For Faisal Koonath, the movie Bolivia, which he claims to be the first realistic 3D thriller in Malayalam, is a launch pad to the world of movies. An entrepreneur, he decided to write and direct a 3D movie solely out of his passion towards the medium. “I had done three short films before Bolivia. The third short film Sense was done in 3D format. That gave me the courage to make a movie,” says Faisal.
He did the short film three years ago as an experiment. “Once, I saw a 3D content in animation and I enquired about it. I realised that 3D was not explored much in Malayalam, the reason being high budget. So, we decided to experiment. We researched about the technique, bought two cameras and improvised them to capture in 3D format. Thus Sense was made,” he recalls.
That was his only expertise when he ventured to direct Bolivia, a thriller that narrates the story of a female activist played by Sou Sadanandan. “The movie centered on a day’s incidents,” says Faisal and claims that the entire content is shot in 3D. “Even in movies like 2.0, only 60 per cent is the real footage. Rest is visual effect. We have not depended upon any special effects for Bolivia.” Shanawaz Muthu handled the camera and Rijaz Jamal is the editor.
The movie was shot mainly in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Faisal says that places play an integral part in the movie. “It is kind of a road movie in which you can experience the beauty of your land’s greenery,” says Faisal, who does not believe that 3D movies belong to a special category. “The format should not be restricted to a particular genre. Generally, there is a feeling that 3D should follow a special format. It should not be like that. I dream of a time when all movies will be made in this format,” says Faisal. “The reason why it is not happening now is the huge cost. One has to bring technicians from abroad, which involves a lot of money. We didn’t have to face that because we did it by ourselves, improvising the existing technology. We did the shooting using two cameras placed in a particular distance,” says Faisal. However, he is not willing to reveal more. “I will not disclose the details,” he says. He knows it was a risk. “Shooting the movie was like a ‘blind date’. We just knew the technique, but had no clue about the output. We were relieved only when we saw it on the editing table. It has come out well,” says Faisal. Bolivia releases today.
