Can a pill open doors for rebirth? Has modern science advanced to a level we are unaware of? What if the pill created for a better cause reaches the hands of evil forces? ‘Pill’, a web series directed by Kochi native Harish Chandran, explores the possibility of this breakthrough with the trope of a thriller. The sci-fi thriller series revolves around events that are set into motion due to an unknown device, which is said to have an unrevealed potential to alter the fate of humanity.
Harish, a techie and an aspiring filmmaker, was always fascinated by the type of content the OTT platforms brought to the viewers especially in sci-fi and thriller genres.
This prompted him and his brother Girish Chandran to try their luck at filmmaking; the result was ‘Pill’. Girish plays the lead roles of VK and Karthikeyan Iyengar.
“Sci-fi is a tough genre to crack. And it was more complex as this was a double role project. It was a difficult learning curve but we are confident that we have given nothing less than a movie-like experience on YouTube for the viewers” says Harish. John Philip, Pravin Pillai, Yamuna Nair, Syam Salin, Sajan Alummootil, and Dr Prince Franco form the rest of the cast. The first four episodes of ‘Pill’ have been released so far.
The making of the web series took close to two years due to the subject’s complexity, the pandemic outbreak delayed it further. “We shot the series on a limited budget. All I aimed was to come out with a unique concept that hasn’t been tried in the Malayalam web series arena. I was particular that the viewers shouldn’t see this series as a fantasy. I wanted to invoke the thought about what would result if such a pill could be made.”
Harish affirms that he’s been getting positive feedback from many viewers. Neeraj Ravi cranked the camera, edits and VFX was done by MGC, music is by San Jaimt, and Happy Jose handled sound designing. Harish adds that the first season will conclude with the sixth episode, the next season is already in the pre-production stage. “I’ve am now aware of my shortcomings and wish to overcome them in the next season. We plan to come up with more and more interesting series and films that could keep viewers intrigued and entertained”, says Harish. Watch ‘Pill’ on the YouTube channel @Idiot Box.