My Movie "Woh Ghar"

The Audition and Selection.....

All the short listed children, about 45 in all, were called in for audition one Sunday. The awe inspiring personality of Girish Karnad was himself present for the audition. Having seem him perform as the strict and short-fused "Shastriji" (A Pandit) in Shankarabharanam / Sur Sangam movies, I could sense my knees buckle when my name was called out. But I took comfort from the fact I had my close friend Arun and another class-punter Tantri with me.

So it was - a bunch of starry eyed, inquisitive kids, 45 in all, who went on stage for the first stage test of their life, with Mr. Karnad himself holding the baton ! Each one of us was given a situation at first, and then an expected line of reaction as second. I was promptly handed an imaginary 'lollypop' and told to act / react what I would do if two of my friends pester me for a share. Looking back, I think my performance was fairly ordinary but natural and child-like; I expressed a few moments of suspense looking at both of them through the corner of my eyes and then going with the friend who offered me sweets and use of his cricket ball in exchange for sharing the lollypop. At the end of the test, we were told that all the children who participated had made it.

Only later did we realize, that as a gesture of goodwill (and part necessity), Mr. Karnad agreed to take the entire bunch for few of his shots, where, he needed the whole bunch-lot of children running out from the classes after the bell ring. Actually only 15 of us were picked up for the lead role, and Lo ! Behold ! I was to be one of them !!

To this day, I sometimes run my thoughts as to how on such a brief exchange of yes and no between two persons rested the difference between me getting the chance !!

Selected !!.....

Rest, as it is said, was history, or shall I say a Movie !! The entire shooting took about 21 days. A crumbling old Haveli (Large House) at Mehrauli was rented by the Producers, at the outskirts of Delhi, within a stone's throw from the historic Qutub Minar. It was three weeks of pure fun and frolic, of course with its own moments of boredom. The routine was typical : everyday in the morning around 7, we were picked up in a car from our home and taken to the Haveli. Back then, the Ambassador car with curtains was the ultimate of luxury we could imagine. Once at the shoot site, it was open picnic, till we are called for our shots. We would have sumptuous and deliciously tasty breakfast before the start of the day. Then would follow the make up and costume set up part. Almost all us-boys were given a rather distasteful haircut, in an effort to look like village urchins. The girls had their hair locks 'dipped' into oily bath and a severe looking hairstyle, with traditional 'lehenga'-top dress. The boys with their 'pancha' (a style of dhoti wearing) and Khadi 'Kurtas' had their own rustic look to sport. Two of us, I reckon, even had 'Shendiis' to sport, the typical old world Brahmin pony tail.