Been to ‘Madarasapattinam’ shooting spot

While I was heading back home in office cab, I saw a shooting kind-of setup in a place far away from the main road. That setup was in the road that connects Vandalur to Kelambakkam. Our cab driver too saw that and we both agreed to goto the spot and check what it is. It took us 5 minutes to reach the shooting spot (from the main road). The road was bad. Only after landing at the shooting spot, we came to know that, earlier there were no roads connecting the shooting spot and main road. The shooting crew had made the path. It was 6.30 PM, the entire shooting spot was glittering with bright lights.

The minute we landed there, we (Driver and I) confirmed that its a shooting spot. I heard a voice from speaker “Move the trolley, forward….”. I could see a group of people preparing food at one corner, serving food at one end, pile of water containers at one end, more than 10-15 cars and busses, more than 30-50 people moving here and there. From our cab, we could see only the outer side of the set. So, all we saw was cardboards, bamboo sticks, some brown color boards etc and bright lights everywhere. We didn’t have any clue neither on the name of the movie nor on the actors. I have never been to a cinema shooting before.

With much eagerness, we walked towards the set and stood in one corner. I was also kind of scared that they might kick us out. It was a surprise to see how artificial things can be built! how artificial things can be moved! What I saw was – a traffic police dressed up like 1940’s (during British) and standing in the center of the road, there were buildings encircling the traffic police’s location. Its like, the traffic police is standing in the center of a circle and buildings form the circle. The buildings were in 1940’s style. They were so real. Art director had done an amazing job. One of the building had the board “British Post Office”. There were many brits dressed up in police attires (again, 1940 style). There were 4-5 old model cars, 2 busses, 2 bullock carts and a train compartment. 15-20 people inside the compartment. Little did I notice that they have laid the rail track. The entire shooting land (about 6000 sq ft) had ‘thar’ on the top. Man, they have done so much for this shot. There were more than 50 people who had dressed in white and white (1940 style). Right from the beginning, I heard the director voice shouting “Hey, move than car… car go front… train come front…. bus come left …. walk fast… action…..cut it”. The scene is - all the vehicles (train, bus, car, cart) move on the road simultaneously and a person tries to cross the road. That person doesn’t know how to cross and he walks in front of the bus and earns the conductor’s curse. This is the scene. When we reached the spot, this scene was going on. They took this scene for 45 minutes. Only at the end of the shooting I was told that the person who was trying to cross the road was Aarya. I realized “oh, till this time, I was looking at Aarya”. When I turned to my left side, I spotted a familiar face among a group of unknowns. The familiar face was Nasir. He was roaming here and there with his mobile at hand.

“Cut it”. The shooting lights were off. Shooting for the day was done. Aarya walked off the spot and I saw him talking to his friend. When I walked towards them, I noticed that the person to whom Aarya was talking to was Director Vijay (Poi solla porom, Kireedam fame). When they had finished talking, I pitched in and asked “Hi Aarya, Can I take a picture with you”. To which both of them smiled and replied unanimously “No pa, sorry. Getup issue”. No regrets. Point taken. Man, heros get so much respect from crew members. I saw it to believe it. It was 7.15PM. We were walking towards our cab to head back home. On the way, we saw Omar (hero’s brother character in Poi Solla Porom movie).

Earlier in the scene, at 6.29 PM, I was sitting inside the cab thinking about my work and all the project calls that I need to attend from home. I didn’t even expect that in the very next minute I will end up in a cinema shooting and stand next to Aarya and Nasir. The sheer thought that its a surprise adventure makes me feel excited. I saw how much effort cinema crews are putting in to take just a 5 second shot. Not an easy task at all. Great.