dilipmerala

February 9, 2013May 7, 2017

Getting to know Shakespeare…

William Shakespeare. I had read about this writer during college days, tried to get through some of his text every once in a while (never successfully completing more than 5 pages), and often gone off to sleep after being fed up of not understanding what was written (or why???). I always felt Shakespeare was the territory of geeks, or English scholars or those who pretend to understand his writing just so that they can come off as a class above the rest. My biggest Shakespeare experience was when I was handling production work for Mr. Neeraj Kabi back in 2005. The play I worked on was the most famous play ever written – HAMLET. Neeraj Sir’s version of Hamlet was the finest play I had seen with an integration of the Indian art forms Yakshagana and Dhrupad to bring to life this amazing piece of text on stage!

After that, I did not do anything related to Shakespeare. Of course, I kept hearing lame uses of his famous quotes by people who had no clue what they mean; the most frequent one being – “To be or not to be, that is the question”. I used to wonder how almost every man on earth knows just this one line written by Shakespeare and flaunts this knowledge by using the line in any damn context of life just for the heck of it. For instance, in a recent movie, a guy jokes about a bra saying – 2 B or 32 B, that is the question! Nevertheless, the thought of Shakespeare always made me curious and I wanted to know why this man is supposed to be so great!

And now – 7 years later, my friend, director and co-actor Nidhi Bisht has given me an opportunity to be a part of a Shakespeare play as an actor. It all began a couple of months ago when she introduced me and our whole theatre group NBTV (New Brain Theatre Volks) to a man who was crazy about Shakespeare, a brilliant actor and an amazing teacher – Dehshat Vansadia (his name is Deshik but I have stuck to Dehshat since the day I met him). Dehshat is an alumnus of the Stella Adler School of acting and has also been part of the Shakespeare theatre company. He had come back to India a few months ago and was aiming to bring to life Shakespeare’s plays in their raw form. He felt that almost all the Shakespeare work being done here is in adapted versions. He wanted to perform Shakespeare plays just the way they are. So Nidhi and Dehshat got together and we were all called for a meeting about this project.

It started with Dehshat conducting workshops for the first few days. We sat and chatted about who we are, what we do, what our association with Shakespeare has been (if any). This was followed by physical exercises, voice exercises, acting exercises. Once Dehshat felt that we had warmed up enough, we began working with text. The emphasis was always on being true to oneself and speaking from where we are rather than forcing the performance. Dehshat made us see what the text really implies and how we can find a connection with what was written. He made us close our eyes and narrated stories or situations that invoked different emotions in us. The detailing he did while narrating these imaginative plots was just terrific. It would really get to our inner self and by the end of the exercise, each actor felt lighter and a bit more opened up than before. He said the essence of what we went through during such exercises should be used in our performance. We then started working on speeches and scenes for which Dehshat made us put to use all the work we did during the exercises. This was (and still is) the most challenging part of the process. While Shakespeare’s language is rich and does most of the work when you are performing something from his text, you need to have your foundations as an actor in place to make sure you do a good job. It was during the scenes and speeches that I really started questioning my acting methods and skills as a performer.

After a few days of performing scenes and speeches, we started putting the play on its feet. The lines were memorized and the moves were choreographed. Later during the process, a stick fight was to be introduced into the piece. We decided to go with the martial art form of Silumbum for which rehearsals and training began in full flow. Our dear Nidhi Singh who plays the Joan of Arc in the fight suffered some brutal blows while rehearsing but the strong girl that she is, she just cast them off casually with no pain.

What was also noteworthy during our rehearsals was the coming together of the two Nidhis as Roma and Juliet. No matter what time of the day it was, or what the mood of the group was – there was always a romantic chemistry going on between these two.

The biggest nautankis of the group – Bisht and Singham always painted the rehearsals red with their love and affection for each other! Their histrionics kept me alive and ticking whenever I was exhausted. Prashant and Pallavi, the couple of our group, worked really hard to manage their busy schedules to get to rehearsals every day. I feel it was due to this hard work that towards the end of the rehearsal process, the two of them showed maximum growth as performers. They were a part of all the fun and frolic during the long rehearsals that brought us closer as a bunch of actors. And at the center of all this was our director Deshik (enough with the Dehshat joke I guess :P). It was great to be listening to his anecdotes and discussions about acting and several other topics ranging over all fields of life. His accent was the talk of the town and the subject of many jokes or a long time (and still is). However, it is commendable how well Deshik handled this group. He was a sport during lighter moments and a firm director during the more serious ones. He molded each one of us right from day 1 and such was his impact on us that as of today, I (and I guess most actors in the group) feel that he is one of the most amazing actors I have come across and the most terrific teacher I have been trained by. Such is his talent and determination that it seems fairly obvious that this guy is going to go places. It was great to see how well, under Deshik’s guidance, the group bonded and how each one grew as the days went by.

Speaking of myself – while working on this play, I realized how bad and unworthy I am as an actor. It made me feel that in so many years that have passed by, in all the talk about making it big in the industry, in all the talk about passion for acting and chasing my dream, I haven’t really worked enough on my art. Yes, I have done a few workshops here and there. Yes, I have performed in a few plays and short films. However, being an actor needs much more than that. One needs to practise and implement things done in the workshops on a daily basis. Acting is an art which needs discipline. It needs rehearsal. It needs a lot of hard work, research, sincerity and bravery – bravery to visit corners of your mind and heart that you tread to, bravery to put yourself through situations you would hate to, to make yourself think about things that you hesitate to. I had been working as an actor just on the surface without really getting into the internal fundamentals. Therefore, I am grateful that at this stage I was introduced to Shakespeare. Grateful because I realized that if you are willing to open up as an actor and explore what’s inside you – there can be nobody better than Shakespeare to help you with it. What is great about Shakespeare is – if you give a go at him with all your heart, you will find yourself on a journey ranging through every human emotion there is. It may seem as an actor’s nightmare but in reality – it is an actor’s paradise!

I have learnt a lot from this project. The whole process right from warm-ups to speech and scene work to full run-throughs has been exceptional. As an actor, it has been the richest experience for me so far! Although I don’t think I can call myself a very good actor yet, I know that I have found a path to work towards it. I am going to try and incorporate stuff learnt from this project in my daily routine. I am also going to try and be, in whatever capacity possible, a part of every Shakespeare play that Deshik and NBTV work on in the future.

