If a film actor passes away during the production of a film, how are those films completed so that they can be released on time?

 There are multiple ways makers navigate such process depending upon the role of the actor, the progress of shooting and the financial aspect of the making.

In case of a minor character, makers generally used a body double or long shots to shoot without anyone letting know that the actor has been changed. The great Satyajit Ray did in his iconic film Pather Panchali (1955) where one of the minor characters playing a shopkeeper passed away so the makers used a man with same height and measurements and shot the remaining sequence using over the shoulder shots of the new actor. Interestingly in the same film the dog used for a sequence passed away before the sequence could be finished so they had to find an identical dog for the sequence.

Body double was also used to shoot some minor song sequences in the film Rang (1993) after Divya Bharti passed Away.

In case a major character of the film pass away they have to be replaced by a new actor and a lot of reshooting is done. For example Divya Bharti had signed more than a dozen films including Laadla (1994), Mohra (1994), Kartavya (1995) etc. In such cases she was replaced by Sridevi, Raveena Tandon, Juhi Chawla etc in these movies.

In rare cases, the makers tweak the story of the film to justify the absence of the actor. In the film Professor ki padosan (1994), which got shelved due to the untimely demise of Sanjeev Kumar and was revived years later, the makers added a track where Sanjeev Kumar is shown drinking a magic potion which made him invisible for the rest of the film and used dubbing artists to dub his voice for the rest of the film. This obviously changed the whole narrative of the film and the film failed badly. In another film of Sanjeev Kumar Hirasat (1987), Sanjeev Kumar was replaced by Shatrughan Sinha but his song was not removed from the film. Instead they show Shatrughan Sinha watching a movie in the theatre and they show the same clips and songs which was originally picturised on Sanjeev Kumar!!

In rare cases the actors are changed in between the film and the same role is played by more than one actor. A few years ago, Sharmaji Namkeen (2021) had Rishi Kapoor in the lead role who shot for significant portions of the film but agter his demise the rest of the film was shot with Paresh Rawal. The makers promoted the film as a tribute to Rishi Kapoor and didn't reshoot the whole film.

Who are the most recognized Indian film directors globally?

 There are so many Indian Directors, whose work has gained name and fame Globally

Like

Shekhar Kapur: The acclaimed director has directed iconic films like Masoom, Mr India in Bollywood while he has directed films like Elizabeth and Elizabeth: The Golden Age in Hollywood.

Ritesh Batra: He directed The Lunchbox starring Irrfan Khan and Nimrat Kaur which won highly positive reviews form the audiences as well as the critics. He also directed Our Souls At Night starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda in Hollywood.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra: He has directed films like Parinda and Eklavya: The Royal Guard in Bollywood while he directed Broken Horses in Hollywood.

Mira Nair- She directed Amelia in Hollywood and also directed the acclaimed film Salaam Bombay in Bollywood

Etc.

But Here i wanna talk about 1 Directors who changed Indian Cinema forever.

This Man proved that Indian Cinema can be more than just singing and dancing .

He introduced Realistic Cinema which gained western audience attention.

SATYAJIT RAY

Satyajit Ray was an Indian filmmaker, screenwriter, graphic artist, music composer and author, widely regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of the 20th century. Ray was born in Calcutta into a Bengali Pandit family which was prominent in the field of arts and literature.

This Man not only played a major role in placing India on the global cinematic map but his works continue to inspire a number of acclaimed filmmakers even today.

10 reasons why Ray was Praised Globally —

1— Akira Kurosawa, one of the most inspirational and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, once said this about Satyajit Ray's films:

2— Oscar Winning Director Martin Scorsese said-

I‘m also a big fan of Satyajit Ray’s body of work. The few interactions I had with Ray are memories I treasure.

3— Ray also gave India its first detective series in the form of Feluda.

4— In the form of Apu, Satyajit Ray made the entire community root for an ordinary boy through the different stages of his life.

5— He also composed the music for all his films.

Some of his original music was even used by Wes Anderson in his film The Darjeeling Limited.

6— During a time when India was used to watching running-around-trees kind of romances, Ray had the courage to sensitively portray adultery and the problems in married life in the acclaimed Charulata.

