'As a little boy, my grandmother would tell me stories of how they came on ships from India. It was fascinating and intriguing and I was always interested in the stories.' - Rohit Jagessar
"How long will it take to make British Guiana?"
The captain, looking out at sea, releases the cigar pipe from his mouth, delays his answer to the stony-faced 'slave-driver' and then gives a cryptic response.
"Eighty, 90 days. Depends on the weather".
The scene, taken from the movie British Guiana 1838 - Someday I'll see you again, represented the end of a day's work last Tuesday for the production team, wrapping up the 30-day long shoot in Guyana.
"Great, fabulous, magnificent", were the words chosen by Guyanese Rohit Jagessar after the Hesperus, was bulldozed out to sea for sail, and he had wrapped up the Guyana leg of the shoot for the full motion picture that could be released as early as August this year.
Local extras for the film, the men in torn and soiled 'dhotis' and the women, in once-white 'saris' breathed a sigh of relief when Jagessar called it a wrap off the Number 63 Beach, Corentyne, Berbice.
Jagessar's movie is not the typical song and dance kind churned out by the Indian film industry, Bollywood, as has been reported by other local media. In fact, the movie does not have any link to Bollywood.
Jagessar's "sense of imagination" (actually, the tagline for RBC Radio) for the production of Guiana 1838, goes back to his boyhood days in Guyana.
"As a little boy, my grandmother would tell me stories of how they came on ships from India. It was fascinating and intriguing and I was always interested in the stories," he told Sunday Chronicle on location at Number 63 Beach.
Jagessar, from Black Bush Polder, Corentyne, Berbice, moved to the United States in 1976 and started producing music, including for the popular Babla and Kanchan.
He eventually set up RBC Radio, America's first 24-hour Asian Indian radio network, broadcasting from atop the Empire State Building to New York, New Jersey and other U.S. cities.
Having acquired the means to launch RBC Radio into film production, Jagessar set out to write the script for a movie based on his grandmother's stories.
The full motion picture surrounds the arrival of Indian indentured labourers to this country in 1838 and includes the departure from Calcutta, the ravages of the sail to these shores and their settlement among the freed African slaves.
For the casting, Jagessar roped in an international team, including Bollywood actor Kumar Gaurav, who plays the lead male role.
Gaurav's character, Laxman, is that of an Indian indentured labourer who left Calcutta to work in British Guiana, and if the scenes we were allowed to witness are any giveaway, it appears that he led a revolt on the ship Hesperus, against the vicious "slave driver" David, played by British actor Thomas Garvey.
"What you would find me doing most of the time is whipping a lot of people. I find pleasure in people's suffering", Garvey said, gun resting on his shoulder as he spoke about his character.
Garvey's visit to Guyana for the production is his first to South America. He said that when he was offered the role, he had no idea that East Indians had come to the Caribbean after the abolition of slavery.
"It was quite interesting getting to know the story, especially about the mixing of the indentured labourers and the slaves," he said.
Gaurav became familiar with Guyana in the 1980s when he received fan mail from Guyanese who came to love him after hit movies like Teri Kasam and Love Story.
"It was a great experience. Beautiful country, warm people. Let's hope the people of Guyana enjoy this movie and enjoy having the world know your history," Gaurav said.
On the final day of the last shoot, scores of Berbicians came out to the beach to get a look at Gaurav.
The slave driver keeps a close eye as the Indian labourers are ordered in the Hesperus hold
Among them was Sumintra Bhagwandi, 69, of Number 64 Village, Corentyne. She remembered him from the hit movies of the '80s.
She managed to both shake Gaurav's hand and give him a kiss.
Gaurav has left the country already, in preparation for his latest Bollywood offering, Saach.
Guyana - A beautiful experience
The main female role in the movie is Aarti Bathija, 18.
British Guiana 1838 is her first major project and she was more than happy to have landed the job.
She was born in India, but her family moved to New York when she was two years old.
Bathija, just out of high school, took acting classes during the summer holidays and scooped a childhood role in Rani Mukherjee's first movie Raja Ki Aayegi Bharrat. He has also played roles in TV serials and appeared in a number of commercials.
She met up with Jagessar at a film festival in New York and landed the part of Urmila in British Guiana 1838.
Bathija said she was very excited about playing the part of Urmila as the character is a strong person, having chosen to come to British Guiana all by herself.
"Urmila is a strong-willed person. Everyone would not have done what she did," Bathija said as she watched the final taping of the movie here.
"This film has definitely been the best training I've ever had. Spending seven weeks in Guyana has taught me a lot. It was a beautiful experience, and I would love to relive it," she said.
With the local leg of the shoot complete, Jagessar and his team head for England, where the final taping will take place.
The movie will be marketed worldwide and Jagessar is counting on success.