

"So you've decided to invest in your first movie?" Ron turned the ceramic cup in his hand, enjoying the leisurely time.

"Lena and I feel it's time." Mary's eyes held the determination and passion to enter the film industry.

"That's right, after a year, we're already familiar with Bollywood's rules," Lena chimed in.

"Alright, what kind of movie are you planning to make?" Ron asked.

"We haven't decided yet, but it will definitely be a low-budget film."

"Oh!" Ron raised an eyebrow, "Low-budget films include adult films and horror films, which kind are you referring to?"

"Which kind do you want it to be?" Mary's hand tightened subtly under the table.

"Hey, easy there, I still need my strength tonight," Ron pleaded.

"This bad guy is definitely thinking about those things," Lena said, eager to join in from the side.

After some playful banter, Mary gradually became serious.

"What do you think about horror films? Some cinemas in India show these kinds of films at midnight, maybe there's a market for them."

"Making back the capital shouldn't be a problem, but selling well is difficult," Ron nodded.

India also has a niche film market, and this segment of the audience has peculiar tastes and isn't picky.

Those crudely made films, whether adult films or horror films, basically make a steady profit.

"That's enough, our expectation is just not to lose money." Mary saw this as a test.

"What about the budget? How much are you planning to invest?" Ron asked.

"Three million rupees."

Mary and Lena had researched it, and this was enough to make a low-budget film in Bollywood.

Their shooting periods are short, usually finished in a month, and if it's an adult film, it doesn't even exceed a week.

Low-budget films also have low requirements for locations, not needing a dedicated studio, and can be shot on location directly.

For example, for adult films, renting a bungalow in the suburbs is sufficient.

Censorship doesn't even need to be considered, because you are inherently a restricted film, you can just go with the flow.

Ron trusted their judgment; the two of them had been working their way up in Bollywood for most of the time and were much more professional than he, an outsider.

"Are there any issues with funding?" he asked.

"All of Lena's and my savings combined are only 1 million rupees." Mary looked at him.

"Why are you staring at me?" Ron asked strangely.

"Don't you have any ideas?" Mary gave him a charming glance.

"No!" Ron shook his head.

"Really no?" Her hand gently stroked his under the table.

"I want to play Jenga!" Ron finally couldn't hold back.

"Okay," Mary readily agreed.

"You have to do it yourself!" Ron started to raise the stakes.

Mary nodded without speaking.

"This time it's your turn to eat the sausage, and Lena will boil the milk," Ron pushed his luck.

Slap, Mary hit him, and Lena burst out laughing.

"Alright, it's happily decided then!" Ron made the final decision.

2 million rupees was just a drop in the bucket for him, and this was also an attempt to invest in Bollywood.

There are only so many businesses that can make money in India, and the entertainment industry is one with a relatively low threshold.

Anyone can come in and get involved, and gang leaders are particularly keen on this.

"Oh yes, speaking of low-budget films, there is a unique type of film exclusive to India that is very close to the lives of the common people." A light bulb went off in Ron's head.

"What kind of film?" Mary and Lena were both very curious.

"Religious films!"

"Religion?" The two looked at each other, this was a path they had never considered.

"Rather than saying India is a country, it's better to say it's an aggregate of multiple religious groups forcefully squeezed together."

India has many religions, with six or seven having over a million followers.

And among them, the religion with the largest number of people, exceeding 85% of the population, is Hinduism.

"Films of this theme have a quite extensive audience in India, especially in North India, which is completely different from Mumbai."

"Are you saying films specifically made for Hindus?" Mary finally realized.

"Of course, hundreds of millions of potential viewers, isn't that a stronger base than horror films?"

"But we don't understand Indian religions," Lena added.

"Someone does," Ron shrugged optimistically.

In the Little Portugal area of Bandra, Ron visited Old Rall's house again with Mary.

Ajay was off duty today, so he was also at home.

Strangely, outside his front door, there were three or four plainclothes police officers on duty.

Ron recognized them at a glance because he had seen them at the police station last time.

The leader, a胖子, came over eagerly to greet him, his words full of flattery.

After a brief chat, Ron learned that these people were protecting Ajay's safety.

"What kind of trouble have you gotten into recently?" Ron asked after entering the house.

"It's still that case." Ajay frowned in annoyance.

Since taking over the bombing case, his pressure had increased day by day, because he had involved too many people, and now his safety was threatened.

That was once Mumbai's largest gang, and even now it was still in its prime.

Of course, they wouldn't sit idly by and watch their capable gang members being sent to prison one by one without doing anything.

