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Confessions of an AD

The journey of becoming a film maker has taken me to the initial milestone of becoming an assistant director (AD). The team of Ads is headed by Nitesh, who has been associated with Pavan Kaul in television and films, first assistant Himanshu, who has worked in Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Lage Raho Munnabhai and Eklavya. The rest of us Justin, Ravi, Prasad and myself are first timers. Justin has made a short and is also an editor, who has worked in advertisements/serials before. Ravi is from Delhi and has a few documentaries to his credit. Prasad might be a new comer, not sure of his experiences. To my surprise I realised this is the 4th film I am involved in some respect, learning the craft of film-making. The first being ‘Jo Bole So Nihaal’ where I was production assistant, then sort of a trainee/observer in the post production of yet to be released English film called ‘Don’t stop dreaming’ directed by Aditya Raj Kapoor (Shammi Kapoor’s son), 3rd would be ‘No Smoking’, whose coverage for PFC was good exposure and 4th is Bhram, which again I covered for PFC was a good learning experiences. Now bloging as an AD of Bhram!
Our production office is in Worli, in Magna house. It houses the offices of Stardust, Showtime, Society and other magazines published by Magna. Bhram is the first feature film of Magna films. This year will mark the beginning of Stardust award. They are scheduled for 18th of Feb.
A meeting was called by Pavan to discuss the position we were at. Some of the locations needed to be locked for shooting the dance sequences and narrative scenes. The list included a fancy dance club, an elite lobby, an apartment complex’s compound, a gym, restaurant, 5 star conference halls etc. A mill in Buyculla area is been used to erect sets. For the lobby location I suggested a resort in Borivilli, where a sequence of ‘No Smoking’ was shot. We went their. The location was found okay not great. The art director Khyati Kanchan (assisted in Neal n Nikki and Dhoom 2) was happy but it was kind of small for the choreographer Stanley. He said that he could manage if there was no other option left. But Pavan wanted to give complete freedom to Stanley so the hunt was on for the location. I along with Khyati and Prabhat (Production official, has been working for 5 years) were assigned the task for the next day. We decided to meet at Andheri East railway station as the hotels were close to that place. The meeting time was set to 11:00 am. I reached the station at 11:10 am. Just then got a call from Khyati she had also just reached. Prabhat and Mehboob (driver and owner of Toyota Quails, who has worked in RGV’s factory) were waiting in the car. After little efforts located them and we all were on our way to check out the hotels. We started from the hotels near the international airport. Almost all of them had policy of not allowing the shoot in the hotel premises. That made sense, as the shoot would disturb the clients, who are much more important. They really did not care about filmy public. But we tried. One of the smaller hotels agreed for the shoot, but had to be done inside the restaurant and the charges were quite high (more than a lakh). Also the roof was not too high for the Jimmy Jib to operate. Still it was a good option. I shot the location on a handycam to show it to Pavan. Then we decided to checkout the hotels at Juhu Beach. The result was the same. One of the 5 star hotel was sealed. Prabhat tried to get in. The security guard wont. Somehow he managed to get to talk to the manager, who allowed him in and showed the location. He called me to have a look. It was a grand place! With lot of restaurants, halls etc. The location was good but required some art work.We were not allowed to shoot inside. The negotiations did not move below 120,000/day. Then we thought of checking Sea Rock, which has been closed after the bomb blasts in 1993. It was futile. The manager won’t allow the shoot. I called a friend of mine, who works for ICICI bank in Bandra-Kurla complex (BKC) and asked him if they have a good lobby. He said yes they do have it. It was decided to check out buildings in BKC area. ICICI was not interested either. Checked out other banks they were kind of star struck and showed interest in the shoot but had small lobbies. The last stage was to check out the hotels near domestic airport in Santacruz. The result was the same. One of the hotel manager was willing to give it to us from 3am-7am, but too less of a time. We needed to shoot 12 hrs straight for 4 days. End of the day it was a good exercise never the less, made me aware of most of the hotels in the city.
Been involved in few films here, I have found out that the outdoor shooting has its own hindrances. One has to get municipal, RTO (transport authority) and police permissions and charges apply. The charges could be anywhere starting from Rs 30,000 to over lakh rupees per day depending upon the location. Some locations like the Gateway of India charge insane amount around a lakh rupees/hour if I recollect properly. For No Smoking the producers were ready to spend the money for the Gateway location, even then it was not possible because of high sensitivity around New Year eve’s time.
The shoot has started. Was able to get sometime coz of the break today.Sheetal Menon, the actress, has shot great clips of Kulu location on her mobile. It reminded me of Kabul Express. The landscape is just mind blowing.Would try to put the clips online sometime soon. Tomorrow we are shooting at a theater in Juhu!

