Shot in the Dark
The young in the city are getting involved in Guerrilla filmmaking, but all they needs is motivation, Deepika Bhutra finds out more
Bangalore, March 26: Many young people in the city are “catching up” with the so-called trend of Guerrilla filmmaking. With less motivation and proper screening these are the filmmakers doing it all by themselves with a desire to be recognized not just by friends and family, but by the common people as well.
“Guerrilla filmmaking is nothing but a liberating way of making film,” says Siddhanth K.S., who is of 25 years and also the president of Lights Off production house, based in Bangalore. With a digital camera, being the only member of the crew, you bring the actor in front of the crowd and shoot the natural way, is what he calls Guerrilla filmmaking. One track mind comes under this category, totally, he says. Siddhanth until now has made five short films, with one soon to be released.
“It is Guerrilla filmmaking which inspired me to enter the world of short films,” says Bharath M.C, founder of MC productions, Bangalore. DYI (Do it yourself) is all that we do, says Bharath. He has been doing experiments with films until now. No professional work, no set-ups, and no organization—Guerrilla filmmaking is something, which you just shoot with two things: lights and camera, he adds.
Paranormal activity is one such example of Guerrilla filmmaking, says Rabi Kisku, director of Silicon Jungle. “It should probably get popular in the next two years. Right now, people are looking at it as a casual term,” says Kisku, who also conducts filmmaking workshops. As the digital cameras get cheaper and better at technology people will then start noticing this trend. Such films are made with low budget and limited sources, he says. Kisku says Misfits, a one-and-a-half hour film by Nishant Jain was shot with a digital camera. A low budget film, he says that is what is Guerrilla filmmaking.
DarkFibre, a British film, is a one such Guerrilla film, which got shot in Kerala and Bangalore, says Raghav Bhotika (24) who was the lead actor in the same. The film is going to be done by May. “In Guerrilla filmmaking, you do not go for taking permissions. You shoot the natural way with a small camera—without worrying about the surrounding but only the actor,” says Bhotika. He conducts voice ascent workshops and has been a part of many films including Love Arranged, which he directed. He gives an example of The Untitled Kartik Krishnan Project, with a budget as low as 40, 000 Rs, which he says so far is the cheapest made film.
“My last words is my first film, under this category,” says Atul Kattukaran (23), another aspiring filmmaker in the city. “Word of mouth is the only kind of marketing we can do for our films—even after that people who are close to us ask for screening the films,” says Kattukaran.
“The trend has already started, but is catching up very soon by Bangaloreans,” says Siddhanth. In Mumbai and Chennai, you will find a lot of such filmmakers who get good response and support, he says. We do not have good trainers here in the city to teach filmmaking—nobody goes to the workshops, which take place currently in the city, he adds. Siddhanth also says that the city needs to give importance to creativity. He gives an example of Mount Carmel College, which promotes such creativities.
There are a couple of reasons to make films and also to do Guerrilla filmmaking. It is either for fun, or a rebellious form of expression. However, some may do this to get somewhere, says Siddhanth. “Guerrilla filmmaking gives fewer headaches, but demands more running around as you only do everything. And if the city gives motivation and if the people here are not scared as you can get hardly any revenue—people will get more involved,” Siddhanth says.
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