I'm a Master in India

The film crew returned to Mumbai, and Ron specially took some time to visit the set.

More than half a month had passed since they parted ways in Uttar Pradesh, and he was quite fond of the toned Urmila.

"Ron!"

As expected, as soon as she entered the studio, Urmila happily called out.

She threw down the script in her hand and quickly rushed to Ron's side.

She wanted to throw herself into his arms but was wary of the people on the crew.

In the isolated countryside of Uttar Pradesh where information was scarce, she was quite bold.

But in Mumbai, a place where gossip news flies everywhere, Urmila also became cautious.

Ron didn't care about any of that; he hugged the young girl and showed affection, then whispered a few words into her ear.

Only after Urmila's face turned red and her eyes became watery did he pat her slender waist, signaling her to get back to work.

Ron completely ignored the eyes in the studio that were sparkling with gossip.

What's the big deal? As the investor, isn't it expected to sleep with the female lead?

The only person who might mind was perhaps Manisha, who was also in Bollywood.

But she was currently filming in Chennai and had no time to worry about things here.

Through Ron's connections, she had also taken on two roles this year and was expected to be busy until the end of the year.

"Men are indeed creatures who crave novelty!" Leena said with an unreserved sarcastic tone.

"My dear, I haven't forgotten about you guys, just try not to shout 'too hot' tonight."

"Bah!" Leena cursed with a laugh.

She could testify, it was indeed a bit hot.

"Looks like someone is full of confidence again after not seeing each other for a few days?" Mary walked over.

"Anyway, the one who begs for mercy every time isn't me," Ron hugged her, "How was it? Was it smooth in Uttarakhand?"

"Came back alive and well."

"Was it that exaggerated?"

"You can't imagine the local people's enthusiasm for movies; the filming site was surrounded by farmers watching the show every time.

Even those ascetics kept pestering us."

"Ascetics?" Ron was a bit surprised.

"That's right, no matter where the crew went, there were always dozens of ascetics wandering nearby, they were all drug addicts."

Mary explained that those ascetics who had finished their morning prayers would gather to watch the filming of the mythological story, blocking the passages, and they also demanded to appear in the movie.

Given that many of them were dangerous individuals, the crew didn't dare to refuse.

"Director Shiv said that local thugs from Bihar or Uttar Pradesh, as long as they have a criminal record locally, will run to Uttarakhand, shave their heads, and impersonate monks.

This way they can escape police capture and legal accountability."

"I remember the crew arranged for a few security personnel?" This was something Ron had personally handled, choosing reliable people from his hometown.

"It's not enough, there are too many of them.

Director Shiv said it's best not to have conflicts with the locals; we should film quickly and leave as soon as we finish."

"It seems that for this kind of thing, it's best to have a local association take care of it in the future."

Cities are fine, but in rural areas, you really can't be sure sometimes.

Ron wanted to chat with Shiv, but he was busy filming at the moment.

This scene is about the male lead mistakenly believing his wife is having an affair with his cousin, so he drowns his sorrows in alcohol.

In this scene, the 1970s whiskey bottle used as a prop was filled with cola, which was done to save money.

"Praise to Durga" had a limited budget, so the cola also had to be diluted with water; one bottle of cola could fill six whiskey bottles.

Lanka sat on the sofa, gulping down the highly diluted cola, pretending to be drunk.

After emptying the liquid, to express the character's inner distress, he threw the glass bottle forward, and the camera immediately followed.

You might think the bottle would shatter on the ground, but that wasn't the case.

Two assistants were standing behind the camera, having already spread out a sheet to catch the bottle so it could be used again next time.

Wow, Ron had to give a thumbs up to the producer.

These little money-saving tricks were the essence of cost control for the crew.

This scene wasn't over yet; the male lead was now in a disco, so smoke was needed to create a dance floor effect.

But using dry ice or powder to create smoke was too expensive, so the crew creatively started burning cow dung.

The smoke stung Lanka's eyes, and he kept tearing up.

The producer quietly cheered on the side, thinking this way they even saved the money for eye drops.

Damn, Ron realized this producer, Agarwal, was truly a talent.

It's just this smoke...

"Cough, cough..." Ron also couldn't stand the pungent smell of cow dung; it was overwhelming.

Mary and Urmila had already hidden outside long ago, and finally, Ron also became a deserter.

He had truly gained some insight; filming in Bollywood was like having a cheat code.

It took a good half an hour for this scene to be finished.

Throughout the entire process, Lanka, including Director Shiv and the crew, stayed on site and didn't leave.

"The movie can wrap up today." During the break, Director Shiv walked over.

"What about post-production? Can we make it for next month's release?" Ron asked.

"No problem, I had people send back the film reels that were shot earlier.

We're editing as we shoot, it'll be quick."

Director Shiv was experienced; low-budget films didn't require such detailed precision, so post-production was basically done simultaneously.

