February is HOT!

Return of The Dork of the Desert

It's been hard to remember that it is winter here. Every day here is another day of intense sun and heat. Very un-February-like from a North American perspective. The days are short, but we work so hard it never seems short enough! The temps have gone from 85ºF to 90º and now 95º and higher. We have two more weeks to go and it seems like we'll have to start hitting 100º before we go back to Mumbai. It's not a constant heat though. It's quite pleasant in the mornings and evenings. The afternoons are where it really sets in and we all start hiding under hats and scarves and chasing the shadows for a bit of shade. It's really tough on the actors who have to wear black trench coats or suits of armor while performing action beats standing on pedestals or flying on wires. Not easy.

Sunrise from the Sitara Hotel

I haven't had much time to see Hyderabad though I still hope to make a trip to town. Like everywhere the work of making movies is somewhat all-consuming. I am one of the lucky ones who gets a day off here and there but I use the time to rest and to connect back home while I have a chance. Out here in Ramoji Film we still have some cool things to see with all the weddings and conferences and since we start early we also get to see some good sunrises.

PINK!

Some of the flowers around here are quite amazing at least in terms of color. The bougainvilleas are so bright that in some of the more intense pink shades they cannot even be photographed. This picture was taken on the road approaching Ramoji Film City. The motorbikes were stopping on the side of the road because the color was so intense.

It may be made of plastic but it's still a place where Shiva resides.

We sometimes see some strange collisions of culture here. They built this giant idol of Shiva for some TV show or movie and it just sits off the back of our city set. When there are religious holidays, people come and worship at it, even though we in the west would consider it a prop and of no spiritual significance, here no such distinctions are made. In fact trucks and tractors also become objects celebrating the Hindu deities. This is one of the tractors that pulls our green screens around.

Of course, we make distinctions about things like brand names, whereas here there is no concern at all about authenticity or the baldest type of brand adaptation. Check out this shirt. American Eagle is not imported here and although the makers of this shirt fear being sued for using the name exactly, they don't fear being nabbed for the cheesiest of evasions. It's one of the places where what passes for clever seems a bit overvalued here, but I am told that this is good marketing in the Indian economy. I mean this guy bought the shirt, right?

So now we head into March and more heat, then back to Mumbai where I am told it is "cold" with temps plunging into the low 70s. Luckily I brought a sweatshirt!