The Calling -3
(In continuation to my earlier blog ‘The Calling -2’)
We were a quaint set of people who wanted to launch into a TV show career. None of us had any previous experience in the role we were assuming for this production. I had never directed anything before this and never had I assisted in a TV show production. Dr. Wagh our scriptwriter had never written any script before this. Viveck Vaswani had never produced a TV show before this. My cinematographer Kiran Deohans had never shot any TV show independently. We had cobbled together a script and were planning to submit it to the channel. The rumor had it that sending a script to the channel was of no consequence. The channel was receiving at least a hundred such scripts a week. They had no time to read all the scripts. So the process of filtration they followed was - to select a big production house, big literary work, or a big actor project. We did not fit in anywhere.
My remorse about the project was fuelled by various people from the industry telling me that we did not have a chance in a million. Our effort was honest and serious but this game was beyond our comprehension. Does it pay to be honest and hard-working? This question haunted and taunted me. Viveck was trying his best and planning things. My pessimism was at a level that all seemed futile. My visits to his office reduced and the duration between visits became longer and longer. The office was in Colaba and I stayed in Andheri, a good 25 km apart.
One day Viveck called me to the office. I knew he will have some news for me. But this was not the first time that he would be upbeat about some development. I walked into his office (which was a desk at the far end of a clothes boutique) with no expectation. Viveck was beaming with a big smile as he announced that we are going to shoot the pilot episode. This was a new one. Till now the news was about some contacts that might help us get approval for the show. Now I was eager for details. Viveck explained that he visited an ad agency (Trikaya Grey) for one of his modeling assignments. He accidentally left behind a copy of the script. Someone read the script and called him to discuss it. He met the person, who wanted to know if we have approval for the script. Viveck told him that we are working on that actively and soon it will materialize. They really liked the script and wanted to be a part of it. Viveck sensed an opportunity and told them that if he had a ready pilot show then the process would be faster. They said that is something they can look into and asked for a detailed shooting budget.
I was completely bowled. Viveck said let's make the pilot. We must budget this thing and share it with them immediately. My heart was pumping fast. This was really happening. We were rising from the ashes. I got down to drawing up a shooting budget. In a few hours, we were staring at a rough estimate that needed a little tweaking. The budget was submitted the following day. My euphoria did not last very long. I shared this news with a friend (Harish Thawani) who had worked in an ad agency before. Harish felt that no agency is going to fund your pilot without approval from the channel. He argued that it is too much of a risk in case of rejection. His experience forced me to believe him but Viveck’s confidence told me otherwise. I was confused. My bubble had burst and sadness embraced me.
Every day became a waiting game. I was eagerly waiting for a response from the agency. Viveck assured me that the delay is routine and everything is fine. Harish in the meantime told me something worst. He had spoken to his friend (Ramesh Iyengar) who worked in Trikaya Grey. His friend said that there is no proposal to fund any TV show by the agency. What it implied was that the agency has no plans for any TV show. Once again I was told that I was living in a fool’s paradise and that no money is coming in from the agency. I shared this view with Viveck who was livid with anger. He screamed “who the hell is Harish Thawani and what does he know. I speak with the agency every day.” Viveck became a ‘Harish hater’ that day. I was lost. Who do I believe?
Suddenly Viveck called and asked me to come to the office the next day. He did not give any reason for the visit. When I was seated opposite him in the office, he pulled out a folder from his shoulder bag and dipped his hand inside the folder. He pulled out a crisp cheque from inside and showed it to me. It was a cheque from Trikaya Grey for the full amount of shooting the pilot episode. I glanced between the cheque and Viveck’s face with disbelief. He smiled and asked me “Now, where is your friend, Harish Thawani.” Everyone was ecstatic and jubilant. There was mithai and we all bowed to the small temple in the room. We were now planning the shooting. It was really happening now. Much against what the naysayers screamed. We had done the impossible. This was and still is that rare instance when an agency funded an unapproved script purely on the strength of the narrative. Remember, none of us had any experience.
I made sure of visiting Harish that evening. He was struck by a lightning bolt. He wouldn’t believe me. I gave him the dates of the shooting and invited him to come and have a look. We made the pilot episode and held the first screening for the head honchos of Trikaya Grey. I had knots in my stomach and sweating in the airconditioned room as the twenty minutes episode played out for the mesmerized audience. They loved the show and there were kudos all around. As I came out of the screening room with the Trikaya executive, he introduced me, to a gentleman, as the director of this wonderful pilot that they have funded. I shook the gentleman’s hand and introduced myself. He shook my hand and introduced himself “I am Ramesh Iyengar”.
Read that in the next installment The Calling — 4
