10 am:
Today’s scene is a high-drama moment and is being shot on actual location. We drive to a nearby hotel, where Sindoora, who plays a powerful politician and industrialist (vamps have to be larger than life), is bidding for an antique idol. But she is outbid by her estranged son, who surfaces in the scene after 20 years for revenge. Director Inder Das is in a bad mood. “The scene was supposed to be canned with paintings but the production team tells me they couldn’t get one. Now, we have to make do with two idols that hardly look the price.” But in TV, there is no time for choice. Script is the easiest replacement.
A long shot from the front is canned as Sindoora starts bidding. Unlike films, dialogues are recorded on the set. Das urges the crowd of extras posing as awe-struck millionaires to start mumbling as the bid rises. Sindoora is about to settle the bid at Rs 2.5 crore, when a voice from the back says “Do karod saath lakh.” Das prods the extras, “Chalo sab apas mein surprise wala look do. I want more shock.” “Yeh kaun hai jo Sindooraji ko challenge kar sakta hai?” Das tells the extras to mutter. Cross bids of a crore each keep rising. Tapping her fingers on the table, Sindoora suddenly stops, arches her eyebrows, smirks and says decisively, “Chhe karod (6 crores)”. The faceless voice booms, “Saat karod.” (More schvoom schvoom.) Sindoora’s smirk turns into a glare. Das directs the extras to look expectantly at Sindoora as she tells the auctioneer, “Is murti ki itni aukat nahi hai… le jaane do usey…” Sindoora tears through the crowd and out of the frame to meet the challenger as the director, script in hand, checks the result on a monitor and declares “Cut.”

... contd.