They watch the traffic on the roads of Jawahar Nagar and wait for it to get over, for the day to die and the night to begin. Rahul Riji Nair and friends cannot begin their work in a busy road. It is to be deserted; a young woman has to be posted on a pavement by herself. That’s where their story begins, the story of a film they have just finished the script of. The work has only begun the night before, on a Friday, when India Film Project announced its theme for the year: ‘There is a twist in the end’.
In 50 hours, the participants, taking part in Asia’s largest filmmaking challenge, should complete a film, which is five to eight minutes long, and submit it for a contest. Rahul’s film MJ has come in the first 10 films announced winners, only a week ago. And his is the only Malayalam film in that list.
“We attempted it mostly for the challenge it presented, to finish a film in 50 hours. The theme was announced at 8 pm on a Friday, and we locked a script by Saturday afternoon,” says Rahul, who works as a marketing professional. They waited for midnight to start shooting in the deserted roads of Kowdiar-Vellayambalam, in Thiruvananthapuram, and had to end it before 5 in the morning.
One of the compulsory elements in the theme was dance. “And the first name that comes to mind when you think of dance is Michael Jackson.” The film circles around a young girl, waiting to get a ride home in a scary looking street. Her favourite musician appears at the scariest of moments, and becomes a saviour in strange ways. And of course, he dances.”
“My friend Renjit Shekar plays Michael Jackson. Another reason we zeroed in on MJ is, because of his signature moves and style factor, it was not hard to recreate the character.”
Reshmi Nair plays the MJ fan. “The most difficult part was getting everything done in time, and I have to thank the production team for that. They took care of all the logistics, of getting permission to shoot in the night, arranging the studio. Sujith Warrier is the producer.”
The team had to be registered before, and Rahul’s was a group of friends. They were the same team that worked with him for his previous film Malai Kofta, a comedy. He has also made a documentary — The Human Boundaries.
