SNAPSHOTS
Shooting India
HARSH KABRA
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Tabrez Noorani, the line producer for “Slumdog Millionaire”, on his work and the differences in working in the West and in India.
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His tryst with the arc lights began as a child model in commercials directed by his famous uncle, filmmaker Zafar Hai — he was the “Complan Boy” in the long-running commercial in the 1980s — and then moved to the other side of
the viewfinder as a production assistant — he was still in high school when he worked on “The Perfect Murder” in 1987 — and later as a second assistant director.
In 1991, he left for the U.S. to attend Loyola Marymount University Film School in Los Angeles, where his first student film won the best experimental student film award at the 1993 Venice Film Festival. Subsequently, he trained under independent producer Deepak Nayar, line producing commercials and music videos for David Lynch and Wim Wenders.
Today, Tabrez Noorani, co-founder of the 14-year-old Los Angeles-based production service company India Take One Productions with his Delhi-based partner Pravesh Sahni, has grown into Hollywood’s go-to line producer for A-list filmmakers like Danny Boyle (“Slumdog Millionaire”), Oliver Stone (“Alexander”), Roger Donaldson (“The Bank Job”) and Will Smith (“Extreme Cities”). The 30-something Noorani specialises in the production of U.S. and European commercials, features and music videos in India. Later this year, Noorani will start directing his first feature film, “Love Sonia” set in India, Hong Kong and Los Angeles and is about global sex trafficking. Excerpts from an interview:
How has Hollywood’s fascination with India evolved?
When I came to the U.S., people here knew Indian movies existed, but not many non-Indians had seen them. The memory of shooting in India was limited to “Gandhi” or “City of Joy”. There was a vague idea that it was unsafe to shoot in India. There were anxieties around whether it was possible to work in India as seamlessly as in the West. Today, shooting in India makes good sense: it is exotic and economical. There’s a genuine interest in India. Often, India also doubles up for Pakistan or Persia and is used for doing period stuff. A lot is being written to be specifically shot in India. That’s because there are more books globally about India; Indian stories written by Indians.
Given the debate about western movies set in India peddling stereotypes, do you see an obsessive fixation there with things like poverty when it comes to India?
Sometimes. But much of that gets taken care of at the script level. Rules require us to submit the entire script to the Government of India. If the government thinks it’s overdone, it will not clear the script until you change those parts. As Indians, even we don’t want to be showing anything that the government or people will object to. It is a fine line. In the case of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, I personally think that Danny Boyle did a fantastic job. Danny is very good at working with people, earning their trust. He took a lot of help, listened to people. That’s why the movie is what it is today.
Is the approval process cumbersome?
It has become better. Now scripts are cleared within weeks. The ministry has become very savvy. With more scripts coming in, they know what questions to ask. However, certain things continue to be difficult; for example, anything involving airports, trains, or lengthy aerial photography. Many times, we end up not doing something because of the process and the time it takes.
What are the regulatory differences between shooting in the U.S. and India?
In India, you need to go through several departments to get the necessary permissions. For example, you cannot shoot in a Mumbai street with just one permit. You have to go to the municipal corporation, police, traffic authorities and others, besides, of course, dealing with whatever comes up when you actually shoot. It also makes shooting there a lot more exciting.
You need to set up the shoot really well, especially when you aren’t shooting in the studio. Shooting in India is more about befriending people and earning their respect. You cannot just pick up the phone and solve a problem. You have to physically go there and spend time with people.
What about safety and other procedural specifications?
This is where the onus is on us. A lot of rules don’t exist in India. There are no health and safety officers on the sets. No risk assessments are carried out, even when insurance companies are involved.
So we have to be aware that, just because the rules don’t exist, we cannot ignore the prerequisites. We have to budget for those requirements and be as safe as we can. Furthermore, it is unacceptable for large foreign crews to be not treated in the same way as in their countries.
How difficult is it to bridge these gaps?
Take our shoot at Mumbai’s VT train station for “Slumdog...” It was enormously challenging. More than the paperwork, it all ended up being about the people at the top and how you interacted with them. It took four months of negotiation, finessed over daily tea with the station manager.
In the U.S., for instance, if I want to shoot snow and people skiing in the streets, the answer to whether I can do it is either ‘yes’ or ‘no’. In shooting in India, there is always a lot in between. While shooting in India, especially outside the studio, we have to be very mindful of popular sentiments and political sensitivities. For example, if it comes to shooting a riot, I would always prefer a studio to the streets because not doing so can trigger off other problems.
How prepared is mainstream Indian cinema for the world stage?
Many movies being made today are suitable not just for the Indian, but also the world audience. I think this is what China was going through 15 years ago. Americans and others are very aware of Indian cinema today. They realise that there are interesting filmmakers coming out of India who are educated and can make films comparable to global ones. The question about the regular Bollywood stuff is: how do you get someone who isn’t of Indian origin or doesn’t have a keen interest in our type of movies to the theatre? It cannot be because of the people in the movies. There need to be stories that appeal to viewers outside India.
Are our song-and-dance routines a USP or an embarrassment?
I don’t think that ingredient works for mainstream Hollywood. It is exotic and nice, not an embarrassment. Everyone in India loves it. But I don’t think the mainstream global audience will go and see a film that has many songs. Yet, I see that many recent films are dealing with it in an interesting way, selling well in India as well as outside.
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