Remember early March? When the world hadn’t turned topsy-turvy yet? The news of the pandemic was only a drizzle as compared to the menacing tornado it has become since. The country was still a couple of weeks away from the grinding lockdown. Even as everyone was trying to make sense of the symptoms of a new virus, Kozhikode-based model Anjhoom was recovering from a frightening experience.
“A friend called to inform me that a mutual friend’s wedding, which was supposed to take place in a few days, has been postponed due to Covid-19. I thought he was pulling my leg but when I saw the news, I got to know that all public gatherings had been banned. I also developed a cough around the time, and everyone told me it was one of the symptoms of the coronavirus,” says Anjhoom who was a finalist at the Mr Kerala pageant in 2018.
An avid movie buff with interest in filmmaking, Anjhoom decided to recreate these events through a short film. That was the genesis of his mini web series aptly titled ‘Virus’. “I approached my friends Nihal TP, and Ajithlal, who is a cinematographer with the idea. He thought the concept would be perfect for a short film. We didn’t initially plan on making a series, but the film ends with a cliffhanger and everyone who watched it wanted to know what happens next. Hence we developed the story further and brought out sequels,” adds Anjhoom who directed ‘Virus’ and also stars in it as the protagonist.
The second episode, released a week ago under the label Yuvefa Entertainment, takes off from where the first video ended, but introduces a dark twist to the narrative. The compelling original background score by Anand Nambiar travels with the lead character through his various encounters instilling a sense of unease in the viewer. The tight screenplay and editing by Aghin Komachi adds to the sinister ambience. “We didn’t want to come up with something cliched, so the story arch is going to be in the lines of a psychological thriller with the main character displaying sociopathic tendencies. I wrote three scripts and the team selected the best one,” says the 27-year-old.
In just under 10 minutes, the second part further piques the interest of the audience. Many from the Malayalam film industry, including Sreenath Bhasi have applauded her effort. Anjhoom is currently working on the script for the third episode which he hopes to release by the end of this month. While the series is set in the days leading up to the lockdown, the fourth and final episode is expected to end with the unprecedented announcement by the Prime Minister. The team of ‘Virus’ includes Jamsheer K handling the finance, cinematography by Ajithlal A K, screenplay by Athul Lakshmanan M, DI by Boby Rajan, assistant direction by Nihal T P and sound mixing by Arjun B Nair. The series is available on YouTube.