Airports are fun when you're not too jetlagged, sleep deprived, and dehydrated to enjoy watching the international flow of humanity. I'm in the middle of a 19 hour layover in Bangkok's overly air conditioned (it is cold in here!) airport and mostly digging it. I must admit it would be a different story if not for my brother and his frequent flyer miles scoring me the business class tickets. Yay for the free internet and the "slumber room" in the business class lounge!
I'll be back in Bombay tonight! I'm so excited! I scored a one month sublet apartment right next to where I was staying before. It'll buy me some time while I find my feet. As usual with me there's no clear gameplan. I have had no contact with any agents while I've been away so I'm just going to start making calls when I get back and see if I can pick up where I left off. Again, I don't know why, but I feel good about whatever is going to happen.
But it'll have to wait a couple days because tomorrow is frickin' Holi, the wildest, wackiest, most colorful day of the year in India, already arguably the wildest, wackiest, most colorful country in the world. What's it look like? Something like this. Okay that's a 70's Bollywood version and bandits don't usually crash the party at the end, but it's really pretty true to the spirit, everybody getting loopy and throwing powdered colors at each other all day. Man, there are so many great Holi numbers in Bollywood movies...It's the day after my plane arrives and I'm honestly not sure how much juice I'll have to join the fray...but...but...it's just long been a little dream of mine to be in India going crackerdog nuts on Holi so I'll have to do my best. Will let you know...
Friday, March 21, 2008
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Eddie in...the High Desert of Southern California
Not sure if I'm supposed to be writing blog entries at all now, since this blog is titled Eddie in India, and I'm not in India for the next month or so. But I am Eddie. And I make the rules here, so here we go.
My last few days in Bombay were a good lesson in how much pull a guy like me has in a city like that: very very little. I really wanted to meet a few more agents in person and discuss contracts and work visa sponsorship, and so I worked my contacts list to it's frayed and faded limit, getting a couple more to agree to meet me before I flew out. But then everyone postponed and postponed and finally cancelled. Even picking up my paycheck from the ad shoot I did turned out to involve 2 aborted appointments before finally getting my money. This is just what it's like, though, and while it got a little frustrating, I don't know...I'm still just happy to be in India, I guess, so my spirits remained high. Like I wrote before, I just have a feeling everything's going to be fine.
The day of my departure, I was waiting for a train from Andheri to Bandra after another unsuccessful mission to meet an agent. As my southbound train approached the platform, I noticed the northbound train coming from the other direction on the adjacent set of tracks. I thought to myself, "Oh my god. Are they going to meet each other at the exact spot where I'm standing?" Indeed they did, gifting me with a little rush of joy at the serendipity of it. I love these little signs. I don't call myself superstitious, but I know how to enjoy these statistical vacuum fluctuations, these little love bites from the beyond. Another one occurred that night as my taxi arrived at the airport: the meter read exactly 10.00. I considered myself smooched, didn't argue with the driver's sudden inflated rate conversion, and bid a cheerful (and temporary) farewell to Bombay.
I've been in Joshua Tree, in southern California now for the last 4 days. It's a desert and it's absolutely beautiful here. I'm so fortunate to get to make money cooking good food with friends for nice people here for the next month. I'm settling into a good daily rhythm and have already joined the local gym to continue "Mission: Muscle Man!" We'll see what a little determination, a gym membership, and whey protein powder can do for my historically wiry frame.
I've also been taking advantage of a reasonably reliable fast internet connection and have uploaded some more photos and some of my videos. Click the links to the right...
My last few days in Bombay were a good lesson in how much pull a guy like me has in a city like that: very very little. I really wanted to meet a few more agents in person and discuss contracts and work visa sponsorship, and so I worked my contacts list to it's frayed and faded limit, getting a couple more to agree to meet me before I flew out. But then everyone postponed and postponed and finally cancelled. Even picking up my paycheck from the ad shoot I did turned out to involve 2 aborted appointments before finally getting my money. This is just what it's like, though, and while it got a little frustrating, I don't know...I'm still just happy to be in India, I guess, so my spirits remained high. Like I wrote before, I just have a feeling everything's going to be fine.
The day of my departure, I was waiting for a train from Andheri to Bandra after another unsuccessful mission to meet an agent. As my southbound train approached the platform, I noticed the northbound train coming from the other direction on the adjacent set of tracks. I thought to myself, "Oh my god. Are they going to meet each other at the exact spot where I'm standing?" Indeed they did, gifting me with a little rush of joy at the serendipity of it. I love these little signs. I don't call myself superstitious, but I know how to enjoy these statistical vacuum fluctuations, these little love bites from the beyond. Another one occurred that night as my taxi arrived at the airport: the meter read exactly 10.00. I considered myself smooched, didn't argue with the driver's sudden inflated rate conversion, and bid a cheerful (and temporary) farewell to Bombay.
