Iron Curtains for Glass Ticket Windows?

In late December last year, we went to Big Cinemas in Pondicherry to watch 'Dhoom 3'. I looked hard for the ticket window (the regular glass ticket window one normally sees at cinemas), but none was to be found except for a red iron curtain of a window where people had already queued up. It soon became apparent that these guys were successfully purchasing tickets from behind that iron curtain!

A closer look revealed that this was indeed the functional Ticket Window. There was just a circular opening wired in mesh from which patrons could communicate with the counter guy. Unbelievable! I should have known that security was the most obvious reason but still asked a few people around what this was all about. They seemed mildly amused at my ignorance and explained that the cinemas in Pondy can't afford glass ticket windows because fans smash them in a frenzy if the shows are sold out. In order to protect property as well as the ticket counter guys from the brunt of this cinematic rage, solid iron came to replace clear glass.

My friend Bagalavan Perier who worked on the sets of 'Life of Pi' with Ang Lee gave me useful insights into the collective consciousness of Tamil audiences and their passion for cinema. About the ticket window, he said 'Oh, this exists not just in Pondy but all over Tamil Nadu and most of the South Indian theaters except for those in malls. Just go watch a Tamil film especially one starring Rajni, Kamal, Vijay or Ajit. First day, first show -- you won't be able to hear the dialog as people scream throughout. Some times fans will tear apart the screen if the operator won't play the song they like again.'

He continued, 'Over here fans are crazy that's why chief ministers are always related with cinema. MGR was a Tamil hero, Jayalalitha (current chief minister) was a heroine. Karunanidhi was a script writer who holds the name for changing the trend of Tamil cinema. People have been requesting Rajnikant (actor) to enter politics since 1980. Just because of his support, Karunanidhi became the Chief Minister in 1996. When Kamal Haasan's controversial film 'Vishwaroopam' was banned in Tamil Nadu, we willingly went to the neighboring states of Kerala and Andhra Pradesh to watch the movie!'

Vishwaroopam Poster

What about women in southern cinema?

Shobana

I asked if Shobana, an acclaimed actress and danseuse who runs a Bharatnatyam school in Chennai would enter politics. Baglu replied, 'No, she won't because she is from Kerala. Kerala people are clever, they treat actors as actors unless he or she is worth their support. In Tamil Nadu it is different. You have male fans performing abhisegam (worship) to posters of film stars by squirting milk on them, or beer. In Pondicherry, they even smash the beer bottles after!'

Fans Pour Milk on a Kamal Hassan Poster

Do Tamil actresses enjoy this love too?

Apparently yes! Some fans constructed a temple for Kushboo and Namitha. On reading this article, this is what Namitha had to say about her temple, 'I am both thrilled and scared because I find a temple built in honour of a living person - especially me - a little difficult to come to terms with.'

Just before my jaw couldn't drop further, Bagalavan trailed off, 'In the South of India, not just the actors but even directors, music directors and cinematographers are worshiped. We have fan clubs for technicians too. Antony and Lenin in editing, Ilayaraja in music, Sandosh Sivan in cinematography, Rasul in audio editing ....'

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Thanks to Bagalavan.
Shobana's pic courtesy her official site.

Life After Pi - In Conversation With Bagalavan Perier

               

                 

The former French enclave of Pondicherry on India's south coast shot into the limelight internationally, following the runaway success of Tiger-Boy story, 'Life of Pi'. Directed by the Oscar-winning Ang Lee, and partly filmed in Pondy where the protagonist Pi grew up, the film took home four Academy Awards this year including Best Director (Ang Lee), Best Cinematographer (Claudio Miranda), Best Visual Effects and Best Original Score.

Meanwhile back home, as Pondicherry's tourism officials scramble about in an opportunistic bid to capitalize on the worldwide success of the film, our very own Pondicherrian Bagalavan Perier relives his experience working on the sets of the film.

Bagalavan Perier

It was late 2010, when the film's pre production team visited Pondicherry University to recruit students for the set. Perier sailed through the interviews, and soon found himself working with one of cinema's greatest living legends, Ang Lee, in the capacity of a production set assistant, translator and a background artist.

Here are excerpts of an interesting conversation with Perier.

For how many days did 'Life in Pi' play in Pondichery, and in which theatres?

I am disappointed to say that this film which has put our city on an international map, was screened for just a week in Pondicherry at Raja theatre. That too in a normal 2-D mode with many technical problems in sound, aspect ratio of the screening size, etc. They could not screen the 3D version because they didn’t have that facility. Moreover, the film wasn't even advertised properly here. Audiences who did come to Raja Theater were bored after the first 30 minutes when they realized that Pondy wasn't coming back again on screen. If the film was shown in 3D, their attention would have been retained until the end. The film was also a visual treat and not just a matter of Pondicherry being featured in it.

Pondy in general faces an issue whenever a 3D movie is released. We used to have some really good theatres earlier however they were converted into hotels and marriage halls because of DVD piracy issues and lack of co-operation from the government.

             

 Memories of the teenage Pi (Suraj Sharma) on the sets.

