Day 113 - Bollywood in Budgee Springs - Chapter 10 (1649 words)

©Wayne Webb and constantwriting.blogspot.com, 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Wayne Webb and constantwriting.blogspot.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Bollywood in Budgee Springs

Chapter 10

Dawn arrives and with it a truck trundles into town, it's big and heavily weighted by the tension on it you can see with every bump and divot in the road. Inside is an Indian Elephant, the one that they will be using for the wedding scene, which they will shoot soon as the cast will also be arriving this day, and the numbers have been made up from the townspeople to stock the wedding with plenty of attendees for the shoot. Only the exterior scenes will be shot in Budgee Springs, the set pieces will be picked up later in a sound studio, but in the mean time a lot of outdoor and 'town' footage needs to be sandwiched in around the hero and heroines wedding scenes.

The Elephant Wrangler took an overnight drive to Budgee Springs, the darkness and cool of the night making it easier to regulate the temperature in the pen where she was being tethered. The Wrangler was very familiar with the elephant, she had trained as a veterinarian before taking a job with a animal talent agency out of Sydney. The Elephants name was Kipling and had been working in film, commercials an television in Australia for around ten years now, most of which she had been with her current handler and carer Victoria.

They had a routine going and Victoria travelled with her to many locations for shoots and appearances, though this was the first time they had been this far out without a larger pen and entourage attached. The Indian company was paying them well and they seemed like good people to Vicky when she met with them, so she took a little bit on faith and a fifty percent deposit.

The truck was going to be Kipling’s home for the week or so that she would be here and performing, they only had two days of shooting scheduled but in Victoria's experience it was always good to layer a little fat in your project plan when dealing with Elephants and Kipling was no exception to this rule.

The staging area for the Elephant was just outside of town on some vacant land some local man had provided for the truck to park up on and connect to water and power to keep Kipling comfortable. The truck had circled through the town, stopped for directions at the local pub, the Whistle and it drew all kinds of attention to the cargo in the back. Vicky didn't say anything but she could tell that the locals didn't know that she was bringing a real live Elephant into the sleepy little town. It was not like it was massively dangerous, Kipling was agreeable most of the time, and not as dangerous or as deadly as a tiger or a lion for example, unless of course you treated them wrong, in which case they could be lethal.

Turned out that the local man who's place they were looking for was the Mayor, he was putting them up on his own plot of land, a vacant and unused half-acre at the back of his house, but he had not given out all the details of exactly what was going to be happening with this movie in his town. Vicky knew when to keep the details to herself, and so she never told anyone about Kipling, never asked for anything but directions to take her cargo to it's destination. This was a town of retired Farmers and stock-men and they could see from the truck that something was being transferred, live, into the town. She ignored their curious looks and nosey examination of the outside of the truck, but there were no clues to be had there, she thanked them kindly and they drove on to the Mayor's property.

A few hours after Kipling has been securely settled behind the Mayor's house, out of sight of all people going past his place, a bus rolls into town and a chattering group of twenty-five people all exit the bus to be greeted by Kiran and Ash as they descend like tourists, staring at their place of work for the next few weeks.

The Indian cast are herded into the Whistle as they unload the bus and carry all their props and costumes in suitcases and bags themselves into the Pub. Ash has a clipboard and a list of names, working his way through them and introducing them to the Publican and his wife. Paul starts to carry some of the bags for the guests, but they insist on taking them all themselves. Ash had drilled them carefully before he came to the Springs of exactly how they were to act to show the honour and care for the town filled with elders deserving their respectful treatment.

Paul was thrilled to see so many people in the hotel and the front bar, which was also the hotel reception, was the fullest he had seen it in it's history. Every room had been taken and was filled, some of them having to share. The actors and actresses were doubled up as were the crew, and a couple of them, the 'name' stars had private suites, the biggest rooms and the private bathrooms attached. The crew and the rest of the cast had shared bathrooms between every four rooms, a scheduling nightmare waiting to happen.

The cast are almost all settled in when the last arrivals come into town, in two separate cars. The name stars, Aamir and Manisha are in each a Mercedes, both driven on their own by a private driver and taking no one else on the journey with them. When they drive up, though Aamir has arrived ahead of Manisha, he politely steps aside and guides her ahead with exaggerated civility so she can take her room assignment and get the pick of the two suites set aside for them.

Assistants have been selected from the crew, and they are on the spot with bags and soliciting their needs for water and food after the obviously tiring drive to Budgee Springs. The cast move aside as the two stars are settled into their rooms, once the doors are closed the rest of the cast get back to the business of settling their own rooms and baggage.

Anil is with them waiting for the 'stars' to be catered to and to be lead away like privileged children, yet he is the third 'name' star to be attached to the film. He is the villain of the movie, and he prefers to be in amongst the actors, the real backbone cast who will provide most of the colour and exposition of the film. Anil has been doing this a while and is the most senior member of the acting cast, though possibly past his prime he carries a weight and gravitas in everything he says, so he says so very little, preferring to be treated like a real person.

Bad enough to portray the villain in film after film that he gets booed in the streets and occasionally pelted with produce, he didn't need that same treatment from the cast, he needed a rapport and good feeder lines in his scenes, which he would not get if they did not like him, but feared or hated him instead. He had a solo room, but he was not precious about it's size or the sharing of the bathroom facilities. This was his home, on the road filming and getting to know a large group of people, changing their perception of him, letting them see past the awful characters he acted out and getting to know him as a person. Sometimes he lost them when he was in the zone, but mostly he found that the crew and the lower order cast members were much better people to be hanging out with rather than the stars.

Anil was last to be processed and he even helped a few of the actresses with their bags, silently of course as his voice was recognisably a villainous one, but he ingratiated himself with his actions before he opened his mouth and hence spoke only when the rest of the cast and crew had gone to their rooms and he could talk in a quiet way with the Publican Paul, and sign himself in.

He had watched his colleagues settle themselves with interest, and watched the locals interacting with them as if they were friendly aliens from another planet. He wondered how much they knew about the film, what they would do and what kind of things they had gotten themselves in for. Ash was a nice young man, but a novice director and that would lead to an interesting film, he could feel it. They had spoken at length about the script, what they would try to do in honour of the man who once carried this entire studio on the weight of his name. He knew Hardeep, had worked with him plenty of times and accepted that he would be a consummate professional when it came to the production. He had worked with Kiran on a movie or two before, though this was the most responsibility she had to date that he knew of. She had been given the workman like tasks for the second unit, a lot of exposition and establishing shots, he wondered how she would handle real drama and actors like Aamir and Manisha.

It would be an interesting few weeks, the chaos and the uncertainty made it all the more exciting for him. He rubbed his hands together and laughed wickedly to himself, thinking then that perhaps his type casting as the maniacally evil villain was understandable. He looked around but no one was there to see him, his best vaudeville villainous performance and no audience to see it. He smiled to himself and went to his room.