I've been in Joshua Tree, in southern California now for the last 4 days. It's a desert and it's absolutely beautiful here. I'm so fortunate to get to make money cooking good food with friends for nice people here for the next month. I'm settling into a good daily rhythm and have already joined the local gym to continue "Mission: Muscle Man!" We'll see what a little determination, a gym membership, and whey protein powder can do for my historically wiry frame.
I've also been taking advantage of a reasonably reliable fast internet connection and have uploaded some more photos and some of my videos. Click the links to the right...
Thursday, January 31, 2008
The 8th Ladoo...
I used to have this frequently recurring theme in my dreams where I would be in front of an audience who were expecting me to do something I was completely unprepared for. Like I'd be on stage with a band, stuck with some instrument I don't know how to play, or I'm supposed to give some speech about something about which I know nothing. In one dream I was in the Vatican, dressed up like the Pope. I was on a balcony looking out over a thronging crowd of worshipers who all thought I was the Pope and expected some kind of blessing or speech or I don't know what, so I just sort of waved my hands around and shuffled back inside the building, nervously smiling at all these confused looking attendants before conveniently waking up. The common theme manifesting in these nightmares was that I felt unprepared, unworthy, and my shocking and shaming exposure as an imposter was always imminent.
Maybe I've worked through some of those issues over the years because I don't have those dreams so much anymore. But the other day at my very first ad shoot, as I was sitting under the hot lights at this table trying to look like a successful expat businessman enjoying a thali lunch with his Indian colleagues, (all played with ease by experienced model/actors) while 2 or 3 dozen people work around us, some of them constantly adjusting my clothes, my hair, my makeup, while the photographer and the producer and the director are all reminding me for the 5th time not to lean forward so much, while I'm trying to eat my 8th ladoo with just as much verve as the first and failing, while I'm getting paid more than most everyone in the room is getting paid for that day's work and they had my hair dyed blonde for the shoot and everything, I'm thinking that there's no shuffling back into another room and conveniently waking up out of this one.
Actually, despite the inevitable gaffes of my maiden modeling voyage, they said they got the shot they needed, and I had a great time. It was a relatively relaxed and friendly crew, much happier and a bit more together than the serial shoot I was on some time ago. I'm told ad shoots tend to be like this, maybe because the money's good, who's knows. At any rate, it was as good an opportunity to push my comfort zone as any I could have hoped for. And anyway, it's just modeling. It's not like I'm pretending to be an air traffic controller.
I fly back to California on Monday for six weeks. I'm glad I get to be back home but it also feels a little crazy to be leaving Bombay right now. I've had to pass on at least a few jobs that shoot in February. And I'm just getting more and more comfortable in this city and feeling as much like a local as is reasonable. I can cross the street with relative confidence, (use the hand!) I can get where I need to by bus, train or rickshaw, I'm eating well and feeling great, my Hindi is slowly but steadily coming on line, I use a wallet instead of more secure and touristy money carrying options, an Indian actually asked me for directions in my neighborhood the other day, and like so many people in Bombay I'm completely dependent on my cell phone and I've started to sms like a pro.
The other day in Andheri, far from my neighborhood of Bandra, I ran into my friend Vipin by chance on the street. It was such a thrill to randomly run into someone I actually know in a city of 15 million or something like that. I took it as a good sign that I reached that milestone after only 2 weeks or so. I've actually enjoyed making new friends and contacts along the way here as much as anyone as introverted as me can. I've had quite a few meetups over dinner or lime sodas with new friends both Indian and expat and am looking forward to seeing how my social life and work network fall into place when I get back.
So I'm trying to touch base with as many agents and other contacts as possible right now before I leave. (I can't quite live up to my friend Gautam's directive to get five numbers from everyone I meet...but I'm doing my pokey best.) I am being offered a contract with one agent, but I have a feeling it's going to have an exclusivity agreement with that agency only and I'm not down for that, at least not now. It would also be all about modeling, probably to the detriment of my acting aspirations. She was telling me as she as she was pointing to my slim shoulders, "This...no...you need to get to the gym, yes?" And then there was my hair. "These curls are not going to help you." And lastly, "And you can't be telling anyone you're 37." So I'm happy to look my best and get into better shape, but I'm also not interested in competing with hunky 25 year olds. I'm hoping I can serve a niche that works for what I naturally have to offer, whatever that turns out to be. Somehow I just have this feeling like something cool is going to happen for me here. We'll see.
Oh, I tacked on a few more photos to the last album in my gallery if you want to take a look.
Maybe I've worked through some of those issues over the years because I don't have those dreams so much anymore. But the other day at my very first ad shoot, as I was sitting under the hot lights at this table trying to look like a successful expat businessman enjoying a thali lunch with his Indian colleagues, (all played with ease by experienced model/actors) while 2 or 3 dozen people work around us, some of them constantly adjusting my clothes, my hair, my makeup, while the photographer and the producer and the director are all reminding me for the 5th time not to lean forward so much, while I'm trying to eat my 8th ladoo with just as much verve as the first and failing, while I'm getting paid more than most everyone in the room is getting paid for that day's work and they had my hair dyed blonde for the shoot and everything, I'm thinking that there's no shuffling back into another room and conveniently waking up out of this one.
