‘The Possibilities’, our new film, has crossed the 78,000 viewing mark on YouTube (in less than a week). This heart-wrenching story of a young boy’s journey to a plate of food has moved us all. But it wasn’t just the message that got everyone talking. We’ve had many people writing in to us appreciating the effort that went into the making of The Possibilities. We thank you for your kind words.
Today, we give you a glimpse into the production logbook. Read on to find out how the film was made.
6 days to go:
The actor just confirmed his schedule. Master Chethan is a Malayalee child artist, and his performance in the movie, ‘5 Sundarikal’, has impressed us all! But here’s the catch – he can’t miss school. He promised to get here a day before the shoot, for rehearsals.
5 days to go:
After visiting six locations and analysing its feasibility, the crew zeroed in on a bustling market place in the heart of Bangalore. Now here’s the challenge – how do we manage the crowd? Can we set things up without disrupting life?
4 days to go:
The art team got down to work. Props were being built or sourced. The tight rope was rigged, to make it child-safe. We all took turns to ‘walk the plank’ and test it.
3 days to go:
The entire crew, sans the actor, went to the location for rehearsals. The vendors in the market are curious but cooperative. That was good for us. We rigged a small camera to test the shot – can we pull this off in just one take? It seemed difficult, considering the crowd in the marketplace, but not impossible.
2 days to go:
Went back to the location and experimented with some more ideas. It’s starting to look good. We think we can pull this off! We test the props. But there’s one thing we were all worried about – is one day time enough for the child artist? Can he perfect his part?
1 day to go:
Master Chethan arrived this morning. By 11 a.m., we headed to the location. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that he was practicing at home. And he got it right, from the word go. His stoic expression was just the thing we needed. But by late afternoon, dark clouds started rolling in. Oops!
Day of the shoot:
Our worst nightmare had come true! It was a gloomy, rainy day. With heavy hearts, we headed to the school to shoot the latter half of the film, hoping the clouds would clear up. By noon, our prayers were answered. And just in time too! We wrapped up at the school and headed to our location.
By now, the vendors in the market knew the drill. They greeted us with smiles and wished us luck. It was a huge task to get all the character artists to time their moves and work in sync. After a grueling four hours and 8 takes, we called it a day. We had our shot – and we had achieved what we set out to do. Happiness!
3 days after the shoot:
The edit was almost done. But we were still looking for the right track to lift the whole film.
4 days after the shoot:
The editor had an idea. He suggested we use a track by A.R. Rahman – ‘Nan yen’. He had composed it for Coke Studio and we were not even sure about all the permissions and rights involved.
5 days after the shoot:
We wrote to him. What’s the worst that could happen?
7 days after the shoot:
He agreed! We were on cloud nine! He asked us to get in touch with Viacom and get the ball rolling.
20 days after the shoot:
Our permits were all in place, and our film was ready to go live! We can’t thank Mr. Rahman and Viacom enough!
November 14th:
The film was aired on social media. And the response was overwhelming.
That was your sneak peek behind the scenes of The Possibilities, the film created with the hope that it moves people to action. After all, children are our future. And it is in our hands to offer them a life full of ‘possibilities’.
Watch the video here.
