09 October, 2009
Sat Sri Akal!
That's hello/goodbye/goodnight, etc. Do you know there isn't a Punjabi phrase for Good Night? Strange. :)
Let's see...today is the 8th. First day of filming was yesterday! And what an experience!
It
started at 4 AM...make-up and hair came to my room at 5 and we headed
to location at 6. This was for my jogging sequence. Luckily I did all my
jogging before it got too hot. Later in the day, just standing there I
was melting. Literally. I had to get major touch-ups between every take!
When
I woke up yesterday morning, my throat was a little sore. That's always
where my colds start, so I thought I'd better knock it out quick.
Everything was fine on the set until lunch (around 1.30-ish). I felt it.
Ugh. Luckily, I was finished for the day. By the time I got back to the
hotel, my cold was in full force! It didn't stop me from shopping at
Big Bazaar, but the rest of the day was spent in bed flipping through
the TV channels. I was miserable.
I'm doing better now, so I'm hoping later today I'll be up to snuff. I told Ish to strangle Lakhwinder for me!
I'm
hungry! It's almost 8 AM, but breakfast, much like dinner, is served
late. So I'm sitting here, listening to the horns in traffic, and the
whir of my glorious AC. :)
Oh!
How could I forget?! I'm sitting down between takes yesterday, sipping
some water and getting my make-up touched up, when a huge, gorgeous
elephant strolls through the set! I want to ride an elephant and a camel
while I'm here, so I was thrilled to see her! Him? He had beautiful
stencils all over him, and I got to get my picture taken with him. He
wrapped his trunk around me, it was wonderful! One of the pictures shows
him grabbing my boob—I didn't even notice it at the time. It made my
day, though. (The elephant, not the boob-grab.) How often do elephants
just stroll through your life?
I
told you in my last blog that I wanted fans. I have some now! Two of
them! One gentlemen at the market where we were filming kept coming up
and talking to me and introduced me to his mom. He wanted my address,
but I gave him my email. He wanted to make sure that I would respond,
and he was going to go write me when he got home. I told him I don't
have internet access very often, but assured him I'd respond. :)
And
later on another gentlemen asked for my autograph! So...outside of
theatre productions and my dad...that was my very first
autograph-seeker. :)
What else has been going on...? Ah—Lakhwinder, Manpreet, and I headed further into Ludhiana to go to one of the gurudwaras.
(They're found about half a mile apart from each other.) Lakhwinder
drove his fancy tinted-windows car, and I sat in the back chanting,
“Waheguru, waheguru!” It made him laugh. “Waheguru” is sort of like,
“Oh, my God.” You use it as a term of reverence or as we use “Oh, my God!” So while freaking out in the back seat, I chanted!
The
first gurudwara was packed, and outside in the shoe removal place,
both of the boys had to stop for pictures and autographs and talking
with fans.
Lakhwinder
is a very famous Sufi singer over here, coming from a long line of Sufi
singers, and Manpreet just finished a movie called “Sat Sri Akal,”
where he was the first Sikh playing the hero. It's a big deal. Normally
they have non-Sikhs playing Sikhs, and it's pretty obvious because of
the beards. And even then, they're not really the lead.
We
headed across the street to the BIG gurudwara, so I got to worship at
both. The second was massive, and very elaborate. It had a guy reciting
from the book—I got some video from the outside. And video of Manpreet's
fans. The kids loved him—but they weren't interested in Lakhwinder
there, so he and I had fun watching all the kids.
After
that, we did some shopping for costumes and props, a bit. I found a
t-shirt that said “Come, let's learn Punjabi!” and had the alphabet and
various other sayings. It made me laugh, so I bought it.
Okay,
I'm getting a sinus headache...and I think I'll go in search of food.
It might still be too early. Oh, by the way, I'm off today. No filming
for me! Good thing...I can take time to get better. But I know soon
we'll be filming a big action sequence which will be choreographed and
involve a lot of people! Some bad guys are after me and get to me in the
middle of a big guru-parade (for lack of a better term). I won't tell
you what happens, though. :) You'll just have to see the movie!
