Introduction to Tollywood: Indian Culture

I found this in Adam's room, something I had hounded him to write for several years, in fact. Unfortunately, he never completed it, but I think it's a good share.

In August of '11, two months after completing my Bachelor's degree, I set out for what I thought was the adventure of a lifetime. I recently had been hired full-time at the Japanese restaurant that I had worked part-time at for the previous 6 months. I was ready for a change, and in search of exciting opportunities. Opportunity materialized when one of my roommates was tapped for a job working on an Indian film in Los Angeles.

A childhood friend of my roommate, a recent USC film school Master's recipient, was hired by a big-name Southern Indian film director as the producer for a high-budget film, shot partially throughout the U.S.'s most iconic locations. This producer needed four people, with valid driver's licenses to work on the production crew. We were to transport the crew of 28, along with all the production equipment, as well as negotiate film permits, lodging arrangements, and guiding the crew throughout the country. Only four of the crew had visited the United States before, and many spoke no English. It is worth noting that this film was not a Bollywood film, the world's largest producer of films, but its southern Indian sister called Tollywood, as the region's most used language is Telegu. 

Anyway, we were to travel the country, shooting in San Francisco, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Chicago, D.C., Boston, and NYC over a 3.5 month period. It would be long days and short nights for relatively mediocre pay. But, it so strongly appealed to my sense of adventure that I had to take it. My roommate informed me that upon accepting the offer we must leave in two days, which actually made it even more appealing to me at the time. 

I accepted and received the plane ticket the next day. I knew if I did this, anything really could happen, but I really had no idea what I was getting myself into.

*****

What  ensued on this trip was short-lived, but made for some of the funniest stories ever told by Adam. From fetching take-out three times a day to driving a large SUV in downtown LA (fender bender included) to driving out to Vegas where the main actor injured himself in a national park which stopped production to the shouting match in the LAX to get Adam the money for a ticket home, it was definitely an adventure.

Okay, this is NOT the film but maybe what Adam had in mind when he left on his adventure.