Actually, despite the inevitable gaffes of my maiden modeling voyage, they said they got the shot they needed, and I had a great time. It was a relatively relaxed and friendly crew, much happier and a bit more together than the serial shoot I was on some time ago. I'm told ad shoots tend to be like this, maybe because the money's good, who's knows. At any rate, it was as good an opportunity to push my comfort zone as any I could have hoped for. And anyway, it's just modeling. It's not like I'm pretending to be an air traffic controller.
I fly back to California on Monday for six weeks. I'm glad I get to be back home but it also feels a little crazy to be leaving Bombay right now. I've had to pass on at least a few jobs that shoot in February. And I'm just getting more and more comfortable in this city and feeling as much like a local as is reasonable. I can cross the street with relative confidence, (use the hand!) I can get where I need to by bus, train or rickshaw, I'm eating well and feeling great, my Hindi is slowly but steadily coming on line, I use a wallet instead of more secure and touristy money carrying options, an Indian actually asked me for directions in my neighborhood the other day, and like so many people in Bombay I'm completely dependent on my cell phone and I've started to sms like a pro.
The other day in Andheri, far from my neighborhood of Bandra, I ran into my friend Vipin by chance on the street. It was such a thrill to randomly run into someone I actually know in a city of 15 million or something like that. I took it as a good sign that I reached that milestone after only 2 weeks or so. I've actually enjoyed making new friends and contacts along the way here as much as anyone as introverted as me can. I've had quite a few meetups over dinner or lime sodas with new friends both Indian and expat and am looking forward to seeing how my social life and work network fall into place when I get back.
So I'm trying to touch base with as many agents and other contacts as possible right now before I leave. (I can't quite live up to my friend Gautam's directive to get five numbers from everyone I meet...but I'm doing my pokey best.) I am being offered a contract with one agent, but I have a feeling it's going to have an exclusivity agreement with that agency only and I'm not down for that, at least not now. It would also be all about modeling, probably to the detriment of my acting aspirations. She was telling me as she as she was pointing to my slim shoulders, "This...no...you need to get to the gym, yes?" And then there was my hair. "These curls are not going to help you." And lastly, "And you can't be telling anyone you're 37." So I'm happy to look my best and get into better shape, but I'm also not interested in competing with hunky 25 year olds. I'm hoping I can serve a niche that works for what I naturally have to offer, whatever that turns out to be. Somehow I just have this feeling like something cool is going to happen for me here. We'll see.
Oh, I tacked on a few more photos to the last album in my gallery if you want to take a look.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Happy Republic Day!
(New batch of pictures are up in my gallery. Click the link to the right and check out "Eddie in India 3")
Today was Republic Day which commemorates the ratification of India's constitution, I think. There were Indian flags flying everywhere, lots of stores were closed (I'm told that, by law, just about everything is supposed to be closed, but business is business and in India rules are made to be bent.) and at around 7am this morning in my neighborhood, someone started playing a selection of old time patriotic Hindi film songs from slightly distorted but nonetheless poweful loudspeakers.
It turned out to be a most auspicious accompaniment to my morning's meditation, I guess, because today I got my first two real auditions and got my first job. I'll be doing a print ad shoot on Tuesday for a bank that wants to sell accounts to foreigners (like me!). It's not my dream job but it's the kind of thing that pays the rent. The other audition was for a 5 day ad film shoot in Rajasthan. Would've been nice, but they were wavering and it would've made me kinda too busy before flying out on the 4th, and the bank folks were ready so that was that.
So there's work here but it's not the feeding frenzy that perhaps I was fantasizing. I've been contacting more agents than I can keep track of and finally got these first auditions today. The more I talk to people in the business here, the more they tell me it's the same as it is everywhere: competetive, unpredictable, hard to find real friends, etc. I'm still excited, though. Seems like everyone's got a friend or relative in the business if they're not in it themselves and every day I've got more people to call. Most are very nice, some seem dubious of my earnestness or potential, some are full of encouragement and ideas and more numbers to call... It's good for my personal development, I suppose, because I hate schmoozing, I hate networking, I hate selling myself, and now I'm supposed to do all them all.
I've been in Bombay for, gosh, almost two weeks already, I think. After two days of a very cool couch surf with Nipun, I scored a sweet short-term rental room in a house in Bandra West where I'll be till my flight leaves. My super chill rommate Mitesh takes on boarders (mostly expats like me) to offset the high rent here. Bandra is sort of the Beverly Hills of Bombay, with shady lanes, multi-million dollar homes of movie stars, and happening restaurants and bars full of handsome young people who go to the gym. There's actually a bagel shop down the street and a store that sells camambert and foie gras close by. There's a vegetable market like any other in India, but you'll see galanga and fresh thyme for sale alongside the aloo and onions. It's bizarre to me and it's not the kind of India I'm really used to. I didn't come to India so I can eat lasagna and gnocchi, even if it's pretty good. I can't even find a thali anywhere...my beloved 30 rupee thali lunch is nowhere to found in swanky Bandra.
