The ‘Below-The-Line’ People Of Hindi Cinema

The ‘below-the-line’ people often work from 4 am to midnight, for weeks on end, in order to imagine, improvise, and to realise the vision of Hindi cinema. The movie set is ephemeral. The film is seen by the world and often enough drifts into oblivion. But each member of the crew has a story that is inspiring or heartbreaking or both.

Aradhana Seth

Updated on: 30 December 2022 12:48 pm

The ‘Below-The-Line’ People Of Hindi Cinema

When you retell stories on the screen, the words of the most eloquent writers or scriptwriters are not enough. Nor are the gestures of the finest actors—or even the vision of the greatest directors.

There are hundreds of others who contribute to crystallising that vision, those gestures, those words. These are the people who are often seen only on the swiftly rolling end credits. From the gaffer who lights up the set to the set dresser who resets the pillow covers, each such person is an important part of the story being told, the film being seen.

The ‘below-the-line’ people often work from 4 am to midnight, for weeks on end, in order to imagine, improvise, and to realise this vision. The movie set is ephemeral. The film is seen by the world and often enough drifts into oblivion. But each member of the crew has a story that is inspiring or heartbreaking or both.

This story often lingers after everyone else goes home. We, who work in the production line know this. Someone somewhere might stumble upon these stories and see more than what appears on the screen. That, at least, is our hope.