Who’s the dummy?
Australia is definitely a country where you are going to have problems shooting if you have not played by all the rules. I remember I wanted to do a shot of a man jumping off the Sydney Bridge and I was told I was out of my mind.
Indian filmmaker Vikram Bhatt complains about Australia.
He goes on to say that he proposed the [unidentified] Sydney authorities to throw a dummy off the bridge and the permission was still denied, because people might see a ‘body’ falling and that could trigger an emergency service chaos.
It might be Indians in general or just me in particular but I did not feel very welcome.
Mr. Bhatt, you are the one who chose how you wanted to feel. And you chose the unproductive, irrational path of feeling ‘prosecuted’ for your nationality and/or ethnicity. And while you’re entitled to your opinion, you might be irresponsibly conditioning more Indian nationals to feel that way the minute they land in Australia, even if the reality is very different.
Bhatt’s comments are uncalled for, considering the number of Australian-Indian projects – including the wonderful The Waiting City, which opens next week – and the positive experiences of other Indian filmmakers who have successfuly shot their projects in this country. If anything, the screen authorities – working with the local councils – want nothing but the creation of jobs for local creatives and crews, and international films coming from any country are something Australia works hard to attract.
This kind of inflammatory statement does nothing to accelerate the healing process between the two countries after last year’s incidents in Melbourne. All it does is generate publicity for an individual who is quick to play the ‘racism’ card, satisfying the media’s appetite for a ‘juicy’ story.
Online, it is known as ‘trolling’ and the advice on how to deal with it applies to real life too: ignore them; don’t feed them.
For more positive comments about the Australian-Indian screen industry connection, read our special report, a few tips for working with India, and our interview with director Claire McCarthy and producer Jamie Hilton, creators of The Waiting City.
The top of the arch is 134 metres above sea level and the clearance for shipping under the deck is a spacious 49 metres. Which leaves the height of around about 55m from where a stunt guy would jump from the sidewalk. Considering cliff diving takes place at heights of 20 m to 30 m. There is a limit to how high one can jump from and survive, regardless of water depth. For example, the Golden Gate Bridge is 220 feet (66 m) high and overlooks water deep enough to not hit the bottom, but the result is certain death or serious injury. I am pretty sure 55m is pushing the bounds of safety for a start. Stick to a green screen and a digital effect.
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