Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty – Conducts Set with Dignity

Kathryn Bigelow and her production team get props from actors and crew called upon to work the production, writes Jaskiran Kapoor  for the Indian Express:

From production crew to actors and extras, Zero Dark Thirty has given the local talent a memorable global platform, and actors Navdeep Singh and Navjit Brar second that. While Singh’s role was of a “courier guy-cum-reluctant terrorist”, Brar played a Pakistani police ranger called Abdul Ansari. “When the call came for auditions, we had no clue it was Kathryn Bigelow’s film,” says Singh, a PhD scholar along with Brar at Patiala University.

“How to approach a script, compose and shoot, do scene division — we learnt a lot,” says Singh. What will remain with him also is how well they were treated.

“Kathryn would listen to everyone, say ‘great job’ after every shot, make sure there was food and beverage on the sets and that the shoot was going according to schedule. There was proper medical aid on board too,” recounts Singh, who also got to translate the script in bits into Urdu-Punjabi and teach actor Fares Fares some lines.

Every person on the sets, informs Singh, was insured. Sniffer dogs would also make their rounds on this tight ship every morning. Busy translating Arthur Miller’s work in Punjabi these days and working on a serial on ETC Punjabi, Singh cannot forget how Bigelow rescued a stray dog and checked on him everyday.