It was a normal evening. Tangerine dusk was losing its sheen
to ascending moon coming tiptoed with refulgent darkness. We had just returned
from LC but our arguments on illogical topics wouldn't dare to come to a full
stop. I escaped the discussion to change my dress and get some fresh air. While I
was proceeding to get a leak, I overheard Nalin saying “Chalo yaar, ek movie
banate hain”. Considering the copious castles we had already built in air and with such procrastinating lazy asses hanging around, I was quite amused by
the idea and convincingly continued on my way to relax my bladder. The idea, as
expected, was not materialized for a month or two but always kept rising like a
phoenix in our discussions. Strategies were chalked out, script was weighed
upon, characters were created and then the next day, woooooosh, everything
lost. Then one morning when I woke up, I found the room of Akash & Nalin
locked. To my utter surprise Anshu & Hitesh were also missing from their
rooms. I asked a few guys and came to know that movie was being put on the
floor and the guys had gone for the “Muhurt Shot” i.e. the first shot.
Mother of God!! These morons were damn serious. Bang on, the movie was
certainly being made.
I still remember the day when we all went to ghaat
near Mughalsarai Highway shortly after the daybreak. All of us were in a soporific
state ready to rush back to their beds with the slightest hint. I wondered, how
on earth are these guys going to give a shot? But million thanks to the so very
“smooth” ride (pun intended J) on Varanasi roads, everyone was right up on
their toes by the time we reached. After reaching the shooting location, I was
astounded by the choice of the site. It was an extremely ordinary expanse along
the river Ganga, covered with dry & pale yellow grasses, dotted with the sight
of children performing their morning duties, some still enjoying their sweet
dreams, noisome odour filling the miasma, fishermen still preparing themselves in
anticipation of a nice catch and a lone boat sauntering in front of us. I
cursed Nalin for getting us to such a distant location at the break of the day
with nothing amazing; Assi or Dashashwamedh would have been way better. But the
sheer creativity of Nalin and Anshu outdid that run-of-the-mill surrounding. They waited for the sun to rise above the horizon and fall its reflection on the water; put the camera on the tripod and took the shot from back. The
shots taken here were in the posters of The Last Date and marks the
beginning of Manjhaa sequence in the movie.
The Last Date was a significant learning curve in my
life. Day after day, I watched Hitesh, Anshu, Akash & Nalin doing their
shots sincerely with profound scrupulousness, not cowed down by horror of
several retakes. I learnt a great deal about movie-making, camera work,
auto/manual focus of lens and many other stuffs. But life is a bumpy ride. By
the first week of May, everyone was supposed to complete their coding and start
writing the thesis. Thankfully, all our supervisors were chill and relaxed the
deadlines a bit but the person under whom Anshu & Hitesh were pursuing
their dissertation was an asshole. That 5-feet tiny creature had rather towering
expectations from his students despite the fact that he hardly helped anyone in
his research and knew close to nothing. Anshu somehow managed to escape the
heat but Hitesh was given a tough time. We all stood by Hitesh but it was Mohit
who really stood out. With his prior knowledge of Hadoop, he burnt day and
night with Hitesh and helped him do something worth satisfaction, pulling him
back from the brink. Our anticipated release on 15th May, was
delayed by 2 days because of copyright issues. Moreover, the first release had
several lip-sync issues. We somehow managed to cope up with all that and found
other way round for every single problem. The world ain’t all sunshines and
rainbows. It is not about how hard you hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit
and keep moving forward.
When we all watched the final version of the movie with all
the editings done, we were mesmerized by the end product. It was way beyond our
expectation level. The camera work done by Anshu was genuinely applaudable. The
ragging sequence in b/w mode with Anshu puffing Black was classic, the
“Manjhaa” sequence exuded warmth and epitomized the camaraderie we all
share, the “Dil Dhadakne Do” track celebrated the spirit of Kashi with
great élan and LC & VT were depicted with great panache. Hitesh and Akash
were superb, and not to forget the supporting cast Abhishek, Baba, Sajan, R2, Shreya
and Mukki of course (the way he said “Maar sale ko” has given us several
rib-tickling moments). And yeah, Scene 11 is still my favorite J.
Today while watching the movie for nth time (I have
seriously lost the count), I was caught in the reveries of those good old days.
I cannot say how other people responded to the movie, whether they liked it or
not; but to be very frank, I just don’t care. We thought we were making a movie
but now when I look back, I feel we were actually creating memories. Rather
than destination, it’s the journey that gives meaning to our lives. For me, The
Last Date was not a destination, it was a journey we embarked upon a few
months ago. Although my contribution may have been very little compared to the
efforts that have been put into it, I feel genuinely privileged to be a part of
this endeavor.
The Last Date – you will always be a special one.