To start this new ride with Shakespeare, we perform a piece named Shakespeare, Who? this Sunday, the 10^th of Feb at Andheri. Can’t wait to be on stage again! 🙂

January 13, 2013May 7, 2017

Bidding goodbye to the corporate world…

After my long under-performing run at my workplace, they finally decided to let me go on December 24^th, 2012. It was a great place to work at. I learnt a lot about publishing, editing, team-work, people and their behaviour but more importantly, about myself! I made some awesome friends and even lost some by the end. I gave the organization my best while I could and it gave me back much more. However, both my professional and personal life had reached such a stage that my exit felt like a blessing in disguise! When I was leaving the office premise on the last day I knew that after almost 5 years of spending most part of my day at this place – a place which has an environment that’s no less than that of a vibrant college campus, a place where work is fun and colleagues are friends – I am going to terribly miss the times, the events, and above all – the people here!

Looking at the brighter side, it was a new beginning in the New Year. I went back home and spoke with my Dad about career prospects. It was a tough conversation to have all over again but as much as I hate hurting him with these things, there was no way out. So we had the talk and I told him that I plan to not go corporate again. This time round I just want to focus on acting or things related to it. After some reluctance caused by the concern of an insecure life ahead of me, my Dad agreed. To comfort him, I gave him an assurance that I will keep the end of 2013 as a deadline and will try my best to turn things around as an actor this year. We might have ended the conversation there, but I know he will not be able to relax and his mind won’t be at peace till something good actually comes up for me.

Nevertheless, here I am! For the first time in my life – After school, junior college, engineering, working at call-centres between terms, and then my day job – I have reached a stage where I have the whole day to me (when I am not on a vacation) and I can use it however I want. It feels different – good or bad – I haven’t been able to figure out yet. With no more corporate backup, no monthly salary, no daily routine to follow, it is a new life altogether. There are a lot of big question marks on my mind – How am I going to survive in Andheri? How am I going to pay my rent every month? How am I going to pay for other stuff that actors need? How am I going to afford the fuel in my 500cc bike which runs just 20km for every litre? How am I going to manage from here on? But I believe – like some of my actor friends have assured me – Everything will be alright! 🙂

I have told my Dad that if I ever reach a point when I need him to pay for my rent or for my survival here, I will move back to our place in Navi Mumbai. I am going to try my best not to reach that point. So, I am looking for all options of work available – dubbing, assisting, casting, being a junior artist, and of course – LOTS AND LOTS OF AUDITIONS. The problem seems to be that I do not fit for most of them. However, there is always hope and I am in no way going to quit trying.

It is strange that after so many years of trying to make it as an actor, it is now that I truly feel like A STRUGGLER or like I prefer saying – AN ASPIRING ACTOR. I shall try hard to delete the ‘ASPIRING’ from this tag and do as much justice as I possibly can to the ’ACTOR’ in it!

It’s a start. It’s new. It’s weird. It’s scary. It’s exciting.

January 13, 2013May 7, 2017

Bidding goodbye to the corporate world…

It’s a start. It’s new. It’s weird. It’s scary. It’s exciting.

December 23, 2012May 7, 2017

Mcleodganj diaries – Episode 2 : The Triund trek

After an awesome first day, day 2 began pretty early. A little back story here – I had planned to go on the Triundh trek on day 2 all by myself. I informed Tashi about this the previous day and anticipated that he will say that he would like to come along. He didn’t. However, when Natalia expressed that she wants to do the trek too, Tashi came on-board faster than the speed of light! So, we told Nati that we’ll meet her outside her hotel at 8 am. Her hotel was a good 20-minute walk from ours so Tashi and me were to wake up by 7. We woke up at 7.30, got ready by 8.30 and met Nati at around 8.55! Thankfully for us, Nati was not the kinds who would sulk when people show up late 😛

We caught some breakfast on the way (delicious omlette and ginger lemon tea) and took off on our trek. It was supposed to be a 3-hour trek as Tashi told us and we trusted him as he claimed to have been at the top several times.

It was pretty easy at the beginning with flat, red-soiled paths for some time. We took a little break in between where we met an Australian friend who clicked a couple of snaps with us.

After a little drinks break here, we took off thinking we will not stop for a long duration now. But then came the rocks.. .the long-long stretches of rocks!! And trekking through these rocks is a lot more taxing on the legs than the sandy trails. We climbed and we climbed and we climbed and after about half an hour, we were tired again! So we stopped for a bit. We made it a point to click a lot of pictures on the way so that we can look back and smile at all these fond moments. And during all this, we saw a huge group of 40-year olds being led by 2 instructors on this trek. They had a system where the instructor at the front was communicating with the group and the instructor at the back end through sound signals. I joked that we should try and kick this group’s ass by reaching the top ahead of them. Little did I know that I would later realize that there was no competition with them whatsoever!

Anyway, so we moved on with little breaks here and there and that’s when we reached our first view point – the Magic view point!

We moved on and at about 12ish, we stopped for lunch. There was no lunch really… just some sandwich that Nati had packed and some snacks we packed at the little restaurant where we had our breakfast. When we were eating, I thought of us as Frodo and Samwise from LOTR tired of trekking and just having a few pieces of bread left. Of course, our situation was worse because we are REAL PEOPLE!

We moved on from there and on our final stretch, we met a lovely old Tibetan man on his way back down from the top. He was with a group of tourists but stopped to greet us, told us how fabulous it is at the top there and that we are going to have a lot of fun. He also told us very briefly about his life and things he had been through and how India has been great to Tibet and welcomed Tibetans with open arms. He said all this in the middle of the trek which made me feel so awesome. I thought – back home in Mumbai, people are so busy that they hardly have time to catch up with even their loved ones while here – a stranger just stops without a second thought and speaks so openly about his life! How cool is that?!?

He brought a huge smile to all three faces that were sinking due to the never-ending trek! We bid him goodbye and carried on.. This time to finally reach the top!

It was 1.15 pm when we reached the Triundh spot. It was cool and the view before us was nice. But with time, the nice became lovely. The lovely became awesome. The awesome became breath-taking. And the breath-taking became completely-out-of-the-world! I don’t know how I can put this in words.. but in just about an hour.. the view before my eyes was the BEST VIEW I had seen in my life! I was amongst the clouds! I could see a blanket of clouds across the mountain in front of us. Standing there, it felt I could reach out and touch the mountain. I felt I can wear the clouds like a jacket!

