Shifting realities

As a rookie reporter, I remember going to film sets fully knowing that my whole day would be spent chasing the star or the director I've come to interview. Those were the days when filmmakers didn’t have close sets. When film journalists, by default, became honorary members of a film unit. We had copious amounts of tea and coffee, had set ka khana, sometimes both lunch and dinner and got a chance to talk to the stars between takes. In the process, we absorbed what filmmaking was really about, giving us valuable insights which stand true to this day. There were no fixed shift timings. The shooting took place till the director said pack-up.

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It was the norm for the stars to do two-three shifts per day. Mostly, they were shooting at different floors of the same studio. And so, they changed costumes and flitted from set to set, hurriedly eating and then catching two winks during breaks. This was the norm. No one questioned it or sought a better way of working. Stars prided themselves on being one-take artistes, landing on a set, saying their lines with panache and moving on. People like Mithun Chakraborty, Govinda or Anil Kapoor were veterans of such setups. They literally lived off their suitcases. They were more familiar with the content of their vans than the interiors of their fabulous homes. I’m not saying that was necessarily a better way of working but it was de rigeur. Almost like you don’t question the syllabus in schools or the teaching methods of the teachers.