They say coincidences don’t happen often. But ask Balshankar Menon, a 32-year-old filmmaker, whose life is indeed been mostly about coincidences and he will beg to differ.
From his tryst with films to the love of his life, everything has ‘just happened to him’. Even his film, Castaway, that won him the first runner-up award for the best short film at the Jameson Done in 60 Seconds Contest at a national level, is an example of things that ‘just happen’ to him.
He had to make a minute long film based on his version of a Hollywood flick. “We randomly came across the notice for the contest and decided to give it a shot, only a few days prior to the deadline. After some brainstorming we settled on making a funny version of the Tom Hank original, Castaway,” Bala states.
The men began shooting two days before the deadline in Cubbon Park and submitted it two minutes before the entry closed.
Then the engineering dropout coaxed his friend, Senthil Kumar, another director to act. “That morning was a sight to remember. Senthil was wearing a massive beard, torn tee and shots and was running around barefeet in the Park. The biggest problem was the couples who came to the park to exchange sweet nothings. As we finished a shot and were headed to the next location, a couple would come and plonk themselves right there,” recalls the graduate from Vancouver Film School.
Incidentally while Senthil was running around the park, there were couples who came to the park for their pre-wedding shoots. “I am sure apart form the patent the lovey-dovey poses, their photographer would have captured some flabbergasted expressions too!” exclaims Bala.
Coming back to topic of coincidences, this Kerala-born, Delhi-raised and now a self-proclaimed Bengalurean, came to the city to take a break from after his degree in films. “I came for a two months, but it’s been over eight years and it still, isn’t over,” grins Bala who in the meanwhile ended up getting a job with a Bengaluru-based film company.
He bumped into his now wife, Smitha Adhyam, who was his classmate in his engineering college and in his, words a ‘nerd’. “We never even thought of dating, let alone get married! Like I said, things have just happened to me,” he smiles. Now that his film has grabbed eyeballs, Bala has begun working on another short film and is looking at entering similar contest.
