That Faceless face

‘Bhaiya, can you show us the scene we recently did?’ I requested the camera man with eyes filled displaying a world of hopes; Hopes, of coming into a movie’s scene for the first time.

I was sitting in a corner table with two things placed before me, a dinner plate   and an instruction of ‘Do-not-dare-to-eat’. It was already from 10 hours that I was witnessing the same scene been shoot. And still the cameras, dialogues, actors, set and the overall ‘Feel’ of a movie was gluing me to remain enthusiastic about everything that was around. The anxiety of haggling with mom for a night shoot had already evaporated. My eyes were noticing a number of other eyes while I lay in a corner like a piece of old furniture. 

‘Who are you?!’ he said giving me a susceptive look.

  ‘Amm..I don’t know if you are in the scene!’ he threw a bunch of words in his bastardized version and it struck me like a dragger.

 That day this neophyte understood that…We are the scene unseen in a movie, we are the shadow of stars, we are unnoticed art of the cinema, we are  the blur of a important scene, we are the nameless characters making a movie, we are the ‘Extras’ , yeah! We are that faceless face called ‘junior artist’.

Having a bubbling group of junior artist friends and also I being one among them, I now have a crispy experience worth putting down on paper. Bollywood biggies have eaten up so much of lime light that none remains for the side artists. My junior artist friends leave no stones unturned to imitate the life of a movie star. They go to acting school, regular gym, dancing class, follow a strict diet, always carry a bag of clothes and make up accessories and yeah! They are always found in groups. I guess, that’s why they are called ‘Crowd’.

It is astonishing to see eyeballs staring at me while I enjoy an Aloo-tiki in McD and my friends take out ‘Home made dabbas’ or savor bananas from their bags. Ahh! We live only once and if we eat what we like then once is enough! Diet? No ways! 

‘Make-up ‘is another element of my friends I mock at. Before a shoot wherein there is no guarantee of camera being focused on them…they apply a truck load of make-up. It consists of concealers, lipsticks, hair and hand accessories, eye lashes, mascara…and a lot more superfluous things. While boys take more time than girls for their hair do and apply lipsticks of a lighter shade …I sit aside and get amazed with a  plain face occupying talcum powder and bit of lip gloss. 

I remember it was a party scene wherein we went as ‘Crowd’. Watching the voluptuous heroine dance,  her juggling enormous boobs like two milk pouches, her fleshy thighs, her glossy big lips , the move of her hips… and her ‘Apsara’ like attire made my friends comment, ‘Bazaaru bitch’ , ‘Randi hai salli’ ‘ Must be good in bed’. The things which shocked me weren’t the baleful comments but the after effects. As soon as the scene was done and ‘Pack Up’ was officially announced the lead actress went out and then my friends followed her with a wooing smile on their face and a request on their tongue ‘Madam ji, please ek photo’, ‘Wow, Madam you act so well. Can you please take a selfie with us?’…All these pictures later became someone’s Facebook status or whats app’s display picture. And the bragging part ‘Look, I did a scene with this heroine in the movie’ works like gober in the gutter.

A person who does a monotonous job with fixed salary finds this acting field as super interesting but an actor or a junior artist envies the stability of a salaried person. Many people whose primary income is from working as extra always face hard times. Money leads them to a day wherein the only parameter which weighs their work is ‘Kitna milega?’ and quality of work is abandoned far behind.

Uncompleted education and uncertain Career is the story of most of them. They are struggling to survival in this industry. My junior artist friends merely know minimal English but finding it chic they speak things such as ‘Mind fuck thai gayu che!’, ‘bhai, Ame to best buddiezz!’. Imported etiquettes you see!

 Money is one thing but they also struggle to get work in big roles as they are tagged of ''extras''. It's very hard to get work from the director who has worked with you while you were an ‘extra’ in his movie. 

Mayanagri Mumbai is also a major attraction for junior artists. Daily a thousand actors enter the big dream city of Mumbai. Most end up as roadside hawkers. Many of my friends set their haphazard trip to Mumbai keeping enough money in their pocket and a lot of patience in their hearts. ‘I am going to find some work.’ This is the only thing they state while we bid them ado on the railway station’s third class dabba. And believe me inside this one line lays a lot of struggle, a lot of ‘Pasina’ and a lot of Hopes!

‘Artist card’ from Bombay becomes the dream asset of these junior fellows. Eventually, they pay hefty membership fees to join the Junior Artists Association. No matter Amdavadi directors condone such Artist card.

 ‘Extras’ are extras in true sense as even the props of the movie are taken better care than these people. These people get no transportation facilities while moving from one site to another. They get no costumes for the scene, no makeup facilities but let me praise the movie crew for providing lunch on the set for these ‘Extra’ fellows. People aren’t interested in ‘Nobodies’ actually!

‘Crowd agents’ are the heads who bolster this crowd. From supplying junior artist where needed to payment to this crowd all is done by them .While their main function remains to eat a junior artist pay and pile money in their pocket. The world is full of monsters with friendly faces, no doubts!

‘Mein to superman, salman ka fan!’ seems the punch line of all junior artists. People eagerly desire to become khans, kapoor’s or chopra’s. Diet, clothes, dance, Actors’ attitude…yeah! This ‘Crowd’ has it all but the only thing which is a scare resource is real, Actual passion for ACTING! It is lugubrious that the net of glamour which the bollywood has spread is so furious that everyone notices everything in a movie except ‘Acting’. 

What else about junior artist? Chalo jane do ! There is an island of experience once you become the part of ‘Crowd’.  

 And the incidents I encountered working as a junior artist consists of some pleasant ones, some not so but that’s life. 

From Janvi’s Honey bag…

In the times when people have stream lined lives I feel blessed as apart from working in crowd I even got niche opportunities to perform as lead. Someday I’m sure to write on it..Meanwhile…Umm! Life goes on!