I am a master in India

Chapter 433 Indian-style Contracts

Chopra said that part of the filming location for "Kushinmir Mission" was near Cargill.

There was never any peace there, and Chopra had to travel to and from the film set in an armored car under the protection of the armed police.

They heard a loud noise during filming, and everyone looked up and stared into the distance, motionless.

“That’s the sound of firecrackers. The locals are celebrating Tosa Sacrifice,” Chopra told the crew, then asked the cameraman to speed things up.

After finishing work that day, he ordered people to clear the site as soon as possible, and everyone then realized: how could Kshmiri, a pastoral community, possibly celebrate the Hindu festival of Dussehra?
An explosion did indeed occur. Afterwards, rocket-propelled grenades were found at the government secretariat, which is 200 meters from the film set. The attack resulted in the deaths of four people.

But the filming was eventually completed that day. At that time, the two sides on the border had not yet fully clashed; it was mostly sniping and skirmishing.

So the carefree Chopra didn't take it seriously and continued filming intensively.

A few days later, as the actor playing the militant was running along the canal, local police set up a monitoring point on the other side of the canal. Upon seeing the "militant," they immediately raised their guns and aimed at him.

The counter-terrorism police didn't realize until the very last moment that he was an actor, while bombs were exploding in Ksemmir in the name of war, while Vinod was blowing up boats on Lake Dal for entertainment.

The line between real combat and movie scenes is so blurred that it's almost impossible to tell the difference.

"You know, we were so close to losing a few lives. What's more, the day after we finished filming the movie on location and left, the Kargil War broke out."

“Wow, you guys are really lucky,” Ron nodded.

“I should have stayed there for two more days,” Chopra said regretfully. “That was the real war scene.”

"Dude, it's a miracle no one got hurt. You really have wild ideas," Ron teased him.

Li Tik and the other main creators nodded with lingering fear. What normal person would regret missing out on the war?

"But it was still worthwhile. On the way back, I encountered a lot of tanks, artillery, and troops. I took a lot of shots, which can be edited into the movie later."

"How's the situation over there? I heard some people have died?"

“This is bad,” Chopra sighed. “I heard they’ve deployed the Air Force, something that hasn’t happened in over twenty years.”

"so serious?"

“We met that intelligence officer during our layover; he helped us review the script. Two weeks! In just two weeks, both sides lost thousands of people.”

“No wonder New Delhi is keeping quiet. The war can’t go on forever, can it?” Ron frowned.

“According to past practice, the United States will definitely need to mediate in the end,” Joplai said with certainty.

There is no need to worry about nuclear war. Although the two sides have a long history of enmity, they would not joke about such a thing.

To be fair, the Americans are known as the world's policeman, and they really deserve that title.

Many of the weapons that the Barbarians import are from the United States, and they can exert a great deal of influence over India.

It's simple to stop the war: just cut off Barba sheep's military supplies, and the fighting will naturally stop before long.

Barbayang is also at a disadvantage in terms of air superiority, with almost no competitive fighter jets.

Due to a combination of factors, they will be forced to abandon the land they have already occupied.

Nobody likes war, and countries around the world are most afraid of these two things getting carried away and throwing fireworks at each other.

Ron carefully searched his memory and breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that there had been no large-scale conflict during this period.

The streets of Mumbai are in a state of panic lately, and the stock market, which had just recovered, has been hit hard again.

"Have all the shots for this movie been filmed?" Ron asked.

"There are still some gangster scenes left, which can be filmed in Mumbai."

"From writing the script to wrapping up filming, it took a full two years, which was quite an eventful journey."

"Fortunately, the budget is all under control," Chopra said smugly.

He took out the ledger, ready to go over the accounts with Ron. Seeing this, the other key members of the production team took their leave.

Ron knew that Bollywood filmmakers were very carefree, but he didn't get a clearer picture until he saw the contract on the table.

There's a reason Hollywood can't make Indian movies: Bollywood's contracting practices would leave Wall Street lawyers specializing in celebrity rights speechless, to the point where they'd want to jump off their penthouse suites in Oberoi in protest.

Chopra contacted several music directors in advance to ask for their thoughts on the film's score and songs.

When he spoke with Anu Malik, the composer of "Fearless Heart," the latter became unusually emotional after hearing about his situation.

They talked on the phone for two whole hours one Sunday morning, with Malik patting his chest and offering to help for free.

He wiped away tears on the other end of the phone, sobbing as he said that money meant nothing compared to their friendship!
Chopra suddenly heard a crunching sound, like something being chewed up, and quickly asked Malik, "What's wrong?"

"I'm eating a radish," the composer replied. "Wait a moment, I'll be finished soon."

