A 21-minute short film titled The Decision will be screened at the ninth Jaipur International Film Festival (JIFF), to be held from January 7 to 11, 2017.
The English film written and directed by Srinu Pandranki stars Lakshmi Manchu in the lead. Set in Washington, the film narrates the story of a young woman who has to make a crucial decision.
Srinu Pandranki chanced upon a short story written by Siva Somayajula, published in Andhra Jyothi in October 2014 and felt it would lend itself to a short film. “The central character in the story, the woman, has suffered an abortion earlier. Going through another pregnancy, she is told that the child is likely to suffer Down’s Syndrome. So she has to make a decision on continuing the pregnancy. The film shows her emotional journey,” says Pandranki.
The screenplay, he says, is inspired by the short story but with a few changes. Pandranki also insists that he narrated the story from the point of view of the woman and the circumstance that she deals with rather than taking a moralistic viewpoint. “I want the audience to see it as her story. And we didn’t intend to preach or take a stance on abortion,” he adds.
Produced by Vishwa Prasad, The Decision has music by Anup Rubens, cinematography by Jayanan M. Vincent and editing by Marthand K. Venkatesh. Line producer V.N. Aditya is also on board.
Srinu initially planned to set The Decision in Hyderabad but later, with the help of a good production team, planned to stay true to the US setting in Siva Somayajula’s story and set it in Washington. “I am lucky to have had the support of a good producer and line producer, who helped me in getting on board a good technical team and a budget of over Rs. 20 lakh,” he shares.
The crew shot the film in April this year and by September, completed post production and sent the film to a few international festivals. “Most international film festivals insist that the final product should not be available in public domain, so that there will be something new for the audience that attends festivals. We are applying to a few other film festivals, after which, we will release the film online in summer 2017 apart from hosting a few screenings in Hyderabad,” says Pandranki.
