Happy Scene breaks the mould

The short film Happy Scene, though inspired by from real happenings, neither markets the ‘inspirational’ element nor follows the traditional production style

Based on a true incident; inspired by many real life takes — these tags on posters are the new trend attracting people to watch films. Even short films are being marketed with this strategy. The recently released short film Happy Scene stands out tall among all these. Even though it is very clear that the movie is figment of the imagination, the makers chose not to market the ‘real’ elements.

“In fact, we were not following the formal production as well as marketing pattern of a short film. This film was not a pre-planned one. It was when we came across a storyline that we decided to do this movie,” says Shiva Raaj, who enacted the lead role and conceptualised the film.

About the real incident, he says, “It is based on a situation faced by my friend. Following a break-up, he became very desperate and started thinking about suicide. It was then he got a call from his mom, which made him rethink about his decision. That is the incident which forced me to design this short movie.”

In the meantime, the film sports an interesting tag — acting workout. “I am basically an actor. In a way, this short film was planned like an acting workshop. When I started thinking about the concept, I shared it with my friend-editor Bibin Paul, who worked in the films 101 Chodyangal and Oru Murai Vanthu Parthaya. He supported me to go ahead with this work and thus I started production,” says Shiva, who has worked as an assistant director in Oru Murai Vanthu Parthaya, in which he appeared in a small role. He has acted in films Love 24x7 and Ennu Ninte Moideen also.

His friend Rishi Karthik essays another key role in this eight-minute short film.