Day 112 - Bollywood in Budgee Springs - Chapter 9 (2352 words)

©Wayne Webb and constantwriting.blogspot.com, 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Wayne Webb and constantwriting.blogspot.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Bollywood in Budgee Springs

Chapter 9

The Main Street through town has a park area opposite the Whistle, and the bulk of the trucks and cars from the film crew have taken up residence there. A marquee has been hastily erected in the open area near the War Memorial Rotunda, just far enough away to give it the respectful distance it is owed. There was no longer that direct a connection with the second world war that it recalled the fallen dead for, but most of the people had been born in it's heyday and had grown up in it's shadow. There was a call back to a generation that raised them, gave the values that propelled the town into a future community driven by sacrifice and loss. Nobody needs to explain the care and attention that the monument gets, it is Budgee Springs own sacred ground. Life goes on around it, but life is a satellite of the small circle where the band once played and the music flowed through the town reminding them of who they were and where they had been.

The Marquee nearby, being used to host the audition space, has the Ash, Kiran and Hardeep lined up like a talent show panel. A camera is set up in a space in front of the the table for the residents to try out their acting skills. A large monitor for video playback is set up to the side of the table and is ready for people to see themselves and their friends on screen.

Ella is waiting patiently with her grandson for the signal from Ash that the auditions will commence. Nathan is kicking his feet together and waiting for his job to start. Ella volunteered him to be a runner for Kiran, figuring that the exercise and keeping him occupied would be a good thing for everyone. Kiran saw a child, alone in a town full of senior citizens and she knew what he felt like immediately, the outsider, part of the group but different and not really one of them. She offered to pay him when Ella insisted that he would be volunteering his time, but in the quiet time when Ella was herding the residents for auditions, they reached an agreement between the assistant director and the assistant director's assistant for a under the table payment for his time.

Nathan did not know who most of the people were who he was supposed to fetch, and he figured that he would need a little lead time to get them from the Whistle to the Marquee area with some of the slower folk, but that he'd figure it out. Ms Kiran was nice for an adult, and she she had slipped him some cash from her wallet before he had even started and for that she was cool. Though he did wonder when or where he was going to be able to spend it. It'd have to keep until he got home and then at least he could do something cool with it, even if it was jut hanging out money. There was no one to hang out with here.

The residents waiting to audition are in the public bar of the Whistle, the men getting a little Dutch courage, the women nervously waiting their turn. Nathan runs in, eager the first time around to get their on time get his charge back as soon as he can. As he skidded to a halt through the door he looks around the room and sees how many times he's going to have to make this trip and already in his mind he is slowing down. He reads out the first name and walks back with his first charge, across the twenty or thirty feet of dusty street to the Marquee and the waiting talent scouts.

Ash says very little and hands the show over to Hardeep, who is charming yet forceful with the applicants. He exudes confidence and poise when speaking and every movement of the townsfolk is watched carefully by both Kiran and Ash, who are looking for certain types of people, not for speaking parts but as human props in the movie. They have a shared vision that means the movie would not be relying on the skill or acting ability of the last minute scouting of senior citizens from a dying New South Wales town, they had a plan and they would be playing these folk to their strengths, they were not looking for actors at all.

Hardeep gave everyone the same introduction, though he varied the words, the stresses altered and the flair of his delivery were all negotiable each time he gave it.

“If you have a look at the paper we have handed you there are a number of things we would like you to run through. Mostly it’s expression acting, or movement. We won’t do anything too strenuous, given your age. Don't think, just do, give it as much or as little as you want to. Show us you being yourself, doing these things, please.” He would suddenly, sharply clap his hands four times, and call action, thrilling some of the players, shocking the rest with the sudden loud outburst after his calm and measured introduction.

Women were asked to twirl as if dancing, lightly and airily. Men were asked to shake their fists at the camera and grimace like a vaudeville villain tying a girl to the rail-road tracks. They were all asked to mime many expressions and faces, making wide sweeping gestures and to give directions to imaginary tourists. A few of the men were asked if they played cricket, and to show off their bowling action in slow motion. No one was asked to sing or dance, not directly anyway. They cheered, booed and shook their fists and applauded throughout the morning, until the three of them had the faces and the looks they were after.

Finally as lunch time was approaching they were done, and the whole group that had gathered in the Whistle had been seen and were more confused than ever about what the movie as about, and what if anything they would be doing. Not everyone had the same experience in the tent and some had committed more to their effort than the others had.

Charlie and his friends have enacted their plan, they overacted and over-emoted to the best of their ability. They made such fools of themselves, they were glad that only they got to see their audition tapes. Sure they had made a mockery of the proceedings but they were guaranteed a get of jail free card on the film now, at worst they might make a blooper reel on the DVD, but no one here would likely ever see the movie anyway, they hoped.

Nathan came in one last time and called everyone back to the Marquee for the selection process. The men looked at each other and elbows flew as they could feel the judgement coming, while the women bustled and jostled to get over there quickly and see what the guests had decided, the boys with their little plan walked casually, at their own pace assured of a place propping up the bar for the next three weeks and not caked in make up and strutting about learning lines and directions.

Hardeep stood and addressed them as one crowd, they had planned all along to use as many of the locals in crowd scenes and to fill in some of the local colour.

“Well, that was fun wasn’t it? I must say that you all did very well and that you can all be in our movie, we have plenty of scenes with crowds of people and we have walk through and walk on parts to go around, we may even dress you up a little, try a few disguises and reuse some of you, more than once!” He drew a deep breath and took a more serious tone before continuing. “However, there a limited number of 'Character Parts' to go around though so we have a small list of people we would like to use for those roles. They will not be speaking roles, but they will be in close and very visual, we'll need a full range of emotion and intensity for these roles, and I must say that a couple of you really stood out in the way that you acquitted yourselves. It's like you were born to play these parts.”

Hardeep looked at Ash and Kiran who nodded in agreement when he said “WE were very surprised that you have no acting experience, isn't that right guys?”

Ash stood up and addressed the residents who had tried out, his hands moved faster than his speech but he really felt that the town was giving all it could and really getting behind their little gamble on this film. For the first time he felt a spark of hope creeping in under the door of the dark room he had been locked in for the last few months leading up to this. “We, I mean 'I', would like to thank you for your participation and your enthusiasm, it’s so very, very good to see you turning out to support our little film. This first list of names” he brandished a single sheet of paper in his left hand, as he spoke “Are for a very specialised sequence we have planned and those who will be playing in that scene will get paid actor's fees for the film, the extras for crowd and walk on/walk by parts” Ash waves the two sheets of paper in his right hand this time, “... will get day rates.” There is a little buzz at the idea that some of them will play a key role in the film and the friendly tension in the room increases as they wonder who will make the cut.

