The ‘My Name is Khan’ experience
June 18th, 2009 | by Ridhima Suri |My Name is Khan
In my previous post, I mentioned that I would be sharing some snippets from my experience of the shooting of ‘My Name is Khan’. It was a fun process with many ups and downs. It was also the first time I saw film making at close quarters. I was merely a spectator and my interest in sharing this work with you is to explain how difficult the process of film-making is. Film-making is an art and science. Art, as it requires creativity and science, as there are systematic procedures involved in each stage of film production.
Shah Rukh Khan with his little girl. Courtesy: Sushil
Here is my point of view
1. You can enjoy shooting if you are patient with the process.
As I mentioned in the first post , the shot I saw being filmed required Shah Rukh Khan to cross the road. In the movie, what we see is only an iota of the process in the final product-the film. What we do not see and fail to even imagine are the hours spent on setting up the shot, managing crew members and actors, and working with equipment. There is a paraphernalia of crew, trucks, equipment, wardrobe, extras, etc.
2.You can enjoy the shooting if you are not continuously booed by the crew members.
Outdoor shooting requires accuracy and precision of the sequence being filmed. Often the film director does not want anyone but the actor and extras in the frame. If you are in the frame with a smitten ‘I love you Shah Rukh/Kajol/Karan Johar’ expression, it is likely that some one will ask you to back up!
I felt bad a couple of times as the Indian members of the crew were a bit rude. They did not understand that people here comply to a polite request and that there was no need to be harsh on a handful of people. However, I reiterate that film making is a challenging process and any interruption forces the film director to shoot from scratch. At the same time, being polite helps folks!
The U.S. members of the crew did not know they were working with the ‘entertainment king’ of India..:-) While they were kind and understanding, clearly they had no idea about who King Khan ,Kajol, and Karan Johar were. Of course, we were full of stories for those who wanted to hear us out!
3. You can enjoy the shooting if you understand the circumstances in which a movie is filmed.
Outdoor shooting is difficult. There is money involved in the process.
Unlike the average person who works within the confines of his office, movie actors have to work outdoors (in the eyes of public, admirers, media, etc.) I really appreciate Shah Rukh’s wave of hand in response to our waving during the filming. He was working yet responding to our stimuli. I can’t see a JAVA architect or Civil Engineer doing the same at work! Clearly Shah Rukh understood that part of his job as a public figure required acknowledging his admirers. Like I constantly say ‘There are no leaders without followers….There are no stars without fans.’
However, he saw us waiting for such a long time and all he said was ,’One group photo please!’. No problemo! One group photo it is Sir. Thank you for being so generous…:D
To sum up for all those who want to see Shah Rukh Khan:
If you do get lucky to get to the ‘My Name is Khan’ film shooting, try to maintain calm (I know it is easier said than done!). After all they are working. By getting in the way admirers are likely to jeopardize the process. If you get lucky, you will get a chance of meeting the actors after their work is done. But if you wanna go and wait for him the whole day, think again.
Overall, my experience was good as I went with my friends. I hope to see these folks again sometime. I wish them good luck and hope that the film offers good ‘viewership’ value.
Tags: Dharma Productions, Kajol, Karan Johar, King Khan, My Name is Khan, My Name is Khan blog, My Name is Khan Shooting, Shahrukh Khan, Shahrukh Khan shooting
17 Responses to “The ‘My Name is Khan’ experience”
By amar on Jun 19, 2009 | Reply
can you please send location infomation in san francisco . how many days he in san francisco
thank you
By aparajita on Jun 19, 2009 | Reply
hey..thanks for the post…can you please mention where in san francisco they were shooting..
By sachin walia on Jun 19, 2009 | Reply
Hi Ridhima,
nice post about your experience. However based on the experience one thing I can say that there is very less possibility to enjoy anything on the set. more than often crew will consider you as a threat to their work which is not wrong. Imagine going to a software engineer’s office and engage him in chitchat you’ll realize it is pretty much same thing. At the end of the day whether you develop software or make movies it is a job. There are ways people involved in the process try to make it a fun process but the last thing they want is unwanted people turning in and slowing things down. One thing to note is that in filmmaking every hour of delay creates a huge hole in producer’s pocket so s/he will want you to exit the set or not come there at all.