Yes, he was here in Pondy to shoot certain scenes such as the dance class, the market scene, the final goodbye with his sweetheart Anandi on the pier and a few others. Apart from his scenes, he would sometimes visit the set and closely watch the shoot. At times, he would go up and speak to the camera man, editor and other technicians. I witnessed first-hand on the sets, the chemistry between Suraj and Ang Lee which was unbelievable. This is one of the biggest reasons why the film turned out so beautifully.

Ang Lee explaining the scene to Suraj at Kezhoor Set

                                            Photo - Peter Sorel

And Tabu (Pi's mother) and Irfaan Khan (adult Pi)?

Tabu would finish her shot and then go into her caravan. It was quite rare to see her on the sets if she wasn't shooting. However the day we were shooting inside the Pondicherry Botanical Gardens, was the same day the Padma Shri awards were announced. As luck would have it, on that day itself I was asked to call her on the set. When she emerged from her caravan, I congratulated her. She accepted my wishes with a smile I'll never forget no matter how hard I try. With regards to Irfaan Khan, though he did not have any scenes to shoots in Pondy, he was still present on the sets observing everything for a couple of days.

Pi's parents at the Pondicherry Botanical Gardens
Photo- Peter Sorel

In previous interviews, you mentioned Ang Lee being a humble perfectionist. Are these qualities difficult to find in the Indian film industry in general?

Obviously. It's very rare to see both qualities together in the Indian film industry. We have very good perfectionists, but they are not necessarily humble and kind. This is my opinion after personally witnessing some Indian film shoots. Usually people try to rationalize saying that since the director is the captain of the ship he is naturally tensed at all times. Ang Lee was in fact cool at all times.

Another interesting point is that most directors in India try to take over other areas of the filmmaking process such as screenplay, story, script, sometimes even music and lyrics. This is why when directors write for their films, you'll find similarities across all their films. This happens because they follow a particular ideology that spills over into all aspects of their work. It is quite rare to find a director who will direct another persons story.

In contrast, in Hollywood, each department is micro managed by its own teams. The director will only direct the film; in some cases he could co-write it. But very often, the story, script and even the screenplay will be written by separate entities with no interference from the director who will do just what he is supposed to do - Direct! Perhaps this explains why some directors are cool on the sets.

As for humility, this has to come by birth.

Ang Lee during the shoot at Calve College School - Mission Street

     

Have you watched any of Ang Lee's films?

I watched Brokeback Mountain, Hulk & Crouching Tiger  Hidden Dragon. One needs guts to make films like Brokeback Mountain (2005), because in those days when the film was released, even the west had not completely accepted gay relationships. However he portrayed the relationship between two men tastefully without a trace of crudeness or discomfort. About Hulk, the excellent screenplay made it an action-packed entertainer however in my opinion I think they could have worked more on the graphics of the character. I watched Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon only once, and I don't remember too much except for the flying fight scenes.

Bagalavan Perier & translator on the sets at Pondicherry Helipad

How long in total did you work on the Life of Pi? Punctuality issues?

I worked with them for nearly 40 days which includes 16 days of shoot in Pondicherry. They were strict about keeping time. Call sheets were distributed to each and every crew member at the end of the day regarding the next days shoot. Those sheets would mention the name of the person, at what time he would be picked up and what time he'd have to report to the set.

I was in charge of the background artists, and things were not always smooth. The background artists who are not professionals from the industry did not understand the importance of time on a film set where production costs soar as the clock ticks. I was supposed to be picked up early in the morning and then either reach the set or take a vehicle to various areas. But mostly the drivers would reach my home late. It was quite normal for the background artists to reach the sets after the actual reporting time.

Some locations in Pondy where the sequences were shot?

The school sequences were shot in Calve College Higher Secondary School, Government Girls French School (in front of Dumas Church) and Petit Seminaire Higher Secondary School on M.G Road. The scene where Pi speaks to the priest in the church was shot at Rosary Church, Muthialpet. Other locations include the Botanical Gardens, the Goubert Flower Market, Mullah Street, the PWD office (Rue Romain Rolland), Kezhoor Market, Tirukameshwarar Temple (Villianur), the pier, etc.

Wardrobe Base - Sets of Life of Pi (Pondicherry Helipad)
Photo - Bagalavan Perier

Based on your experience, what are the differences between our homegrown productions and those from Hollywood.

I've observed Tamil ad film shoots and feature film shoots in Pondicherry, both of which do not stress that much on pre production work. In contrast, the Life of Pi crew started pre production work in Pondy more than six months before the actual shoot commenced. Great attention to detail was given even to background artists. 

The temple scene had 2500 background artists. Several women turned up wearing heavy makeup (lipstick, etc). All of that had to be taken off to give them a clean, natural 1960s look. Boys with spiky gelled hair had their hair oiled and flattened.

Cinematographer Claudio Miranda often changed frames even after the camera was fixed, citing his reasons to Ang Lee for the change.

Suraj is ecstatic

The shooting of Life of Pi is over. Oscars have been won. Life goes on. What's next for you.

I currently work as an audio assistant for a radio station. I would like to move into the academic line and teach students of mass media. When I was a student, we suffered for a lack of practical sessions as it was mostly theory-based. This needs to change. I will continue to make documentary films alongside as it won't disturb my teaching career. There are no 200 page scripts to follow and no actors to cast. Just research and follow through.


Images embed from 'Life of Pi Movie' photostream on Flickr.
Thanks to Bagalavan Perier for other pics.