Safar

“Safar”, written and directed by me.

Project Type: Short Film – Director
Location: Bangalore
Year: 2023
Tools Used: Sony A7iii, DJI Ronin, Scenarist, Adobe Premiere Pro, Audition, Photoshop.

“Safar” is a short film that I wrote and directed for my pre-thesis project (7th semester project) at Srishti Manipal Institute in October 2023. This served as my “directorial debut”.

Making this film was quite an experience, right from the ideation phase to post production. I had seen my seniors go through this ‘rite of passage’ when I was an assistant on their crew, and now it was my turn. I think the pre-production phase (going location scouting, getting permissions, putting together a cast and crew, making prop lists, the shot breakdown and scheduling) was by far the most difficult part of the process. I had never done this before and a lot of unforeseen problems arose during this time too, especially when it came to finding an appropriate lead. Nonetheless, it was a good exercise in this aspect of filmmaking and a reminder that no matter what, problems always arise.

The shoot schedule was also rather intense, with a lot of scenes scheduled for the first day and the second day wrapping much after the scheduled wrap time, but my crew pulled through and helped me bring my story from script to screen. That said, it was a really fun experience with a lot of takeaways for me as an aspiring filmmaker.

FILM SYNOPSIS:

Anand, a lower-middle class, middle-aged man struggles to balance his tedious, long-drawn commute to work, the pressure at work and his tumultuous personal life.

CAST:

Prateek Sultania as Anand
Prerna Kirtikar as Gayatri
Yashas B S as Boss (voice)
Manjula Aunty as Koushik Aunty (voice)

CREW:

Writer, Director, Editor – Ved Murarka
Director of Photography – Suryadevsinh Parmar
Sound Recordist – Shalini Rajarajan
Production Designer and Manager – Tanmayi Jarubula
Executive Producer – Ranjeet Kumar Murarka
Assistant Director – Archita Wadhwani
Camera Assistant – Advaya Purushottam
Sound Assistant – Parinita Choudhury
Production Assistants – Tanvi Bhalerao, Meera Savargaonkar
Music – Suhrud Shringarputale
Project Mentor – Unni Vijayan