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Syria, scene of action
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Going abroad for picturisation of songs has become part of mainstream cinema. And film producer Sriram and his crew went all the way to Syria, an exotic locale to shoot for "Samurai".
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THE MUEZZIN'S call is not as strident as one would expect in a country such as this. In fact, what you hear more are the strangely haunting songs that seem to reflect a lost time — of shifting sands on lonely dunes; of palm fronds standing pertly against an azure sky; of camels trekking beneath a blazing sun; of an oasis in the midst of desolation and starkness.
The oft-repeated word `Habibi' is resonant with feelings that describe anything from love to friendship to timelessness. And when you see that terrain — the silent stretches of pale sand, the little tenements of stone and mud, the sparkling waters of the blue Mediterranean, the bleak darkness of rich volcanic remains and the brooding, ancient ruins of a lost, lost time, it's almost as if time has stood still in Syria.
There is beauty in the most Biblical sense and you feel religion is not something you practise, but something you breathe. It's there in the air, and you can almost imagine Jesus and Mohammed to have walked on this land! On this sweep of land that encompasses a world seemingly untouched, was a group that sought to capture all its splendour with a camera, wandering through the country for the best locations to shoot a song sequence for a film.
Going to various parts of the world in search of eye-catching landscapes to picturise songs is now part of mainstream cinema. Popular places include Switzerland, Amsterdam, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Egypt and South Africa, but very few have chanced upon a country such as Syria, which offers plenty in terms of dramatic backdrops. And Aalayam with producer Sriram at the helm thought it fit to try out uncharted courses for their next venture, "Samurai". Till then, only three production units have filmed in Syria, which makes this place raw and unexplored. And while it offers several beautiful areas for filming, it lacks what a production team would need - from organisation to coordination. But then, says executive producer Prabhakar, give them time and they will also get the hang of things.
Echoing this sentiment is Khaldoun Alamy, who had made the travel and other arrangements for the crew in Syria. Khaldoun owns a travel agency and apart from organising tours in the region, is now planning to help film units to shoot in the Syria-Jordan-Lebanon area. Getting to Damascus, the oldest capital in the world, however, is tedious — that too when you have to coordinate the dates of several people involved in the schedule — and the visas are not easily available. With the visas finally in hand thanks to the energetic pushing of the representatives who had come to meet the team, the unit was on its way out. Equipment such as cameras and unexposed film had to be declared at the customs and left behind for clearance.
The drive to the old city of Damascus was beautiful with good highways and billboards splashed with Arabic script. As you approached the city, it reminded you of the old parts of Mumbai or any other city in India - that sense of vintage existence, strong and pervading. Having arrived, you would have thought work could start in right earnest the next day, but no! Production units are used to things going awry, delayed schedules and other hitches — and in this case it was hardly smooth sailing. Remember the cameras and the other equipment at the airport? Well, it took close to two days to get them out, thanks to the person in charge of Customs being away for the weekend. And all through this, Sriram remained cool and calm while Prabhakar was tense and ready to spring to work. But there was no rest — and while they waited for the cameras they concentrated on getting organised for the shooting; finalising the locations, be it Bosra, where there are the ruins of an ancient Roman amphitheatre, or Palmyra; engaging belly dancers to complement the lead pair, Vikram and Anita; and all that was needed to make a complete song.
While the others were free to explore the surroundings, costume designer Nalini went scouring the local souks for some headgear and accessories for the hero and the heroine. But it was remarkable that despite these frustrating problems, the entire crew (Senthil Kumar, assistant director, Ganesh and Srinivasa Rao, camera assistants; Prasad, costumier; Mohan, hairdresser; Srinivasan, makeup; Jeevan, still photographer;) had a positive attitude. The optimism to finish the work (their favourite line being `vanda velai mudichooduvom') was probably what kept the spirit going. No time was too early or too late, no amount of repetition too tedious, and no amount of climbing up and down the highs and lows of the landscape too tiring for the crew.
CHITRA MAHESH
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