Two and a half hours of sleep, out on the road to Khapoli by 6 am and a two and a half hour drive through most of North and North East Mumbai on the expressway towards Pune. A paper stall by the wayside and an entire bunch of the dailies by your side, mine did not arrive that early. Reading, analyzing, getting informed, forming opinion, educating on current affairs and those international, nodding off for a while and then back to the black ink. Hardly time to see how rapidly Mumbai develops and how rapidly those spaces that were once deserted locations for car chase sequences for film and horse ridden dacoit films, now concreted with 8 lanes and 16 lane traffic - no one drives inside their tube, they squeeze in another on the same track and column you are on ! And each in such a desperate hurry as though the city was emptying out on an emergency. But it is beautiful.

Post monsoon syndrome. Every little bit of earth and branch and tree and bush, just overflowing with green. In the distance the ‘ghats’ along uniquely cut hills. Low misty clouds languishing among the higher peaks, a few diluted groups whistling softly past you almost. Off the highway onto diversions and then miles of dirt track on to the location.

Busy bustle of a unit. Men and women moving about sincerely, a quick update on the creatives and makeup and on to the steady cam with Sunil, the expert. Multiple rehearsals and rehearsals and rehearsals. Lots of movement, business, moving synchronizing, singing, getting to the right marks and finally a take. The sun has now burnt away the mist and a large portion of our skin as well. The body weeps copiously, drenching the artistically constructed attire by Nick@Shant. Underneath the shirt and the jacket and trousers its like the rains never stopped - inside the sleeves, down the waist and back, down the trousers into the shoes ; a squiggle.

But up the hill and back I go, until its just right and most of the unit agrees - well those that matter anyway. Borun Da, our DOP for the shoot and one of the finest gentleman in the Industry - Baghbaan, Baabul under his aesthetic control, finally has a smile on his face that says it all. Wrap ! And rush to the vanity to towel down, to cool off, to liquid the body and then back on the road. A couple of days and it shall be on the blog.

All this for just 60 secs of TV glory !!

Shweta, that has the largest scream for creepy crawlies and the quickest getaway from a situation where they arrive as unwanted guests, has at night discovered ‘the moth’ on her cheek as she sleeps. Aaaaarrrrgghhghgaaaaaaaa !!! that was her not me ! And some Wahahhhahaaaaaaa haaaaaiiiiieeeeeeee !! She could give you a cardiac arrest if you were unprepared for one of her encounters. Vivid descriptions of the night are then PINGED across as I drive back and some consoling is initiated.

Back in the backyard at Prateeksha the goal posts are up for Agastya to kick ‘em in and a few dribbles will be executed in the morning … coz’ right now you could blow at me and I would drop.

Aishwarya has gone up to Delhi just now for a quick turnaround. In and out within an hour and back home by the night. An award - youth icon. Abhishek drives back from Malshej and after what seems like an eternity, we shall all be together again.

An excited daughter has been told they can be here till the 3rd of October and not the scheduled 27th … moth and all.. spend more time together.

Bombay Times and Hindustan Times through respective editor friends, Mark Manuel and Mayank Shekhar, persist on that exclusive column that they want me to write for the paper. I find it difficult to express to them that I am not accomplished for the job. And then, do one and the others rile you. Tricky. What do you say ? Ok, nice one to put up for a vote.

But to swiftly rewind back to the 8 and 16 lane traffic. It is absolutely improbable to imagine that the serene quietness of China Creek, the pet location for millions of outdoor locations where the metropolis needed to be erased from the screen, has now become the most occupied, habitated and developed region.

We had camped there by a stream for ‘Saudagar’. A lovely village set constructed around the mango trees that flourished there. And the great Nutan ji, ever the professional, ever the punctual always beating me to it. If it was 5 am for a sunrise shot, there she was ready with her make up in costume and with her lines. ‘Abhimaan’ and most of the village scenes where I meet Jaya, all worked around those interiors, action sequences of ‘Don’ and a million other films, just go by you as you drive past in swift movement. It is a sad reflection that there is nothing within our annals of record that has kept these details for posterity. And it is not just my time. China Creek has been the favorite from decades before me. On occasion when I see the old Dilip Kumar or Raj Kapoor film, the locations are recognized and on some even before their time. I doubt if anyone goes there now. The rustic and the rural has fast been replaced by the Manhattan, Chicago and Philadelphia locales. The United Kingdom, France, Italy, Greece, Bangkok, Malaysia, Australia have been given prominence. Maybe the multiplex crowds, now a majority contributor over single screens, prefer this than that. English titles prevail. Hinglish prevails. Scripts and dialogues in Roman Hindi or English prevails. And we still address ourselves as the Hindi Film Industry !!

कहीं न कहीं तो ऐसा लगता है की हिंदी के साथ ज्यादती हो रही है . अपनी राष्ट्र भाषा को हमने अपना तो लिया है , लेकिन क्या हम उसे जीवित रखने के लिए जितना करना चाहिए उतना कर भी रहे हैं की नहीं ??