What I've Done

August 2007

It was two weeks before college started (and all through the house, nothing was stirring, not even a mouse-sorry couldn't resist!) and after being on holiday for four and a half months, Deepak and Nihal came to the conclusion that they were bored(yes, it took four and a half months for them to realise this!) and thus decided to use the last two weeks at least and do something that neither of them had ever done before or knew anything about!

They worked on the idea, managed to draft a script and with a bit of help from Deepu got their hands on some movie editing software.

Then I got the call (music starts to build up)
"Tanisha, would you like to act in our movie?",
"What movie?"
"Well, we're bored and we wanted to make a movie.."
"Now? (no, Tanisha, next century!)"
"Yes, before college starts..."
"Oh, ok... what's it about?"
" About drugs. About a girl who gets into drugs and ruins her life and takes her life"
"Ok, and who do i play?" (music building up to a crescendo)
"Well, you are going to play the girl- the druggie- who dies"
(music abruptly stops)
(silence)
"Meeee?? ummmm... ok" (confused look-- which they cant see- because we are talking on the phone (DUH!)- yes, the eyebrows are up)

Well.... we had lots of fun. Having two directors meant lots and lots of arguing:
"Lets take this shot from this angle"
"No da, this angle will be better"
"Nooooo... im telling you, this will be way better..."
"Of course it wont!"
......blah blah...
.....blah....
.....
......
.........

me: " Lets just do it from both angles and then you can watch them both and choose the best one" (aww Tanisha)

The fighting scene- What fun! all the shots are on the "making of.." video

And Rohit the drug peddler, we all had lots of fun laughing at you!

Anyway, as I was saying, tons of fun!
In the middle of doing one of the drug scenes (me with the wet scraggly hair, the black eyes and lips and an overall blotchy face), "Its raining, quick! lets do the window scene.... Change of scenes. QUICK!!!"
All they had to do was carry the camera outside and grab an umbrella on the way out. Did they have any idea how long it takes to scrub eyeliner off your face???

Oh and btw, in the "making of what I've done", I was only pretending that I couldn't hear them!!! LOL!! heard every word, I was confused, I must say, as to whom Deepak was yelling at.

The ingredients for fake blood: (not sure of the proportions)
ketchup
water
Gobi Manchurian food colouring (we did try that liquid red colouring, but that made it a bit pinkish)
honey

The falling scene(death scene, whatever):
I woke up the next morning and couldn't feel the connection between my head and the rest of my body (that's the neck, if your wondering) and when I tried to get up, I felt the most excruciating pain EVER... I wonder why???!!!! I had to fall like about a gazillion times.. I'm not joking!!!
"Tanisha, you fell too early, once again"
"No again, you went off the screen"
"Once more, I didn't get it properly"
"Deepak, your hand came on screen" (OH DEEPAK DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO CATCH!)
"Tanisha, once more..."
"Now lets try some shots zoomed out"
"No, the suns too bright"
"No, there's not enough sun"
.... it went on!!
(perfectionists do that)

Then I had to lie there in the grass for like an hour(ok FINE, im exaggerating).
"Deepak, theres an ant biting my neck"
"SHUT UP! DON'T MOVE, it doesn't matter!" (ok, I will just let this ant feast on me. Hey, i can feel more than one ant, MUMMY)

Then having to drop the photo frame... so much drama and we didn't even use that scene in the end.

Ummm... what else can i say? To sum it all up. Deepak, Nihal, Khushaali, Binoy, Rohit, Deepu, Divya, it was loads and loads of FUN doing this. There were lots of mistakes and we didn't get the quality we wanted, but GREAT job!

Hopefully, the next one will be out soon. :)


The movie: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1435291064047252259
The "making of...": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4d0pXLdVfc

U-NO what? I almost got suspended!

You know what? we got yelled at by the Medical College Principal. You know what? we had to wait for 3 hours in the Medical College. You know what?...

I'm almost certain that almost everyone who met me or any of the other 16 of us heard these words or something very similar.

It fascinates me to think how one small blip in a routine can turn a day upside-down and how one can experience all possible emotions over the course of a few hours.

Yes, I'm talking about that day, Friday, November 16, 2007.

The blip was a free 2 hour class and our excitement landed us for a snack at the Medical food court. (1st lesson we learnt- when there is a free class, stay in class or go to the library).

Our next move was to begin a game of UNO. Yes, all 16 of us playing one game at the same time. (2nd lesson- by no means is an academic institution a venue for non-academic related games).

What happened next was the first crescendo of the day- shouts, grabbing, sticks, bags, ID cards... and at the end of the pandemonium we found ourselves on the floor, in the foyer of the Medical College.

(3rd lesson- use free time to bond with your classmates).
This lesson needed no teaching and with 3 hours ahead of us, we wasted no time doing so. It started off with favourite movie, favourite books,... the usual. Then came, most embarrassing moment, your claim to fame- I shall not mention the details least I embarrass my friends and myself! Cartoon theme songs were sung, mehendi designs were practiced and four lunches were shared while medical students wondered what a group of students with T-scales and paper holders were doing in their college.

Crescendo number 2: I shall refrain from elaborating on what happened at the Medical College Principal's office, for that would be very bitter. It was a mixture of fear, shock, horror, anger and confusion that rocked our minds.

The rest of the day was mostly embarrassment and relief for not getting suspended.

It was like a roller-coaster that day! Ups and downs, sharp turns and free falls. Moments when the track was almost flat, moments when we couldn't see what was around the bend, moments when our stomachs were in our mouths and moments where we actually had fun.

All in all, I can't say that I enjoyed the roller-coaster, I'm just glad that it eventually stopped. I must say, I've learnt a lot from it!


(wrote for msrit archi mag)




The 16 stutents who were charged gulity of causing a disturbance in an academic atmosphere.

WE look pretty content, dont we? almost like Danny Ocean who robbed 3 casinos when on parole! but, no we aint doing no more "messing about" (atleast not in the food court!!!LOL)

On being lazy....

It seemed like the rain was blurring my vision and it felt like I was slowly disappearing into a pit of sinking sand. My feet were like bricks and i felt almost incapable of lifting them off the ground. My fingers like ice- stiff and numb.

The cogs in my brain needed to be oiled or they would soon stop turning. My arms were stunted by time, so much that they couldn't reach the coffers of my mind to unearth thoughts. Why was I becoming like this? Why was I burying myself? and why was I blaming the rain, ice, time and sinking sand for my own laziness?