Later that day...
Okay,
so Ish just called me and told me we have a press conference today.
Aack! My eyes are bloodshot with bags underneath, my nose is raw and
red...well, of course we have a press conference! ;)
I'm a little nervous...okay, no, I'm freaking out a bit inside. This is
my first press conference, and most of it will be in another language! I
have no idea what to expect, but I'm excited. This is incredible!
Two
months ago I was sitting on my sofa wishing something would happen. Now
it has! Almost in the blink of an eye, I'm in a new life.
Later that evening:
Wow. That was fun!
They were actually filming a scene in the movie with my picture blown up in the background... Holy cow, was that
a little odd! Anyway, while that was going on, I had interviews with a
bunch of people from the press. And thousands of pictures! Finally!!!
I'll get enough pictures of myself! Tee-hee! Traveling with Andy is
difficult, because he doesn't like to take pictures or be in them!
Not that I'll see most of these pictures, mind you.
The
first interview was one-on-one, with me sat in a wicker chair. It got
quite “heavy,” as Marty McFly would say. The interviewer asked me what I
felt about Sikh terrorists in the US, and what I thought about global
terrorism and all kinds of things like that. How on Earth does one
answer a question like that?! I did my best...and am proud to say I
didn't put my foot in my mouth at all—not once! (It's a miracle!) At one
point I had to say that I didn't know enough about it to comment.
The other interviews were more light-hearted. * whew * Lots
of questions about my character and how I liked India, etc. Nothing out
of the ordinary.Though I'll admit I got stuck when asked who my
favourite Bollywood actor and actress were! Oops. I couldn't remember
the actor's name, so I told them the movies I'd seen him in. And for the
women, I said they were all so gorgeous, I couldn't choose just one!
Oh!
I saw a paper today...and my picture was in it! I was jogging—and I
didn't look half-bad. No pansy-ness. :) The article was in Gurmukhi
script, so I have no clue what it said.
I'm
staring at the card Mom gave me before I left. I have it propped up on
my little table. It made me cry when I opened it, and I like to keep it
with me.
“When pride in yourself is the wind for your wings, how high and how far you can soar.
When hope and hard work are the sails of your ship. What remarkable worlds you'll explore...
When dreams are the stars that you never lose sight of in spite of the dark or distress,
In time you'll discover, wherever life takes you, the treasure your heart calls success.”
What is today...? Saturday, the 10th of October!
Yesterday
was a lot of fun. Lakhwinder and I had driving scenes to shoot all
morning, so we headed out into a village. It was really awesome getting
to see more of the countryside. It really is very beautiful, and the
Punjabi people are incredibly nice. I was able to use one of the
villager's toilets, even. :)
I'm
afraid I have not made much headway in keeping India green! Everybody
just throws everything on the ground...it's quite shocking. I throw mine
away, unless I can't find a bin. Then I keep it with my stuff till I
get home.
Last
night we shot in a shopping centre, where hundreds of onlookers stood
by for hours and hours. :) Kind of funny. We never even got to my scene!
We all came home—it was around 1.30 AM—and they all had dinner! Dinner! At 1.30 in the morning! A few of us sat out in the lobby talking, and then we headed to bed.
Learning
more and more Punjabi, but that's not saying much! Do you remember when
I said, “ki ddang, kukard?!” was like, “What's up, friend?” Well, I've
been saying it all over...and even to the press when they asked me for
some Punjabi phrases. I assumed the odd expressions I was getting were
because of my American accent, but no. No. I've been saying, “What's up, chicken?!” this whole time!!! I strangled Manpreet, so all is good. :) Ti ke!
We've
been in the papers several times already. I always think I look fat,
but then, Navneet thinks she does, too. :) Girls. What can you do?
Got my first fan mail!
I should probably answer it. :)
Besides, Andy said my last blog was way too long, and I need to keep them shorter! ;)
I'll work on finding a way to get pics and videos posted...no promises, though!
Having a blast—something new everyday! Cast and crew are wonderful...
Love to you all!
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