Chopra heard Malik crunch away rapidly for a while, then return to the phone, ready to shed another round of tears: "I won't take a single pound of yours! Don't worry about the money."

Yes, this is just a verbal contract in Bollywood; there's no written agreement whatsoever.

Of course, Joplai still maintained at least some respect for the lead actors.

He would draft a contract, but usually wouldn't sign it. "In our line of work, contracts are meaningless," he said.

A star's salary depends entirely on the box office performance of his previous film.

To reduce the risk, he would appear in three or four movies at the same time, playing a policeman in the morning, a terrorist in the afternoon, and a vampire lover at night.

Jopp reached out and took a piece of paper from the table, handing it to Ron.

That was Bollywood's top secret, a contract that they guarded with the utmost secrecy.

It describes the specific remuneration of celebrities in language that would amaze legal professionals, and records his oral account in black and white with Chopra-esque exaggeration.

Dear Sanjay: Subject – "The Kashmir Mission"

First, I think the progress made over the past few weeks on the above topics, both in terms of the script and the soundtrack.

And (most importantly!) the passion and dedication you've shown for this project is amazing, and I truly believe our filming plans are moving forward by leaps and bounds.

Secondly, while I appreciate your sincerity, I value our friendship even more. I don't want any misunderstandings on other, more trivial details (such as compensation) that could affect our working relationship.

Therefore, I want to frankly and directly bring up the matter of salary with you, and put it into writing to prove that we have reached a consensus on this matter.

Third, while I certainly want to pay you the salary you deserve based on market rates, please don't forget: I am different from ordinary people, and I disdain seeking help from certain individuals to obtain assistance that is not of good character.

Our agreed salary is 25 rupees. If the film does not perform well, I will pay you 0 rupees.

Please take note! Best wishes for all your endeavors!
Vidhu Vinod Chopra
P.S.: If the movie is a huge hit, I will give you an extra 25 lakh bonus.

The "P.S." in this line was handwritten by Chopra; he signed identical contracts with the three lead actors, only slightly altering the names and amounts.

If the film breaks even, the second male lead, Litwick, will receive eleven lakhs. If the film is a box office flop, he will only receive one lakh. If the film is a huge success, he will receive an additional ten lakhs as a bonus.

The actress Priti's salary was 15 lac (break-even), 1 lac (box office failure), and an additional 10 lac (if it became a big hit).

Regardless of how the actors' salaries change after appearing in the film, Chopra still left himself a foolproof way out.

If "Kexunmier Mission" doesn't perform as well as his previous film, he will have to pay the three lead actors a paltry two lakhs.

Chopra also made similar agreements with the music director, cinematographer, and other cast and crew members.

No one can get paid in advance, and sometimes you don't even get paid after the job is completed.

“My last film, ‘Fearless,’ didn’t do well at the box office, and I didn’t get a single penny as the art director,” Chopra said.

However, he managed to compensate the other party by hiring the same art director for the commercial shoot and paying him three times the market rate.

"This is India's national situation; the same thing could not happen in the United States."

“Hollywood lawyers and agents would rather commit suicide than sign a contract like this,” Ron nodded.

Chopra laughed and said the exact same thing Anand had said: India is loyal and righteous, and will never play tricks once an agreement is reached.

To this, Ron could only chuckle.

If he hadn't known about his brother's reputation in the international market, he almost would have believed it.

Chopra wanted to set the gangster movie in Kama Park, which was Ron's territory, so he could do whatever he wanted without any problems.

Post-production is expected to take several more months, after which the film can be released.

Ron wasn't really concerned about any of this; he was just here to watch the drama unfold.

However, another piece of news recently caught Ron's attention.

Congress members are demanding a reopening of the investigation into the 92 Mumbai riots.

They saw an opportunity, a golden opportunity for Shiva's army to lose power.

The Shiva Army is becoming increasingly extreme; they've made a mess of Mumbai.

Many people say that the resources that the Congress Party didn't exhaust during its forty years in power were exhausted in just three years by the Shiv Sena.

Large companies are withdrawing from Mumbai, and employment rates in many areas are becoming increasingly sluggish.

In addition, their impact on the cultural and sports sectors at the beginning of the year has greatly diminished the public's impression of Shiva's Army.

The Maharashtra general election a few months later was seen by the MIC as the best opportunity to turn the tide.

If they get their way, they will definitely target Thackeray.

What could be more demoralizing than sending the leader of the opposition party to prison?

The 92 riots were a perfect reason; everyone knew what happened, almost the entire country knew.

Shiva's army can't escape; they'll suffer the consequences if the Congress Party comes to power.

Shiva's army is clearly aware of the problem and is trying its best to remedy it.

(End of this chapter)