“Not one of you should be upset if your name is not on this list, this is a very specialised role we have in mind for a dream sequence that our hero will be going on, a spiritual quest to find himself.”

“Like a walkabout?” Jonno offers, he's keen to show his mates up that he'd be chosen ahead of them for his acting ability, that would show those buggers.

“I guess so, yes you could call it his walkabout, Kiran? Make a note of that would you, that gives me an idea.” Ash looks at Hardeep who shrugs his shoulders in response.

“Anyway, I'll post the people we have chosen for the character roles here on the Notice Board inside the Whistle Pub across the road, so if your name is on there can you please come and sign the release contracts with Kiran before we start filming tomorrow, and for the rest of you there is a general release and Extras contract, it too will be a paid role, though not as much as the character roles.”

The three of the senior film crew make a procession out of the twenty-five foot stroll back to the pub savouring the drama of the selection process and hyping up the anticipation on the publication, the posting of the list. They crowd around, not rudely or pushy but definitely keen to see the list and find the names on it. Hardeep tacks the two lists up on either side of the notice board amongst some yellowed, faded notices and newspaper clippings from days past.

The townspeople close in as the three film crew leave the room and get on with their day, prepping and planning the movie as it will be shot in the short time they have the full run of the town and the full cooperation of the locals.

Ella is in the front of the throng and she walks away disappointed as her name is not on the list, one by one the people who are interested check the two lists, disappointed at the exclusion from the special parts in most cases, but still happy to have their parts and have a hand in the larger movie and get their time on the silver screen, even if it is in another country and another language.

Charlie and his mates are at the bar ordering a round for themselves and congratulating themselves on a job well done, not paying attention to the hopes and dreams of the people who are keen where they have no enthusiasm.

Jonno makes his way to the board from the thinning crowd and checks both lists. He reads it twice and then barks a derisive laugh at the specialised roles list.

“Charlie!” He calls out to the man at the bar.

“What is it 'Hamlet'?” He leans across the bar to Paul “With an emphasis on the Ham eh?” getting a laugh in return.

“You may want to come and see this.”

“Oh did you get a part in your little film then?”

“Oh no, not me, not me no.” Jonno is grinning ear to ear and suddenly Charlie begins to wonder what it is that is amusing him so. He stands and moves towards the notice board where Jonno has taken down the list and handed it to Ella who is shaking her head in disbelief.

“I thought I was seeing things, but there you go. Apparently God does have a sense of humour.” Ella says wryly.

“What?” Charlie feels a cold sensation in his gut and he takes the list from Ella, and there are only three names on it, one of which is his the other two his overacting friends at the bar. “What the …?”

“Congratulations, Charles Clarke … Senior, you're going to be a Bollywood star!” Ella smiles sweetly at him and nods to them men at the bar who are reading the list, seeing their names and staring daggers at Charlie, who is still in shock.

Jonno raises a finger in the air and calls out to the publican. “I'll have that pint now thanks!”

Day 111 - Bollywood in Budgee Springs - Chapter 8 (1814 words)

©Wayne Webb and constantwriting.blogspot.com, 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Wayne Webb and constantwriting.blogspot.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Bollywood in Budgee Springs

Chapter 8

Ash has an office set up in the back of one of the set trucks, it's set up to be a mobile production office with power and lighting, even a desk and some chairs that fold up nicely when in transit. Scripts and paperwork are strewn all over his desk and through the opaqueness of the makeshift window it is clearly late at night that Ash is working.

Kiran and Hardeep have taken the shoot schedule for the next two days and running them up against the location notes they had been given from the scout that had toured the sights with Max weeks ago. Ash is back in the books for the company, trying to find where all the money is going day-by-day, his years in business school were a help, that was for sure, but no one on the payroll was that good at keeping receipts and track of where things were going.

When he had bought into the film company it had been a good investment, on paper at least they made a decent amount of money. It helped that they had the stars and the talent to make movies that were not only good but also popular. His parents had pooh poohed the idea of his taking on a project like this. It was doomed to failure and they refused to invest what they thought was good money after bad, in their eyes. At first that had been fine, the need to stand on his own two feet forced Ash to make competent and hard choices about how the company was run and how things would operate in the massively inefficient production company.

A number of employees, some in key positions, were gorging themselves on the fat of the expenses and operations budgets, and with little shame or pretence. They had to go, but it was not a calm or collected blood letting when tearing off the leeches. Ash learned the hard way that when these particular suckers came off, they tore their pound of flesh, and had many more teeth than they appeared to on the first glance. It was brutal and it depleted the coffers by a decent margin, but they were still in the black by a little bit. They needed to invest in newer, more trustworthy staff. They trolled and poached through the older employees of other production companies, ones that would find it harder, if not impossible, to make career leaps at their age. People not desperate, but in need of finding a steady employer, people dedicated to the craft, whatever it was.

At the core of the company, the man he had purchased along with his business was the heart and soul of the art that was made in the company. He had a number of protégées who directed film after film, all with the signature of his guidance stamped firmly on them. His name as a producer was like gold, his name as a director was a licence to print money. Ash and he had made two pictures together before he died, suddenly shockingly and without any of his future contractual obligations signed up.

The younger directors whom he had mentored, were poached before the body was cold and Ash left his funeral and came back to the office the next day with himself, a skeleton crew and a few hardcore and loyal employees. The great man had presence and had style, everyone wanted to work for him, to be like him. No one needed a contract to make them be there. That had been Ash's doing that contracts would need to be locking certain key talents in place. They had the crew, the cinematographer and Hardeep locked in and with an iron clad contract with their company before he passed. There was no out for them, Hardeep took it badly to see all his competitors taking all the talent he had so patiently developed with his former boss, all that wasted potential and he was tied up tighter and tighter but a piece of paper, one Ash had cemented around him.

Kiran had been the easiest get after the Director had died, she signed on without hesitation. Kiran knew Ash through his family and hers, they had history and a connection that was shared. Kiran was the insider that drew on her knowledge of the players and the business to help him settle on this as an independently run concern, away from his family's influence. Their money would have shored the company up when the great man passed away, they could have bought back the people they had lost, but Ash had made his bed and now he was lying in it, on borrowed money.

When they had taken the loans to re-invest in the future films they had a stable of actors, directors and a marquee producers name to bring in the punters and fill the seats of every theatre they could distribute to. That game had changed and now he needed to deliver a knock-out punch of a film, make the money back to pay them off, get their claws out of the business. Ash could not quite see how close the wolves were, he could sense them just outside and baying for whatever blood they could bleed from them, maybe even turn the deal around and lock them in to producing money making films, at the cost of their souls and whatever other corners could be cut.