But hey I'm not complaining. It's peaceful here and that means a lot in India. I'm in a 150 year old house in a cluster of a dozen or so like it, one of the last remaining vestiges of the fishing villages that were the only settlements here less than 70 years ago. We're surrounded by tall apartment buildings, most of them in the tragically unimaginative styles of modern Indian architecture, but there are a few fascinating art deco type buildings here and there that look straight out of Santa Monica. The community here has been predominantly Christian but in recent decades it's diversified so now it's probably about 50% Christian. The neighbors are friendly, and the whole neighborhood is very safe. I go across the street with an empty cup to buy fresh yogurt or milk whenever I need it. (I am so in love with Indian dairy products.) The ocean is just a 5 minute walk away.
And the best and craziest part has been the weather lately. It's been unusually cool and not so humid at all...almost too cool, actually and it's kind of creepy in a global-climate-change kind of way. Nights require a blanket which I never thought I'd need here. I'm kind of feeling like hey! where's my steamy balmy sticky Bombay? Why do I have to buy more warm clothes? It takes some of the grit, the excitement, I don't know, the romance out of it. But again...I'm not really complaining and when my skin gets all red and gross from the heat and humidity later this year I'm sure I will not be feeling the romance.
One of my favorite things here is speaking in Hindi with random locals who usually ask what I'm doing in Bombay and then I get to say "Main hero banne aya hoon." (I've come to be a film star!) One time it was a rickshaw driver who asked me while we and three other passengers we're traveling from the train station at midnight. He put his hand on my head in an insh'allah blessing and went off on a hilarious monologue for the rest of the journey. I couldn't catch all of it, but he was telling stories about how people come to Bombay with nothing and make it big and it certainly kept our minds off the chilly wind. He gave me another enthusiastic blessing when I got down and I felt humbled and pumped at the same time as I walked the rest of the way home.
Today was Republic Day which commemorates the ratification of India's constitution, I think. There were Indian flags flying everywhere, lots of stores were closed (I'm told that, by law, just about everything is supposed to be closed, but business is business and in India rules are made to be bent.) and at around 7am this morning in my neighborhood, someone started playing a selection of old time patriotic Hindi film songs from slightly distorted but nonetheless poweful loudspeakers.
It turned out to be a most auspicious accompaniment to my morning's meditation, I guess, because today I got my first two real auditions and got my first job. I'll be doing a print ad shoot on Tuesday for a bank that wants to sell accounts to foreigners (like me!). It's not my dream job but it's the kind of thing that pays the rent. The other audition was for a 5 day ad film shoot in Rajasthan. Would've been nice, but they were wavering and it would've made me kinda too busy before flying out on the 4th, and the bank folks were ready so that was that.
So there's work here but it's not the feeding frenzy that perhaps I was fantasizing. I've been contacting more agents than I can keep track of and finally got these first auditions today. The more I talk to people in the business here, the more they tell me it's the same as it is everywhere: competetive, unpredictable, hard to find real friends, etc. I'm still excited, though. Seems like everyone's got a friend or relative in the business if they're not in it themselves and every day I've got more people to call. Most are very nice, some seem dubious of my earnestness or potential, some are full of encouragement and ideas and more numbers to call... It's good for my personal development, I suppose, because I hate schmoozing, I hate networking, I hate selling myself, and now I'm supposed to do all them all.
I've been in Bombay for, gosh, almost two weeks already, I think. After two days of a very cool couch surf with Nipun, I scored a sweet short-term rental room in a house in Bandra West where I'll be till my flight leaves. My super chill rommate Mitesh takes on boarders (mostly expats like me) to offset the high rent here. Bandra is sort of the Beverly Hills of Bombay, with shady lanes, multi-million dollar homes of movie stars, and happening restaurants and bars full of handsome young people who go to the gym. There's actually a bagel shop down the street and a store that sells camambert and foie gras close by. There's a vegetable market like any other in India, but you'll see galanga and fresh thyme for sale alongside the aloo and onions. It's bizarre to me and it's not the kind of India I'm really used to. I didn't come to India so I can eat lasagna and gnocchi, even if it's pretty good. I can't even find a thali anywhere...my beloved 30 rupee thali lunch is nowhere to found in swanky Bandra.
But hey I'm not complaining. It's peaceful here and that means a lot in India. I'm in a 150 year old house in a cluster of a dozen or so like it, one of the last remaining vestiges of the fishing villages that were the only settlements here less than 70 years ago. We're surrounded by tall apartment buildings, most of them in the tragically unimaginative styles of modern Indian architecture, but there are a few fascinating art deco type buildings here and there that look straight out of Santa Monica. The community here has been predominantly Christian but in recent decades it's diversified so now it's probably about 50% Christian. The neighbors are friendly, and the whole neighborhood is very safe. I go across the street with an empty cup to buy fresh yogurt or milk whenever I need it. (I am so in love with Indian dairy products.) The ocean is just a 5 minute walk away.
