The Billionaire’s Sleep

Well. I’ve written the first 3 scenes of the screenplay. I have to admit the vast majority of the dialogue in scene 3 is stand in for what I’ll eventually write but it’s still pretty exciting to imagine how the first scenes will work to set up Rajiv’s character.

I’ve written a scene breakdown for the whole film as well. It’s pretty rough with some very clumsy scenes to set up characters and link the plot across three different strands but it acts as a good base to help fill in the screenplay and identify the glaring problems.

The most exciting thing is there really is a film here. I felt there was but now it’s proven. Reading the scene breakdown from start to finish is a complete film (a bad film that would be difficult to follow but it’s still a film.) From here on it’s about making it a good script.

It’s also clear that it can be made as a short (35 min.), TV hour (50 min) or a feature (90+ min) so there may be a couple versions of the script produced.

Went to see a documentary about bar line girls. It tracked the story of a Delhi girl who goes to Mumbai to dance at beer bars in front of men who shower her with money (literally). The scenes in the house several of the dancers share with their agent captured the sensation of living your life in one room surrounded by others all the time. Privacy was achieved by just doing something that shut out what was going on (applying nail polish seemed effective).

The TV was continually on. New moves on Channel V and MTV show up in that night’s performance. Had dinner later in the evening with two actors who railed against casting directors and talked about how stars and directors happily stand around and chat with extras during Bollywood shoots.

An article about our collaboration has appeared in the Business Standard. A few of the quotes are a bit in-accurate, I don’t still work for the ABC nor have they acquired the rights (although if you’re out there reading and want a pre-sale on a very exciting project please get in touch.) Still all publicity is good publicity. I think we may need to write a press release to keep things in the realm of truth.

Rana and I were interviewed by CNN/IBN yesterday. They did a beautiful little piece with leaves blowing away to reveal the cover of his book, drops of ink in a glass of water and our feet trudging along Prithviraj Road.

I’ve been asked to be more ‘personally revealing’, to allow a few more cliches through, to describe visual moments and to talk about some of the difficulties travelling in India.

I’m going to be perfectly honest. I’m living a very ‘un-difficult’ life. And I chose that so I’d be able to write. So I have a quiet room at a nice guesthouse where no one bothers me unless I ask for something. I buy a morning coffee in a franchised coffee house that does a pretty good espresso. The most embarrasing thing that’s happened is ordering too much takeaway food and the attendant asking me if I was having guests. When I said no, he laughed and said I’d be eating Natavaram Korma for a few days (I am).

I’ve been made fun of for brushing my teeth with bottled water (I’m not sick though) and by a Jain priest for my pronunciation of ahimsa which I was saying ‘ahisma’.

I do have to argue with the auto drivers every morning about fares (I’m saving myself 50 cents but you become obsessed with the principle). I get offered help constantly. I accept it when I need it and smile and say no when I don’t. I get a little stressed when I’m lost (which happens a bit).

So, what do I think? How is this impacting on me personally?

I like it here. Delhi feels like a very comfortable city to be in. At the moment there are a lot of interesting things happening (Rana says this slows down when the summer heat hits). The people I meet are doing things (writing, publishing, filming, speaking, managing, photographing) that give me a small insight to how things work, what has visual impact and ideas on how the city functions. I enjoy listening to people talk.

Everywhere there are small visual details. I was asked what effect the wind has on a sari. I watched the effect of motorcycle exhaust on the hem of a burka instead.

I do know that I’m tired. That each day I set out to do something. I do it and I’m exhausted. Dinner is often at 11pm (or later) so by the time I crawl into bed (full of mughlai food) I’ve had it (and it hasn’t worn off by 9am the next morning).

What I see is a city where people live many lives in order to survive. Rana and I spoke about not using cliches (sorry) like ‘contrasts’, ‘juxtaposed’ etc. because the people you see who appear so different from each other often share links, roles, bonds and manners invisible to the outsider. The have ‘multiple individualities’. It would take a long time (a lifetime?) to understand how their lives work.

Each day I feel euphoria that I’m working on such an amazing project and despair that I can never deliver on what it can be. I think that is the cycle I’ll have till it’s done.

Rana has organised a series of interviews for us with India newspapers and magazines. It’s really an interesting experience. I need to practice a set of 5 or 6 sound bites rather than trying to explain the complex ideas and images we’re working with.

We’ve had discussions with a local production company and it seems totally feasible to shoot in Delhi, simply bringing up some key crew from Bombay.

I’ve been sitting on my balcony writing a scene breakdown to see if the story is making visual sense at the moment. It’s been both a respite from the full on energy of Delhi and a very scary process as I map out exactly how many substantial issues there are still to work out in the visual narrative.