This needed to be a hit, needed to be in the theatres fast and it needed to cost less and less than it was, but without anyone else getting behind the lines and interfering with it. The amount of information and influence that the 'investor' had in India was stunning, he was being told how to correct and change a movie that he had not even seen the daily rushes of, before the sun was down on the filming day. Australia was just foreign enough, juts far enough to get out from under that all seeing eye, at least for a while.

“How's it all going then? Do we have a hit on our hands?”

Ash jumped, he had not seen Max arrive at the open back door of the truck, but there he was climbing up and in to see how he was going.

“How’s the crew settling in?” the Mayor seemed genuinely concerned.

“As well as can be expected I guess. You know how it is …. a new place, even if it is for a few weeks only. Things seem to be OK, which is good. Things are always … interesting on location.” Ash wondered how much the Mayor knew about the film, the position they were in and how big a chance they were taking. He decided to distract him with an as yet unshared detail “The elephant arrives tomorrow, and shooting begins the day after with the main street dance.”

Max sighed, it was sooner than he wanted, the plan had been to get the Townsfolk a little more hooked on the idea of being in a film, before they got to the musical numbers, he knew his Dad would be dead set against that. “The Big Dance eh? Listen, about that, when I kind of arranged this movie, I didn’t really...”

Max took a deep breath as he processed the information he had been given. “Which Elephant is this exactly?”

“There is but one Elephant, it is the one crucial to the theme of the whole film. We have made all the arrangements, the transporter arrives tomorrow and we'll make as much use of him as quickly as we can. The wrangler will be along with him, it will need to be quick.” Ash could see the Mayor thinking.

“When you say Elephant, do you mean like, Grey, Giant and.... “Max made a “PAAARP” noise and a trunk motion framed as a question.

“Yes, it is an Elephant, like you have in the Zoo, like we have in our country. I assume you could think of it like a Kangaroo, it is recognisably Australian and you could easily source one if you needed to, yes?”

“And you can do the same with Elephants?”

“Not quite, but it is more common than you think, weddings, parties, Massala films... Elephants are a part of the business.”

Max wondered how this news would sit with the townspeople, it could either be the 'straw and the camel' or it could the perfect distraction, like the circus was coming to town. He kept his fingers crossed for the latter. “I guess it would have to be the right kind as well?”

Ash rolled his eyes. “Indian audiences are very astute, if they see an African elephant in an Indian movie? They’d be all ‘look at the ears on that!’ and stuff. They don’t care about post synching, but they have to be authentic in Indian details.” The conversation about the look of the Elephant had already taken too much of his time when they tried to pass off an African one on him from a catalogue online when he arrived in the Sydney offices of the Elephant supplier.

“It's not good being judged on the tiniest details of everything you do, especially when it's all out on the open like that.”

“Making movies isn’t as easy as it looks you know.”

“Try being Mayor in your fathers footsteps sometime.” It was an offhand remark but instantly Max thought he had spoken out of turn and he looked up too quickly at Ash who was staring at him.

Silence hung between them for a minute and then Ash looked around the trailer.

“A father's example and expectation is a burden I can... appreciate.” It was an invitation of sorts, Ash pointed to the second chair and Max sat down, breath leaving him in a rush as the tension was let out for a moment.

“You have people who need you, I am twenty years younger than anyone except my wife in this town. They don;t need me, not really, the town is dying with it's inhabitants. I want it to live, I mean to grow and pass something on. I want Budgee Springs to have a legacy, to be more than it was and be something it can be.”

“We’re not too … we are both trapped by the expectation of the past you and I. We can make this movie work my friend” It was a frank and bold assessment to make, but Ash felt an affinity with this man, and he had seen the way that the town looked at him, the way they tolerated him to move forward, but ready to pull back on the leash at any moment.

Ash knew exactly how that felt.

Day 110 - Bollywood in Budgee Springs - Chapter 7 (1757 words)

©Wayne Webb and constantwriting.blogspot.com, 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Wayne Webb and constantwriting.blogspot.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Bollywood in Budgee Springs

Chapter 7

Charlie is back at the bar, flanked by his two bets mates and across the bar from a third, the publican. All three of his friends are having a quiet drink away from the women who have all taken to the prospect of auditions to be in a movie. This is exactly what was expected, a film coming to town, but in the world where things would progress in a certain way, at a speed and destination that made these happy, predictable and reliable, this was an unwelcome change.

“Bugger me, I’m not bloody doing anything in this movie. I’m putting my foot..” One of the men declares but before he ends the sentence at the volume he started, he looks around to ensure none to the MoM's are there, especially his wife. He casts a sideways glance at the women at the far side of the room and lowers his voice to a volume a little more circumspect. “... down”

Charlie laughs, a widowers confidence of not facing the consequences of such an attitude. “You're putting my foot down? Very quietly, I can see that.”

His friend retorts “Easy for you to be brave; I’ll be in the doghouse for the rest of my life if I 'ruin it' for her. You're lucky you're a ...” He drops the rest of that thought as the insensitivity catches him up “... oh yeah. Sorry mate, I didn't mean it that way.”

Charlie shrugs it off as if it were nothing, but despite the years since Max's mother had passed, and with such a shocking suddenness, it occasionally felt like it were only yesterday. Charlie knew that if she were here, like Ella and the rest of them she would have been all over the idea and would have taken no nonsense from him about it. He could play the man of the house, but deep down he would give her whatever she wanted to see her smile again. That was no longer possible and in the intervening decades since he had moved on in so many ways, but she had never left him inside.

This would have been a nirvana for her, and in all fairness to his son, Max had come up with a plan that would really work for the town and bring in money, attention and a bit of life to Budgee Springs once more. He could see the benefits, but even if he were in charge he would never have gone down this road. She knew every word to every film that still sat in a box of unplayed DVD's in the back room, under the guest bed. A catalogue of movies, musicals and comedy greats from the fifties and sixties. They had been kids when they had first seen them, barely in their teens by the time the mid sixties came about, but here in the countryside while the town had got an influx of motorbikes and leather jackets, Nellie Watson, who would grow up to become Nellie Clarke would take every opportunity to get to the Budgee Springs Odeon and catch the rerunning matinee musicals in the weekends.

They had been to the films with their families, they had progressed to going with their friends, and then when the old musicals were no longer cool enough for their friends, they went together. They became dates, and then a regular treat as they grew and made a life together. Charlie tolerated them, he was not particularly entertained by them but he also was not bothered by them. There was a look that Nell would get in her eyes when they sat in the darkened theatre, holding hands with her gaze locked on the screen and his drifting away to stare at her watching the film instead of whatever was happening on the film.

