Oil bole UP, UP, UP!

A new ad for lUP- made right here in Sydney

A~a;~~:::\.u

Sharman Joshi dancing co it, and to cop it off, making a penguin shake a leg coo in a dance- off.

This is the latest 7UP commercial from PepsiCo. So, big deal, yo u say! Well, for me ir is, as I h arbour some fond memories arrached witb this commercial. The ad was filmed righr here in Sydney not so long ago, directed by renowned A ustra lian director Damien Toogood. No, 1 wasn'r o ne of those bystanders tryi ng ro catch a glimpse of rhe shoot I was actually a part of the shoor!

Here, 1 suggesr, you log on co YouTube and see the ad for yourselves.

That pretty young lady (oo ps! I seem to have shed off my modesty already!) in pink standing with her 'screen' fanuly, inquis itively scaring at tbe penguin, is 111011 And now having trumpeted my presence in the television commercial, I owe you a share of my wo nderful experience.

The Di/ Bole T Feel UP ad for 7UP was shot over a two- clay period in Sydney on the same location where the Channel Ten show The &11011ators was /i.Jmed. Apart from the brand ambassador (Sharman in this case), the casting required an Indian family ~1u sband, wife and son), a young coUege girl, a Japanese couple a nd yes, 'The Penguin'.

latest ad for 7UP

With the exception of the first and last characters, aU of us were a uditioned and once selected, we were asked to go in for the dress reh earsal a day before the shoot.

\'{,'bile d1e director approved aU the other costumes and looks at once, my character (the Indian mom) proved ro be a problem cluld. Beige, pink or lavender.

w h at k11rti should the Indian mom be wearing? Denims, capris or cotton pants what should be d1e bonoms? After some creative brainstorming, beige and denim were g iven the nod of approval. But a.las, ch.i s was not going to be so easy!

Day 1, call time 7 .30am

After a quick brekkie, the crew was busy setting up the equipment and looking into aU the necessary detailing chat a film shoot requires, while the case got caked up. I was already feeling Like a scar with aU the debate and creative exchanges revolving arotmd m y dress, yet again! '\\7hat should the Indian mom wear?' This time the agency wanted a bright colour, while the director had earlier zeroed in on the beige. So here I was in and out of the dressing room, sasha;~ng to a.11 d1e possible permutations and combinations of various co lours and tops and bottoms Finally, finally - d1e pink kl1rti and beige trousers were the chosen ones!

This was not d1e only attention coming my way. I was the only Indian on set aware of the srams of BoUywood st,'U Sharman Joshi and his resume, and had plenty to keep myself busy as I courted a raUy of questions from my feUow cast members. How big a star i s he? What movies has he clone? Is he a good actor? Is he very famous in India? Is be as big as Shah Ru k h Khan? (Idiots, I said co chem you know, 3 Idiots, the Aa.mir Khan movie - Sharman was the guy that jumped, to protect h is maces). For someone who's been literally Living off Bollywood for the past few years (a.s an entertainment journalist in India), I regurgitated all m y Bo.llyvv'ood gyaa11 and loaded them w:id1 facts and figures.

Bue the answer co one question remained even beyond m y understanding - is he Aying down from India only for a day to shoot this ad, that too indoors? I confess chat question had been on my mind as we ll. Bue now having seen the final vers ion on-air with the la te st in CGI (computer generated imagery) and motion capmre techno logy, who:~ complaining or rather questioning!

Soon our 'Bollywood star' arrived. Unassuming, calm and composed, Sharman acknowledged our presence w im a gen tl e smile and walked straight to the set; he meant business. Yes, he knew be had only a day and lots and lors of dancing to do. So here we sat watching Sharman perfect his dance moves. Have to g ive credit to om Bollywood training, it makes dancing a piece of cake for our desi accors Sharman was no different. With no 's tarry' breaks, me acto r was truly a treat to watcl1 as he a:iecl to perfect every move a.ad every expression Matching steps with the famo us HoU ywood choreographer Simon Lind of Happy Feel 2 fame ain't easy, but our desi boy Sharman did it with ease and elan.

So when finaUy it was d1e mrn of the rest of the cast to come inro me frame, we felt the excitement running through our veins. \Vlule

Shannan's dance- off wid1 d1e (imaginary) Penguin continued, we did bir of acting. Day 1 ended with the last shot in d1e ad, the 'claps' (deservedl y so for our st,'lr performer!)

Day 2, call time 7:30am

Hav ing had a su mp mous breakfast, Day 2 was sans Sharman as he bad done his b it and Aown back co India. So we continued shooting our parts to pe1·fection. le was a comparatively shorter day for u s as we wrapped up post-lunch. f-:lm,vever the crew was still \Vorking on tl1e CGI and all d1e technical derail ing What professionalism!

Just two days and we had already become like family, chatting, h aving fun and working hard too. So now d1ar it was time to say goodbye, the heart felt some weight. With hugs and kisses and lots of wishes, we parted ways with the hope of meeting someday, somewhere, maybe for yet another shoot. Till t hen, when I look back at d1e experience, all l can say is, "Dil Bole I Fa/ UP!"

Meanwhile, tbe 32-year-old Joshi said in a statement about the ad, "The ?UP philosophy of Di/ Bole I Feel UP reflects the mood of our country at the moment, and how \Ve always manage to stay positi,7e". Cheers to mat. 7UP anyone?

While the director approved a ll the other costumes and looks at once, my ch aracter (the Indian mom) proved to be a problem ch ild

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Tuesday 27.03.2012

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