I have no idea whether this is still the case today, but back in 2007, Bollywood producers were looking on the streets of Mumbai for Westerners to appear as extras in films and television commercials.
My friend and I had decided to go our separate ways for a week or two, so I headed back to Mumbai from a small town up north whose name I can no longer remember.
I’d been in Mumbai for a few days when, while walking through the tourist area of Colaba, I was approached by a man who claimed to be some sort of recruiter. I can’t remember the exact details, but he asked whether I wanted to be an extra in a movie. I agreed—not because of the 500 Indian rupees I’d be paid, but because I thought it would be an interesting experience and a good way to meet new people.
As it turned out, it wasn’t a movie at all, but a Levi’s commercial. Still, it was a fun and interesting experience that allowed me to meet plenty of new people. One of them was a guy from Spain whom I joined a few days later to visit some famous caves on an island off the coast of Mumbai.
Then, a day or two after that first shoot, I was stopped on the street again. This time, it really was for a movie.
The whole experience turned out to be really cool. My role was to pretend to be part of the audience at a fashion show. That’s where I saw a famous Bollywood actress, although I had no idea who she was at the time. She just had a presence that made it obvious she was a superstar, and she was stunningly beautiful.
Later, when I finally got a chance to watch the movie, I noticed that I can barely be seen. The guy at the far left in the photo below where my face has been deleted for the sake of anonymity, he could be seen loud and clear however. That’s because the directors decided to give his character a very small part of the plot by having him walk up on stage, only to be pushed away by one of the male actors.
Apparently, there was also a very famous male actor involved in the scene in which I was an extra, but my attention was firmly on the actress. Later, when I showed her picture to a woman we knew in New Delhi, she told me her name was Bipasha Basu. I don’t know much about Bollywood, so I’m not sure whether she’s still as big a star today, but back in 2007, she was apparently one of the biggest names in the industry.
I later found out that the movie was called Race. Looking at the cast list now, I can see that the famous male actor I mentioned was Saif Ali Khan.
Unfortunately, my Bollywood career never went any further than that. It was fun while it lasted!
Explore more of the journey: Read Chapter 5: Life in New Delhi or browse the complete Memoirs of a Wandering Viking series.