And the best and craziest part has been the weather lately. It's been unusually cool and not so humid at all...almost too cool, actually and it's kind of creepy in a global-climate-change kind of way. Nights require a blanket which I never thought I'd need here. I'm kind of feeling like hey! where's my steamy balmy sticky Bombay? Why do I have to buy more warm clothes? It takes some of the grit, the excitement, I don't know, the romance out of it. But again...I'm not really complaining and when my skin gets all red and gross from the heat and humidity later this year I'm sure I will not be feeling the romance.
One of my favorite things here is speaking in Hindi with random locals who usually ask what I'm doing in Bombay and then I get to say "Main hero banne aya hoon." (I've come to be a film star!) One time it was a rickshaw driver who asked me while we and three other passengers we're traveling from the train station at midnight. He put his hand on my head in an insh'allah blessing and went off on a hilarious monologue for the rest of the journey. I couldn't catch all of it, but he was telling stories about how people come to Bombay with nothing and make it big and it certainly kept our minds off the chilly wind. He gave me another enthusiastic blessing when I got down and I felt humbled and pumped at the same time as I walked the rest of the way home.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Thanks, Pune!
I'll be heading to Bombay in a day or two. Sorry I don't have any exciting inspiring heart-rending or otherwise juicy stories from my time here in Pune with which to regale you, but it has been a most pleasant 3 weeks. Most of it has been spent crashing in the extra room at Kay's house. His mother and sister also live there and it's been a true sanctuary, complete with homecooked food. Kay is buried in his screenplay most of the time, but if I can catch him and get him started in a conversation on the script or films in general we can go on for ages. He's a sharp critic of the state of Hindi cinema, to say the least and looks to American cinema for inspiration. And here's me, under Bollywood's shimmery spell. I think it counts as irony that we're hanging out together.
On a typical day I'll ride into the center of town for various errands and to visit with Jaysi who was staying at a friend's place there until just now. She's off to Calcutta for a couple weeks. Depending on the buses, tempos (shared autorickshaws), and my on-and-off-again sense of direction, it can take from 20 minutes to one hour. Not sure why, but I still love the thrill of pushing onto a crowded bus, having it start rolling just as I manage to squeeze into the stairwell with the other last few boarders. Public transportation back home just doesn't offer the thrill seeker much, in comparison. One day in town I clicked a bunch fun photos which I just posted in my photo gallery. (Click link in the right column.)
You'll also find there my shiny shiny new portfolio pics. Safe to say I've never even come close to playing dress up like that before, but I guess we pulled it off. Jay did an amazing job with the lighting and camera and it was Kay to the rescue with the wardrobe, loaning me his designer shirts and jackets, after I realized that my meditator-backpacking-through-India wardrobe wasn't quite going to cut it. Initial response is quite positive, including the huge compliment: "You look really gay in some of the shots."
So now I take it to Bombay and see what I can make happen until I fly back to California on February 4th for 6 weeks.
On a typical day I'll ride into the center of town for various errands and to visit with Jaysi who was staying at a friend's place there until just now. She's off to Calcutta for a couple weeks. Depending on the buses, tempos (shared autorickshaws), and my on-and-off-again sense of direction, it can take from 20 minutes to one hour. Not sure why, but I still love the thrill of pushing onto a crowded bus, having it start rolling just as I manage to squeeze into the stairwell with the other last few boarders. Public transportation back home just doesn't offer the thrill seeker much, in comparison. One day in town I clicked a bunch fun photos which I just posted in my photo gallery. (Click link in the right column.)
You'll also find there my shiny shiny new portfolio pics. Safe to say I've never even come close to playing dress up like that before, but I guess we pulled it off. Jay did an amazing job with the lighting and camera and it was Kay to the rescue with the wardrobe, loaning me his designer shirts and jackets, after I realized that my meditator-backpacking-through-India wardrobe wasn't quite going to cut it. Initial response is quite positive, including the huge compliment: "You look really gay in some of the shots."
So now I take it to Bombay and see what I can make happen until I fly back to California on February 4th for 6 weeks.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
What Exactly am I Getting into?
Hey look! I got some pictures to show you. Click the link to the right to see some low resolution shots from the last couple months. Also notice the link to the blog from my 2005 trip.
Sooooo....what to tell you...it's been a mostly quiet couple weeks here in Pune. My filmmaker host, Kay, here on Pune's fast growing outskirts has been putting me up for most of this time and has been a big support in getting me ready for my portfolio shoot and, when he can break from working on his current script, providing interesting perspective on the film/entertainment industry here (He works way outside the campy Bollywood genre.) I got to read the script and, man, I'm really excited to see where it goes.
You know, it would be great to find work in India's small but slowly growing world of non-Bollywood, non-musical, non-3 hour extravaganzas (called variously art films, parallel films, multiplex films...) but the reality may be much cheesier for me. I just hope I get to actually act a little and have some fun. I'm also told people like me end up doing some ad films or modeling or whatever's available between the occasional film shoot.