And that reminded me that it was getting very very cold! And that’s when a funny thing happened!

When we took off on the trek, we had planned that we will get back in the evening. However, after the tiring way up, and more importantly – the unbelievable ambiance at the top, we decided that we will stay back for the night. There were tents to be rented for 600 bucks a night. And there was a little set-up (like a dhaba) for food like Maggi noodles, Chinese rice, omelets, etc.

So, staying back was not such a bad idea except that – it was getting really really cold… and we were not carrying any warm clothes with us! 😛 However, the place was too great for us to have second thoughts about staying back. So we decided to stay back no matter what! 😛

We ordered food – chicken fried rice, omlette, veg thali, and something that Tashi ordered which I do not remember! While we were waiting for the food – I realized that there was another little problem for me. We were surrounded by 8-10 furry creatures called dogs that I am really scared of! They were all over the place and while Tashi and Nati were playing with them, I was getting nervous thinking how I will step out to pee in the night with these dogs around me! Anyway, I held on to that thought and continued to enjoy the fact that I was in heaven!

Some more time passed by as we ate, lied down and relaxed, clicked pictures, took a little nap. During all this while, the weather and view kept changing every 5 minutes. One moment, it was clear and we could see the mountain and the next moment, it was all covered with clouds all all we could see was white, foggy space ahead of us!

And this is when we happen to run into my friend from the bus – Jose (my first friend on the trip.. remember??) We chatted about what he had been doing and how he is having a good time at Mcleodganj. I introduced him to Tashi and I guess jose must be cursing me till date for that! Within 2 minutes of knowing him, Tashi gave him a huge dose on philosophy, life, and some other things which I have no clue about as I ran as far away from them as I could!

Finally, Jose left to re-join the guys he had come with. The density of clouds had now increased but there was enough sunlight to make way for a pleasant sight of the mountain. It was getting cooler and cooler. And then around 4 pm, the group (that we had completely forgotten about) reached the top. And after an hour or so, we saw that the last member of that group – a 55-year old lady – came trekking along with the support of a stick and her manager from work! It was unbelievable! She was extremely tired to walk the last 200 metres or so. I saw her coming and thought I will accompany her in this last lap! So along with her manager, I began to motivate her, spoke with her about random stuff, made jokes about her age, and started walking with her. Finally, we got her to her base camp where the others had reached a while ago! Tashi and Nati followed me and we were offered tea at the camp where we chatted with some lovely people.

This is also where we met Mr. Pyar Singh (yes, that’s his real name). He came over to chat with us and insisted on giving Nati some health tips. What he said is just for Tashi, Nati and me to laugh about for the rest of our lives 😀 To give you guys a brief – he said something on the lines of putting something inside our body from somewhere and getting it out from somewhere else 😛

Mr. Pyar Singh’s health tips were enough for us to alarmingly bid goodbye to our old Aunty and move away from that camp! By then, the colour of the sky had changed and it was another variation of magical! Nati wanted some pics in different yoga poses.

After a while, we had clicked enough pics and were running out of sunlight. It was also getting very cold and we were hungry again. So, we headed back to the eating place, ordered some more food, and booked a tent for us to sleep. We also rented a sleeping bag for Nati and there were a couple of blankets which we thought would suffice for Tashi and me. We were wrong though. It was getting so cold that our hands were freezing. We lit a bonfire and started warming up our hands while the food was getting prepared. Smartass Tashi had an easy way out to get rid of the cold – RUM!

Nati and me were on a non-drinking resolution so we had to just manage with the fire! Such was the cold weather at this hour that it made the food even more delicious. We hogged noodles, thalis, omlettes again and when we were full, we decided to call it a day. And this is when my cell phone started dying! 🙁 I realized that I can only click a couple of pics more so I clicked my last one for the day and saved some for the morning.

We got into our tent and started chatting about stuff. We clicked a lot of crazy-face pictures (on Nati’s camera) imagining ourselves in different situations like being a Rockstar, seeing a tiger before us, etc. Nati clearly sucked at this!

By then, the alcohol had already made its impact on Tashi and he was getting even more philosophical than he usually is. On that night, he must have said “This is life man” at least a 1000 times!! He made us say how we are grateful for that lovely day and how we were feeling at that point. He started a discussion on spirituality and about 15 minutes later, when Nati and me were completely, passionately, whole-heartedly immersed in the discussion, we realized Tashi hadn’t been saying anything. That’s when we noticed that the guy had fallen asleep and we had no idea when! So Nati and me continued chatting and after some time, she said the sky would be awesome at this hour and we should go check it out. I wanted to but it was too cold I did not want to get out of the tent so I told her we’ll go out later. After a while, Tashi went out to pee and told us the stars look amazing. Nati stepped out too and after resisting for about 5 minutes, I gave in to the temptation of watching the stars. And when I stepped out – boy Oh boy – it was the most magnificent night view I had ever seen. I had seen a lot of stars at Gokarna and Tarkarli on my trip last year but this was something else. There was hardly any space between the stars – there were millions and millions of them! The quiet night, the freezing weather, the beautiful stars – it was a scene right out of a romantic movie! Tashi and Nati wrapped themselves in a blanket and kept staring at the stars. I went to pee accompanied by around 7 dogs who were following us whenever any of us went to pee. They were like our personal bodyguards who marched with us, waited for us to pee, and then came back with us! When I came back, Nati told me she saw a shooting star. After some time, Tashi saw one too. And by then Nati had seen 5. And I wondered how I had never seen a shooting star in my life. It was cold and we wanted to get back into the tent but we decided that we will stay till DILIP SEES HIS FIRST SHOOTING STAR! 😀 I was surprised at the number of shooting stars Nati was spotting. It made me confident that I was indeed going to see a shooting star that day! And after about 5 minutes, when Nati had seen 13 and Tashi had seen 7 – I saw my first shooting star! I shouted out but by the time these two looked, it was gone. We then waited to spot a shooting star together and when we did, each one of us made a wish. I made the same wish I make every time I get an opportunity –be it in temples, or while blowing away eyelashes or birthday candles! We then got back into the tent and after some more chatting, went off to sleep.