28 Responses to “Confessions of an AD”

  1. t! on February 13th, 2007 8:11 am

    Was wondering what had happened to you!!! Congratulations on the AD position, and am looking forward to reading more about the shoot!!!

  2. striker on February 13th, 2007 8:16 am

    oye welcome back manjeetey.. tu tho gayab hi ho gaya tha! nice to see you back as an AD, no less.. good luck with the remaining shoots and keep us posted! :)>-

  3. manjeet singh on February 13th, 2007 8:25 am

    Thanks guys. Lately I have been busy..plus problems with my computer..it keeps on restarting:)

  4. RK on February 13th, 2007 8:31 am

    Manjeet:
    now there is no Bhram, that you are leading towards realising your dreams. Now AD later D, vow
    congratulations. :)

  5. manjeet singh on February 13th, 2007 8:43 am

    Thanks RK:)
    Its all destiny buddy..We are made to do things, which we think we are doing..it would be foolish to say yes I will..there could be so many things whihc might go wrong..If I do one become it would be allmighty’s wish even if I dont it would be his command..So far I have observed everything is going well in the direction.. things happening on their own..take for eg. PFC.. with everybody’s wishes it is possible.. PFC would remain a special place to be on ..

  6. Sangeeta on February 13th, 2007 8:56 am

    Congratulations Manjeet

  7. mainak on February 13th, 2007 9:31 am

    Manjeet do you like being an AD?
    I was Prakash Jha’s AD in GANGAAJAL.
    I was lucky to have worked for him. He works so fast. The movie was over & released in a year. And he works fast & is always in control.
    I came to bobay with dreams of working with Anurag but since i didnt know anyone in bollywood I couldnt contact him at all. After a year of struggling i got to walk into Prakash Jha’s office.
    I miss that crew. Sujit da the Steady Cam guy’s work fascinated me to almost become a steadycam operator.
    But i wouldn’t wanna assist again. Its a pretty thankless job. And you get blamed for every fuck up too. And u get paid less than the spot boys most of the time.
    Its weird the only places where ADs get paid really well are in those YashRaj kinda places where we will never work anyways. So its a tough call. Work for passionate people like anurag who will say they dont have money to pay u enuff or to sell ur soul & work for sohail khan & get paid what u deserve?
    I see that people work on the 1st film for less money & more quality but llife bogs them down with bills & they go to Sohail & karan Johar’s films.

    I think all these so called passionate filmmakers should take responsibility for not supporting kids who come with passion. Infact these very people exploit them & drop them. Is it that hard to pay the AD 10,000 when u are making a 50lac film?
    I think some people defend that by saying that it is a filtering process for the non serious glamour struck kid.

    I would love others comments on that!

    cheers

  8. rajkumar on February 13th, 2007 9:37 am

    Congrats Manjeet…

  9. RK on February 13th, 2007 9:38 am

    mainak: you are not continuing your film making dream? Its interesting to know that you assisted Prakash Jha.
    Few months ago we had discussed AD’s conditions in hindi cinema. you may find few comments interesting there.
    http://passionforcinema.com/assistant-directors-in-hindi-cinema-are-they-paid-enough-to-live-with-self-respect/

  10. RK on February 13th, 2007 9:39 am

    Manjeet:
    Thats very humble way rather spritual way. Hope there is no wrong turn there in journey and its a straight path.:) dont worry when you are not wrong, things wont go wrong.

  11. manjeet singh on February 13th, 2007 10:13 am

    mainak, I am lucky that I am from Mumbai, so the pressure to survive is little less but its there. So far it has been a good experience. I also venture into other departments and try to learn anything n everything. While on No Smoking sets I learned how the film is loaded in the camera, with the help of camera attendent:) It particularly would not give me any advantage as a film maker but somehow the whole film making process fascinates me. So yes I am enjoying every bit of my job. If earning money is the objective than perhaps this is not the correct place. If someone can write, edit or do camera work it might be much rewarding and quicker way of becoming a director. You will have to spend sometime in the industry before making money. The chief ads make decent money I suppose. I guess theres no fix answer to ur question.It varies on individual situation.
    Thanks Rajkumar hope to see you start your project soon.
    Thanks RK and Sangeeta for the kind wishes!

