Personally, I am not a big fan of adventure shows; they are too realistic for my comfort.
But then, when a show featuring a superstar anchor and a super-busy guest breaks all previous records, and it’s shot in India, one has to sit up and take notice.
Ever since I saw the Discovery Episode of Man Vs Wild, I was fascinated by how it seamlessly blends adventure with information. I was proud to know what my country is doing for the environment, from none less than our honorable Prime Minister.
But I was also intrigued by its production-challenge.
How to bring everything together, and for how long? This is as big as it can get in terms of TV Reality shows – so how was it achieved?
Although I have never done Reality TV, but I have been 15 years in News and Current Affairs TV, working my ass out for weekend specials; and I have friends who do reality shows; they have often told me how tough they can be.
Curious about the production specifics of the show, I looked at the usual logistics of shooting international TV shows and films in India. I read old articles, including this one at Scroll, which suggests it usually takes about six months just to get the permissions. That confused me even further.
You can read the scroll article if you click on the image below.
It was then I remembered Jay Mazoomdaar, Investigative Journalist, and old time friend of mine. He wrote something about the shoot soon after it happened.
Jay told me that he has moved on to other stories and he is not interested to discuss this with me. He said, and I quote, “What’s left in that story? Even the show has come and gone…I have nothing to say on that.”
After repeated pleading and coaxing and cajoling – I made him sit down and share some old documents and files from his store.
It’s fascinating and awe-inspiring. It seems the entire production process took only about nine days – from permissions to pack-up.
Let me tell you how.
The first inkling that Bear Grylls was up to something big in India came on the Republic Day of 2019.
This is the tweet.
And then, at 1 AM IST on Feb 7, the Indian High Commission in San Francisco sent the Filming Application from Bear Gryll’s Production House ES2 Productions, Hollywood, to the Government of India. The application reached the National Tiger Conservation Authority at around 9 in the morning, minutes after their office opened in Delhi – and an NOC was issued – all on the same day.
Being a writer, the crispness and brevity of the show-synopsis caught my attention. For all my young readers, this is how you write a show-synopsis; one page of to-the-point information – no beating about the bush here.
Though the filming permission was sought for the duration of February 9-16, the key crew members, including Bear Grylls, were to fly in on February 12. Their tickets were pre-booked and attached to the formal application.
As per rules, the NOC was to be followed by permission from the State Forest Department. This was issued by the Chief Wildlife Warden of Uttarakhand Forest Department on February 12, for Filming in Corbett for the next two days, which was February 13 and 14. The guest list at Corbett’s Dhikala Forest Rest House shows that both the foreign and the Indian crew, along with the Discovery top brass, were booked for stay during February 13 and 14.
Bear Grylls reached India on February 12. Here’s the selfie he posted from the flight.
The crew reached the location and started shooting on February 13. The Bear Grylls Fan Club also posted a few stills of the crew in action.
The major chunk of shooting, including that with the special guest, took place next day. The return tickets of the entire crew were booked for February 15 or early hours of February 16.
So from February 7 to February 15, that’s nine days – from permission to pack up. Wow !!!
With just about two-three days of shooting with the anchor.
Bear Grylls posted an enigmatic teaser of the show on Instagram, on March 2.
I would say, ‘brevity’ and ‘precision’ are the key words that define the show; we should also add ‘efficiency’ – to that list of keywords.
My respects for whoever from ES2 Productions created that schedule, and saw it to completion. My congratulations to India as a film-making nation.
And let me tell you, with about 25 years in the world of TV shows and Documentaries behind me, this efficiency raises in me a surging new hope and pride for my country. Perhaps those writers at Scroll should revise their opinion; perhaps they should now proudly invoke all foreign crews aiming to shoot in India – if you have a film to shoot or a TV show to make, come; make in India.
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