We were up by 6.30 the next morning because we did not want to miss the sunrise. Nati told us she never went to sleep and was awake the whole time. We got out of the tent and were welcomed by a pleasant morning. The clouds had cleared and we could see the mountain before us clearly. We even spotted some snow at a distance. I told Tashi and Nati how I heard horses running around the tent at night but later realized that it was the dogs! We clicked some more awesome pictures of the sunrise with Tashi and me looking like locals!

And then after some Parathas for breakfast, we took off on our way back. We met our friend Pete on the way. He was on his way up and he too had a dog that was accompanying him right from the time he started the trek. It was great to see how the dog stopped with him when he was chatting with him and then carried on with him when he left. It reminded me of my pee dogs. We saw both of them marching their way up for a while and then carried on to get back to our respective hotels! I think we were all home by 11.30 and then went off to sleep for a while. And that was the end of the best trek of my life and an awesome day 2 at Mcleodganj! 🙂

October 29, 2012May 7, 2017

Mcleodganj Diaries – Episode 1 : The first feel

One Sunday afternoon in September this year, I received a call from my friend and ex-roomie Tashi. Tashi is of Tibetan origin and resides in Mcleodganj, Dharamshala. I met him when he came to Mumbai to study film-making. We shared the same room in a 3-bhk flat which had 9 more residents. Of all my flatmates, I was closest to Tashi one of the major reasons being – he was the only one who made me breakfast on Sundays when I was home 😀 Times changed and we both moved to separate flats. About 3 months ago, Tashi left Mumbai for good and went back to Mcleodganj to look after his Cafe and begin making films on Tibet. He had called me to just catch up and ask how I was doing. It was then that I just casually asked him if I should come to Mcleodganj to spend my birthday which was in a month and he said he would love to host me. The next thing I know – I was on the makemytrip site looking for ways to get to Dharamshala from Mumbai!

So I figured I would take a train to Delhi from Mumbai which will take me 16 hours and then a bus from Delhi to Dharamshala which was another 12 hours. This was my best bet as I did not want to spend on air tickets. The train tickets were booked for my to and fro journey with a Waiting List status both ways. I thought I will sort the buses out when I get there as I didn’t think it would be a problem.

After a lot of excitement and anxiety, the day was finally here. I read some stuff about Dharamshala, printed out some maps, and did some other pre-trip stuff. I took a cab at around 9 pm to get to Mumbai Central and was there well-before time. I checked the list and saw that my ticket was confirmed (which I was sure would be the case). The train started at 11.20ish, I had the food that was served and started reading George Orwell’s Animal Farm till the lights went out. 16 hours later, I was at the place people had always warned me against – DELHI! It was 5.15 pm and my bus was to leave from a place called ‘Majnu ka tila’ at 6.30pm. I marched for 5 minutes to get to the Metro railway station and took a crowded metro to go to Vidhan Sabha. Almost 90% of the crowd got out at Kashmiri gate which is when I clicked a pic of my first metro ride.

I got off at Vidhan Sabha and took a rickshaw to get to Majnu ka tila costing me 30 bucks. I reached there at 6 and bought a ticket for a Volvo bus which was to leave at 6.30pm. The bus arrived at 7.30pm and I got into it when I came face to face with the first adventure of my trip – The Israeli girls!!

I was looking for my seat when I realized that some Russian girls (in my mind they were Russian till later when I discovered that they were actually from Israel.. don’t know what I was thinking!) were arguing with the bus conductor about their tickets. I saw that there was a bit of a language barrier so I stepped in to see if I could help. And this is when I first met Sapir, the girl who went on to become a friend for life. Anyway.. that’s for later. So here is the story – the girls were sold tickets to a non-AC bus to Dharamshala bya an agent at the price of the tickets for an AC bus. The conductor hadn’t checked this earlier and once they were settled in their seats, he realized that their tickets are for that of another bus. He then asked them to get off the bus but the girls put their foot down saying that they were sold tickets to an AC bus and they won’t move until another AC bus is made available to them. Unfortunately, the only other bus available then was a non-AC bus. The bus management got involved and offered to arrange for a cab but the girls refused. They said they were new to the country and could not trust some cab driver, they would rather travel with a lot of other people in a bus. Made complete sense!! During all this, I was playing the mediator speaking to the girls in English and the bus management in Hindi. This went on for almost 45 minutes. I personally found it ridiculous how the bus management was just not willing to understand their problem. Don’t we follow ‘Athithi Devo Bhava’ anymore? Should we not go out of our way to help guests from another country (and in this case – 5 HOT girls for God’s sake!! :P)?? I told them that the girls are new to the country and are our guests. We should try to talk to the local passengers whose seats the girls were occupying and see if they would understand and agree to take another bus. Finally, there was just one way out. Me, along with 4 other people, agreed to take another bus while the girls can stay put in this one and reach Dharamshala safely. We were to take the bus from another stop which was about an hour away. So, everyone liked the plan and the bus finally took off! That’s when Sapir introduced herself to me and thanked me for the help. I thought her name was Sapien and remembered it that way till I was corrected a few days later. I took my seat and next to me was my first friend I made on this trip – Jose Gurrero. He was from Mexico but was working in China for quite a while. We spoke about each other’s work, travel plans, purpose of visiting Dharamshala and before we could talk more, it was time for me to get off. I bid Jose and Sapir goodbye and left. I never thought I would be seeing them again… but I did! Because as it turned out – Mcleodganj is a small world!! 🙂

A 12-hour ride on-and-off sleep got me to Mcleodganj at 6.30 in the morning. As I was moving away from Delhi, I had started feeling cold. My jacket was out of my bag and by the time I reached Dharamshala, I was already happy with the cold weather – something I really needed after bearing the Mumbai summer! I texted Tashi 15 minutes before I was to reach Mcleodganj. I thought by the time he comes to get me, I could have some breakfast and wait for him at the stop. But when the bus stopped at my destination, I was surprised to see Tashi already standing there with arms wide open in true Bollywood style 😀

And there I was – at Mcleodganj… after 2 days of train and bus travel… with my long-lost brother waiting for me at 6.30 in the morning. I can’t really express how I felt at that moment… easiest way to say it is – I was very happy! 😀

Till this point, I only knew that Tashi has a cafe in Mcleodganj. What I did not know was – he actually had 1 restaurant and 2 cafes! He was currently looking after 1 cafe while the other 2 were set-up and going well. I was to stay at a room near his restaurant called Hotel Green. He gave me some time to freshen up and once I was ready, he took me to his cafe – which to my benefit was the coolest, nicest, friendliest, and most magical cafe in the world – The Tibetan Mandala!

