Monday, November 8, 2004
We caught an early morning flight this morning to Mumbai – my birthplace. We got settled into the hotel and interviewed Vijaya Mulay in the afternoon.
Tuesday, November 9, 2004
Today we spent the day at the Indian Films Division, where, it turns out, my Dad was the Chief Consultant for years. Yet another job that I didn’t know he had had. His name is still up on the board there. Raghu Krishna and KL Khandpur talked to me about what my father did there and the type of films that he promoted. He worked to document the Indian story – as factually and realistically as he could tell it, and he helped to ensure that these films got made and were seen. The Films Division is today, what my father made it to be. We also got to watch some of the original footage from the SITE experiment. This is going to go very well with the reenactment we just shot the other night.
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
Still in Mumbai, this morning we saw Shama Habibullah. What an incredible woman. She was the Production Coordinator on the film “Ghandi”, responsible for coordinating thousands of people and camels and costumes etc. She has had quite a history and is now one of the most respected filmmakers in India.
We went back to the Films Division in the afternoon to interview Shyam Benegal.
Thursday, November 11, 2004
We left for Thal this morning. It’s a crazy drive. We are heading to the home of our friends Tina and Bakhul Khote for the weekend of Diwali, a wild and crazy Indian Holiday. When we arrived, we were invited into the home of a Freedom Fighter to witness the religious Puja ceremony that kicks off Diwali. His home was near the Tidal Flats and during the pre-Independence days, the Freedom Fighters created a system of secret tunnels and caves under the city leading out to the flats so that they could move around, or disperse, quickly and undetected. It was all rather fascinating.
The Puja was amazing to witness. The villagers lit oil lamps in beautiful statues and displays and there was music everywhere. It was incredible.
Friday, November 12, 2004
Tina and Bakhul Khote have a beautiful beachfront house where my Dad used to love to vacation. It hasn’t changed at all since those days. Our interview with the Khotes was great and it was so nice to see them again.
As we were leaving, we stopped at a traditional “ghat”, no longer used as it used to be, and met a few water buffalo along with their master.
Later in the afternoon, we packed up again, and took the ferry back to Mumbai.
Saturday, November 13, 2004
Not much shooting today. We shot a lot of b-roll as there were quite a few people in the streets celebrating Diwali. In the evening, before we flew back to Delhi, we managed to get some shots of the fireworks on the water.