When Charlie closed his eyes and saw her face there, which still happened to him now, it was her profile lit by flickering lights through the nitrate film that were burned into his own reel of memory. She was still there, and it was unfair on him that she would not leave him alone, he knew that she would not leave him alone. That was one of the things that held him back with Ella, they had been friends back in the day, and he knew her late husband while she was close with Nellie when they had been young, they had kids at the same time and liked the same things.

If was unfair that Ella reminded him of Polly, and it was wrong to like her just for that alone. Not that there were not things about Ella that Charlie didn't like and it was unreasonable to lay all the similarities as a reason to not move forward with their relationship. Spending time with Ella was bitterness and pain, but it had an overlay of lightness he felt in her presence. How much of it was her, and how much of it was Polly's memory, Charlie could not distinguish.

Now she was as excited as Nellie had been when they were young, the look on Ella's face Charlie had seen when the Indian Man, Ash, had been talking of parts and being in the movie. That was a shovel in his chest, digging deeper than he wanted to go. He needed a reason to get away from the film, get away from the people involved, but he could not let go either. This could be the happiest moment of Ella's senior years, he could not do anything to stop her, that level of selfishness and cruelty was not in him. The depth of pain that it would dredge to watch Nellie living out a dream through Ella though, what would be the price exacted on him for that?

“The devil and the deep blue.” Charlie said to no one.

His friends said nothing, thinking that Jonno had gone too far, but sitting there nursing his beer Charlie felt exposed, though they knew nothing of what feelings railed inside, the way he wanted it was a wall, a seawall that kept the masses from the depths.

“Ain't that the bloody truth Charlie? ‘Struth it’s like they’ve got gold fever, strutting around thinking they’re gonna' be stars, bloody oath.” Jonno stares into the bottom of his glass, clears his throat and looks at the publican, who does the right thing and refills it with care.

Charlie lights up as an idea occurs to him. “Don’t worry mates, we ARE going to audition, we ARE going to be supportive of the Sheilas, but we are NOT going to be in that movie, I can guarantee it.”

“You have a plan to let us have our cake and eat it too?” Paul the bartender and publican was washing the empties and then stacking them to the side, getting ready for the evening crowd, more from habit as the evening crowd was the same folk as were sat down with him this afternoon.

“Yeah exactly how are we going to get out of these auditions?” Jonno takes another gulp of beer, wiping the foam with the back of his hand.

“Open your ears my boy, we aren’t getting 'out' of them, we go to the 'auditions' and we 'act'.” Charlie is grinning ear to ear.

“Nope, I don't get it.”

“Well then listen carefully. The girls, they will give us hell if we don’t go and make an effort right? And I mean a REAL effort, not the 'half-assed', looking like you are 'waiting in the women’s wear changing area in a department store' effort. Am I right?”

The men all nod together, Jonno looking backwards again at the women. His wife looks over and frowns at him, instantly suspicious. Jonno smiles at her and holds up his beer, quickly turning back to his friends, the forced smile turning to a shudder as he does so.

“We will, go and we make an effort, an effort so full of enthusiasm and 'acting', a truly appalling, over the top 'acting'. The kind of 'effort' that cannot be denied, the kind where our very heart and souls will be thrown into the simplest of scenes and the smallest of parts!

“Brilliant”

“Outstanding, why didn’t I think of that?”

“The girls won’t be able to fault us, because we ‘tried’ but the Indians won’t hire us if we’re really awful!” Charlie pauses and puts a hand under his chin in a thoughtful pose “How awful can we be?”

His friends are grinning and immediately start posing with their hands outstretched like a dramatic Shakespearian speech was forthcoming, making evil genius hand gestures and miming shock and outrage, while laughing uproariously at each other. The noise is getting the attention of the women who are now watching them closely and Paul clears his throat pointedly as the men settle down when he nods at the girls eye-balling them from thirty feet away.

“Well we can’t go too far, we don’t want it to be obvious. We should just act … um I guess ... obviously? Yeah, like in the silent movies where everything is overacted because they had no sound. Got it? Think Rudolph Valentino, Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd … you know.”

Jonno nods at the first two names but balks on the last one.

“Harold who?”

“Jeez Jonno, read a book already. Just think like a … you know what, how about you just try acting – I've seen you before, remember the school production we did, back in the day. You were the Ghost, the dead king. Just do that again.”

Jonno bristles at the suggestion that his performance fifty years ago was somehow sub par. “Hey the Paper said I was bloody good thank you, I was … what was the word?” He thinks back to the review in the local paper, he had it framed in the attic, but his friends find the adjectives for him.

“Crap?”

“Shit?”

“Actually like a dead man?”

Jonno reddens and then knows that despite the plan, he would act like his life depended on it, that'd show these gallahs. “Enlightening. The Bloody paper's review said I was bloody enlightening! Bloody philistines you have no sense of art!”

Charlie snorts into his beer. “Yeah, you know your mum wrote that right?”

“ Just... Just... Shut up!” They didn't know it yet but the plan was now one man short.

Day 109(b) - Bollywood in Budgee Springs - Chapter 6 (2288 words)

©Wayne Webb and constantwriting.blogspot.com, 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Wayne Webb and constantwriting.blogspot.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Bollywood in Budgee Springs

Chapter 6

The townsfolk are laugh now while Ash is pointing at double doors where Ella has led in the prize-winning cow. Attached to the red ribbon and bow are several prize wining blue ribbons around its neck. Seeing the cow the audience stand and applaud and the Mayor leads the confused Director down from the small stage and takes him outside, manoeuvring around the cow whom Ella is trying to walk backwards to the street.

The townspeople are gathering round the cow in the street, getting into prearranged positions to have a photo taken of them all with the cow, under the banner and presenting the holy animal to the film crew.

Charlie looks unhappy for two reasons, firstly he felt manoeuvred himself into giving away a prized animal, and at his age it was no longer about a living or the farming, it was personal. He was a good farmer, he had the best stock, the best holdings, and the reputation and experience built from years of being the best. The other is the reference to musicals, his pet hate is only temporarily put aside at the appearance of his cow but has not forgotten about the mention of 'Singing AND Dancing'.

Max takes the lead from Ella, now front and centre in front of the beaming crowd, and uses the leash to present the cow to Ash. “Well here we are then. In recognition of your decision to choose the town of Budgee Springs for your wonderful film, since you have been so good in showing your appreciation of what we have here to offer in Budgee Springs, we have a gift to present to you to show our appreciation right back at you!.”

“It’s a cow?” Ash is stunned and unsure that he is not dreaming. Behind him Hardeep has ditched his customary haughty look, the one meant to remind people just how good he is, for the widest smile that Kiran, standing next to him, had ever seen him display.