I had never seen a cafe like this one. It was amazing how Tashi spread his charm around here. He was this sweet, polite, cute Tibetan Cafe-owner asking people what they would like to have, making suggestions, giving compliments, sometimes even flirting with them but at the end of it – he always made a friend. Not just him, it was the kind-of place where everyone could see and hear everyone. So it was easy to just look at someone and smile, or participate in a conversation of your interest. Also, the fact that most people visiting the cafe were tourists and were open to making new friends helped! So, in just about 3 hours from the time I reached there, I had already spoken to almost 10 new people. I then took off with Tashi to visit the Monastery which was a 15-minute walk from his cafe. Here, Tashi showed me where His Holyness, The Dalai Lama lived and gave me an insight into Tibetan culture.

We sat on a bench in the temple and in that heavenly ambience, we spoke about life at Mcleodganj and how different and peaceful it is compared to Mumbai. Knowing my personal life and its problems, Tashi also started sharing some words of wisdom with me. We then just sat down quietly for a few minutes. And that’s when I felt thankful just for the fact that I was sitting at a place like that, feeling more relaxed than ever before. We clicked a few pics and then left.

Tashi went back to the cafe and I decided to go for a little trek to the Bhagsunag temple and water falls. It was noon but the beauty of Mcleodganj was that I did not feel the afternoon heat like I would in Mumbai. The 1-hour trek to the falls actually felt like a cakewalk! The cool breeze and the awesome weather made the trek extremely pleasant. On my way, I visited the Bhagsu temple and was pleasantly surprised to see a swimming pool INSIDE the temple!

I offered my prayers in the temple and moved on. I could see the waterfalls all through my way. It just made me go faster and get to the water as soon as possible. When I finally reached the top and saw people diving into the water, I felt bad that I had nobody to hand over my cell phone to. So, I could not get into the water. I just dipped my feet in it and boy, it was freezing!!

I clicked a few pics, took a few deep breaths to absorb the breeze and the atmosphere there, and started to walk back down. And that’s when to my surprise, I met Sapir and her friend Michal!

It was great to see Sapien after the bus incident and we chatted for a while about how she reached Dharamshala safely, how it was too cold at night in the AC bus, and how they were now staying at a guest house near Bhagsu. I told her that I was staying at Tashi’s hotel on the Bhagsu road and we exchanged numbers for any future plans. I then headed back to the cafe but not before having some wonderful Momos (I tried both steam and fried) on my way back. I reached Tashi’s cafe around 2.30pm and there he was chatting up with the one who was to become one of my closest friends on the trip (and thereafter) – Natalia Duke! 🙂

My first impression of Natalia was that she is a cute, well-dressed, soft-spoken, intelligent girl with an obvious American accent. We spoke for some time about what she does and what I do. I also narrated the bus incident to her. She was extremely friendly and very easy to open up to. She said she was teaching English to some monks at Dharamshala and that instantly made me think how great she was! She giggled at my jokes and that is the biggest pre-requisite for being my friend JShe got cute dimples when she smiled and laughed (which she did a lot!) and that kept me glued to her face! And as we spoke, in about 10 minutes I knew that she had become my friend and I could easily connect with her. It was lunch time and Naati (which was what I decided I will fondly call her) recommended that we go to this place called The Peace Cafe. We left the Mandala cafe and visited the Tibetan museum which had a great collection of information related to Tibet, how Tibetans escape Tibet to get to India, people who have sacrificed their lives for Tibet, and other such valuables of Tibetan culture!

After spending some time at the museum where Tashi explained to me a lot about Tibet and its people, we left for the Peace cafe for lunch and that is where I met my next friend – the most beautiful lady in the whole of Mcleodganj – Pnina Dekel!

Tashi and I ordered some momos and noodles and were waiting for our order when I noticed this lady sitting at the next table. You could not ignore her if you looked at her once. I immediately noticed that she was pretty, elegant and really hungry (judging by the amount of food she had on her table). There was something very graceful about her, about the way she sat, ate, looked around and smiled at the little kid playing in the restaurant. She called for someone and said “I want to invite”. I had no clue what she meant, nor did the waiter. She then said “May be you are wondering how someone can eat so much but I really want to invite.” This is when I understood that she meant that she wanted to order another dish! I now knew that the pretty girl also has an awesome sense of humour! I wanted to talk to her and invite her over to our table but I did not know how. I let it go. A few minutes later, our order was served and I was trying to click a picture of Tashi with all the food on the table. I was struggling to get the right angle and that’s when she said her first words to us – “Do you want me to take a picture?” I said yes and she clicked some pics for us. Once she was done, here was my chance to invite her over. I asked Tashi if we should and he said why not. Tashi would never let a chance to speak with a woman go by!! She had the bigger table so we went over to hers and that was the beginning of my longest lunch ever!

We started chatting and eating and I realized that the quantity served was too much for me to finish. Tashi was having his fruit salad and was of no help in finishing up the rest of the food. Just when I thought I will stop eating, Pnina told me how in Jews, it is forbidden to waste food and how one should always finish what’s on their plate. Now, it was not often that I got a chance to impress a pretty lady. So, I decided that I will finish what’s on my plate no matter what! I got to work while my dear friend Tashi went on a flirting spree! He told Pnina about his hotel and cafes and joked around in his usual, charming way. Pnina looked impressed and I thought to myself “Great! I am the nice guy finishing the food here and still, the small-eyed Tibetan gets to be the HERO!” Anyway, I somehow finished all the food and we left the Peace cafe with my stomach in the size of two basketballs! We offered to walk Pnina to her hotel but she declined. She thanked us for lunch and we walked back to Tashi’s cafe where Natalia was with a student of hers. I told her about the peace cafe girl and how my stomach is about to explode and we all had a good laugh!

