Location Diaries: The Beetle and a bike

Srushti Dange seems to rediscovered her liking for automobiles on the sets of Sathru, her upcoming film with Kathir, directed by Naveen. Recalling the Pondicherry leg of her shoot, she says, "One day, I was told to drive a Volkswagen Beetle car. The unit had convinced the owner to let us use it for the song."  While Srushti loved the quaint, green car, there was a catch. "They all told me that the car would only run if I could start it on the first try. If  I mess up the take in any way, it would be impossible to get it started again the next few times! So I was asked to somehow complete the shot perfectly in one take." Though this made her nervous,  Srushti paid particular attention to the shot and managed to complete it in one take. She was greeted with a collective sigh of relief around her as she stepped out.

On another occasion, Srushti was required to ride a motorbike, with hero Kathir as the pillion rider for a song. When Kathir heard this he grew anxious. "Director Naveen knew about my sporting streak and had nicknamed me 'rowdy' because of my penchant to take on new things. During my teens, my father had a Splendor bike and had taught me to ride it seeing my passion for bikes'. But since Kathir didn't know all this, he was apprehensive about riding pillion behind a novice," says Srushti.

The shot was to be taken near a highway which made Kathir even more anxious but he resigned himself to it. "Since it was going to be a  mid-level shot, he kept trying to hold the handlebars from behind me as a precautionary measure. When I told him to relax, he asked me several times if I would be able to handle the bike on my own. After the five-minute shot was over, I could see his relief. Later I explained to him about my experience with bikes," she laughs.