Back to normal life after vacation, work and hosting

Last one and a half month was very hectic. I had to go to Capetown for shooting ‘Acid Factory’ and then to Malaysia for a fortnight. A director friend Surya wanted me to act in his upcoming Telugu film, he insisted and I happily agreed to work in his film. I had fun working in Capetown. We just shot action sequences in the whole of last month.

The shots didn’t require any usage of mind. Yes, the body definitely ached. Sanjay Gupta, our producer is considered an amazing host; hosted parties almost every night. Every night we had an outing and this made our days cheerful. I was along with my wife so in leisure time we went out to explore Capetown. For the first time in my life I saw a bunch of male fishes. There was also a school of Dolphins swimming briskly across the ocean. We also went to Capepound, where the Antarctic and Indian Ocean meet. So, along with shooting for the film we had a wonderful excursion.

My wife likes shopping on streets so that we can get acquainted with the culture and tradition of the country. She normally doesn’t prefer shopping from expensive outlets as these places are costly and the whole atmosphere is much Americanized. It’s all similar to the mall culture prevalent. While I wasn’t shooting I hopped the streets of Capetown which was tiring and exciting at the same time. Days passed, I lost my cell phone and regret losing my 400 contacts. We finished the shooting on a friendly note. Then flew to Mumbai, stayed over for two days, repacked our baggage and left for Malaysia.

Unit of South Indian films usually work in shifts from morning 7 am to evening 7 pm. On top of it there was a continuous language problem which was sorted out with the help of a prompter. My prompter at the sets was next to God for me. I was very busy but my wife as per her habit shopped on the streets of Kuala Lampur.

We dined at various restaurants of Capetown. I never missed home food there but in Kuala Lampur both, me and my wife were bothered by a typical smell that the food emanate. Hence, we had to eat at the five star hotel, where we stayed. We spent days eating soup and bread only. I won’t disrespect their type of food as every country has its own food and taste. Since we were not accustomed to such food, we faced issues with it.

When I returned home from there, my wife’s sister came from America along with her new born daughter Zoya. My in-laws also came to our place from Delhi. We were busy hosting them. As I and my wife stay all alone at home, having a small child and other guests at home were a pleasure. Amidst all this we didn’t realize how a month passed. Every one has left now and we are again busy with our lives. We both miss Zoya’s voice and presence. May God bless her a long age and all the happiness in the world.

The Mumbai incident was very painful and sad. I’ll definitely share my views on India and the society in my next post.

Love
Yours
Manoj Bajpayee