A zero-budget short film about staying home saw 12 mega stars directed online and across countries
Prasoon Pandey directs the short film virtually
Prasoon Pandey
Ad filmmaker
Conceptualised and remotely shot Family, a short film on the importance of staying indoors
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On March 24, when the government announced the nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic, Prasoon Pandey wondered how he could highlight the importance of 'stay home, stay safe' among the masses. It took him 30 minutes to conceive the short film he called Family, but he knew the road ahead would be difficult. He turned to ad guru and brother Piyush Pandey, who offered two words of advice: "Call Amitji."
The next morning, he made the all-important call to the superstar, and his frequent collaborator Amitabh Bachchan. "He gave his nod and suggested that we raise money through the short film. He offered to get sponsors on board," recounts Pandey, whose wish-list included Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt. "They recommended that I include stars from different film industries instead of restricting the roster to Bollywood."
Prasoon Pandey
The idea took on a pan-India shape as discussions about roping in stars from the southern film industries Rajinikanth, Chiranjeevi, Mohanlal, Mamm ootty, Shiv a Rajkumar, Bengali star Prosenjit Chatterjee, Punjabi actor Diljit Dosanjh and Marathi actor Sonalee Kulkarni began. "I had never worked with any of the South icons. So, the question was, who will call them? Things fell into place because of Amitji, who requestedRajinikanth them to come on board." Bhatt had a chat with actor-friend Priyanka Chopra-Jonas, who called from Los Angeles to say she's game.
Pandey's next task was to get the film shot remotely. "When on the set, as a director, I can tell them where to stand or how I want the eyebrows arched for a particular expression. I had never shot in this manner, nor had any of the celebrities." He decided to put together "an instruction manual" that the 12 actors could follow while shooting the project from their respective homes. "I shot the scratch at home, playing all the parts myself. My son, Ayushman, shot and edited it. Each actor's part was shot in a different colour so that s/he would know exactly where his/her part began and ended."
True to his word, Bachchan brought in Kalyan Jewellers as partner, which — as part of the We Are One initiative — extended support to 50,000 daily-wage workers. The veteran also got Sony Entertainment Television on board, where the film aired in primetime on April 6.
The five-minute film has the stars searching for Bachchan's sunglasses only to be told that he doesn't need them anymore as he won't step out during the lockdown. Pandey wonders if viewers noticed that the glasses that were passed around during the course of the film, are different since each actor used a pair that was available to him or her at home. Pandey laughs, "Knowing that we were shooting in adverse times, the audience overlooked it."
Log on to YouTube/Family - A Made at Home Short Film
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