'The last stop at the bottom of the world': The grim reality of Skid Row's pimps, prostitutes and drug dealers is laid bare in a shocking documentary

Australian filmmaker Shanks Rajendran spent 18 months in Skid Row, Los Angeles

Enlisted the help of local man, Lavell Putman, who acted as his guide

Engineered unprecedented access to the drug addled streets of downtown



Met drug dealers, pimps and their prostitutes in an effort to expose the reality

The feature-length film is unflinching in its portrayal of the destitution of America's second largest city



Described as the 'last stop at the bottom of the world' by some of its 6,000 or so hapless and homeless residents, Los Angeles' Skid Row is a grim circus of pimps, drug dealers, hustlers and prostitutes.



For most of the men and women sleeping and wandering the downtown streets of the City of Angels the idea of divine intervention is as distant as the glimmering lights of Mullholland Drive and the Hollywood Hills.



Their stories are easy to ignore, which is what inspired one documentary filmmaker to brave the violent, tent filled sidewalks to reveal life for what it is on the mean streets of America's second city.

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Inside public bathroom: This man is cooking up fake crack on a baby changing platform to sell to unwitting addicts who are too drug addled to know the difference and part with their cash

Having produced two prior films on the drug-addled addicts of Melbourne and Liberty City, Miami, Australian filmmaker, Shanks Rajendran decided to turn his attention to Skid Row in early 2013.



However, his gonzo journalistic style almost landed him in trouble on his very first night filming.



Sitting in his car with his camera, Rajendran, 28, was initiated immediately into the ways of the streets when around half-a-dozen guys stormed up to his car to demand why he was filming.

'They thought I was an undercover cop,' said Rajendran to MailOnline.



'They were screaming, 'You can't be doing that,' said the documentary maker.



In video from his recently released documentary of his 18 months on Skid Row, Los Scandalous, the terrifying incident is played out in full.

Watch Video Here:

Addiction: A heroin user shoots up to get his fix while sat on the streets of Skid Row in Los Angeles

Desperate: This man snorts some form of powdered drugs to get high while Shanks Rajendran filmed his documentary on the streets of downtown Los Angeles

Left behind: Needles used by addicts liter the streets of Skid Row - left behind by the drug users who spend all their money on narcotics

In the video, one man approaches the car, demonstrably calmer than the others and tells the filmmaker that he is being foolish.



'People are doing personal private things around here ... We got entrepreneurs and other things around here.'



That mans name is Lavell Putman and with his help, Rajendran managed to talk down the irate men.



'I showed them my previous work and they came to believe that I was not a cop, but a genuine filmmaker,' said Rajendran to MailOnline.

Dividing line: Even though downtown Los Angeles is rapidly gentrifying, Skid Row remains an oasis of poverty

Ominous start: Shanks Rajendran took it upon himself to travel to Skid Row and begin filming - much to the anger of these men approaching his car

Danger: The men stopped Rajendran from leaving and the situation was rapidly falling out of control

Help: Lavell Putman came to Shank Rajendran's (right) rescue and became his guide to the streets of Skid Row

From that day on, Putman became the Australian's personal guide through Skid Row, opening doors that would have taken weeks, if not months to open.



With his checkered criminal history of robbery and being a former gang member, Putman had the necessary trust among the residents of Skid Row for Rajendran to film startling confessions and shocking snippets of drug taking and abuse.



Some of the doors that Putman opened were quite literal.



In one shocking episode from Los Scandalous, Putman and Rajendran walk up to a public toilet and knock on the door.

Broad daylight: This man takes drugs using a banknote in daylight with no fear of the police arresting him

Fix: Once he had taken the drugs his face contorts as they take effect

Inside is a man sitting on the toilet cooking up what seems to be crack, but is in fact just bicarbonate of soda without any cocaine - fake crack.



'This man had people knocking on the door begging to buy what they believed was crack cocaine,' said Rajendran.



'The dealer said that they didn't know any better and that in their state, 'fake Gucci' might as well be 'real Gucci' and he was only there to make money from them.



'Fooling people and making money from the weak is what goes on on Skid Row.'

Essential: Gangs operate on the streets of Skid Row, flaunting their weapons openly

Street life: People literally stop and sleep and congregate along the sidewalks of Skid Row with nowhere else to be

Dealing: Cocaine is prevalent in Skid Row and many dealers come from miles around to exploit the weak on the streets

Rocks: Crack cocaine is the most popular drug that is sold in Skid Row and lays waste to thousands of lives

Indeed, the reality of Skid Row is that not all of those on the streets are destitute.



An entire economy has sprung up around abusing the addicts, with drug dealers coming from miles around to ply their trade along the streets.



The police don't seem to care either said Rajendran, acting merely as peace-keepers and making sure the homeless don't stray into the more affluent areas of rapidly gentrifying downtown Los Angeles.



'When I first started my film I saw one man, who couldn't have been older than my father, begging for crack,' said Rajendran.



'He owed money and was about to be beaten up on the streets.



'It's a circus and not a good one at that.'

Interference: Police make an arrest in Skid Row - which is unusual according to Shanks Rajendran - who told MailOnline they rarely interfere

Seeking to show the 'raw elements' of the streets of Skid Row and not trying to make a political film, Rajendrans visceral documentary is a chance he says for the people there to express themselves.



No scene is more shocking than that of an elderly pimp and his similarly aged prostitute.



'I don't really like to call it pimping,' says the man.



'I am a player, and I take care of my girls and I look out for them, I have been doing this on and off for 20 years.



'But you know, its about doing it right. It ain't about beating up on females and mistreating them.



'You make sure you treat them like a lady.'



Seeking permission to speak to the prostitute, her life is laid bare in shocking fashion by Rajendrans interview.



'I work real hard,' she says.



'It's really hard out here sometimes and I stay out here until I get enough money for a motel room, food and my drugs too.

Pimp and his prostitute: One shocking episode of the documentary comes when an interview takes place between this pimp (left) and the woman who works for him (right)

'I have been doing this for 35-years.'



Asked if her pimp is a 'good' player, the woman replies earnestly.



'Yes, he is supportive, he makes sure I have what I need to get out there and get sleep,' says the woman.



'You know, he is strict because he has to be otherwise I would spend all my money on drugs.



'He makes sure....I have my high heels, a clean dress, a clean change of underwear, condoms, he makes sure before we leave I have all that in my purse.'



In an interview with LA Weekly, Rakendran calls Putman a 'hustler' and tells them that his guide has a bullet lodged in the back of his head which is slowly moving down into his spine.



For his part, Putman believed that working on the documentary would be his ticket out of Skid Row.



'Being part of this documentary made me take a step back and look at the environment I've been so used to,' says Putman in a statement on the film's website.



However, sadly, one week after filming stopped Putman was arrested and then arrested again.



He is up for three felony charges, two counts of second-degree robbery and one count of assault with deadly weapon.



For Rajendran though, this documentary is his attempt to show exactly what goes on the streets, hopefully opening peoples eyes to reality.