  12. Baarishh on February 13th, 2007 11:56 am

    Hey manjeeet.. congratulations on the AD position… and keep us posted :)

  13. OM on February 13th, 2007 11:57 am

    Oyyee manjeet congrats buddy…your hard work paid…:d/

  14. Vasan Bala on February 13th, 2007 12:12 pm

    Sikh regiment zindabad…so happy for you man….and yes your view on destiny….and the things that it makes you do…may not agree 100% [but am tempted as time passes by] but cheers to you and please do not underestimate urself and leave it all to “The Guru”…….may you achieve more success and yes RK please do go ahead with the autopsy of Manjeet

  15. kartik krishnan on February 14th, 2007 1:11 am

    sat sri akal !!!

    Congrats manjeet :-)

  16. shitij on February 14th, 2007 7:06 am

    Hi Manjeet,

    I am so happy to find that you are slowly but surely reaching there.

    I hope you make your mark soon…my best wishes are always with u.

    (I feel u have come a long way since the first conversation we had on PFC…keep the momentum up buddy…I will be shortly joining my job at Mumbai…so in case of any help pls get in touch)

    Contact me @ shitijshitij@rediffmail.com

    Regards,
    Shitij

  17. manjeet singh on February 14th, 2007 10:25 pm

    Thanks guys again!
    Shitij good to know you would be in Mumbai, will surely meet up. are u doing film related work?

    Yeterday BBC reporters came on the sets of Bhram. I was interviewed, might come on BBC:)

  18. wb on February 15th, 2007 12:09 am

    abey, chupe rustom nikle hain yaar aap to! badhaayi ho! Aage AD main A drop karke D hojaoge! Likhte raho yaar, kabhi kabaar!

  19. amit chakravarty on February 15th, 2007 1:42 am

    Great work Manjeet, hope I get to assist you someday…!
    Working as an Assistant Director is very difficult especially in the Hindi film industry. They not only pay less, but also get treated very badly. Some Directors have a big attitude problem. Recently I attended a lecture conducted by a Hindi film director; when asked if he was looking for ADs, he replied in the affirmative and he also stated,” I want assistants who do not aspire to become director. Like in Hollywood where you get professional Assistant Directors. To become a director you start off by making short films.” I was quite stunned by this statement . I am sure he himself would have been an assistant at some point.
    Then there are certain directors who would refuse to meet you or even take your call. Some directors only work with family and freinds or even star children. I know directors who wouldn’t entertain you if you are not an FTII graduate…! I went for an interview recently although they were impressed with my answers and my knowledge about the filmmaking process, I got rejected because I have never had any Hindi feature Film experience. I am from an advertising and television background, but the production house felt that I should have atleast one feature film in my resume. I totally agree that you get the best knowledge from experience, but given the kind of scenario where directors are as unapproachable as the supertars, I am not sure where and how to start.

  20. kaveetaa on February 15th, 2007 5:11 am

    @ Manjeet..Balle balle and shaava shaava time eh? Going by the comment above by Amit, you sure are born under lucky stars :d Congrats!

    And of course balle balle teh shaava shaava to Oz and Pavan too=d>

  21. Sophocles on February 15th, 2007 5:54 am

    Manjeet,
    many congratulations, man! Looks like all the patience is paying off! look forward to seeing you as a full fledged director in the years to come!

  22. Surendra Hiwarale on February 15th, 2007 9:54 am

    lage raho majeet bhai…

  23. mainak on February 16th, 2007 1:49 am

    1st of all Manjeet I don’t think i need get the standard lecture of
    “If earning money is the objective than perhaps this is not the correct place.”

    from you. Esp since you are from bombay. I would not be doing what i am doing if money & glamour was what i am after. I came to Bombay within a week of finishing my Electronics engg. in B’lore at the height of IT Boom. Its like standing in the middle of a goldmine & saying i don’t like it here I wanna walk across to there where there are crops growing. No Gold for me!
    Now i’m here in LA & going through the same struggle while my friends & classmates from Engg are bathing in money around me.