“Yes! That’s right, we know you hold the cow as sacred and since we have the cow that we believes shows just how important the animal is to us as well, something both our cultures share!”

Mike hands the reins to Ash and starts clapping. The audience joins in clapping enthusiastically; flashes go off from various cameras and stun Ash who is holding the reins open-mouthed. In the street behind him the entire crew of the film who had been in the process of taking the trucks and equipment out and assembling the beginnings of their work in the town stop to stare and smile at the out of kilter director, open mouthed and holding the leash of a very contended cow, chewing lazily on it's cud and looking cow-eyed at the people around it, well used to the attention being lavished on it.

Kiran and Hardeep are applauding along with the town, the crew put down the work they are doing and press into the townsfolk, clapping and cheering various slogans in their own languages, adding to the isolating sense of being on the spot, in the middle of a foreign country, unaware what to do with a cow on a leash.

“I can truly say that I don’t know what to say!” Ash finally says before adding in a more question tone “Thank you? I guess Holy Cow was the appropriate response then?”

More applause and laughter from every one and the ice is well and truly broken. The crew drift back to their jobs, the line between them and the townspeople has been redrawn by the need to get on with things, they all know that they are on a tight deadline and that the budgeting cannot afford the schedule to slip for even an hour.

“Well, this is certainly the only time that this has happened to me. You are the most generous and gracious town I have visited. And my crew and I cannot thank you enough for this... um 'grand gesture' of yours.”

There is another smattering of applause, but the self congratulation tone is wearing down and people are also drifting away and back to their own lives, leaving the Director, the Mayor and one or two curious onlookers around the banner and the cow.

Ash takes the reins of the cow and hands them to Kiran, who is now on the spot and freezes. Hardeep takes the reins from her confidently and he calmly leads the cow away from the main street towards the truck where his gear is being unloaded. He walks confidently, imperiously and professionally with an ease that completely contradicts what Ash and Kiran think they know about Hardeep.

A few minutes later Ash has disentangled himself from his conversation with the townsfolk and come to see his crew and talk to his assistant director and the closest thing he has to a friend, Kiran. She is talking with Hardeep, the usually superior and aloof choreographer is still smiling and looks at home brushing the cow's neck absent mindedly. He is taken back to his years before he grew up and moved to Mumbai to become a dancer, an entertainer and eventually a master of staging for dance scenes on stage and on film. He has come so far since the more simple childhood days and at first he had not wanted to travel so far to such different place and be away from the comfort and routine of being worshipped at home.

“It seems you have made an impression” Hardeep had been unforgiving of Ash up until this point, he had been forced to come here by a contractual obligation, and he had made it known that while he would always be a professional when it came to the dancing, the staging and the final product, he had little respect or loyalty to Ash for making him come here in the first place.

“It’s a cow!”

“Yes, there’s that famous directors eye again, you have real talent for spotting things.” Though dripping with sarcasm, this was still a softening of the relationship between them.

Ash is still staring at the animal that Hardeep has found some affinity with “It’s a COW!”

“No, no. It is not A cow, It is YOUR cow!? Are there no young people at all in this town? I’ll be lucky if we get through the first day without a broken hip or crippled senior citizen on my conscience. I do not under stand why we had to come here, here of all places.” Hardeep's tone is rising, but a look into the deep brown eyes of his newest friend calms him like magic. “Hey seem like nice people, I'll work something out. Some light moves, perhaps a number with some walking frames? I'll talk to the props department, and the writers.”

He unties the cow and walks away, towards a group of men standing around a trestle table, pouring over a map and placing little props of people and buildings on to it and making notes on carious copies of scripts, all of different sizes and thickness. Hardeep and the cow walk over and he starts talking to them, and pointing at the map and then around the town. Their reaction at first is amused by the presence of the pet he has attached to himself, Hardeep though is used to being obeyed, respected and not questioned and within seconds the cow may as well been invisible.

Kiran put her hand on Ash's arm, while he gazed along the road to the choreographer with the cow on a leash. “It’s a cow?” He said for the fourth time, and likely not the last.

“Are you sure it's a cow?” Kiran teases him trying to break him out of the shock.

“Oh, yes we have firmly established that this animal has unimpeachable Bovine credentials. It is such a good example of a cow, that it won prizes for being... A cow.”

Ash leans back against the side of Hardeeps truck, the high flat walls that contained one section of the wardrobe department providing a stable wall for him to drop his weight against with all this insanity pressing in on him. “What am I going to do with a cow?”

“Well you can do whatever you like with it, best not to eat it though.”

“If you are trying to be funny, please do not.”

“Well you have to laugh Ash, you know why we are here and you know what's at stake. Forget the cow. The cow won't be a problem, in fact it looks like it may have improved 'Deeps' mood for some bizarre reason, so take that as a win, it's good to have him talking to you civilly again. We can't take the cow back to India, you can't take it back to England, if you go back there?” Kiran looks at him then, an unspoken conversation in that fleeting moment, but Ash is too distracted to notice what she is not saying. “I’ll ask the Mayor to give it back to the owner at the end of the shoot or sooner if 'Deep' tires of his new friend. If not then he can care for it until we leave, and then perhaps we can remind them of the customs and the immigration and the whole border bio-security thing. Until then, if it makes everyone else feel good, then it's a win for us. Right?

“I guess so, yes, yes. That is good.” Ash bounces back and gives his assistant and friend a big hug “What would I do without you dear friend?” Ash is smiling but still a little pale and stressed looking, and rambles on not noticing the lingering clutch he is in with his second unit director. “It is

a bloody cow for goodness sake! It’s not like I don’t have enough problems already, but a cow? What would our investors say to that? How would they make that all my fault? I wonder.”

“Ash, don’t let it get to you. This is not a bad thing, this is the movie business. Everything will work according to plan, just like it always does, eventually.” Kiran sounded more enthused than she felt and they broke apart at that point, though not before it had been noted by a few of the crew members and passers by.

“We be cannot afford another failure! I cannot afford another failure, not with the people I have borrowed from to make this movie. This is my last chance, Kiran! My last chance. My parents have no faith in me. These films have to do well, not just 'ok', but really successful at the box office, and even then you know my father will be never satisfied. It was all I could do to get the backing to recommend me to actors. If it wasn’t for the money from my ‘investors’ then there’s no way I would have gotten Aamir and Manisha on board! This industry is so cut throat and I have so many peoples jobs on the line, I can't disappoint them I just can't.” He looked at his shoes as Kiran folded her arms, wanting to hug him harder than before but resisting the urges.

“You are a good man Ash and you will be a good director; you just need to listen to your heart more and don't listen to that little voice telling you how bad things will be. Don’t give up even before you have started, we are committed, we have the deal, we have the money and we are so far away from the people that want to ruin everything, that don;t want us to succeed and so far away from your family, you can forget about all those people and all their problems for now. Just be here. Please?”