Later that evening, Naati, Tashi and me decided to go to Carpe Diem for dinner. I was told this was a cool Pizza place at Jogiwara road and yes, it was! I really liked the ambience and the whole set-up there. And here was where I met my next friend – the super-intelligent teacher from South England – Peter Campion. He was sitting at the table next to ours and as we got talking, he participated in our jokes and shared his. Later, as the place got a bit crowded, he came over to our table to make space for another group. He clearly had a passion for religion and spirituality! Tashi, Naati and him discussed these things at large while I was just listening as it was not my cup of tea. However, what I noticed about Pete was that he was brilliant and knew his subject inside out! He also came across as a very kind-hearted man who was willing to serve humanity in the best way he could. He even discussed Game of thrones and Big bang theory with Naati which made me feel – “Okay, so he not just a nerd!” 😉 I told Peter about my birthday which was later that week and that it would be great if he could join us at Tashi’s cafe and we can all have a little party. We then left to walk Naati to her hotel at Dharamkot. This walk was the spookiest walk one would ever walk. I had no clue why Naati had to take up a hotel room so far away from the happening main square. It was on a hill and there were no lights on the way. We had to use flashlights and there were rumours of bears and leopards inhabiting these hills. To make things worse, my friends in Mumbai had warned me that Dharamshala is known to be a haunted place!

Anyway, we got through the walk fine and we bid Naati goodbye with the hope to see her the next morning for the Triundh trek. On our way back, Tashi and I spoke about anything and everything that would keep our minds off the bears, leopards, and ghosts. I wanted to pee very badly but I did not want to piss the forest people off so I controlled till I got back to my room. Once there, Tashi and I chatted for a while and I didn’t even realize when I fell fast asleep. And that was the end of my lovely first day at the beauty called Mcleodganj!

To be continued…

October 28, 2012May 7, 2017

An account of my jouney begins …

Hello people! I am really anxious as I begin to write this blog (like everyone is when they are about to begin anything new :P)! I guess the best way to deal with this is to just get on with it. So… My name is Dilip Merala and I am an actor. I write about my acting experiences on another blog titled ‘Chasing my only dream…’ that you can find here: http://dilipmerala.wordpress.com/

While that blog is specific to just my acting experiences, I wanted to start writing about my travelling experiences which I am really beginning to enjoy! So, here I am 🙂

Most of my posts in this diary are going to be from the point of view of an actor. As you must have gauged by now, I am not very good at this “writing” stuff but I am just willing to share whatever I have seen, learnt, discovered, felt, experienced while traveling. I will also try to post up how I got to the places I visited, where I stayed, what I ate and how much it cost, etc. I hope that those who are kind enough to read my blog get something out of it. If nothing else, well.. at least a smile 🙂

Dilip

August 23, 2012May 7, 2017

Two short films for Anurag Kashyap…

Till a few months ago, I used to live in a 3BHK flat in the New Mhada colony at Andheri West. It was more a dormitory than a flat really. We were 11 people living there with each one given a bed and a cupboard. When you entered the house, you could see 3 beds (small-sized ones called diwans) in the hall with dirty mattresses on them and no bedsheets. As you moved further in, there was the kitchen – the worst in the world.. with all kinds of food particles, used utensils, uncovered beverages and sometimes even beer bottles lying around near the gas stove. Then came the three bedrooms with 3 small sized beds each. I would like to believe that mine was the cleanest bed! 😀

There were all kinds of issues at that flat – water scarcity, shabby rooms, stinking loos, bed bugs (ohhh God those cruel bed bugs!!), money and food items being stolen, fights amongst the guys.. you name it! However, the best part about living there was the different kinds of people I got to meet. Most of us were aspiring actors but there was also a cinematographer – Raj, an aspiring writer – Rahul and an aspiring film-maker – the one and only – our Tibetan friend Pasang Tashi! 🙂

On one Sunday, when we were getting some pesticides sprayed to get some relief from our dear bed bugs, it became impossible for us to hang out in our respective rooms due to the unbearable smell. So, we all gathered in our drawing room which was comparatively more spacious and less claustrophobic! That’s when it struck me that what we had in our flat was a great bunch of talent in all fields of film making and we should use it in some way. So while we were all watching some show on TV, I told everyone that we should stop wasting our time like this and do something constructive.. why not make a short film?!? We had actors, a writer, a cinematographer and a director. A camera could be arranged from the film school Raj went to. And that’s when Rahul came in!

My ex-flatmate Rahul is a weird man. He always told us that he was an HR guy working for Citibank and is waiting to join some Mumbai branch in a few days. However, what we later realized was that he was an aspiring writer who had given up his high profile job to pursue his dream of writing and film-making. He had already written a full-fledged film script and was in touch with Anurag Kashyap about it! When I brought up the idea of a short film, we asked Rahul if he can write something. He said he will think about it and the discussion ended there. Little did we know that Rahul will be ready with a story and a short film script the same night!

It was 1 a.m. when Rahul knocked on our room door. I was asleep because I had to get to work the next day, so I wasn’t really interested in entertaining Rahul at that hour. However, he insisted that we gather in one of the rooms as he had something important to share. The last time this had happened was when our friend Kartik Tiwari had broken to us the news of him being the lead actor in a film – Pyaar ka Punchnama 😀 Anyway, so we all went and were surprised by what happened in the next half an hour. Rahul gave us a narration of the short film he had in mind – scene by scene, angle by angle! He came across as an aspiring film-maker from the Kashyap school – clearly wanting to make a project that will appeal to Anurag! 🙂 We were impressed by his enthusiasm and his eye for detail and decided to start work on the short film from the next weekend itself with my roomie Randhir and me playing protagonists. The idea was to wrap up the film in two weekends max!! It turned out that it was too ambitious for us to think so! 😛

The first two days of shoot was a lot of fun and hard work. We woke up at 5 am I think. Rahul had locations for shooting in mind. So we just blindly followed wherever he took us and whatever he made us do. I had a Maruti Zen which we used for our travelling. Rahul was clear that we will not spend a single penny in the making of this film. However, I don’t think he realized that I was spending quite some money on the fuel for my car to take us to all our shoot locations 😛 We finished a lot of scenes in the first two days. But as the days passed by, Rahul was not happy with some of the scenes which he decided to re-write and re-shoot. Later, Rahul attended the Mami film festival and got some new ideas and inspirations. He decided to change the whole plot from a two-protagonist story to that of one – mine!

