“Filmmaking to me was always a creative pursuit. It compliments rich thinking and imagination with writing. Being raised in Chennai, Tamil movies are something I hold close to my heart and I have been a huge movie buff all through my life. So, after a lot of keen observation and experiments, I started writing my own scripts and even made a few short films while pursuing my PhD in Germany. They went on to get selected in many international film festivals and the actors who were cast in them have also since acted in Netflix shows.
Being a lab engineer in one of the advanced research centres in Germany means that my work involves a lot of high-intensity testing and working periods. Due to that, I am given the leeway to take vacations in between projects. So, it was during this year’s vacation that I flew down to Chennai sometime around February. Unfortunately, around the time I landed here, the pandemic situation turned intense and my return flights got cancelled. Soon after, the government issued a state-wide lockdown and there was no clarity about when I could travel back. It was probably one of the grimmest periods of the year, surrounded by uncertainty from all directions. As the weeks passed, I realized there was little I could do to change anything about the situation; and that is when an idea for a script struck me.
I live in one of the oldest buildings in the city and this setup gave me an interesting idea. I penned it down, taped my go-pro to a flashlight and shot the whole film with just that. Little did I realize that day, it would go on to garner more than 75K views on YouTube with critical acclaim from some of the major directors and actors in the film industry.
Times are hard for a lot of us now and while it is easy to let the situation engulf you in a pool of panic and anxiety, I believe a lockdown can go only so far as to confine us physically. We are free to explore the resources available and make something out of the situation we are put in. When I shot this film, I never anticipated this reach and recognition but I am glad that I persevered to make it see the light of the day.”

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