It is nearly 10 in the night. Adith U.S. speaks between bites of a quick dinner, before another ‘shot’. It is his script, and he is acting too, he says during the phone call he manages between his many duties — like asking someone to make sure everyone has food. Sharing his situation is his friend Sreekanth E.G., a mate he knew since his college days in Pune, before they both became merchant navy officers. Today, Sreekanth is the director of the movie Adith has written — 24 Days. Their first feature, taken after a few well-appreciated short films.
“We both love cinema and have wanted to make films since childhood,” Adith says, adding, “We began by making a short film when were in college. There was a third person with us then, Davis. It was for an inter-college fest, where they invited mobile movies. It was February 13, a Friday, and the theme was ‘crazy’. So we chose a subject on the anti-Christ. It was a three-minute piece with no dialogue. But after that we became confident, we could do more.”
So then they made a docu-fiction called Zeitgeist, based on the life of a cadet at their marine college in Pune. Adith and Sreekanth made two more short films together after college.
“One is called Will You Be Me, which I wrote and he directed. It won awards at short film fests. The other is I Am Flying, which he wrote and directed, and I produced,” says Adith.
When it was time for their feature film, they crowdfunded. They didn’t go out looking for producers. “We have seen the experience of some of our friends, and knew it was no use. There was no star cast, it is all newcomers. It is a subject that requires new faces, to maintain the element of suspense, and to maintain a certain level of freshness,” Adith says. Only Krishnakumar, who has worked in Tamil cinema, and Pradeep, the editor, are experienced. The others are new, 35 characters chosen after a casting call.
Adith’s gist of the movie is a tad vague. He calls it the transformation of a youth, where the main character Stephen, a self-centered young man, goes after his big dream and a bunch of unexpected incidents makes him realise the realities of life. “He meets this person who tries to uplift him, makes him reach a certain destination, which will lead him to come back to life as a regular human being,” says the writer-cum-actor.
Adith says it is very realistic and will not question the logic of a viewer. But it can neither be called an art nor a commercial film. But for now, he has to go. The costume bag has arrived and the shot is ready.