The entire journey was a whole lot of fun but we also faced a lot of problems! One of the biggest issues was availability of a camera. We started off with a Canon 60D to shoot the film but were eventually left only with an iphone 4 and later a Galaxy s2 to finish the remaining portion. I will never forget the fights our cinematographer Raj had with Rahul. Raj has a filmmaker in himself too and as one would expect – two filmmakers coming together for one project can never be an easy task 😛 I must say here that Raj is exceptional with the camera. He takes the most difficult shots with bare hands needing no tripod or support. Such steadiness with the camera is God’s gift to him I believe. However, his views on the scenes and the camera angles never matched with those of Rahul. He laughed at most of the things Rahul said. And Rahul rejected most of the suggestions Raj gave. Raj went on and on about jump cuts and other technical things and Rahul went on and on about how his film is “different” and how he still thinks the shots will look good the way he wants them!! I am surprised at how these two could even manage finishing this project together 😀

The film was named Once upon a writer. During shooting for OUAW, I did a lot of things which were new to me as an actor! We shot at the flat, on roads, at a beach, at offices, at the compound of a gym, at the terrace of a building and some other places – for most of these places, we had no permission to shoot so we had to manage shooting with hidden cameras 😀 Also, most of the scenes we shot were later edited out. The script was changed a couple of times too. Yet, the passion of filming something new everyday remained our best memory from this experience. One of the most memorable events was when we had to shoot a scene with Eunuchs (who are sex-workers) at around 12 in the night. It was difficult to talk to them with a camera and there are cops on the lookout all the time. After a couple of attempts, we did get hold of one but while we were having the conversation about our film and what we needed her to do for the shoot, a cop van headed towards us. We dashed towards my car, got in and fled but the cops didn’t give up. They decided to chase my car! For the next 5 minutes, I had my heart in my mouth as I drove the fastest I could through the roads of Andheri West – Millat Nagar, Oshiwara, and the Back road to get back to our New Mhada flat. Once we reached home, we had a big laugh about all of it. Two days later, we tried again and this time, our friend Victor was actually caught. We ran away and waited at a distance to see what’s happening to him. When they didn’t let him go after 5 minutes, we decided to approach the cops to rescue our friend. Tashi showed them his I-card from the film school and said we were working on some project. They understood that we are innocent guys and let us go but not before cracking a racist comment on Tashi – “Tum China mein jaao”. I felt like getting back at them but I did not want Tashi to get into trouble because of my reaction, so we just left. Later, Victor convinced one of the Eunuchs to come home to shoot the scene and the scene was modified to be shot in our flat. I must admit that Rupali (a.k.a Angel) was extremely professional and finished the shot in 10 minutes. We had dinner with her and then Victor dropped her back.

So we had a lot of fun and learnt a lot during all this and finally.. after almost 6 months (yes, that’s how long it took) our short film was ready to be edited. And that’s when our editor Ankit Halai came in. He had edited my first short film Ek Choti Si Asha and was now working on this one taking time out of his busy schedule. There were clashes between Rahul and him too, sometimes due to their schedules, and sometimes due to creative differences. Rahul had to give in most of the times because we needed Ankit’s office to shoot a couple of scenes 😛 Anyway, they did finally manage to sit together and finish off the film.

Once this film was done, Rahul submitted it at Anurag’s office. He then wanted to make another short film based on his full-fledged film script that he had sent to Anurag Kashyap. So, he wrote down a shorter version and began shooting with Nikhil Pandey and me. Nikhil is my roommate now and also my co-actor in my plays Holi and Who let the dogs out. I remember all my office girls falling for his cute looks (whatever :S) when they had seen Holi. I have always liked him as an actor and am now working with him on another play (Othello… more about that later). I think he has done a pretty good job in this short film too. It’s called We, The People and will be ready in a few days. Our cinematographer for this one is Vin Maurya – a talented guy from Nepal who tolerates Rahul much better than Raj or Tashi 😛 However, Rahul is really unfortunate in one regard – none of his cinematographers know Hindi well – be it Tashi – the Tibetan, Raj – the Telugu Hyderabadi or Vin – the Nepali 😀

I am hoping to use some footage from both these short films along with that of my plays and make a showreel at the earliest. I can then approach some casting directors and production houses with the showreel trying to convince them that I am a good actor! J In the meantime, Rahul awaits Anurag Kashyap’s feedback on the film and I can’t stop myself from hoping that may be he (or his casting director Mukesh Chhabra) sees something good in the actors 😉

August 17, 2012May 7, 2017

I have learnt…

I am beginning to think that what has happened to me in the last few years is what happens to every aspiring actor. He starts on a low note from scratch, then thinks he is at the peak of his struggle, begins to get a few leads.. and then due to some crappy reasons hits a low again!! I have been dealing with this low for quite some time now..and while it had almost put an halt to my struggle, it has taught me a lot about people, about situations, and about myself!!

I have learnt never ever to trust anybody more than myself. I have learnt never to run after things or people who do not value me as much as I value them.. because by doing so I am only creating problems and awkwardness for both them as well as myself. I am just being a prick! I have learnt that no matter what people might say to me on my face, they are going to be truly loyal to ones they have chosen to be close to.. and I am not necessarily going to be one of them!! I have learnt that honesty no longer holds the same value that it used to when we were kids studying in school and were being taught that we should always speak the truth. Even the nicest people I know have lied their asses off without even a hint of shame for having done so!! I have learnt how I’ve become this person who can very easily be taken for granted..not because the world is mean..not because people want to take advantage of me.. but because I am always willing to give people the advantage!! I have learnt that I use too many exclamation marks in my posts!! 😛 But above all – I have learnt never to lose focus from my career due to the so called “personal” problems! It is just an excuse really – an excuse that several aspiring actors claim to have ruined their careers.. The reason many talented actors shy away from a path that would have otherwise led them to great destinations. I do not want to repeat their mistake!

I must learn to let go of things that are not working in my favour because may be that’s how things are destined to be. There is no point cribbing about how the world has become.. or how I have become. People around me are never the problem.. they all do what is important and feels right to them. We all live lives of our choice and there is no point expecting others to behave the way we hope they should. The world will continue to be how it is.. and there is no shock or surprise in that. The question is whether I want to continue to be the way I am.. or am I so fed up of things that I change myself to become like the rest of the world?!?

