Bollywood!

Mumbia taxi
Meet our friend Shalom from Miami that we met in India

Mumbai is a big bustling major city. It was our first stop in India. We had heard in our travel through South America that it was quite common to be approached in Mumbai to act and be extras in a Bollywood production. Laura and I both thought it would be hilarious to try and be in Bollywood, so on the first night in Mumbai when we were approached by a casting scout to be in a Bollywood Soap Opera we were pleasantly surprised. We couldn’t believe how easy it was.

The group on the beach in Mumbia

We stayed an extra day to have the experience of Bollywood. Our friend, Shalom, who we knew from Miami, was not as excited as us but still he found the idea of Bollywood a funny experience he didn’t want to miss out on. On the walk to the rendezvous spot we discussed what we would do if we were the only people that showed up. We decided that if there were not a sufficient number of extras there we would not get on the bus. When we arrived there was one other couple and we were a little unsure what to do, but sure enough as it got closer to time there were about 30 westerners.

The buffet line

It took the bus an hour to show up and then another hour on the bus to get to the set location. When we arrived we all went to the buffet they had laid out for our breakfast. It was a sorry display of soggy sandwiches and badly prepared Indian fair. I tried to eat some of it but soon lost my appetite due to all the flies crawling all over it and getting stuck in the sauces. I just couldn’t do it. At least they had good chai and I had a few cups to get something in my stomach.

Then we were shuffled over to what would be our dressing rooms and two ladies came over and started whispering while they looked us over. I had a feeling they were the ones in charge of casting and were selecting people for certain roles. I was laughing and joking with Shalom and Laura that they were going to go straight for the blonde girls first. I was laughing even harder when they in fact went straight to the blondes and said first we need you and you and you and you (as they were pointing to the blondes) and then they looked straight at me and said and you. I quickly stopped laughing. I knew no good could come from being picked first. They led us off to wardrobe and on our way I overheard the women saying, “These will be Catherine’s best friends.” Oh shit! I think we are the lead character’s best friends! That can’t be good! They gave us all ridiculous dresses. Mine was a yellow and white plaid thing that made me look like I just walked off the prairie. Then came the shoes. It was a free for all. Just find something that will get over your feet. I got a pair of off white flowery pumps that were at least a size too small and killed my feet. Then off to hair and makeup. It was funny watching them survey my short curly frizzy mess of a hairdo and debating what they would do with it. Their solution was to empty a tube of gel on my head and scrunch and tease my hair to death. It was a disaster. I don’t think I have ever had that much product in my hair at once. That was a year’s supply for me. The makeup was pretty descent. However the makeup artist used the same brush for everyone and they looked like they hadn’t been cleaned in a while. I was happy when he was done and was hopping I wouldn’t contract some strange eye infection. All part of the experience right?

Laura's Hottness

The rest of the extras came to wardrobe next and Laura and Shalom got their ridiculous getups. Laura looked hot in her red satin mini skirt and a bright yellow sweater and matching yellow ribbon tied in a huge bow on her head and sexy giant Pegasus earrings. Oh my God! I laugh so hard just thinking about it. Not to mention the fact that she had an allergic reaction to something and had hives all over her face and body. She was miserable the entire time. Shalom looked pretty good actually. They gave him a tight fitting pinstripe suit and slicked his hair back. He got the best of the outfit and the best part.

One of the blondes in my group, Jess from Holland, was really cool and we hit it off right away. We wandered the set together looking for the rest of the extras because we had gotten separated from the rest of the group. We found them eating lunch so we joined in. The food was drastically better this time and we got to eat inside so there were no flies. While we were eating the two main ladies came in and told the four main girls including Jess and I that we would have lines. Jess and I couldn’t stop laughing. They gave us the scripts and told us our lines. Mine were gloriously cheesy. I was to say, “Here comes your knight in shining armor!” and “I think Romeo is going to die for his Juliet.” I couldn’t believe I had to say those lines.

We started the 6 hour grueling shooting session. At first it was fun and exciting but soon it became torture. We had to stand in place in these horrible shoes without breaks for 6 hours straight. I couldn’t feel my feet after the first two hours. After every take Jess and I would take our shoes off and sigh in relief. We made the best of it and Jess and I joked and laughed the whole time. We both tried to deliver our lines as ridiculously as possible. The show was about an Indian guy in a school in the UK that was in love with a western girl and as this girl’s friends we were very disapproving of this relationship. The Indian guy was fighting in a boxing match against TJ, a westerner. Of course the entire crowd was rooting for TJ and my main role along with all the other extras was to stand there and cheer TJ over and over again. It was too funny. Shalom’s part was to be a judge of the boxing event so he was able to sit at his table and drink chai the whole day. He got lucky.

The shooting was finally over and we got out of our horrible clothes and back on the bus for a 2 ½ hour bus ride back home. We got our 500 rupees or $11 US dollars for a 12 hour day. I don’t think I will ever do it again but it was a fun experience.

Christina