Shooting away from home has its advantages - the most important being that work gets done at a faster pace and a film gets made and released within the stipulated time. Over the years,films have been shot on outdoor locales for long stretches,be it Kashmir in India,or Switzerland outside the country, to name a few. Kashmir,more or else,sufficed for foreign or exotic places. But the concept was clearly to exploit the locales more than anything else. Otherwise,films were mostly shot inside bungalows or in studios on specially erected sets and took a longer period to complete as actors were doing many films at a time. Sometimes,films took years to release. Today the idea of completing a film at one go seems to have worked wonders. Of the latest batch of filmmakers,the one to successfully adhere to this concept is Rohit Shetty. The director has managed to belt out hit after hit in the last four years. I was very impressed when he said that he likes to have his entire team with him during the making of the film as that boosts his morale and gives him an impetus to make a better job each time. Of course,he does not look beyond Goa for his locations as he feels it is a very shooting-friendly place. Rohit manages to complete his films,mostly,during a 40-day continuous spell in Goa. He prefers Ramoji Rao Studios in Hyderabad for its huge and vacant space where he can shoot his favourite sequences that is blowing up a number of cars for his action scenes. The idea being having a long spell on an outdoor location was,firstly,the entire team is present and focussed at work all the time. Then there are no distractions from any one. Close proximity has the team jelling with one another that in turn reflects on screen. It is a family atmosphere with everyone lunching and dining together. On special occasion,they even have in-house parties. Shetty told me that since work gets completed at a faster space,it allows the film to release within a few months. There have been incidents when even a customised gym was organised for the team so that they keep themselves fit and healthy. Rohit is back again in Goa shooting for Singam where he has his loyal crew and his cast dedicating their entire time to their favourite maker,who is like a father-figure when it comes to his loyalists. I have seen the loyalty and respect they have for their boss. Another person who believes in this concept,of course there may be others too,is David Dhawan. Though he started his film Rascals in Mumbai,he took the entire team to Bangkok and has almost completed the film in about 40 days,barring some details. He too believes in working exclusively on a single project where the focus is complete, he let me know at Sukhumvits J.W.Marriott Hotel in Bangkok where the entire team was staying. He is another maker who gives hits most times he makes a film. The reason is now very clear. There was a time when films would take years to complete and risk factors was immense. But if the filmmakers follow this trend of completing their project in one go,the film looks fresh and appealing. I like the way Rohit handles his baby,nurturing and taking care of it till he is satisfied. Once he takes up a project,the film is everything to him and he literally stays away from home during this period. If this concept is followed,we are sure to have many good films coming every time. namita.nivas@expressindia.com