7— In 1967, Ray wrote a script for a movie entitled "The Alien". Columbia Pictures was in talks to produce it. Peter Sellers and Marlon Brando were supposed to be up for the leading roles. However, Ray was surprised to find that the script he had cowritten had already been copyrighted and the fee appropriated. Brando dropped out of the project and, though an attempt was made to bring James Coburn in to replace him, Ray was disillusioned, had enough of Hollywood machinations and returned to Calcutta. Columbia was interested in reviving the project in the 1970s and 1980s but nothing came of it. When E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) was released in 1982, many saw striking similarities in the film to Ray's earlier script. Ray himself believed that Steven Spielberg's movie "would not have been possible without my script of 'The Alien' being available throughout America in mimeographed copies." Spielberg denied this by saying, "I was a kid in high school when this script was circulating in Hollywood".

9— These 5 Hollywood Directors who have been Inspired by Satyajit Ray-

• Martin Scorsese

The legendary filmmaker who has directed classics like Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, Casino, The Departed etc is a huge fan of Satyajit Ray's work and often talks about how his films have inspired him. He also cherishes his interactions with him.

• Christopher Nolan

The Dark Knight filmmaker is one of those rare directors who with every film manages to impress both the critics as well as set the box-office on fire. During his recent visit to India, he said that Satyajit Ray's Pather Panchali is extraordinary and one of the best films ever made. It made him want to work with Indian directors.

• Wes Anderson

His works bear a heavy influence from Satyajit Ray who he has often cited as his inspiration. The ending of his film The Darjeeling Limited pays homage to Ray's Apu Trilogy.

• Francis Ford Coppola

The legendary filmmaker who has directed The Godfather saga, often cited as the film of all time is a huge fan of Satyajit Ray's work and cites him as a major influence in his life.

• George Lucas

The creator of the Star Wars saga called Satyajit Ray an extraordinary filmmaker whose work had a profound influence on filmmakers across the world. He called for bringing his work to the attention of young filmmakers.

Few others-

10— The first Indian to win Oscar

Some of his quotes

Sad Fact- Still Many people are unaware of him and his work.

Aruna Irani's heart fell on this actor, she used many retakes to hug him during the shooting..

 Veteran actress once revealed a hilarious incident about her crush on during the shooting of the film .

While appearing on , Aruna was asked whether she had ever flirted with anyone in the film industry. Smiling, the actress confessed that she was completely smitten with Shashi Kapoor in those days.

She recalled a romantic scene from Fakira where she had to hug Shashi Kapoor tightly. After the director called “cut” and approved the shot, Aruna playfully requested another retake. Curious, Shashi Kapoor asked her why she wanted to repeat the scene when everything was already perfect. Without hesitation, Aruna jokingly replied that if actors could ask for retakes whenever they wanted, then why couldn’t she?

The funny confession left everyone laughing and showed Aruna Irani’s cheerful and bold personality.

Talking about her remarkable career, Aruna Irani has worked in more than 500 films across Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, and Gujarati cinema. She made her Bollywood debut with and later became famous for memorable performances in films like , , , and .

How difficult is it to film a scene with a wild animal attacking the film's star?

 In Gladiator , Ridley Scott insisted on having a scene where the circus tigers attack Russell Crowe.

This memorable sequence required a huge amount of preparation and work, while the shots where the tigers appear in action are ultimately very brief.

“Initially, we were going to use trained tigers,” says Neil Corbould, the special effects supervisor. “But when we were shown the trained tigers, we found them a little too wild to do everything with! So Ridley decided to have a fake tiger made for all the close-ups where Russell would have to interact with the animal.”

The fight with the tigers was ultimately achieved using three different special effects.

1-Every time we see a tiger approaching Maximus, it's a composite shot. The trainers simulated tiger attacks in front of a green screen, and these shots were then merged with those of Russell Crowe dodging the animal.

As in these shots (Russell Crowe and the tiger are not actually together):

2-When the tiger is on Maximus' shoulders and attacks him, it is not Russell Crowe, but a trainer.

You can actually see his face in this shot:

3-When Maximus is on the ground with the tiger on him, it is a fake tiger.

A skillful editing technique allows these three special effects to be merged to create a scene that is fluid and impressively realistic.

Why is Rajinikanth considered one of the simplest men in the Indian film industry despite his fame?