Ash looks at Kiran seeing things in her he wished were in himself, hope and faith for starters. Looking at her in the here and now put thoughts in his head, he had left his life, his teaching position and his unhappiness behind with his families expectations in London where he had been living for over two decades now. He was as far removed from the life of India as the people of Budgee Springs were. He had dreamed of this chance, and finally he had taken it and brought a load of people with similar dreams, or people who had to be a part of the deal like Hardeep, or could be bought like the Actors. It was a huge gamble and he was betting on lives and livelihood.

“You should have more faith in yourself, don’t worry about what the others think. And you know your parents love you, no matter what they say how they express it to you, but that … that’s what parents do! This crew? The people you have scraped together and bound into this team? They’ve been through thick and thin before, they’re pulling together to get this done, they need it as much as you and you. YOU Ash are the way for them to realise those dreams. Just be here now, and do what you need to do.”

Kiran looked at him again saying little of her true feelings but letting them seep into the gaps between her actual words “Like I do. Like we all do.”

They look at each other seemingly about to say something important when a loud mooing noise echoes up the street from where Hardeep is walking the cow to his next destination, and then the moment is lost.

Day 109(a) - Bollywood in Budgee Springs - Chapter 5.3 (672 words)

©Wayne Webb and constantwriting.blogspot.com, 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Wayne Webb and constantwriting.blogspot.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Bollywood in Budgee Springs

Chapter 5 (part 3)

“Yes Madam?” Ash indicates that he sees a question from Helen, a member of MoM, who politely enquires.

“Do we have to wear anything special for these auditions?”

“That is a very good question! We do have a wardrobe department, and if you in some specific parts for the film then we may need to fit that one or two of you for that scene, but mostly no, we would like to see you and your life in this beautiful town the way it is, the way you like it now.”

Ash looks towards Charlie who has his hand raised, but with determination in his face that Max sees and tries to head off immediately. “Maybe that's enough questions for now? I think we can let the crew get on with their jobs, they have so much to do before the actors arrive after all.”

There is another hubbub at the mention of actors, though they do not know any of them by name or by sight, the idea that they are famous is in itself enough to titillate the town into the feeling.

Charlie however, years of authority under his belt is undeterred “What’s this movie about exactly?”

Max makes a sign at Ella who disappears quietly out the back door of the Whistle as Ash can sense that this question is somehow more than it appears. He glances at Max and tries to smile reassuringly, wishing someone was there to reassure him as well.

“What’s this movie about? Well that’s a difficult question; it’s a complicated answer too... but it's like most Indian Cinema it is...”

“Probably, far too complicated to go into here and now, so perhaps ...”

“Let the man answer the question, Junior!”

“It’s okay Mr Mayor, I do not mind answering, after all this is their town I’m showing the world, in this movie that is. Let’s see. There are many overlapping plots in the story; there are many deep and intriguing characters and themes. We address all the traditional themes and truisms of Indian cinema and hope to challenge the audience by stretching the boundaries and allowing expression to take on a life of it’s own.”

Ash pauses and looks apologetic to the room who are none the wiser, changing tack to simplify the concept.

“And that is the short version of that answer, but in truth like most things the story, the film and all of us are here to talk about love. It is a love story.”

An audible “ahhh” comes from the room, finally something that makes sense and that people can attach to regardless of any language or cultural barriers.

The Mayor breaths a sigh of relief, louder and more visible than he had intended and is ready to move on to the special gift they had organised for the Director, but Ash has found a theme to which he can speak comfortably.

“We call this style of Film ‘Masala’ at home, which if you translate it to your language means ‘Mixture’, And this expresses how the movie will work and the kind of things you could see, and I guess you will see in the coming days.” Ash rattles off a list of words that to him encapsulate the film, pausing between each one and making them have their own presence. “Love. Honour. Conflict. Family. Patriotism. Romance. Adventure. Tragedy. Hope. Comedy. Pathos. Emotions. Music. Dancing. Singing”.

“Dancing AND singing did you say? Is this a musical?” Charlie is making light of the conversation but is getting that creeping feeling that the town may be getting more than it is bargaining for;

“Oh, we are very good at expressing ourselves and our characters through the medium of .. . Holy Cow!”

Standing in the doorway, the head of a cow with a huge red ribbon wrapped about itself is poking through the double doors, not quite in the Whistle but being held on a leash by a proudly smiling Ella.

Day 108 - Bollywood in Budgee Springs - Chapter 5.2 (2075 words)

©Wayne Webb and constantwriting.blogspot.com, 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Wayne Webb and constantwriting.blogspot.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Bollywood in Budgee Springs

Chapter 5 (part 2)

Max leads Ash and his crew to the Whistle and inside the room has been set up to welcome the team from the movie studio. The hall is decked out in decorations made from crepe paper and a ‘Hooray for Bollywood’ banner is made of cut out letters across the mini stage.

The room is beginning to fill with people as the word has spread and the residents made their way to the Whistle to welcome their guests. There is an excited buzz in the room and there is general excitement amongst the women, while most of the men though have a beer in one hand and the other in a pants pocket. The various bar tables have been set up with food and assorted treats for the welcoming committee, a coffee and tea station at the rear table near the bar. There are sponge cakes dusted with icing sugar, fresh strawberries and fruits from various gardens and hothouses, since most produce was grown locally, and cucumber sandwiches on tiered plates and the country party staple of lamingtons.

The townsfolk are fidgeting and still not suite sure what to expect as as they all turn to face the opening door as the Mayor holds the double doors wide for the group of about twenty people to come in. The door swung open Ash comes through and cranes his head around to view the room and the reception that awaits his team. His team follow his lead, the more experienced of the crew eyeing the food as foreign to them as the country itself had once been. Here they were stepping into a town that never seemed to have progressed from the middle of the twentieth century it did not match their expectations set by the metropolis of Sydney or any of the other foreign shoots they had attended before, where things were more perfunctory and less like a trip in time.

The Crew watch for a cue from their Director and Producer, Ash who himself is waiting for a sign from Max what is happening next, but after the long drive through the dust bowl that surrounded the town's round in the morning tea tables stacked with quaint anachronistic treats was a like a craft services nirvana to them, dangled just out of reach awaiting the permission to descend like gulls.

Kiran, Ash's assistant and second unit director flanks her boss while Hardeep the choreographer stands off to the side slightly, managing to appear aloof and imperious with a mere tilt to one hip in the rigidity of his pose. Ash is in a very nice suit, a businessman more than an artists today, whereas Kiran is wearing casual western clothing; functional and ready to get to work. Hardeep is wearing sleek, chic and slinky clothing. He has a dancers lithe movements in every single motion that his body makes. Every step he takes looks as carefully placed and chosen by a choreogrpaher, which of course he is by trade and his every muscle and sinew in motion is there to make sure everyone knows this.

