BENGALURU: Saad Khan seems to be on a roll these lockdown days. He didn’t wait long after his first short film, COVIDiot, to be out with yet another one, called Loneli-mess. This time, he’s dabbling with the romantic drama genre and the film features a minimal cast of just social media influencer Disha Madan and him playing lead characters. The plot is one that many can relate to – a couple in a long distance relationship during the lockdown.
Known for his comic scripts, Khan went with something different this time. The reason? Too much comic content on the internet, he says, explaining, “As a filmmaker, I have always liked delving into different genres. For example, my movie Station, which was released in 2014, was a thriller. I want to be remembered for those kind of movies too.” Khan himself has come up with funny content with the characters created by him, like Professor BS Suresh, Razzak and Razia, etc.
The short film was shot in the actors’ respective homes. Since it was just the two of them, the coordination was not difficult. It took around 2-3 days, which includes shooting and editing by Prakashith Tholeti, to release the film on Instagram. Based on a couple in a long distance relationship going through a breakup, the actor-director is sure that the story will be relatable to many. “I was in a long distance relationship a year ago.
Apart from putting in my experiences, some of the inspiration is from the people I know, who are currently in a long-distance relationship. It’s like a universal subject,” says Khan. While digital platforms have been a saviour for many content creators this lockdown, Khan feels people should start concentrating on quality too. “There is so much content around that we should also focus on the quality of the content to monetise it in future. For example, there is a lot on singing but hardly few will be actually good,” he says.