An Order From The Sky (Aagasathin Utharavu) is an upcoming Tamil film, which, according to the makers, is the world’s first one-character, one-shot film. With a modest runtime of 76 minutes, the independent film is the result of an Indo-US co-production. Marking the directorial debut of Karthik Radhakrishnan, the film is produced by US-based filmmaker Maheshwarapandiyan Saravanan. The film revolves around a petty thief who seeks divine approval from his deity before committing theft.
In a surprising revelation, the director says it is easier for a newcomer to make an independent film than a mainstream commercial film. “My producer is really passionate about films.” Based on a short story by Imayam, An Order From The Sky was conceived during the COVID lockdown period, before ultimately starting production in 2023. The director reveals that, even though it was set in a single location and was planned in one continuous shot, the film’s production posed several complications. Karthik says, “The story is set in a rural temple, and I didn’t want to shoot it in a set, but it was tough to find the right location because everywhere we went, all the rural temples looked modern.” When the director finally found a rural temple, the villagers said they could only approve after consulting their deity. Once the team got a nod from the deity and finished the film, the team faced a different issue. “We created a new idol to shoot the film, and after the shooting was done, people who came to the temple also started praying to our statue. The villagers requested we take the statue elsewhere. Now, it is in our producer’s family temple and is worshipped as an idol,” says the director.
On the choice to shoot in a single location in one continuous take, the director dismisses criticisms of being gimmicky. “The film is about the dialogue between one man and God. Throughout the film, he is waiting for God to authorise his decision to commit thievery for survival. When no divine sign arrives, he gets agitated by the minute, and we see him lose patience and gradually get aggressive. Single-shot is used as a way to communicate the weight of his impatience as it starts growing.”
While the film was shot with natural lighting and sync sound, the director is currently in the process of adding background music to make it commercially viable. “We are doing it, so it might be easier to sell it to streaming platforms. We are currently in the process of pitching it to OTTs.”