Additionally, the music for the film was almost complete.

There were a total of five songs, and the singers were quite well-known.

Lanka contributed one song, and he and Urmila sang a duet.

These songs would be interspersed throughout the film, meaning "Praise to Durga" would have five song and dance sequences.

Director Shiv considered this the trump card of the film; rural people in India loved watching song and dance segments that didn't require much thought.

"Are there any other issues with the film production now?" Ron asked with concern.

"All that's left is promotion, which is crucial for our film's success," Shiv replied.

"What are your thoughts?" Ron was participating in film production for the first time, and he preferred to listen to the advice of professionals.

"We are a religious film, so rural areas are key.

My idea is to hire rickshaw pullers with loudspeakers to ride around the villages of North India, broadcasting the message that a new annual entertainment masterpiece is about to be released!"

"Wow! That's a great idea." Ron praised.

See, this is what you call professionalism.

Rural areas don't have electricity and can't afford radios.

This kind of human-powered promotion with loudspeakers is the most effective.

"But there's one problem now, our funds are not enough," Shiv tilted his head.

Ron paused, okay.

The 3 million rupee budget ultimately wasn't maintained.

"How much more is needed?" he asked.

"If it's just for the rural areas, two lakh is about right.

Cities..."

"No need to consider South India; religious films don't have a market here, just put some ads in a few magazines."

Ron didn't expect much box office revenue from South India from the start; they were targeting the rural areas of Central and North India.

Especially the latter, where religious fervor is prevalent.

For the so-called urban promotion, Ron planned to ask Raj for help.

It just so happened that he was a columnist for "Screen" film magazine; writing a few articles and putting out some promotional photos would suffice.

This way, by limiting the distribution and promotion scope to rural areas, 200,000 rupees was just a drop in the bucket.

"I've also contacted a few distributors, Mr. Sur, are you interested in meeting them?"

"Yes, I happen to be dealing with the film censorship issues in Uttar Pradesh recently."

"What was the result?" Shiv showed a look of anticipation.

"A piece of great news," Ron smiled.

"What great news?" Mary and the others gathered around.

"As far as I know, several high-ranking government officials in Uttar Pradesh are devout believers in Durga."

"So the film censorship is not an issue?" Shiv was very excited.

As long as it passed censorship, the film could be officially screened in local cinemas.

That meant they could get a share of the box office revenue instead of selling the distribution rights outright.

"Not only is censorship not a problem, but Uttar Pradesh has also waived our entertainment tax," Ron smiled.

"Wow!" Now everyone became very excited.

The Indian government's entertainment tax is quite steep; it directly takes a percentage from the movie ticket.

For example, in Mumbai, the entertainment tax is as high as 25%.

For every movie ticket sold, a quarter of the ticket price goes to the government as tax.

Uttar Pradesh is even more outrageous; its entertainment tax directly takes one-third.

Through his second uncle Aditya's connections, Ron easily handled the film censorship board in Uttar Pradesh.

Having someone from back home makes things convenient.

The Sur family in Uttar Pradesh's Brahmin community might not be at the very top, but they had considerable influence.

Especially Ron's Sur Electronics, after being heavily promoted by his family, its reputation in Uttar Pradesh grew even stronger.

All India Radio advertisements were broadcast daily, and even the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh had heard of it.

Entertainment tax and the like were not worth mentioning.

With one-third less of the box office share taken, it meant Ron and his film were guaranteed to make a profit.

This was also why he agreed to increase the budget by 200,000 rupees; it was all for greater profits.

"I need to find a few more distributors; we are definitely going to make money this time," Shiv waved his hands and turned to look through his phone book.

As the director, besides the initial contracted fee of 300,000 rupees, they also had additional clauses.

If the film was a big hit, Ron, as the investor and producer, would also give him a substantial bonus.

This was a customary rule in Bollywood; including the main actors, they all had similar incentive conditions.

Of course, if the film lost money, let alone a bonus, whether the contracted fee would even be paid was questionable.

Careless, very careless.

Bollywood was also treating people like cattle and horses; Lanka, as the male lead, even paid several tens of thousands of rupees out of his own pocket.

Also, the songs he sang, if the film received good feedback, music cassettes would definitely be released.

Maybe they would be noticed by a record company, and the copyright could even be sold.

However, this had nothing to do with Lanka; he wouldn't get a single penny.

All the money would go into Ron's pocket; after all, he was the investor.

Well, as the investor, he was planning to give Urmila some acting lessons.

However, her mother called in the middle, which prevented Ron from fully enjoying himself.

Her mother asked why her daughter was out of breath, and Urmila could only lie and say she was eating spicy baby potatoes.

She ate for half an hour like this, which was quite difficult.

After the satisfied Ron left, he planned to go to the slum; Ashish was introducing someone to him.