Jockeying for the future...
He is from Bihar. Is 5 foot nothing,about 30kgs ...He is not emaciated,just a jockey..at the chennai racing club. During the shoot of Bhima,caught him after his morning training.
Monday, May 14, 2007
The monochrome of money
Crowded around the betting counters,there fortune hanging on a eqqus racing in distant Mumbai...they came in different hues and sizes.They had one thing in common,to earn their livelihood. I was surprized to note,most were proffessional gamblers. This is what they did for a living. Their day started at 11am with studying the odds,peaked at 4 pm at the winning post,and ebbed by 6pm after the last of the races at the teller counters..
Sindh in Chennai
The Lingasami film BHIMA,with Vikram was being shot at the race club in Chennai. I met this genial,six feet plus gent whose Father shifted to Chennai,6 months before partition from Sindh. He is one of the topmost Brokers at the Ramaswami race course.While others around exhorted me to TREBLE my luck...Even as he showed me around the members box and the betting rink...His continuous refrain was,"dont sir,once you enter this world...you cant go back".Havent I heard this one before !
Posing NK
Very difficult to expect him to remain still and pose...So I posed questions he answered and I clicked.
Assam at Triveni
Baharul my class mate from the N.S.D.,is married to one of the finest actresses I have known,Bhagirati Bai from Karnataka.Against tremendous odds,together they run "Seagull" a theatre group in Guwahati.That winter day,I was inDelhi working all night at the Redfort for the Telegu film "Atithi",with Mahesh Babu.The day was free,we met over lunch at The Triveni Cafe over food ,Assam and life...
The Nexus...
Fresh out of N.S.D.,I met him.Passionate,charismatic,stubborn,eclectic,loving,leftist, and a believer in friendships...He directed plays,led people,gave a ear to anyone who aproached.He was the Agony uncle,who charged seemingly apolitical mortals to go into villages of then burning Punjab,singing songs of peace and Kabir.He was the hive around whom,all hovered...some just wanting to know,why others were there...while most wanting to hear something more.He was fire and ice... He was a child who sulked then cut off links..He was a mentor who wouldnt give up,till we got our wings.On his shift,Actors became poets and composers,small town boys experienced the freedom to talk and make friends with english honours girls...And some people like me,got out of the KLAUS MARIA BRANDEUR cliche in Mephisto... of "I am just an actor".To realy get,that "I am ALSO an actor".NK or nexus as I call him,continues to infuse life and smoke wills.His ACT 1 continues.This pic of him under the NEEM TREE OUTSIDE N.S.D.
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