I keep wondering what on earth I'm getting into...I admit I'm not at all above being vain but I have always been really happy not caring a whole lot about my clothes, my skin, my pectorals...It'll be interesting to see how much I'll need to change my habits to make this work, or how much I'm willing to. And I keep thinking about all the other incredible opportunities and experiences and projects that could be awaiting me in this one-of-a-kind country. I still want to spend some time helping and learning on some of India's burgeoning organic farms, I've never seen the Himalayas, I want to spend more time serving and sitting at Vipassana centers...to say nothing of the myriad service opportunities that are always in need of takers here. There's always so much that needs doing...
So I remind myself that I'm looking at the long term here. If I can set up some kind of livelihood now, ideally a part-time half the year or so kind of livelihood, then I can put down roots and start to focus more on taking care of other aspects of my life and start making myself of more use to others.
So we did my portfolio shoot over two days, one day indoors and the next outside. It was a way bigger production than what was thinking. I am not a natural model. This much I learned. Jay, the photographer, had to keep reminding me to breathe, relax, pretend I'm star, like no matter what I do looks great. ("Do something creative with this umbrella? Um...okay...") Somehow I threw my back out by the end of the second day. But it was actually pretty fun and we had our moments. But see now I always thought shirtmakers installed buttons so that we would use them, you know, fasten them, that's their job. So I had to make some attitudinal adjustments as it seems open shirts are all the rage over here. Am I too skinny for this? Is my chest too pale? Too hairy? Is that big red mole thing on my shoulder showing? I just don't know and I just don't want to care about such things and yet here I am. Anyway, I did my best to go with what the crew was telling me was good...I'm going to work in India, right? "All right then, you guys must know what's hot in Bombay right now. Shoot away." I'll see the photos on Tuesday.
Itinerary Update
I think I'm going to go back to California for 6 weeks starting in early February. Got a few reasons: There are a slew of great cooking dates for me in Joshua Tree during that time, I'd like to pick up my laptop computer that I left behind, it'll be easier to file my tax return, and well...I kinda miss everyone and everything. So it'll be nice to be back home cooking with friends and maybe getting rained on. That gives me almost 4 weeks now to spend in Bombay getting my photos in circulation and networking as much as I can. Then I return in late March to see what happens.
Sooooo....what to tell you...it's been a mostly quiet couple weeks here in Pune. My filmmaker host, Kay, here on Pune's fast growing outskirts has been putting me up for most of this time and has been a big support in getting me ready for my portfolio shoot and, when he can break from working on his current script, providing interesting perspective on the film/entertainment industry here (He works way outside the campy Bollywood genre.) I got to read the script and, man, I'm really excited to see where it goes.
You know, it would be great to find work in India's small but slowly growing world of non-Bollywood, non-musical, non-3 hour extravaganzas (called variously art films, parallel films, multiplex films...) but the reality may be much cheesier for me. I just hope I get to actually act a little and have some fun. I'm also told people like me end up doing some ad films or modeling or whatever's available between the occasional film shoot.
I keep wondering what on earth I'm getting into...I admit I'm not at all above being vain but I have always been really happy not caring a whole lot about my clothes, my skin, my pectorals...It'll be interesting to see how much I'll need to change my habits to make this work, or how much I'm willing to. And I keep thinking about all the other incredible opportunities and experiences and projects that could be awaiting me in this one-of-a-kind country. I still want to spend some time helping and learning on some of India's burgeoning organic farms, I've never seen the Himalayas, I want to spend more time serving and sitting at Vipassana centers...to say nothing of the myriad service opportunities that are always in need of takers here. There's always so much that needs doing...
So I remind myself that I'm looking at the long term here. If I can set up some kind of livelihood now, ideally a part-time half the year or so kind of livelihood, then I can put down roots and start to focus more on taking care of other aspects of my life and start making myself of more use to others.
So we did my portfolio shoot over two days, one day indoors and the next outside. It was a way bigger production than what was thinking. I am not a natural model. This much I learned. Jay, the photographer, had to keep reminding me to breathe, relax, pretend I'm star, like no matter what I do looks great. ("Do something creative with this umbrella? Um...okay...") Somehow I threw my back out by the end of the second day. But it was actually pretty fun and we had our moments. But see now I always thought shirtmakers installed buttons so that we would use them, you know, fasten them, that's their job. So I had to make some attitudinal adjustments as it seems open shirts are all the rage over here. Am I too skinny for this? Is my chest too pale? Too hairy? Is that big red mole thing on my shoulder showing? I just don't know and I just don't want to care about such things and yet here I am. Anyway, I did my best to go with what the crew was telling me was good...I'm going to work in India, right? "All right then, you guys must know what's hot in Bombay right now. Shoot away." I'll see the photos on Tuesday.