Having said that Actor’s by their basic nature insecure and attention demanding (not necessarily attention grabbing). For them or for anybody for that matter it is a highly satisfying experience (may i say orgasmic). So there is always this sort of power play between actors and filmmakers and more often than not actors win.
By Ridhima Suri on Jun 20, 2009 | Reply
Thanks for sharing your point of view Sachin. I have tried to build this in the post and agree that film-makers would rather be left alone than have to face a bunch of gaping folks. At the same time stardom has a magnet and both actors and fans appear to be the two sides of the same coin! Having said that it is simply difficult to give up a chance to look at a famous celebrity from close quarters…:-)
By Harsha on Jun 20, 2009 | Reply
does anyone know where is the shooting on Monday or anyday in next week at san francisco, I need a location so I can go there and see them.
Thanks,
H
By Juno on Jun 23, 2009 | Reply
Thanks for sharing your experience. Although the comments to this article are more like ‘Where is the star?’ I like the message you are trying to convey.
Hypothetically if there is free access to celebrities, the costs of film-making would probably would be much higher. This is because there is whole extra layer of security guards standing between you and your star. The retakes (caused by the disturbance of bystanders) during a film-making process and the security required artifically inflates the overall cost of the movie.
Whether or not movies should be made away from public eyes is a separate question in my mind. I fall somewhere in the middle, personally. I have no problem with people standing and watching a film shooting. I don’t think that the movie crew is inherently evil, either. Where the current system runs aground is that millions of Indian and American fans show their admiration by standing at a shooting (mentioned as boring by someone on this thread) locale and they deserve some respect.
By Andrew Reed on Jun 23, 2009 | Reply
Filming was in Sacramento Sunday and Monday and they let anyone who would follow directions be an extra in the crowd scene on Monday. Even got paid. No pictures are allowed on a film set so if you took pictures you were removed from the set.
By Shah on Jun 25, 2009 | Reply
Digvijay and Riddhima, Great to hear your experience from close quarters. My wife is a very big fan of SRK. I would really appreciate if you can mention the shoot location this weekend of 27th June.
By Ridhima Suri on Jun 26, 2009 | Reply
Juno : Thanks for the comment.
Andrew: Good for you! Did you get to play a part? Thanks for posting.
Thanks Shah, Ronita..I do not know where they are now..:) They do have a show coming up in San Jose where SRK will just come and say hi to folks..no performance.
Also I just saw this video on youtube:
Wonder if you all wanna be a part of it? These crowds were crazy!
By coo-ee on Jul 6, 2009 | Reply
You’re a wonderful person to go to the trouble to share your experience! I just found out today about the local filming, & right away made plans to try to at least see the filming from a distance… and then I found out it’s already too late. =( But while I was researching online I came across your blog about your experience, and reading it made me feel *much* better, so thank you, thank you sooo much — I first saw SRK 5 years ago, and my heart has been his ever since! (It seems funny now, but when I first “fell” for him I had no idea that he was such a huge star–I thought I discovered his charm myself, lol.)
By Ridhima Suri on Jul 13, 2009 | Reply
Thank you coo-ee. I am flattered. Thanks for reading.
By Eugene on Jul 14, 2009 | Reply
Strange…I still don’t get what you mean, maybe I should translate it =.=
By Clifford on Jul 15, 2009 | Reply
gr8 work bro, check out my blog when you have the time, don’t forget~
By Sage on Jul 15, 2009 | Reply
It is July 15th, is Shahrukh and Kajol still in San Francico, if so for how much longer? I am disabled and cannot just go to San Francisco and drive around looking for them. Thank You!
By Ridhima Suri on Jul 15, 2009 | Reply
Hi Sage,the crew including Shahrukh and Kajol has left SFO. Thanks.
By Cooper on Jul 18, 2009 | Reply
Hello, I dont know how your blog came up, must have been a typo, Your blog looks awesome, I’ll be back