It’s a good time to be experimental in Bollywood. The industry is opening its doors for content-driven films like Masaan , thus throwing up new opportunities for young filmmakers like Chaitanya Tamhane, whose drama Court surprised many with its gripping content. Shachi Sharma and Rikhil Bahadur are treading that path too, with their film Time Out . The film began its journey as a 12-minute short and did the rounds in the international film festival circuit, including at the Cannes Film Festival in 2012. It won accolades along the way, giving them the impetus to conceive a feature-length version.
Its story focusses on the relationship between two urban school-going brothers, who draw strength from each other. “It voices the concerns of the youth today, who are judged for everything they do. And even in films that talk about them, they get stereotyped,” explains Shachi, who also debuts as a producer with this film.
“That’s why I immediately connected with the story and pursued the project with Rikhil Bahadur, who shot its shorter version,” she says.
Time Out , which is slated for release on September 25, has a completely new and young star cast, chosen also for their musical abilities.
The younger brother’s character aims to be part of a band — an important plot point. “I was 23 and Rikhil was 24 when we were sitting in the Viacom18 Motion Pictures office, pitching this project to them in 2013. Though they loved the idea immediately, we assumed that they would be producing it too. It came as a surprise when they said that they will only be financing it and that someone else would have to take up production. That’s when I thought of stepping in.”
Being a low-budget project, the duo that launched their own production house called Aexor Entertainment, pulled through with a lot of backing and encouragement from friends within the film industry. In fact, Anuj Mathur, a senior re-recording engineer with Yash Raj Films, known for his work in films like Kal Ho Naa Ho and My Name Is Khan , helped with the post-production. “These are the kind of things that gave us the confidence to go ahead with this project,” says Shachi.
The duo is working on their next script, a biopic on badminton player, Pullela Gopichand.