Itinerary Update
I think I'm going to go back to California for 6 weeks starting in early February. Got a few reasons: There are a slew of great cooking dates for me in Joshua Tree during that time, I'd like to pick up my laptop computer that I left behind, it'll be easier to file my tax return, and well...I kinda miss everyone and everything. So it'll be nice to be back home cooking with friends and maybe getting rained on. That gives me almost 4 weeks now to spend in Bombay getting my photos in circulation and networking as much as I can. Then I return in late March to see what happens.
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Bombay Dreams
Oh my goodness, it's been a while since I've updated! I've actually sat down a few times to crank out an entry and...I don't know...I just get all overwhelmed at the prospect of trying to distill the parade of experiences that make up each day here. Add to that my snail's writing pace, and the fact that India is waiting just outside the door, and well...I just dash off a few emails and head out to drink a coconut. But here goes...just a short recap of the last couple weeks.
Our band of pilgrims had a sweet little train ride from Varanasi/Sarnath to Bombay where we said our almost tearful farewells. It was a truly meaningful journey for all of us. My meditation practice feels even stronger and I'm pretty sure I'll be going back to some of the sites again someday. So after that I did what most everyone does after making pilgrimage to the holy sites of Buddhism, I set about starting my new Bollywood career.
I found a pretty cheap room in the tourist/backpacker haven neighborhood of Colaba where I stayed for 4 nights. I could have probably found a couch to surf on couchsurfing.com but I kinda wanted to have some alone down time and I was also curious to see if I'd get scouted for a movie or tv serial shoot. I didn't have to wait long. I got two offers in the first 8 hours. You see, Bollywood movies, tv shows, ads, etc. are always looking for foreign faces to use as extras and Colaba is full of scouts luring backpackers to work a long day on a set with the promise of rubbing elbows with stars, food and drink, and 500 Rupees ($12.50) at the end of the day. It's become a classic India travel experience and my Lonely Planet guide even devotes a paragraph to it. It's not the kind of work I plan on making a living with, but I thought it would be fun to just see what it's a like on a set and maybe make some connections. I just prayed I wouldn't end up cooking in the hot sun all day in some layered British colonial costume and told to do something cruel and colonial to hapless villagers.
My shoot turned out to be a TV serial shoot in an air conditioned nightclub. I didn't have to change my clothes but the two young Israeli women on the shoot didn't fare so well. One ended up in a super short lime green miniskirt and the other one got some kind of bellydancer treatment complete with jingly belt and massive dangly earrings. We were made to have polite conversation over dinner without making any sound, (which was actually pretty fun: "okay this time we'll play like it's our first date and you're already so bored of me you're about to get up and leave..") and later we danced our booties off without any music playing. I'm really glad none of you are ever going to see it.
All in all, it was a pretty cooky but suprisingly relaxed scene. Lots of young fun-loving Indian kids playing extras along with us three foreigners and a huge entourage of others, most of whom were just standing around at any given moment. One guy's main job seemed to be to yell "SILENCE!!" when it was time for action, and man was he good at it. About once an hour or so somebody would throw a small fit, getting everybody to rush around a bit, and then things would proceed. My Hindi attracted a bit of attention and I enjoyed chatting with the leading man and the director who were both really sweet and encouraging about my acting aspirations.
Getting back to my room that night (crisp Rs.500 note in hand) my GI tract decided it was time to close up shop for a while so I spent the next twenty four hours having some quality time with the commode and the next day just taking it easy catching up on Indian TV. Yes I know I can't eat just anything I feel like, including the sweet paan (betel leaf) even if it's from a decent restaurant, and perhaps my I'm-Mister-India hubris has taken it's inevitable tumble but...what to do, yaaro...I love the tasty snacks here!! I will just be more careful from now on.
So feeling recovered, I headed for Pune, Bombay's little bro a 3 hour bus ride away. My meditator friend Jaysi whose staying there tipped me off to a famous Ayurvedic doctor there and I've been wanting to get an ayurvedic opinion on some things for a while so that was that. On couchsurfing.com I found a great family to host me for the first 3 days. They even let me take over their kitchen the second two nights and we managed to pull off penne pasta with caramalized onions, roasted red peppers, and fried capers one time and the second I made up a Thai yellow curry stew with only Indian ingredients that actually rocked. The visit to the doctor was revelatory and included a reading of my birth chart that started with the exclamation "Oh my, you're going to be movie star for sure!" I hadn't told him anything about my current aspirations. Now I'm not real big into astrology but that was pretty fun.
I'm now staying with another couchsurfing host in Pune who happens to be an award winning film maker and referred me to a great photographer in Pune who is going to do my portfolio. We're going to wait till the beginning of January to do it so I can grow some stubble and we can do looks with and without the beard. Then it's back to Bombay to find a place to live and start pounding the pavement with my pics.
So you may be asking, "Gosh Eddie, you are a vegetarian cook. What's all this acting in Bombay business about?" My answer is, gosh I don't know. I'd like to try something new. I've always liked acting/performing. I love being in India. Everyone I talk to here says it's totally doable, that they looking more and more for goras in the films here and there aren't too many to choose from. The dollar is weak and the Rupee is...well the Rupee is still the Rupee and it's probably not going to make me rich but if I can earn some kind of living AND get to be India, heck, I'm going to give it a shot.
