When Magneto strikes

Nithish Sahadev’s short film ‘Magneto’ is about a man who can levitate objects, inspired by the character from Marvel Comics

A still from ‘Magneto’

Magneto, the fictional character in Marvel Comics, is no hero. A mutant, he stands up against the X-Men with his power to create and control magnetic fields. But he has been Alex’s childhood hero. Once he grows up, Alex is so attached to the character that eventually he gains the power to levitate objects. However, he is nabbed by the police on charges of robbery and is forced to wield his power before them.

To know what happens next watch Nithish Sahadev’s short film Magneto that has crossed 89,000 views on YouTube. Nithish, an alumnus of Chennai Film Institute, is over the moon that the short has been shared by celebrities such as Soubin Shahir, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Vijay Babu and Benny Dayal.

Nithish Sahadev

A huge fan of Magneto, Nithish says that it was a humorous Facebook post shared by his friend Aswin Nandakumar, the cinematographer of the short, that inspired him to write the story. “A youngster had written about Magneto’s presence in his room and objects flying the air. Next day he gets arrested for possessing drugs, which means he had imagined it all when he was on a high! Eventually I started working on a narrative based around Magneto. I have always been fascinated by the concept of levitation,” says Nithish, a native of Thiruvananthapuram. Although it was not easy to sell the idea, he went ahead, encouraged by Aswin, and has been on it for the last two years. “There were several hurdles. The producer backtracked. Using VFX to show things flying in the air was another challenge,” adds Nithish.

Banking on experience

The 28-year-old says that he banked on his experience of working in ad films and cinema. He had assisted Vipin Das in Mudhugauv and was Jude Antony Joseph’s associate in Oru Muthassi Gadha. Anand Menon, editor of the 13-minute short, plays the lead. The cast also has Nisthar and director Vipin Das, among others. With the making and technical elements coming in for a lot of praise, Nithish says that he owes it to the entire crew. It is produced by Sultan Brothers (Al Jassam Abdul Jabbar, Al Sajam Abdul Jabbar and Al Jaseem Abdul Jabbar).

The film has an open-ended climax and Nithish is thrilled that viewers are asking for a sequel. “There are no plans as of now. I am working on a feature film,” he says.