It is getting on to 5 PM, but I could not resist revealing the look of PAA on the blog for the extended family. This then is AURO ! The kid that suffers from progeria, a debilitating disease where the child ages rapidly beyond his age. The face that you see is the result of deep research. Kids affected by this problem lose all their hair, become bald and their veins begin to show prominently on their heads, which enlarge to a size beyond normal. Their teeth and eyes suffer also and hence the special teeth as dentals that were worn by me.

This then is the outcome of those hours and hours of make up that we talked of so often during the shooting of the film. The prosthetic process is an arduous process. Around 8 pieces specially designed through laborious clay models of which I wrote too are most meticulously stuck on to the face. Once the make up starts, it is impossible to move even a few centimeters. Eating and drinking has to be avoided and you cannot talk because it displaces the pieces over the contours of the face. Separate pieces form the entire look. The head and ears are one unit and come on as a helmet. The ears are add ons, your own being blocked due to the silicone over it. This is an additional problem because then hearing is impaired. Two small holes are bored into the skull so some sound can go through. Also when you speak it reverberates inside the skull and you constantly feel you are inside a tunnel with pronounced echo. Eye lids upper and lower come on close to the eyes, the forehead is another piece, the nose, the two cheeks, the upper and lower lip, the chin and finally the neck all get stuck on and then blended through an intricate electronic spray which merges all the pieces to look like one cohesive mass. In this condition then, if you develop an itch inside your face or the head it is impossible to get to it - you just bear it. To accentuate the condition of the rest of the skin on the body special make up to highlight the veins is colored on. For this I had to get all the hair on my hands and arms and chest and legs shaved clean every day. The make up spray which has alcohol content in its construction burns as it is applied on exposed skin - but you just bear it. The heat of the lights has the ability to melt the silicon and so remaining in the sun for long is out as is non air conditioned studios.

5 hours to put it all on, 2 hours to take it off and 6 hours to work - at times more if we are behind schedule. Tough ! But then whoever said film making was a luxury. Then .. for a sunrise shot you start getting ready from the previous night at about 11PM, sit through the entire night to be ready by 4-5 AM and then go on to work.

Seeing the first promo has been an emotional moment for me and also for many that see it. There is something about the music, the feel that immediately gets your hair on end and tears begin to well up. For AB Corp it is an important day from the days of survival and bankruptcy to this. For Abhishek it is an important moment to have taken on the responsibility of managing the production and the entire making as a Producer. For Balki it is a moment of fulfillment from the day he came up with this idea and today to see it fructify. For each and every member of the crew, the camera department, the lighting, the spot boys, the light men, assistants and all the marketing and promotional personnel from Reliance, it has been a very dedicated labor of love. It has been the belief of all these people in a project which when heard did not seem achievable. But they have done it and credit goes to them all. They are the true heroes of the film and today I salute them for making it happen.

For the colleagues and artists involved, what can I say. Paresh and Vidya and Abhishek. The kids and friends of Auro. The supporting cast. The genius of Illairaja. The genius of PC sir our DOP. Every single person has worked on this project as though they owned it.

My love and extreme gratitude to them. This labor of love shall never go unrewarded ..

Thank you all .. from me .. from AB Corp

Amitabh Bachchan