A.K.A. No Pepsi commercial, no meeting with Shah Rukh Khan
On my second day in Mumbai, a guy on the street started talking to me. My first response was: “No, thank you...” I was already suspicious of anyone starting a sentence with "hey friend" after travelling India for a few weeks. He didn’t want to sell me anything but instead offered me a job. How can someone offer me a job without even knowing anything about me? He went on: “I want you in a TV commercial in a studio four hours drive away from Mumbai.” I was supposed to be a cricket player trying to hit the ball and saying afterwards: “Refreshing Pepsi!”
Seriously? I asked for his business card and told him I would get back to him. I did my research and found out that his company belonged to the BBC, so it seemed to be legit. I tried to call him but never got hold of him.
2nd chance
The next day another guy started talking to me while walking down the street. It would have been to easy to feel flattered, but the fact is that Bollywood produces thousands of movies every year and needs an endless amount of extras, preferable Western-looking. If you are interested, walk around Colaba. Sooner or later you will find scouts or even more likely, they will see you.
One day later, I found myself surrounded by a dozen other backpackers in one of the most expensive clubs in Mumbai. The scene of the day showed the main actor taking drugs and surrounding himself with a couple of women on the dancefloor. I was told to wear the shirt to be seen in the picture. Who in the right mind would wear a Popeye shirt in such a club? And who would let him in? The crew didn’t have a response to that.
My job was to stand at the bar and flirt with a girl while the camera was passing by towards the dancing floor. And how much did I get for the 8-hour-mostly-waiting experience? 8 Euro. But not to forget the great lunch. It was indeed delicious: Western and Indian food. After weeks of local food, I enjoyed the pasta a lot.
The surprises
After the day was over, the scout asked me if I want to do another scene the following day. I declined. One experience is enough I thought even if the scout tried hard. Later I met an Indian couple for dinner whom I got to know in Goa a few weeks earlier. She asked me about the scene I declined to take part off. “A kung fu scene with Shah Rukh Khan”, I said without excitement. She freaked out: “I would leave my boyfriend for him”, she almost shouted. The fact that he was there with us made it quite awkward. According to Forbes, he was one of the highest paid actors in the world in 2017, just behind Tom Cruise. Well, how could I know, I thought.
The other surprise occurred a bit later. They cut me out of the movie. Or to say it more nicely: They picked other scenes from the hundreds of takes they did that day. That’s life I guess. At least I know I’ve taken part somehow in a movie which has about 9 million Youtube clicks. Check out London Dreams below. The club scene starts at 1:34:32.
Conclusion
Who knows what could have happened, if I said yes to the Pepsi commercial and the kung fu scene? I will never find out, but it doesn’t matter. I still don’t regret it. Jumping into the car with a complete strange didn’t feel right.
I am pretty sure, that every one of us had a vast amount of luck already in life. You are not aware of it. Maybe a car would have hit you if you woke up 5 minutes earlier? Maybe there is a disease running in your family but skipped your generation? Or maybe you wouldn’t even be here if your parents didn’t have that extra glass of wine. So be grateful for what you have.
“If you look at what you have in life, you’ll always have more. If you look at what you don’t have in life, you’ll never have enough. ”