So...not such a short update after all, but really there's so much more to tell. I want to tell you about all the day to day miracles and tragedies of this land of extremes and so I'll try and sit down at the pooter again soon and do just that. Pictures are to come too when I find a fast enough connection....
Love,
Eddie
Our band of pilgrims had a sweet little train ride from Varanasi/Sarnath to Bombay where we said our almost tearful farewells. It was a truly meaningful journey for all of us. My meditation practice feels even stronger and I'm pretty sure I'll be going back to some of the sites again someday. So after that I did what most everyone does after making pilgrimage to the holy sites of Buddhism, I set about starting my new Bollywood career.
I found a pretty cheap room in the tourist/backpacker haven neighborhood of Colaba where I stayed for 4 nights. I could have probably found a couch to surf on couchsurfing.com but I kinda wanted to have some alone down time and I was also curious to see if I'd get scouted for a movie or tv serial shoot. I didn't have to wait long. I got two offers in the first 8 hours. You see, Bollywood movies, tv shows, ads, etc. are always looking for foreign faces to use as extras and Colaba is full of scouts luring backpackers to work a long day on a set with the promise of rubbing elbows with stars, food and drink, and 500 Rupees ($12.50) at the end of the day. It's become a classic India travel experience and my Lonely Planet guide even devotes a paragraph to it. It's not the kind of work I plan on making a living with, but I thought it would be fun to just see what it's a like on a set and maybe make some connections. I just prayed I wouldn't end up cooking in the hot sun all day in some layered British colonial costume and told to do something cruel and colonial to hapless villagers.
My shoot turned out to be a TV serial shoot in an air conditioned nightclub. I didn't have to change my clothes but the two young Israeli women on the shoot didn't fare so well. One ended up in a super short lime green miniskirt and the other one got some kind of bellydancer treatment complete with jingly belt and massive dangly earrings. We were made to have polite conversation over dinner without making any sound, (which was actually pretty fun: "okay this time we'll play like it's our first date and you're already so bored of me you're about to get up and leave..") and later we danced our booties off without any music playing. I'm really glad none of you are ever going to see it.
All in all, it was a pretty cooky but suprisingly relaxed scene. Lots of young fun-loving Indian kids playing extras along with us three foreigners and a huge entourage of others, most of whom were just standing around at any given moment. One guy's main job seemed to be to yell "SILENCE!!" when it was time for action, and man was he good at it. About once an hour or so somebody would throw a small fit, getting everybody to rush around a bit, and then things would proceed. My Hindi attracted a bit of attention and I enjoyed chatting with the leading man and the director who were both really sweet and encouraging about my acting aspirations.
Getting back to my room that night (crisp Rs.500 note in hand) my GI tract decided it was time to close up shop for a while so I spent the next twenty four hours having some quality time with the commode and the next day just taking it easy catching up on Indian TV. Yes I know I can't eat just anything I feel like, including the sweet paan (betel leaf) even if it's from a decent restaurant, and perhaps my I'm-Mister-India hubris has taken it's inevitable tumble but...what to do, yaaro...I love the tasty snacks here!! I will just be more careful from now on.
So feeling recovered, I headed for Pune, Bombay's little bro a 3 hour bus ride away. My meditator friend Jaysi whose staying there tipped me off to a famous Ayurvedic doctor there and I've been wanting to get an ayurvedic opinion on some things for a while so that was that. On couchsurfing.com I found a great family to host me for the first 3 days. They even let me take over their kitchen the second two nights and we managed to pull off penne pasta with caramalized onions, roasted red peppers, and fried capers one time and the second I made up a Thai yellow curry stew with only Indian ingredients that actually rocked. The visit to the doctor was revelatory and included a reading of my birth chart that started with the exclamation "Oh my, you're going to be movie star for sure!" I hadn't told him anything about my current aspirations. Now I'm not real big into astrology but that was pretty fun.
I'm now staying with another couchsurfing host in Pune who happens to be an award winning film maker and referred me to a great photographer in Pune who is going to do my portfolio. We're going to wait till the beginning of January to do it so I can grow some stubble and we can do looks with and without the beard. Then it's back to Bombay to find a place to live and start pounding the pavement with my pics.
So you may be asking, "Gosh Eddie, you are a vegetarian cook. What's all this acting in Bombay business about?" My answer is, gosh I don't know. I'd like to try something new. I've always liked acting/performing. I love being in India. Everyone I talk to here says it's totally doable, that they looking more and more for goras in the films here and there aren't too many to choose from. The dollar is weak and the Rupee is...well the Rupee is still the Rupee and it's probably not going to make me rich but if I can earn some kind of living AND get to be India, heck, I'm going to give it a shot.
So...not such a short update after all, but really there's so much more to tell. I want to tell you about all the day to day miracles and tragedies of this land of extremes and so I'll try and sit down at the pooter again soon and do just that. Pictures are to come too when I find a fast enough connection....
Love,
Eddie
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