Lockdown movies are making a scene online

Filmmakers Join Via Net To Make Thematic Movies

Kamini.Mathai@timesgroup.com

23.04.2020

A cast of one per scene (physical distancing protocol in place), actors in masks (pandemic measures taken), the house as a shooting spot (isolation rules followed)… lockdown-hero, budget-zero movies are taking the internet by storm as filmmaking enthusiasts get together (while apart of course) to create short films, often with a message.

Take the case of law student buddies N Soorya, Sachin Raj, and R Eneyan, all of them quarantined in various parts of TN but together in spirit. “Filmmaking has always been a passion for me,” says Soorya. So after practising his violin for days on end, and writing short stories and blogs, Soorya decided to get down to filmmaking to beat the quarantine blues. The storyline of his nine-minute, made-at-home short ‘3 In Corona Out’ is simple — a comedy about three bachelors stranded in one house and how they manage the situation. “We made the film from our homes in Velachery, Alwarpet and Dharmapuri,” says Soorya, a fourth-year student at Chennai’s School of Excellence in Law. “The film took us three days to put together. I learned how to do it by watching online tutorials,” says Soorya.

Several aspiring as well as amateur filmmakers are putting together “quarantine films”, collaborating across borders but from within the confines of their homes. The Mumbai Thamizhan crew for instance — inspired by the recent shot-at-home short film featuring Amitabh Bachchan and other Bollywood actors looking for a pair of spectacles — have created a nineminute film ‘Sarakku Engada’ (Where’s the liquor?) featuring a bunch of people looking for their uncle’s bottle of alcohol. The bilingual — interspersed with messages on drinking being injurious to health, Covid-19 isolation measures, and even match fixing — ends with one of the actor’s (the crew’s equivalent of Bachchan) urging people to stay safe at home. The Bachchan spectacle search short film seems to have inspired many amateur filmmakers. Why Not Films, founded by a bunch of film school students in Lucknow, has put one up on people helping a friend look for a mask before he heads out.

CAUGHT IN THE ACT: ‘3 In Corona Out’, a short film by three law students, is a comical take on three bachelors stranded in a house

Lockdown film contests announced

Chennai-based theatre artists too are getting into the act. Sum Phun Gai, a short film, features theatre actors and directors like Freddy Koikaran and Michael Muthu reminiscing about life and how the lockdown period is “not the end of the world, but just a safety measure”. “The film is about aging, accepting imperfections, learning to live life to the fullest and not let what others think stop you. It is reflective of the times,” says Freddy. Lockdown short film contests too arebeing announced,where participantshavetoshootone minute videos themed on quarantine. “A nominal amount of prize money is up for grabs just to make it more fun. The contest ends on May 3, a day before the lockdown is supposed to be lifted,” says Fahad Kalam from Thiruvananthapuram, an actor-musician who has hosted the contest throughhisDOHMedia House. “People are getting bored athome.The contest is not so much about the finesse of filmmaking but a way to keep people creatively engaged, which is the need of the moment.”