 

Rajini modelled his entire “SIMPLICITY” on the real life example of Kannada Superstar Rajkumar

Rajini was a huge fan of the Actor in his younger days and once he realized he was becoming popular - he aspired to slowly act like Dr Rajkumar

Rajkumar was a STRICT TEETOLLER who never drank on any occasion. He never smoked. He had faith in YOGA and regularly did Yoga exercises and He was a Devotee of Shri Raghavendra

So much so that he gave up eating Non Vegetarian Food to ensure he could play Raghavendra Swamy on Screen without hurting his devotees

Rajkumar also made a very early decision to COMPLETELY AVOID POLITICS

Unlike most others , he didn't bluff

He was serious and to his last day he refused Rajya Sabha Nominations multiple times and refused to campaign for a single candidate including for a close friend named Ambarish in the late 1990s (Another Popular actor whose wife Sumalatha was very close to Suhasini Maniratnam)

He would GENEROUSLY gift money to any artist or spot boy who was getting married , he would gift Gold Thalis after a shooting to married junior artists and drivers

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Rajinikanth initially enjoyed his newfound wealth tremendously

He smoked blissfully

He drank like a fish

He created a Ruckus in Hyderabad that was solved by Rama Prabha (Former Telugu Actress)

Then one day suddenly HE CHANGED

He claimed it was K Balachander who transformed him by forcing him to quit Alcohol and Cigarettes

By 1983/84 - Rajini was different

He had transformed himself almost completely into Rajkumar in habits

I. He quit smoking completely

II. He quit drinking first during an entire shoot and later permanently after 1987

III. He adopted Yoga and began talking of Weird Sanskrit Stuff and Asanas and stuff

IV. He did his own movie on Raghavendra Swamy and became a devout fan of the Saint although until as late as 1981, he was near Atheist

V. He too gave up Non Vegetarian Food while shooting for Sri Raghavendra and later restricted Non Veg only when he was Outside India or to Hotels / Sets / Outside his home

He fully gave up Non Veg in the late 1980s

He too claimed to be COMPLETELY NEUTRAL IN POLITICS , citing that he did not believe Actors should be politicians

As late as 1993 - During a Celebration event , he said Actors should remain Actors in response to Sivaji joking about his own disastrous career as a Politician

He DID THE SAME THING as Rajkumar , gifting money to various people

Yet while Rajkumar did all this quietly, Rajini had a major AGENDA

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Rajkumar never talked of his generosity

It was only after he died that everyone spoke of his generosity

A Bit like AJITH KUMAR in a way

Rajinis Generosity ALWAYS got published in some magazine within a week

Rajkumars Simplicity was Felt

The Man actually attended the wedding of a Kanteerava Studio Sweeper who had been his fan for many years , quietly , wearing a wig that nobody could recognize

Rajinikanths Simplicity was PUBLISHED in Magazines

How he would go to Bangalore, sleep in his friends house in Basavanagudi, eat a simple home cooked meal with Old Conductor friends like Putta Raju, Raj Bahadur and some others

Many believed these stories

Yet many things didn't gel

• His Wife ran an absolutely FOR PROFIT SCHOOL
• His Generosity was Selective. He once gave a ₹100/- note to an Assistant of 15 years to Balachander who was suffering from heart disease and needed a surgery
• He quoted absolutely market rates for his marriage hall unlike Vijayakanth who genuinely charged absolutely low rates of ₹4,000/- a day until PREMALATHA took charge after his illness 😁
• He claimed his family would get NOTHING of his money which was for the TAMIZH MAKKAL but he purchased multiple properties in the name of Latha in different states

Once his Political dreams were finished , his SIMPLICITY STORIES dried up 😁

He became the first tamil actor to buy a Rolls Royce

He purchased Huge Amounts of Gold for his daughter's wedding in 2010 (Soundarya) which his first son in law METICULOUSLY RETURNED TO THE LAST GRAM (Great Guy👍)

He spent insane sums on some Baba in USA

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Today Rajini DOESNT EVEN PRETEND

Nobody believes him

They are Entertained by him still and he charges ₹100+ Crore a film

Yet NOBODY BELIEVES IN THE SIMPLICITY STORIES ANYMORE

They all know IT WAS SCRIPTED exclusively for him to build a political career

How many pages does the average actor have to memorize for a film?

That depends, of course, on the role and the script.

Vivien Leigh, for example, had an absolute memory.

She was able to memorize 7 comedies and dramas by Shakespeare, totaling over 1000 pages of dialogue.

She had an incredible ability to memorize all the lines of a play after reading it only once.

In his book "On Acting" (1986), Olivier said that when Leigh was in one of her "moods," she needed two readings.

She was the best Lady Macbeth he had ever seen.