Arjun - The beginning

This post is meant for people who watch Arjun - so if you don't watch this show, you might as well stop reading now. But before you go let me tell you - you are missing out on a great show! For those of you who have been wondering about my silence on various social media fronts - I have been slightly unwell. I hope the problems will get sorted out in the coming week.

So, the main characters of Arjun had got finalised and I wanted to see how they looked together and so did the channel. I also wanted to see how the new camera that we were planning to use would perform in the dark. So we set up a look test on the set of Humse Hai Liife,which has now been modified to be the ETF office. The corridor was lit up in a dark, contrasty fashion to try and emulate the lighting in a warehouse or something. Contrary to what the plate says, the camera was manned by Tribhuvan Babu. What you see below is a result of that sequence.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nck0OX48C7E

Now it was time to handle one of the two most tricky scenes of the first episode - Riya's earring (which later became a hair clip) to get caught in Arjun's shirt in the middle of a serious discussion about the kidnapper. I had spent sleepless nights over this scene. It required extremely fine balance in the execution because just being an inch overboard would have made the discussion frivolous and the characters seem petty to be distracted by the earring! The scene also sets the chemistry between the two characters  - the first time Riya would try to stand up to Arjun and he would shoot her down rudely. I do not remember how many times I had played the scene in my head as this was one of the two scenes that I was really, really worried about. The other scene which gave sleepless nights was where Riya and Arjun meet first, get into fist-fight and she ends up tightly locked in his arms - but that is another story! I had deliberately chosen this scene to be apart of the look test because I wanted the chance to rehearse and shoot it properly before we hit the floor and I am glad I did! What I remember  most from shooting this scene is how many questions Shaleen and Sana asked me that day and at this point I can admit that I did not have a lot of answers ready but providing an answer to them also answered a lot of questions that I had myself. Rathore had not been cast - so I decided to use one of the crew to stand-in with his back to camera. At this point, I was more worried about the content rather than blocking.

When I finished shooting the scene, it was huge load off my shoulders. Both the actors had got the essence of the scene right and it had turned out better than I had expected. I knew that shooting this scene during actual production would be a cakewalk for all of us.

It was now time to head outdoors and as the sun was setting, I quickly decided to write an improvised scene which would show the difference between Riya and Arjun's characters. I had an inkling that we would be doing some form of honour killing in the coming episodes and as time was short and the sun was setting fast, I chose to write a few lines that would get over in just one shot. In the actual series, the killing is done by the mother and Riya goes and confronts the killer herself - but this is how I had imagined the end to be.

- Gorky M

Inspiration: The magic of old things

" Where is your camera these days? Don't see it much..." Behzaad asked me a couple of weeks back. "It's always in my car," I said, "It's just that I am really sick of shooting all of you (the ETF team) and only you - all the time! Maybe I should have cast Katrina Kaif in Arjun,instead of you guys!!!"

"...or maybe Priyanka Chopra," chimed in Shaleen and we all had a hearty laugh.

The truth was that I really was getting frustrated of shooting only these guys - mostly under lighting conditions that were set up by the cameraman on set. I felt that I was contributing very little, if at all, to the creation of the pictures that I post so often.  My trigger finger was getting itchy. I had not shot something for almost 15 days. Even a call from Raju Bhai, my trusted friend and camera dealer, telling me that a lens that I had ordered long back was finally in stock, failed to excite me. I almost reluctantly went and picked up the wide angle 17-35mm lens from his place late at night and got it home.

On my way to the set the next day, stuck in a Mumbai traffic jam, I started flipping through my "Inspiration" notebook. It is actually a software called Evernote which I use very often to keep quotes, pictures, photographs and other stuff  for future reference - or for times just like these. I came across this quote:

To select well among old things, is almost equal to inventing new ones. - Nicholas Charles Trublet

Then it struck me - what I needed to create/invent was already around me. I had very willing and able actors who would do (practically) anything for me and I was surrounded by lights every single day - the two most important components of photography! All I needed to do was to get them together and create a shot that I could call mine!  I had a few images in my head that I wanted to shoot as a part of a project that I had been thinking of for quite some time. I reached the set that day, determined to get my shot before the day got over. In between all my meetings, discussions and briefings that day, I kept my camera around my neck and an eye out for the frame that I wanted to capture. Finally, in the evening as everybody was  going about their work - I identified the shot I wanted to take and I quietly asked a couple of lightmen to help me setup the lights for my shot.

As soon as Behzaad got free, I asked him to come with me and took the photograph. After him, it was Shaleen's turn but unfortunately, by that time, the cameraman on set had ordered those lights to be brought in because he needed them. I barely managed to get Shaleen's picture as I asked the lightmen, who were already in the process of taking the lights away to step outside the frame. If I remember correctly, both the pictures took a total of two minutes.

Also, as I thanked them and walked away, I cannot be sure... but from the corner of my eye, I think I saw Behzaad and Shaleen exchange a high-five and in between their muted laughter, I distinctly heard one of them say something about Katrina Kaif...

As usual, you can find the large versions of these pictures on my Google Plus page.

Arjun: 50 episodes

As Arjun completes 50 episodes today, I wanted to thank all the people who have been watching this show. This show has been a roller coaster ride ever since it started and being on a roller coaster for a long time is never easy.  Hats off and a heartfelt thanks to everyone involved with the show who have relentlessly given it their best  - day after day. I also want to thank all the people who have been watching the show regularly and letting us know their feedback about the show through various polls and critiques especially the small but passionate community of Arjun watchers on Forum 32. Please keep the praises and brickbats coming!!!

The picture above is a glimpse of what you will be watching tonight. We are working very hard to bring you even better episode of Arjun and starting from tonight's episode there are going to be quite a few surprises. Stay tuned, keep watching and keep interacting.

ARJUN: The mystery of the lost episode

Something went horribly wrong today. We missed the second and third segment of telecast due to technical reasons.

I want to say sorry to all the people who waited for a week to watch the show but did not get to watch it.

I have spent the past couple of hours on the phone trying to figure out what went wrong and where. I have also been been apologising to the people in the team because all their  sleepless nights, working inspite of being sick and ill and all their hard work did not see the light of day.

The video below, though does not make up for the lost episode but what it shows is the spirit that is behind TEAM ARJUN. This is what makes us - and today, I want all of you to be a part of it. So switch off the lights and turn up the volume!