THE ENTRANCE

I pass this place everyday, on my way to  training or class. I always wanted to go in and see what this place is all about. I had heard quite a bit about it. So when I came to know that there was a  “campus walk” being organised in its premises I immediately jumped at the opportunity. The Film and Television Institute of India is ranked in the top five filming institutions in the world. It has given Bollywood people like, Shabana Azmi, Jaya Bachan, Naseerudin Shah, Russell Pookutty and so many more, the list is endless. Once you enter the campus you enter a different world. You are no more in Pune. Luckily for us we had Babulal Pardesi as our guide. Babulal’s three generations have been working in this campus, right since FTII was Prabhat Talkies  which was some time in 1930. His father has worked in close vicinity with Gurudutt Saheb, Raj Kapoor and many other legends. Babulal Kaka followed in his family’s footstep and at the age of 15 was employed in FTII as an electrician and today has  been regarded as a FTII legend. Though on paper he is just an electrician Babulal Kaka knows everything about movie making, every minute detail. He shared with us so many stories about Shammi Kapoor, Naseerudin Shah, Ketan Mehta and so on. I liked the Studio One story the best, because it apparently still has a lady ghost living there.

The walk involved going to the actual sound recording, mixing studio and also a complete look at the editing process of a film, which was so interesting that I thought I should enroll into the course right away. In the end of the tour we were showed an half an hour movie which had bytes of various FTII veterans who are now legends ,sharing their experiences on the FTII campus and what it means to be a part of this institution.

The world of movies I knew and now know are two completely different things. My passion for movies has gone up higher by some notches today. What we see on the big screen is only  half  the story. The real movies are made behind the camera, by people like  Babulal Pardesi.  Enjoy the pictures!

ITS A GREEN CAMPUS, LITERALLY!

THEY HAVE THESE AFTER EVERY FEW STEPS , THEY HAVE MOVIE POSTERS RIGHT FROM THE SILENT MOVIE ERA!

A LOT OF MOVIES ARE SCREENED HERE FOR STUDENTS TO WATCH- PRABHAT THEATRE

HELEN HAS DANCED AROUND THIS STATUE, BABULAL HAD MADE THIS FOR A SHOOTING OF A MOVIE!

MOTHER INDIA…SUCH A FAMOUS IMAGE THIS ONE IS!

SHARAB! BOLLYWOOD IS OBVIOUSLY INCOMPLETE WITHOUT IT, OUTSIDE A HOSTEL WINDOW!

THE FAMOUS SHAMMI KAPOOR SPOT, HE HAD TAKEN HIS JEEP AND TRIED TO JUMP OVER EVEN WHEN THE DIRECTOR HAD TOLD HIM NOT TO!

HANUMAN MANDIR…JUST TO SHOOT SOME BHAGWAN WALA SCENES

A SET IN PROGRESS

THE FTII CAMPUS CANTEEN…..SO MANY GREAT PEOPLE MUST HAVE HAD THEIR   CUTTING CHAI HERE!

WITH THE LEGEND- BABULAL PARDESI

EDITING- THE FINAL CUT OF THE FILM

SO MANY OF THEM

BABULAL KAKA’S RETIREMENT CARD

MR. PATKI. WITH THE PROJECTOR, A MASTER EDITOR….HIS STUDENTS INCLUDE SANJAY LEELA BHANSALI

REELS

THE CHEMICALS USED ON THE REELS

WAHEEDA REHMAN

MR.SONAWANE…THE DARK ROOM MAN…INVOLVED WITH EDITING!

NEGATIVE

INTERESTING WALL

THE SOUND PROOF WALLS WITH TEMPERATURE CONTROL INSIDE THE RECORDING STUDIO!

SOUND MIXING AND RECORDING

I SANG A FEW LINES….APPARENTLY THE SOFTWARES  USED TODAY TO RECORD ARE SO GOOD THAT THEY CAN ACTUALLY MAKE A BATHROOM SINGER LIKE ME SOUND LIKE LATA MANGESHKAR!

RECORDING STUDIO…MOVIES ARE ALSO DUBBED HERE!

THE FTII ALUMNI….WHAT A CLASSY SET OF PEOPLE!

THE WISDOM TREE…..IT HAS A HUGE AMOUNT OF STORIES INVOLVED…THE LEGEND HAS IT THAT ONCE YOU SIT HERE YOU ARE BESTOWED UPON WITH ALL THE WISDOM OF THE WORLD!

SHABANA AZMI IN HER DIPLOMA FILM… SHE SAW ONE OF JAYA BHADURI’S SHORT FILMS AND SHE FELL IN LOVE WITH IT…THATS WHEN SHE DECIDED SHE HAD TO JOIN FTII!

I LOVE THIS GUY! HE IS BY FAR THE BEST ACTOR BOLLYWOOD HAS EVER PRODUCED!  THOUGH HE  SAYS HE BECAME A PART OF FTII JUST SO THAT HE COULD HAVE SOMETHING ON THE BIODATA! THOUGH IN THE END HE ADMITS THAT HE OWES QUITE A BIT TO THE INSTITUTION!

MR.POOKUTTY…..HE ALMOST HAS A SPIRITUAL SPACE FOR FTII IN HIS HEART. HE SAYS THAT MORE THAN ANYTHING FTII MADE HIM A GOOD HUMAN BEING. HE MADE HIM DEVELOP SOMETHING SPECIAL!

THE FUTURE POOKUTTYS MACHI AND SWAROOP ,THEY ARE STUDYING IN THE SOUND DEPARTMENT..THEY TOOK US AROUND!

different kinds of reels from 30mm to 75mm

THIS WATCH IS THERE FROM THE 1930s

CREATIVE LAMPS

ITS A REAL ANTIQUE PIECE

ALL IS FAIR IN THE MOVIES!