Taking their firsts steps into Sandalwood, an amateur group from Mangalore has come out with a 45-minute short film, Chitra. The movie had its debut in a local television channel on August 17, and will be played for the next two weeks.
The “unconventional” love story features the 22-year-old Manik Mascarenhas, a commerce graduate from St. Aloysius College (Mangalore), as both the lead and the producer of the film while, drama school graduate Srikanth Y.R., is the writer, director and cinematographer.
Manik said “Chithra” is unconventional in a way that it attempts not to follow clichés.
Though the story is centred on Manik, a playboy in the film, the film has two female leads. In the process of falling for a village girl, the twist in the romance will “leave the audience astounded,” said the duo.
The two met when Srikanth went to congratulate Manik on a theatre performance at a college here. A discussion soon turned into an attempt to make a short film to showcase their talents through YouTube.
With both gaining confidence on the script, the idea soon morphed into a minimovie. Since the project was small-scale – a budget of around Rs. 2.5 lakh – Manik says getting an investor on board was difficult.
Eventually, he decided to invest his savings earned through a stint at an MNC in Bangalore. Ten crew members shot the movie over a period of six months in Mangalore and Udupi. The amateur film-makers also decided to bring in the larger community into the movie-making process and associated with two citybased NGOs - Music for Change, and the Roman and Catherine School for the Blind – to compose songs for the film.
“It is not possible for the blind to watch my movie, but I want to make sure that I can contribute towards their betterment in the form of charity through its proceeds,” says Manik.
With the shooting done, Manik and Srikant – were buoyed by the reviews by their friends – and decided to adapt the film to television, instead of being just an online short.
Again, investments for airing on television turned to be a problem for the two. Through months of calls and meetings, they managed to get the support of the Mangalore Diocese, as well as a photography studio and a café in the city.
With the ball set rolling, the film receiving enough funds and buzz to get a slot at the newly-launched Daijiworld Television here – where it will be aired at 4 p.m. every Friday and Sunday for the next two weeks.
With the project having reached its conclusion, Manik hopes for more of these “toil, frolic and strain” experiences. “I thoroughly enjoyed the process and I hope I am able to make more of these films,” he said.
