The daily tribulations of a soap star are far removed from the glitz and glamour that you see on a TV screen, says Joshua Muyiwa.
Catching up with Preeti Chandrashekar at her shoot location in Kathriguppe, near Banashankari, on a weekday last fortnight, was a bit of a nightmare: the directions were as elaborate as they were confusing.
Chandrashekar, however, knows the route by heart, as she’s been driving herself there for little over a year now. As Ashwini, an obedient daughter-in-law in the serial Maane Ondu, Mooru Bagilu (“One House, Three Doors”), she was, on this day, dressed in a deep-red sari with a broad gold-zari border, strands of jasmine in her hair. The first things you notice are her eyes, that have a certain twinkle to them, and a smile that would befit the Happydent White ad. Chandrashekar looks cheerful despite having woken up at 6am, on certain days to work out, and on other occasions, excusing herself from her regimen to drive from her home in Bannerghatta to the shoot location, to sit through make-up, wear a sari and get ready for the first shot at 9am. “It was more hectic when I was in Jyothi Nivas College, doing my Bachelors in Commerce, as well as shooting for the movies Prana and Sagari – then I had to juggle classes, get notes and manage to have a respectable attendance, though that never happened. I was constantly in the principal’s office, excusing myself for low attendance,” she said, laughing. “Each day might be different, because I try not to club dates between my projects. I try and give chunk bookings to each project instead,” she explained, adding, “Sometimes, the script or the plot may require me to be in two places at the same time, and then I get the two production houses to discuss it.” A few quick sound bytes later, she gets called in for her shot.
The thing that strikes you about Chandrashekar is she will constantly respond to the name Ashwini during the day, like it were her real name. “Ashwini is the name of the character I play, and so it saves the people on set a lot of trouble during shots, by just calling people by their character’s name,” she explained, rushing off to change her sari.
“Playing the lead role means I have 10 or 11 shots a day, and that requires me to change my sari at least 7 to 8 times – that’s the minimum requirement, if they’re not continuous shots,” she said. The time spent in the changing room also means the women on the set get to discuss issues from what they read in the newspapers that morning, to the vegetables they’ve brought in their lunch dabbas. “We’re mostly women on this set, so we have lots to talk about. Endless conversations on our personal lives, cinema… anything and everything,” she said. “We try to keep the gossiping to a minimum, because one can never believe what one reads,” she quickly added.
Another regular thing that happens on set: you see Chandrashekar jostling for private time. These moments are usually tucked between shots, when she asks Shashi, her spot boy, to fetch her phone, for a quick text message or a few quickly mumbled conversations. “I’m usually planning which coffee shop it is where I’m meeting my friends once the shoot is done. Or talking to my fiancé,” she said, having now changed into a green Kanjeevaram sari.
Each shot is a laborious process, one which Chandrashekar explained. “In this serial, there is no dubbing – it’s all direct take. So before each shot, we do a monitor, which allows for the cameraperson, the director and us, the actors, to get the timing right, learn the dialogues, and block positions so the shot doesn’t go to waste.”
Shooting does interfere with her private life, admitted Chandrashekar, and being an integral part of a mega-serial doesn’t allow for much time off. “My granddad passed away sometime ago, and I had to finish my assigned shots for that day before I could go. The production houses give you leeway for these personal losses, but it’s only for a day. You can’t go on a long holiday,” she said. “The reason is that it isn’t about you, it’s the part you play in the making of this serial. And unlike other jobs, where someone can fill in or you can back-up work, you can’t do that here, because your face is important.”
That doesn’t mean she can never take a holiday; all she needs to do is inform the production house two months in advance for, say, a ten-day vacation. The advance notice is required, so the script won’t include her while she’s away. “This affects one’s relationships. You can’t meet your friends too often, and you can’t attend family functions. And when you get the time, it seems so much of an effort,” she admitted. “Except if it is someone from my inner circle of friends, then the effort seems worth it, otherwise just lying around in my track pants and tee seems inviting.”
This day wasn’t to be one of those. “I’m going to drive back home to Bannerghatta at 6.30pm and then attend a friend’s wedding near The Forum Mall,” said the actress on her way to the next shot.
Source : Time Out Bengaluru ISSUE 1 Friday, July 23, 2010
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