Himel's Shoot

We were in the set the whole day. Himel was directing his dialogue exercise, Kirti on the camera, I was recording the sound. It was going at a snail’s pace. We managed only two shots before lunch. Mr. Tanmay’s absence was being felt. Himel seemed utterly confused. I tried pacifying him. I tried eradicating the confusions in Kirti & Himel’s discussions. But at times I felt I was intervening too much.

Kirti seemed very confused at one point. She ended up going for retakes that were not at all needed. None of us pointed it out. Himel did not take charge of the situation either. She admits later that she was confused about what she wanted. I was on the verge of panicking. I tried remembering how Mr. Tanmay talked sense to me yesterday. But I was unable to do the same with him.

We break for lunch. I ask Himel to write his shots. He wrote it down, and I tell him the confusions persistent in his writing. He writes again, this time they are precise actions but still complicated. I put some more pointers to what would help it be simpler. While having lunch, I tell him if I were you I would have done it this way. Himel agrees at once. I start feeling sick about myself. I felt I have meddled with his thought process. I call up Mr. Tanmay. We needed that indomitable spirit that he inculcates. He said he will take another half an hour to reach. I told myself, “Half an hour, just hold on. Focus on just the next shot.”

Back on the floor, I try and bridge up the conversation between Himel and Kirti. Himel puts the next shot just as I had told him in the lunch. “Soumita gulps down a glass of water as Sounak hands her a napkin to wipe the blood.” Himel steps back and stands in the corner, letting Kirti call the shot. Kirti was still unsure of how she would frame it. I ‘intervene with her natural flow of thoughts’ and lead her on to compose a pretty tight frame. I place the boom near Soumee, who was the onscreen Soumita. Soumee tells me Mr. Tanmay has been here for quite a while. I look up around the cat-walk, I see the tall figure standing in one corner. It was all dark, but I could still make out the shape of his hair.

The shot goes well for me. But Kirti was not happy with it. Himel does not say anything. As Kirti goes for the second take, I desperately control my urge to point it out to Kirti that she is buying time as she is not sure. But I refrain. I remind myself that Mr. Tanmay is already on the floor, and I can ease up a bit. I look up again. This time I only see the tip of a burning cigarette.

A few more retakes go on. Kirti changed the camera positions for a few of them, and asked Jubaraj, playing onscreen Sounak, to stand differently for the rest of them. I could not see any logic in it, still I kept quiet.

In between shots Jubaraj takes out his phone and calls Mr. Tanmay. The familiar ringtone sounds much louder in the silent studio. Soumee breaks into laughter. Mr. Tanmay asks Himel to come up to where he was.

Himel directs the next take from up there. Kirti still not happy with it wants to go for another take. Mr. Tanmay asks Kirti and Soumee (playing Soumita) to change places. Almost all of us give a confused look. They change places. Soumee sets up the camera, Kirti is made to bleed (it was just a make up!!). They go for the shot.

Next, Kirti is asked to come up to the cat walk. Himel comes down. Soumee becomes the actress again, and Sumana takes over the camera. I was silently observing all this ruckus, with the boom mic in my hand. Himel comes down and takes over. The shot is taken.

We all wait patiently after the shot is done. We could hear the reverberations of the quiet conversation Kirti was having with Mr. Tanmay. Kirti lets out a laughter of relief. They both come down. I am an admirer of people who do not give up, who see hope even in desperate times. But I am even more fascinated by people who can inspire, put others in comfort. Mr. Tanmay does exactly that, by the sheer power of his words. All through the last 10 minutes I see the unease in us disappear. Mr. Tanmay's presence somehow reassures us that there is always enough time.

The very third day when Mainak, Jubaraj & Sreecheta pointed out that we had not learnt anything in the lighting & lensing workshop in the last two days, Mr. Tanmay asked why are we in such a hurry. I quietly calculated, he is right. I panic only because I always feel short on time.

We finish the shoot at 6.30 in the evening. I felt pretty bad. Although the seven of us think that we completely believe in what Mr. Tanmay says, but we have not yet been able to practice that on our on. We are pretty clueless on our own.