‘Shooting’ surprises for ‘Bhavishya-Yaan’ students

They were told that they would visit a film studio to witness the “shooting” of a reality show for television. There, they would learn a thing or two about the intricacies of the craft. They would also form part of the “live” audience and if they were lucky, they might even see or interact with a star or two. And so the twenty five bright-eyed boys and girls of the Bhavishya-Yaan programme at G.K. Marg Municipal School did not pitch their hopes too high. But they kept their fingers crossed.

The invitation to visit Filmistan Studios had come from the TV channel “Colours” which was filming one of the episodes of its popular show “Jhalak Dikhla Jaa” on Wednesday, August 12. In this show, celebrities from different walks of life are paired with choreographers and perform various dance styles. The judges are the famous film star Shahid Kapur and the well-known film-maker Karan Johar, with professionals Ganesh Hegde and Lauren Gottlieb playing the part of “dance gurus”. An air-conditioned bus had been arranged by “Colours”, and it was a ride to remember for most of them because it was their first time travelling on the city’s pride, the Rajiv Gandhi Bandra-Worli sea link. As the bus wound its way to Goregaon, the children were served some crispy snacks. ‘Shooting’ surprises for ‘Bhavishya-Yaan’ students Watch my step. Popular film star Shahid Kapoor shakes a leg with the ‘Bhavishya-Yaan’ students who were invited to the sets to witness the shooting Thank you, ‘Colours’!

The children from G.K. Marg School hold up the bags that were presented to them at the end of their visit And then they were there. They were taken to the “Jhalak Dikhala Jaa” set, guided to their seats and briefed about the proceedings. The children’s first surprise came when the dashing actor Shahid Kapoor and humorous anchor Manish Paul walked up to and interacted with them. Besides, they were promised that they would be allowed to step on the stage and shake a leg with Shahid Kapur. The children just couldn’t contain their excitement when it happened. A cheer went up when they were told that a recording of their dance would be telecast on “Colours” TV channel. But there were many more surprises in store. The shooting on that day was for an episode to mark Independence Day. The children keenly watched the proceedings and asked questions about the lighting, acoustics, costumes, the actual filming and so on.

Some of them were surprised to note that even leading actors had to practice their dialogue and that they had to go in for retake after retake and put in a lot of effort to get things right. As one of them said later, this made them realise that behind all the glitz and glamour, there was a lot of planning and hard work that went into the filming of a show or a film. During the lunch break, the children, along with their teachers, were treated to a sumptuous lunch in a separate enclosure. Then it was time to return to the studio floor. There, another surprise awaited them in the shape of the popular cricketer, Yusuf Pathan, whose dance was being filmed. The children enjoyed his bashfulness as he went through his moves. And then, as if all these celebrities were not enough, in walked two of the most famous film stars of the day, the beautiful Katrina Kaif and the handsome Saif Ali Khan. There were gasps all around as the duo came on the sets to promote their latest film on the reality show. Even more interestingly, the two stars engaged in a “celebrity” cricket match right there on the studio set and were pitted against the cricketer. Finally, the shooting was over and it was time to return home.

But as the shooting ended, yet another surprise came their way – “Colours” presented each one of the students with a back-pack full of gifts such as stationery items and notepads. After a quick snack to sustain them for the journey back, it was time to board the bus and return home with memories – memories of interactions that the children will treasure and will share with their own children when they grow up. Truly, it was a dream come true for the children of the G.K. Marg School. The children are extremely grateful to the Rotary Club of Bombay for having given them the opportunity to meet their favourite stars and to experience at first hand the making of a television show.