“Allow Me to Reintroduce Myself” Pt. 2

The shooting day (night) went a little like this: “This top is too small.” “These sequins are digging into my skin.” “Why do bracelets only come in one size?” “Why does my make up make me look a shade lighter?” “So, pretty much there aren’t any dark skin actors in India? Kay.” “I wasn’t here for the changes in choreo…” “It’s only 10 PM? But I’m SO tired!” “Can we take a nap? Just five minutes.” “About this water in the ground… is it okay to put my feet in?” “Where did I put my sunglasses?” “Electrolytes or water?” “Yup, I’m an Indian video vixen.” “Can we retake that shot? I didn’t move my right hand fast enough in that last verse?” “We’re done?! Okay, can I see the footage and reevaluate myself?”

I wanted SO badly to be on the other side of the camera yet I wasn’t. I kept messing up my dance steps, and everything was SUPER exhausting– from getting my makeup redone to having to get my outfit fixed… I was over all of it 30 minutes in.

The shoot was fun though! It was exciting to see how Indian filmmaking works in terms of how the shots are taken in comparison to my experiences being on professional sets throughout high school and college. Also, the language that was used by Sanjvit, Som and the other leads on this project in trying into instruct us, was a lesson in of itself. It was kind of like “we’re speaking English to you but not your kind of English, our kind of English.”

All in all, I learned one thing: dancing is fun but I do NOT want to be in front of the camera. I constantly wanted to be apart of the creative decisions that were happening but it broke my heart to not be able to do that. This was a very good lesson in standing back, and experiencing production from the other side of the camera, which is just as valuable or even more valuable than if we would’ve filmed the project ourselves.

Now, back to Dance and I… We’ve bonded and our relationship has been pure love since our reunification. But, are Dance and I still frenemies? Only time will tell.