Big dreams of a short film maker

All of 20 years, Athul Prabhakaran is set to make a short film thorough crowdfunding. His target on Rs 4.1 lakh, however, it exceeded and is still counting. The title of his upcoming film is ‘Zaman’, which is set in a post-apocalyptic era.

Athul is currently pursuing his Bachelors in Fine Arts at the Annapurna International School of Film and Media in Jubilee Hills. He is originally from Kerala and has lived and studied in Chennai and Leeds, UK.

The passionate filmmaker has worked as a writer, director and editor for his nine short films in three languages. ‘Zaman’ will be his 10th project and the principal photography of this short film will commence from November 20.

Athul made his first film using a webcam when he was only 12 years old. He states that he had an immense zeal to understand how certain special effects, especially from ‘Harry Potter’ film franchise, are put on screen and that was the pull factor for him to become a filmmaker.

The film ‘Zaman’ is in English and it revolves around Tawhid, a survivor who has seen the world crumble. He is a widower traumatised by his loss to the catastrophe.

Tawhid is threatening to take his life and that's when a mysterious radio broadcast from a small community calling themselves ‘The Farm’ plays.

The film follows Tawhid’s quest to survive in a world devoid of normalcy that traces his transformation in the face of adversity.

On this journey, he encounters a 60-year-old woman, her dog and a few other survivors, who make for an eventful and a thought-provoking road drama, which all ends in shocking twist.

About ‘Zaman’ the young filmmaker says, “I have always had ideas in my mind about how difficult it will be for people to survive in a world that is wiped out and there is no trace of humans for many, many miles.

That’s what this short film explores. It is about human emotions, also present conditions we have wars waiting to happen and what if climate goes drastically wrong?”

Why did he choose the title ‘Zaman’? “‘The film indicates two things: one is its lead character’s name Tawhid Zaman, which means destiny and time. It’s a time when humans do not exist and the destiny of human beings and that’s how the title came to my mind,” he reveals.

Why crowdfunding? “I wanted to make a film that gave a cinematic experience to the audience. Previously, I made short films on a shoe string budgets, however, for ‘Zaman’ I knew for a fact that the entire film needs to have the cinematic experience along with storytelling,” he shares.

“We set Rs 4.1 lakh for production and Rs 90,000 for post-production and as we crossed our target on the website fueladream.com.

We are hoping that we will receive more funds as more eight days are left; we will start filming soon,” says the excited filmmaker.

“I want to give people, who funded me, full exposure on how the story is going to develop, how and when the timelines exactly work and how people can get involved in it.

I’m confident about making the film as I envisioned it,” he adds. Athul says that he is inspired by all kinds of cinema and is a huge fan of Korean filmmaker Pak Chang Wook among others.

“‘Zaman’ will be my first “big” short film, both in terms of its vision and the scale. The premise itself is quite challenging and this is also what motivates the filmmaker in me,” he signs off.