A stand-up buddy of mine in Texas encouraged me to start posting about Breakdown, as he was surprised to hear that I was making films in India. "I have no idea where Pune, Maharashtra is," he wrote me. "What's so special about that location? How is it different from the backdrop of Slumdog Millionaire?"
The short answer is that, more than five years on, Pune now feels something like home. The medium answer is that, like any writer, I needed to write from what I knew. But my friend was really hankering for the long(er) answer: Why India?
"Is it challenging filming in India," he asked. "How is filmmaking there different compared to the US?" On the second question, I can't comment; I've never made a film in the US, and the Film & Television Institute of India was the only film school to which I applied. But the first question is one I'll try to answer in these blogs, to give some insight into the filmmaking process and how all the lessons I've learned since coming to the subcontinent combined in the experience of making Breakdown.
I hope you'll find it interesting, and maybe a little entertaining. Feel free to leave comments and let me know how I'm doing with this new microphone. And please don't forget to tip your waitress.