    Anyways what i’m saying is i think its almost impossible if you are not from Bombay & your parents are not supporting you.
    I know that because i worked for free for 10 months. Because when i finally got my break, you know how much was the pay? 2000 Rs. Can u imagine paying rent & surviving in Bombay with 2000 bucks? But i was ready to work for free. The 2000 bucks was given to me just out of pity or so that i feel responsible for my work. Like everywhere, after a hour long conversation with Prakash Jha he told me he doen’t need any asst (which was a standard smart lie) So i said you dont have to pay me, just let me sit in the corner in your set. I’ll fuckin make tea for the crew if u want me to(that was the only thing i could cook then).
    Thats how i got my break. It took me 1 year to get into a room with a director like that. And Amit from what i have seen if you have TV experience its actually worse than no experience at all. TV is like a disease to film people.
    I have a classic story of Vidhu Vinod Chopra. But that some other time.

    But AMIT what would you do if u were a hot shot director? Would u meet every dude who comes to ur office to be ur asst?
    I dont know the answer.
    But I think we need to have a organization which helps talented outsiderswith mentorship program. Something like PROJECT INVOLVE here at IFP. Shonali Ghosh’s AMU starring Konkona Sen is a product of that program. Its a mentorship program only for people from diverse ethnicities. I met Shonali last month after a screening. She is so sweet & nice. AMU was a great film.

    Manjeet I wish you all my luck. There’s nothing personal. I think people like u with advantages like that have the responsibility of making it & making good cinema. Its a shame its being done by a outsider like Anurag & RAMU more than someone like FARHAN Akhtar. I mean DON was unbelievable. I stopped after 15 minutes.

    OR i guess outsiders always have more passion & are the most genuine film lovers. Its like immigrants are always richer then the locals.
    Does that make sense?

  24. manjeet singh on February 16th, 2007 5:45 am

    Thanks for the wishes friends >:d<

    Mainak, The outsider’s POV you mentioned is very much true. Anurag and Ramu being outsiders understand Mumbai much better than the localities. As an outsiders the minutest thing comes to their observation. The things which strike them, goes unnoticed by us. Hence they have mad good films on the City. In my case too
    I realised the importance, when I was an outsider to Mumbai. Always wanted to make a film.
    More like a hobby. Never thought it as a career option. After doing MS in engineering and working for one of the biggest and greatest company. I realised this is not what I want to do. The materialistic world just did not make any sense. Living abroad gives u the importance our films have in one’s life. If you take out films, cricket and indian food from an indian’s life there is nothing much left.
    I didn’t attempt to give a lecture just my POV.
    You never know when u hit a jackpot:)

  25. mainak on February 16th, 2007 11:58 am

    Manjeet so u r also one of us….
    Engg to Film Making.
    I wonder what is it with so many engineers that makes them wanna make films. Its not like that with doctors or hotel management or any other proffesion. There are but very few. But seems like a lot of Engineers want to make movies.

    Where did u do your MS & which great MNC did you work for?

  26. manan singh katohora on March 5th, 2007 5:04 am

    mainak…
    read your views on farhan akhtar and DON…

    this is the same FARHAN AKHTAR who gave us the brilliant DIL CHAAHTA HAI…
    whats wrong with him trying to make a POPCORN FILM - which is what he intended to do and succeeded - the movie is a big global hit…

    i mean 70% souls in the world - pay $10.50 or equivalent to escape from reality…
    i wouldnt hold that again FARHAN

    i respect the fact he can make em all…
    a path breaking DCH and pure masala DON
    with a semi-brilliant war flick LAKSHYA

    Regards - Manan KATOHORA

  27. Baarishh on March 19th, 2007 7:00 am

    Hey manjeet.. was wondering when we’ll get to hear more from you about your experience?? a while ago read something about you in punjabi movie..how is that goin? (unless i am totally confusing some other news then i apologize)

  28. vishal on October 4th, 2007 4:33 pm

    Hi Manjeet….quite an interesting confessions….made for goo dreading…

    Well, jus apassing thought, I am into Model Management-casting…..here in Mumbai.If you have nay model casting requirement in the near future, we can perhaps associate together on the same. i m at thefaces.models@gmail.com
    & when is the movie BHRAM releasing….? Seems the menon babe has got soem amazing feathers in her cap to talk abt from this film??
    CHEERS VISHAL

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