Once we arrive at Mumbai airport, we as the Dutch crew are immediately introduced to Indian culture. We are warmly welcomed by our production assistance on site after we have passed through customs with our camera gear. Two drivers with vans drive up to take our seats. This is our transportation for the next few days that will take us through the slums of Mumbai for the next 5 days. We are dropped off at our hotel and grab another beer before lights out.

The next morning we start exploring the slums scouted by the production assistance. Mumbai's slums are known for their vastness and size. In the Bollywood film Slumdog Millionaire, known to many, these slums feature frequently.

We soon find out that the slums are a unique place, which is a good representation of the real India. There is not a tourist in sight, giving you the feeling that you are included in daily life as if you were a local.

Impressive

To us organized Westerners, the slums are a very impressive and unusual creation of makeshift shacks. People everywhere, trash and organized chaos. From the weathered textures of materials the people use for their shelters, to the brightly colored clothing worn by the women in particular. Not to mention the life-scarred faces of the people.

At the end of the day we drive on to Bollywood, where we meet the lead actor and dive into the recording studio to do voice-over recordings. After some coaching, we manage to bring the lead actor's voice to a level so that every word he utters strikes a sensitive chord. His voice fits perfectly with the atmosphere we want to create in the film

Looking outside during the trip back to the hotel, I can only conclude that the slums are a setting where we will experience impressive situations that will lead to special and authentic film images.

The shoot

Just after emerging around 8 a.m., the mercury is already ticking 36 degrees. With a 15-man crew, we move like locals through the seething heat. Streets, squares and corridors are defied until we arrive at one of the hundreds of flats that give us a beautiful overview of the slums. Only now does it become clear how big the slums are. This is where we take the opening shot of the film.

Then we use a drone to take the most insane environmental shots. People, animals and vehicles swarm effortlessly through the slums as if it were directed. We film women doing laundry on the street in front of their shacks and children laughing and playing, hopping through alleys full of garbage. A harrowing sight for us Westerners, but nothing but daily reality for the people.

We arrive at a tiny room where an elderly lady is teaching a class of young children. Most children have no money to go to school, so there are initiatives by locals to provide basic reading and writing classes for the smallest members of society. Again, the situation is not as we are used to. There is no teaching material, the children sit on dirty ground and the location is reminiscent of old shed that has not been used for a long time.

Not everything is what it seems

The beauty of all these seemingly harsh conditions is that the people realize that they have to make the best of it, and they engage as much as possible in what can be done. They take every opportunity to encourage growth in the youth and help them move forward in the development of their lives. How wonderful would it be if there were facilities to make this possible for more children?

In a country that is not your home base, it is of great importance to have people on your team who know their way around and can read and write with the locals. Our crew does a great job with that. They are all very experienced, make the right choices and contribute to the success of the entire shoot. As far as possible, everything was very well organized.

However, India will not be India if everything goes differently than planned. Locations where we are denied access at the last minute to people who play a role in the film and are suddenly untraceable. All challenges we solved on the spot by being smart and creative. The beauty of all this unpredictability is that it allowed us to perfectly capture real life in the slums. Just the ordinary way of life in Mumbai. This atmosphere does something to you and the images we shot.

Sporting children as movie stars

The final setting of the film is an artificial turf field in the middle of Mumbai where we played various sports with about 70 enthusiastic children. 3 groups of children together with their coaches and parents enthusiastically played a game of field hockey, soccer and cricket.

That day it was 40 degrees, without shade and without a hint of wind. Not for nothing, then, is this day one of the fiercest filming days we have experienced. It was absolutely worth it, the images shot turned out beautifully. Especially the enthusiasm of the sporting children was fantastic to see. All of them felt a bit like a movie star that day.

It's a wrap! The shooting has come to an end. We took stock and returned to the Netherlands more than satisfied. A shoot never to forget and which made us an experience richer.

And then everything comes together

Upon our return, we started reviewing and spotting all the filmed footage. The editor then started setting up the first edit. In this, it soon became clear to us that all the puzzle pieces were going to fall together even better than we had expected. The unexpected situations that occurred in Mumbai created dynamics in the film that beautifully show real life in the slums.

Then the audio composer started working with all his creativity on the big challenge. A challenge that lies in composing a piece of music in which both western and Indian music merge into an authentic composition that stirs and touches you. A singer provided the beautiful vocal line that gives the music a human touch and a special character. This makes the audio come in even better.

The combination of the voice-over and the special audio let you understand how important it is that attention is paid to the development of the people who need it so badly.

As a final step in the process, after completing the editing in image and sound, the colors of each shot are matched, the grading. In the first part of the film, we show the situation as it is. A situation that is not always rosy, but where there is thought in the possibilities and talent of the youth. In this part, the colors are warm and real, but not yet very sparkling.

This changes when the answer is given to the possibilities visible in the first part. Sporting children are rendered colorfully, bringing life to the whole and the energy and fun of the children splashing from the image.

Finally, everything comes together to form a whole in which we see the children enjoying and playing. We then return to the protagonist who expresses that we can make a difference as long as we join hands. His dream for a better future.