Some of the most specific memories I have of my career are small events that take on much larger significance later, reminding me why I became an entrepreneur all those many years ago.
In 2003, Swades, one of my favourite movie projects ever and later the namesake for our Swades Foundation, was filming in rural India. Shah Rukh Khan plays Mohan Bhargava, a NASA engineer and Ivy League graduate in the US, with a successful career in aerospace, who returns to his ancestral home in India after the death of his parents. The more he sees and learns of his former home, the more intense is his desire to stay back in India and to bring about change. Torn between two worlds, he must make a life-altering decision.
The main location for the film was a place called Wai, situated at the foothills of Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar and known for its temples and the ghats leading down to the Krishna River. It was quite beautiful, but rustic to the core and an hour’s drive each way from the hotel where the cast and crew stayed.
On one particular day, filming took Shah Rukh’s character to a village that was a train ride away, to meet one of its poorest inhabitants, an old man. His return would invite some soul-searching, the visit compelling him to rethink his attitude towards his old home in India.
Now, Swades was directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, who had hit the limelight a couple of years before with the Academy Award-nominated Lagaan. Ashu has a reputation in Bollywood as an unyielding stickler for total authenticity in a film’s every frame. He insisted that the old man’s hut be the real thing, set in a desolate area with sparse mountains surrounding it on all sides.
We embarked that morning on a long drive, an hour on the other side of the normal location. Shah Rukh was having serious back problems at the time and contemplating surgery immediately after filming wrapped. He and I rode together to give each other company and to catch up on the drive, during which we traversed some of the roughest terrain I’ve ever seen. Shah Rukh gritted his teeth in agony as we bumped up and down.
Shah Rukh is a dreamer and a doer, a true-blue entrepreneur taking big bets not just in film, but in business and in sports, always following his gut. He leads from the front while inspiring his team and giving them the freedom to operate. He is also “Sleepless Shah Rukh”, as he is constantly abuzz with infectious energy that inspires everyone fortunate enough to be near him.
In that three-hour drive, we were either cracking up laughing at his never-ending sense of humour and his stories, or squirming with pain every time we hit a pothole on the dirt road. When we arrived, our enthusiasm was short-lived. We were greeted by an absolutely desolate, barren piece of land adorned with one tiny hut. Shah Rukh, stretching his aching back, incredulously scanned the scene and shook his head. ‘There’s nothing around here. We could have shot this at Film City,’ he said flatly. He was right. The studio spread in Mumbai has floors with dedicated mountains in the backdrop, some scenery for every situation.
Even with my high respect for Ashu and his commitment to authenticity, I wondered along with Shah Rukh why we were in this place. But after that one comment, Shah Rukh spent the rest of the day focused and engaged, as if we were in exactly the right place for the shot.
Later at lunch, we all sat under some makeshift umbrellas in the scorching heat. My curiosity got the better of me, and I had to ask that nagging question. ‘Ashu, I’ve been wondering, what’s so unique about this location? What do you want your audience to see?’
He gave me an intense look and pointed over my shoulder to an unusually shaped, three-peaked mountain far in the distance. He wanted that remarkable piece of scenery as his backdrop when Shah Rukh entered the hut to meet the man.
Three seconds of screen time in a three-hour-and-fifteen-minute film. But when I see those three seconds, I’m proud of the team that stayed with its convictions and supported the captain and his vision.
Excerpted with permission from Dream With Your Eyes Open: An Entrepreneurial Journey, Ronnie Screwvala, Rupa.
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In 2003, Swades, one of my favourite movie projects ever and later the namesake for our Swades Foundation, was filming in rural India. Shah Rukh Khan plays Mohan Bhargava, a NASA engineer and Ivy League graduate in the US, with a successful career in aerospace, who returns to his ancestral home in India after the death of his parents. The more he sees and learns of his former home, the more intense is his desire to stay back in India and to bring about change. Torn between two worlds, he must make a life-altering decision.
The main location for the film was a place called Wai, situated at the foothills of Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar and known for its temples and the ghats leading down to the Krishna River. It was quite beautiful, but rustic to the core and an hour’s drive each way from the hotel where the cast and crew stayed.
On one particular day, filming took Shah Rukh’s character to a village that was a train ride away, to meet one of its poorest inhabitants, an old man. His return would invite some soul-searching, the visit compelling him to rethink his attitude towards his old home in India.
Now, Swades was directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, who had hit the limelight a couple of years before with the Academy Award-nominated Lagaan. Ashu has a reputation in Bollywood as an unyielding stickler for total authenticity in a film’s every frame. He insisted that the old man’s hut be the real thing, set in a desolate area with sparse mountains surrounding it on all sides.
We embarked that morning on a long drive, an hour on the other side of the normal location. Shah Rukh was having serious back problems at the time and contemplating surgery immediately after filming wrapped. He and I rode together to give each other company and to catch up on the drive, during which we traversed some of the roughest terrain I’ve ever seen. Shah Rukh gritted his teeth in agony as we bumped up and down.
Shah Rukh is a dreamer and a doer, a true-blue entrepreneur taking big bets not just in film, but in business and in sports, always following his gut. He leads from the front while inspiring his team and giving them the freedom to operate. He is also “Sleepless Shah Rukh”, as he is constantly abuzz with infectious energy that inspires everyone fortunate enough to be near him.
In that three-hour drive, we were either cracking up laughing at his never-ending sense of humour and his stories, or squirming with pain every time we hit a pothole on the dirt road. When we arrived, our enthusiasm was short-lived. We were greeted by an absolutely desolate, barren piece of land adorned with one tiny hut. Shah Rukh, stretching his aching back, incredulously scanned the scene and shook his head. ‘There’s nothing around here. We could have shot this at Film City,’ he said flatly. He was right. The studio spread in Mumbai has floors with dedicated mountains in the backdrop, some scenery for every situation.
Even with my high respect for Ashu and his commitment to authenticity, I wondered along with Shah Rukh why we were in this place. But after that one comment, Shah Rukh spent the rest of the day focused and engaged, as if we were in exactly the right place for the shot.
Later at lunch, we all sat under some makeshift umbrellas in the scorching heat. My curiosity got the better of me, and I had to ask that nagging question. ‘Ashu, I’ve been wondering, what’s so unique about this location? What do you want your audience to see?’
He gave me an intense look and pointed over my shoulder to an unusually shaped, three-peaked mountain far in the distance. He wanted that remarkable piece of scenery as his backdrop when Shah Rukh entered the hut to meet the man.
Three seconds of screen time in a three-hour-and-fifteen-minute film. But when I see those three seconds, I’m proud of the team that stayed with its convictions and supported the captain and his vision.
Excerpted with permission from Dream With Your Eyes Open: An Entrepreneurial Journey, Ronnie Screwvala, Rupa.