From working out of a small space in his bedroom to creating a brand name, with the aim of living his dream, he overcame all the hurdles and became a successful filmmaker. 48 hours was all that changed his life. “I never thought that I would end up making a romantic film, until we participated in the Hyderabad chapter of the 48-Hour Film Project 2012, where we had to make a romantic film in just 48 hours,” says Tharun Bhascker, co-founder of Vinoothna Geetha.
Tharun and his friends – Ranjit Kumar, Upendra Varma and Hari Varun – came up with a film titled Anukokunda meaning unexpectedly, which went on to become the best short film in India and was later screened at Cannes Film Festival in 2013, under The Best of 48-hour film project - Short Film Corner Thematic Programs.
For the ones who browse YouTube regularly, the production house might be a well-known name. With around 7,000 subscribers, they have close to 15 corporate videos, 10 wedding films and 10 short films to their credit.
Tharun feels that encouragement given to students in his school is what helped him succeed. “We were allowed to pursue activities we like. Teachers also encouraged us. Apart from that, my parents giving me the freedom to do what my heart says has kept me going,” says the ex-student of Hyderabad Public School.
“Anukokunda is one of the films that got us fame. Apart from that, we also made Junun, which was shot for a contest sponsored by Mahindra XUV 500; Journey received a lot of critical appreciation; The Artist Poem, made in 2006 for IIT Chennai’s Saarang is a visual poetry and the recent one Sainma.”
Telling us about the challenges he faced while making Anukokunda, the filmmaker whose earlier films mainly focused on social messages says, “I was slightly hesitant in the beginning as I never worked on a romantic film. Apart from that we also had to use a few key words given to us in our script along with props while acting.”
While Anukokunda was the turning point of his career, the youngster made another romantic short film The Last Night. Tharun realised his potential in romantic films and now he is working on an untitled romantic-comedy feature film.
Ask if he has taken a course in filmmaking, he says, “I started with online software Photoshop, Illustrator, Final Cut Pro and Premier.
Later I did a one-month course conducted by New York Film Academy in filmmaking,” says the 26-year-old. So what’s the secret behind becoming a good filmmaker? “Experimenting is a key,” he says. Tharun, who also aspires to make thriller movies, says, “One should know how to manage things. Money also plays an important role.stared making corporate films to get money to make films.”