As a trio they walk up the middle of the crowd behind the Mayor who is taking the small step to the short stage. The crowd is fascinated by Hardeep, a man whose carriage looks like someone miming a panthers creep but naturally rather than over the top. The women in the room are fascinated by this man, who radiates something, picked up by the men as well who aren't able to make much of what it could mean.

As the Mayor takes the stage he makes a gesture to the guests and starts a round of applause that erupts and grows beyond merely polite to warmly welcoming. Ash bows gracefully, then putting his hands together and bows again in thanks before taking the Mayors offered handshake and no one can hear Max telling him that their little movie is welcomed to Budgee Springs.

“Namsaste, Thank you, Mr Clarke, sir. Or what do I call you? Your worship?” It is an honest enquiry, a little unsure of the local customs but it gets a decent laugh from the crowd and a blush from Max. Ash sees instantly that there is some tension there and he makes a mental note to not get either the town nor his new ally off side if he can, local politics are never fun for visitors only staying a few weeks at a time.

Max restarts his greeting now that there is less noise in the room. “On behalf of the people of Budgee Springs we welcome you ...”In the middle of the sentence he loses his way, but soldiers on awkwardly “... to uh - Budgee Springs. We hope that your movie works out.. well and that we can be of help to you and your crew.” Max indicated the centre stage “Would you like to say a few words perhaps?”

“Sure, uh.. thank you Budgee Springs, On behalf of the crew and myself I must say you’ve made us all feel very welcome, thank you. This is such a warm and friendly reception, I must say we are hardly used to being treated so well. It is refreshing to come to a town and not just jump straight into business but to meet the people, like yourselves that make a town what it is.”

The audience claps politely, the reception and treatment of guests was the polite and mannerly thing to do, but it had been so long since a delegation of this size had landed in the town they felt this was the opportunity to spend all the accumulated good will towards visitors in one Karmic burst.

“Thank you do much for your welcome, for the food, which I must say my Crew are eyeing up after such a long and dusty drive here. I am truly amazed that such civilised people live this far away from … anywhere and I am from India, so I know what I am talking about!” This too gets a laugh from the residents, the similarities between the small towns in the dry deserted parts of India and Australia were likely to stop there, but for now it was amusing to compare themselves to a country they knew so little about.

“The set crew will be working on the locations and raising the sets, the cameras and the lighting equipment, initially just beyond the end of the main street. Please don't be alarmed at the amount of rigging and machinery they are setting up, they are well practised at keeping the interruption to a minimum. The wind machines will be only on when we absolutely need them, and we'll give you as much warning as we can for the “Storm scene” which will be shooting as soon at the end of the second week.”

The mention of wind machines and storm scenes got the audience chattering amongst themselves, it was beginning to become a real movie, with the glamorous allure of the Silver Screen infecting them. Even Charlie was starting to feel a little warmer towards the idea, perhaps his son had pulled something off here after all?

Ash continued“ They are working hard for the next forty eight hours to get things ready for the cast, who will arrive in a few days. Now speaking of the cast, Aamir Patel and Manisha Khandah will be joining us and will be starring in this movie!” He beamed and waited for a reaction that did not arrive, and he clicks his fingers as he realises that the town will have little appreciation for the actors and traditions of Indian Cinema. He wonders how much the Mayor has told them about the project and what they plan to do, but that is not a problem for dealing with in the welcoming party so he moves on quickly. “You probably will not know who these people are, but to people in my country, they are stars that would have the town crawling with photographers and paparazzi trying to get snapshots and spoilers into their film magazines and gossipy newspapers.” There is a slight bitterness to this sentence that he cannot quite hide.

“But don't worry if you don't know who they are, that is one of the reasons that we have come to this lovely town, so far from everything and so far away from all the nonsense that goes with big studios and all their big city ideals. This movie is being made by people who love movies, for people who love to watch movies. We are a production that you would call “ A Little Battler”!” That gets a cheer from the residents, Ash's research on how to make friends with locals and how to close the gap between unapproachable and walled off movie folk and the down to earth but relatively rigid senior citizens of Budgee Springs is paying off already. He wanted to use every single person in the town for something where he could.

It was a win-win situation for him, he needed them to want to help the movie succeed and they wanted the promotion and the income for the town. There was so much more at stake than anyone knew, more than he had shared with the friendly but obviously inexperienced Mayor Max Clarke to get the deal. He just needed to get them through the next few weeks, and by then they would be ingrained and the whole thing would work, it would have to work, so much was riding on it.

Ash hoped it would, hoped it really would pay off or he dreaded the alternative so much that he had to have the hope to focus on instead.

“We often use the crew to do a bunch of walk on roles and bit parts in the movie, but by the looks of your fine townsfolk we could have a number, if not all of you appearing in the movie,” this gets a small murmur of contention from the men neat the bar, “But of course you'll be paid the appearance fees, definitely of course you will!.” This gets an even louder murmur but it has changed to appreciation from those who saw the opportunity for the community over the ones who did not want to join in, or not be filmed joining in. Of course not everyone has to be on camera, and we could really use some of your expertise choosing appropriate locations and seeing some of the amazing sights that you Mayor spoke so eloquently of?”

There is some more reaction to this, the tide of opinion has turned quite positive.

“From this afternoon onwards Kiran, Hardeep and I will be holding auditions to see what you can do if you want to be a Bollywood star! Are there any questions?”

A hand shoots up from near the bar and Max does his best to hide the cringe he feels undcer his skin.

“You do realise that we don’t speak Indian?” It's from one of Charlie's cronies, Carl Bromfield.

Ash laughs as he answers “Neither do we.!” He smiles and explains “Actually no language in India is “Indian”; they speak one or more of the twenty-five languages on the sub-continent of India. The two main ones we'll use on set are Gujarat and Hindustani.”

Ella piped up with a sharp voice that put an end to whatever Carl had thought of as a follow up “I told you so Carl Bromfield” and a thump from the bartenders wife to Carl put an end to that line of questioning.

“Most, if not all of the dialogue is recorded post production back in Madras. The actors will re do their lines to the scenes we’ve shot and at the same time other actors will dub yours and some of our main cast's lines into many languages for the wider country release. It is a bit of a tradition, on other movies, where Europeans, or in your cases Australians or Aussies” Ash attempts an Ocker accent but just manages to sound less Indian than he did already and more English, “When they have lines the actors would say ‘gobbledegook, gobbledegook’ for as long as necessary to make it look more realistic.”

Ash overacts and mimes ‘gobbledegook, gobbledegook’ with an big head-wobble and there is a significant laugh from the audience.