The Shiva Sena pursued Old Shepherd relentlessly, and to appease Ajay, the police specially allocated manpower to serve as his bodyguards.

"He doesn't even have time to take the kids to the zoo now," Ajay's wife Ritu complained.

"I live in a zoo every day," Ajay replied.

"Don't be so serious, you know the situation in India best." Old Rall came out of the study, accompanied by Vikram Chandra.

The two seemed to have been discussing the script inside and came out to greet Ron when they heard his voice.

"You should be careful, there are rumors about you everywhere," Ron hinted to him, meaning it was news from the underworld.

Ajay nodded, and Old Rall also warmly invited Ron to sit down.

Thanks to Ron's commercials, his usury loan was almost paid off, and now he was even starting to think about preparing for his next movie.

"I guess you're here about the movie?" Old Rall looked at Mary beside Ron with a smile.

They had all heard about the foreign woman opening a talent agency in Bollywood.

"You guessed right," Ron said with a smile as he took the tea served by Ajay's wife, "We want to consult you about religious films."

"Religious films?" Old Rall and Vikram were both a little surprised.

"As you know, I'm also a shareholder in that agency." Ron shrugged.

Next, he explained Mary and Lena's desire to make a film.

Of course, he mainly emphasized his own willingness to invest in Bollywood.

When it comes to building relationships with industry insiders, Ron's face and his Brahmin identity were essential.

"Religious films are indeed a good choice." Old Rall fully agreed with this decision.

"The main types of low-budget films that are profitable are these three: adult, horror, and religious," Vikram added.

"Why don't you just combine them into one!" Old Rall explained vividly, "It should have horror, adult, and tantric elements, Indian men like this kind of movie."

Old Rall was a director with artistic cultivation, but when it came to the ins and outs of adult films, he was completely at ease, not shying away from his family being present.

Ron also acted like a curious child, nodding constantly as he listened, almost taking notes.

"Director Rall, do you have any recommendations for people?" Ron asked.

Relying on his own memory was useless; he needed to find professionals, which was the purpose of his visit today.

"Of course, Shiv Kumar is very suitable, he is very enthusiastic about religion lately." Old Rall found some paper and quickly wrote down the contact information.

"Also, we haven't found a suitable male lead," Mary quickly added.

Her agency was just starting, and the actors under her were all minor characters who couldn't carry a film.

"Wait for me a moment." He simply got up and walked into the study, and soon came out with a thick photo album.

"This is what I usually use to select supporting actors, you can take it for reference."

Mary felt like she had found a treasure and eagerly started flipping through it on the spot.

This was not only very useful for the film but also crucial for her agency.

The photos in the album covered all kinds of people who had appeared on screen, young and old, men and women, nothing was excluded.

There were extremely handsome young men, and also ugly and dishevelled rogues.

There were reserved and conservative women, and also vulgar and coquettish streetwalkers.

Ignoring the engrossed Mary, Ron turned his head to look at Vikram again.

"What's wrong?" he asked subconsciously.

"The script." Ron tilted his head.

Vikram smiled wryly, "I can't write this kind of script, but I can introduce a few people to you."

"No problem." Ron nodded contentedly.

See, isn't that everything covered?

When doing business in India, you have to be good at using your connections.

Old Rall was also amused by their straightforward approach to film preparation, realizing they hadn't prepared anything at all.

"It's best not to shoot the movie in Mumbai," he suggested.

"Why?" Ron and Mary both looked up.

"Mumbai's film censorship is the strictest in India, there's no place stricter.

If you want your movie to be released smoothly, it's best to register it in another state, the more remote the better."

Old Rall deeply resented the people on the Film Censor Board, he had been severely mistreated by them many times.

The people there said one thing and did another; they would praise him to his face, "Good work, Mr. Rall."

But then they would turn around and rate it as restricted, which meant viewers had to be over eighteen, significantly hurting the box office.

For Indians, watching movies was originally a family activity with everyone from old to young going together.

Since Ron and their religious film were planning to go the low-budget route, they could actually not care about the rating.

But if it was rated restricted in Mumbai, it might receive the same treatment in other states.

At this point, they could take a roundabout route, for example, first registering and reviewing it in another state, and then getting it rated in Mumbai after it had been released for a while.

This approach could minimize the impact on the box office, although this is only suitable for low-budget films, not for the promotion of blockbusters.

Furthermore, if it was rated restricted in Mumbai, they wouldn't be able to use many resources, and the number of actors, locations, and cinemas for screening would be limited.

With Old Rall's reminder, Ron already had a vague idea in his mind.

"Perhaps I know where to shoot this movie," Ron thought, "Isn't this a coincidence?"