HYDERABAD: Ranjith Arvapally’s WhatsApp status proudly proclaims ‘Made world’s first short film on Mars.’ And that too at zero budget, he adds. This short film director who has made 30 such so far from says that the biggest problem that any filmmaker faces is his inability to showcase to aspiring producers on what he/she can do with a script.
“But with this concept called zero-budget filmmaking, we can make movies that will help us show our talent and bag big movies,” says this young filmmaker from Yousufguda in Hyderabad.
His new movie, Mars – The Unexpected Journey, he says is "an experiment in the above concept.”
This BTech graduate who hails from Medak claims that he has donned the roles of director, writer, DOP, lyricist, VFX editor, actor, photographer and with some help from friends, has made what he calls the world’s first short film on Mars.
His friends and family helped him out by enacting a few roles but the movie essentially runs on Visual Effects (VFX) “I worked as an Associate Director for a Telugu film directed by Anil.
But we all filmmakers know that we all have to first prove talent to get offers and to do that one needs tons of money. “I decided to use my Nikon DSLR and edit it and complete it using my mobile and editing apps. It took him seven days to shoot this movie which has 95 pc VFX about Mars.
“If I can make a movie worth Rs 8 lakh in one week without spending money, that should really speak of what one can do with money and more talent,” he says.
For now, Ranjith has been trying to garner attention by tagging top producers in social media and passing the word around.
“I had previously produced a science fiction and message-oriented zero budget movie and have applied for Guinness Book of World Records,” he says.
He also won a national award for Bhisham short film and the best love story for Meenakshi c/o Krishna at the Indian Inclusion short film fest.
He believes in the mantra: Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. The 20-minute movie is now on YouTube with subtitles in Telugu Hindi, Tamil and English.