Arjuna, the jumbo, hero of Gajakesari

Film shoots always revolve around stars, but what if one of the main protagonists is an elephant? On the sets of Kannada film Gajakesari, Arjuna, the 40-year old Kerala pachyderm, made sure that all the crew ‘played’ to its whimsical tunes.
After auditioning several elephants, cinematographer-turned-director Krishna picked 40-year-old Arjuna from Thrissur to play the lead in Gajakesari.The 15-ft-tall Arjuna was perfect for the role though he had no acting experience. “We had selected another elephant in Thailand, but had to abandon the plan. After five trips to Kerala, Arjuna was finally selected,” says Krishna. But little did he know what the jumbo was up to.
‘ARJUNA A PAMPERED KID’
To begin with, the crew says “Arjuna is a pampered kid”. “Arjuna is like a family member of a rich businessman who is emotionally attached to the animal. When he is approached for temple festivals, the businessman makes sure that it is at a short distance. He never allows Arjuna to travel long distances,” says Krishna. So a 300-acre private forest in Vagamon, 60 km from Sabarimala, was chosen for the shooting.
The crew says though Arjuna was “mild mannered”, it was not easy getting adjusted to the tusker. A stuntman from Chennai flew eight feet away and landed with a thud when he tried to touch Arjuna’s formidable tusks. “I thought he was stunt-playing. But he had really been thrown away by a simple touch. After this incident, many were scared to go anywhere near Arjuna. But lead actor Yash had no option as he had most of the combination scenes. He learnt some commands and tricks from the mahout and became very friendly with Arjuna.” Arjuna came with four support staff; a manager, a mahout, an assistant and a doctor. Rajan, the mahout, was the biggest help to the film team, says Krishna. Though his remuneration is a closely kept secret, his support staff and food cost the producers Rs 10,000 a day.
Arjuna would arrive with his staff in the morning. He would match his time with the arrival of the matador carrying his food. Arjuna would then pick up the food, leave it on the set and go for a leisurely bath. His day on the sets would start with a 90-minute shower in one of the four natural ponds in the resort. Only after breakfast, he would start shooting. At 12, Arjuna would take a water break and head for one of the ponds again. If he felt like eating, he would extend this break into a snack break as well. Yash would join him during the break and try to get close to him by offering fruits and sweets. Arjuna would report back to the sets after the break. If there were mood swings, he would take unscheduled breaks as well. “Elephants are very intelligent. And like us they too get bored with routines. It was a great experience. Elephants are something you can never get bored with,” says Krishna. Sadly, Arjuna won’t be called to Bangalore to dub for his scenes. Special effects will take care of that.