And the reason I am posting all this here is.. I feel everything that I have learnt in this while has added on to my experiences in life.. experiences that are extremely important for an actor to go through. I used to think that I have done nothing constructive since The Dirty Picture.. but actually.. I realize I have. Because I HAVE LEARNT! 🙂

So I am back now.. again! This time I am not going to give a damn about the world… or expect anything from anybody. Of course, it goes without saying that my family (especially my Dad!!) and my true “friends” will always be around in whatever capacity they can. But what’s going to matter is what I am going to do for myself from here on. I am off once again.. to get out of my shitty low… aiming towards a high… because I have realized that the only thing that is truly mine.. that is with me all the time through all ups and downs, highs and lows.. that loves me as much and as dearly as I love it.. is my dream!!

April 10, 2012May 7, 2017

Finally…my first pay cheque!!

I had shot for The Dirty Picture on the 5^th of November, 2011. The film released on the 2^nd of December. Since then, I had been following up with my casting director and with Balaji Films to get paid for the part. A month ago I was given Aditya’s number – the same AD Aditya who had helped me on the sets of TDP with my scene. Aditya gave me the Account-In-Charge’s cell number and asked me to get in touch with her. I called her several times before she asked me to come down on the 9^th of April, 2012 and collect my cheque. I called once again on the 9^th just to confirm whether I can come to get my cheque and she got pissed. She said – “Sir, when I told you to come on Monday and collect your cheque, it means you should come on Monday and collect your cheque”. I did not understand this sarcasm and attitude. I felt like telling her – “Lady, I called you 15 times before you gave me a date to come and get my cheque. I thought it made sense to just confirm before I come down all the way. It needs just a 2-second acknowledgment! The attitude is uncalled for!” However, I kept quiet as I thought every person has busy, tiring days and at such times, they end up being rude to those who are in need of them. It’s human!! J

I did go to the Balaji office on the 9^th of April at 6 pm. I was asked to meet Piyush from accounts. They gave me a visitor’s card and asked me to go to the 6^th floor. I went there and met Piyush who handed over my cheque to me – my first pay cheque for my first film! J I looked at the cheque once, then out it in my bag and left but not before saying a filmy line to Piyush – “This is my first pay cheque.. Always remember that you were the one who gave it to me!!” Piyush gave me a huge smile and I left with a smile too. I thought that when I do become a big star, Piyush will remember this day and so will I 😉

When I reached the main gate and was returning my visitor’s pass, I was reminded of something that I had completely forgotten about! About 8 years ago, when I first thought I want to become an actor, I left home one day to try and look for work. Balaji Telefilms was the talk of the town back then and its soaps were really at their peak!! I found out where the Balaji office is – Andheri West, Veera Desai Road, Near Fun Republic. I did not know how to get there as I used to live in Navi Mumbai and had nothing to do with this part of the city. I found out, took a train, then a bus and around 3.5 hours after I left home, I reached the Balaji office. I told the watchman that I am looking for some work in acting. He looked at me as if I am the most ridiculous species on the planet and asked me to go away. He even told me – “Tu pagal hai kya?? Acting line mein kyu ghusna hai tujhe?? Jaa ghar jaake padhai kar!!Kuch aur kaam dhoondh!” I told him that I am done with my HSC and will be pursuing Engineering but I want to act. He just did not listen to me and asked me to go away. I had no choice but to leave but I wanted to gather as much info as I could before I left. I saw that there was a number mentioned on the gate – Mr. Jeet – to be contacted for casting-related stuff. I noted down his number and left with a heavy heart.

Today, after 8 long years, life had taken a full circle. I was at the same gate from where I was shooed off.. and I was collecting my first film’s pay cheque!! Nostalgia.. and tears in my eyes yet again!! I got to my bike, looked back at the building and thanked Balaji Films for the role it has played in my life!

I am now curious to see when and for what I’ll go to that building again… 😀

December 6, 2011May 7, 2017

My first silver screen appearance…

The 2^nd of December, 2011… Perhaps the biggest day of my life!! I was eagerly waiting for The Dirty Picture to release and was really nervous with an array of thoughts screwing my brains – Will they show my scene or just delete it?? Well, they shot it at the last moment so I think they really needed it! How will I look? Will they keep both of my lines or just the short one? Will it be so short that no one will even notice me? What if they just show Naseerji even during my line?? These and many other thoughts were making my life difficult on Friday.

I was to go for an evening show after office with some of my friends. They could not make it so ended up going alone. As I entered the movie hall, I felt very anxious (as one would expect). I knew it was just a very small appearance.. but still I couldn’t stop thinking of the day as a BIG ONE! I took my seat and after the annoying Vicco turmeric ad, the movie began! I had absolutely no idea when my scene would come as I hadn’t read the script. I waited for an hour and tried to enjoy the film. Well, I really couldn’t. The audience kept giggling at the funny one liners Vidya was cracking but I was just waiting…and waiting…and waiting…till the moment finally came! I saw myself in one frame..my face was hidden with the camera that I hold as a photographer. My heart started beating faster. A couple of frames later, I saw myself again but still hidden by the camera…this must have been my fastest heart rate ever!! And that very moment, I saw myself on screen saying my little line –

“Sir.. Zara chipakke Sir!!”

My first ever line as an actor on the silver screen!! It was a close-up so my face was seen! 😀 😀 😀

At this point, I had a hundred things going on in my head – There I am… I look weird … Why didn’t they give me make-up… It’s not my voice… the dubbed voice SUCKS… But people are laughing at the line… Are they going to show my next long line too?? Ohh noooooooo, it’s gone!!

As I was thinking about all this, the scene went past the spot where we had shot. I understood .. That was it.. my 2 seconds of fame!! I felt emotional but did not cry. I felt like telling people “Hey.. that was MEEEEE!!!” I wanted to hug someone.. thought of hugging the guy sitting next to me but he was already hugging his girl 😛

For the next few minutes, I could not concentrate on the film. I just kept thinking about my film appearance. It was my first appearance on the big screen!! My first film ever!!! It was slowly sinking in – My parents, my friends, people who know me are all going to see this.. Even if I die the next day, people will see me in the Dirty Picture in the years to come!! Yes, it could have been better. Yes, they could have used my voice and added my longer line. Yes, they could have given me Emraan Hashmi’s role!!! 😉 But that’s okay! It wasn’t the end… It was just the beginning!!!

I wonder why I did not cry. I think I know the answer. It’s because I knew that this is nothing compared to what I really want to do.. where I really want to get! It is just a start… A start that has given me a big boost! I know there is no looking back now. I know nothing can stop me. I know there is no other way. I know that I am either going to become a hugely successful actor or die trying to become one!!!