Actor-director Chandan Roy Sanyal's latest cinematic experiment makes its debut online today as a one-shot film, being acted out and live-streamed with no cuts
The cast of In Between play the role of actors who are waiting for their turn at an audition
For actor Chandan Roy Sanyal, best known for the role of Mikhail in Kaminey, the lockdown brought his production company, Proscenium Film Company, to a halt. But after a few months of being out of action, Sanyal and his colleagues realised they couldn't idle away their time. They decided to get into the groove of things by starting small, with a rehearsal reading on Zoom. "We began with reading Dumbwaiter, a one-act play by Harold Pinter.
We started rehearsing four versions of it. We were hoping to perform it, but then we were told nothing was possible until the theatres opened. So, we had to figure how to put together a play that could be taken to the audiences, online, in a digital format," says Sanyal, last seen in Prakash Jha's web series, Aashram.
Chandan Roy Sanyal
Dipping into the feeling of frustration, he wrote In Between, which is set in the waiting room where an audition for a film takes place, and is packed with actors who play "actors auditioning for a role". In its format, the film is a one-shot film, which basically means it has no cuts. "What the format needs is a fair bit of rehearsing. If you make a mistake, it won't work. The audience is watching it as we are doing it, so to speak. It's not recorded. It's like live streaming the whole film, being performed in one shot. It's no different from being at the theatre," he explains. When ticketing platform Book my Show saw a sample of one rehearsal, they gave them their platform to stream it on.
That's about form. As far as the subject went, it's the insider-outsider debate that erupted after the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, that proved inspiration. "Often, people forget that even established actors need to give auditions and face rejection. Soon, the whole debate nosedived and everyone was taking potshots at the film industry. Basically, actors were called useless. The perception was that the movies are all about glamour, and no hard work. That's why I wrote In Between, which is set in an audition waiting room, and shows the desperation an actor experiences to get a part."
Sanyal admits that he drew into his own personal struggle, remembering a time when he took the local train, his world packed in one bag. "I would change in public washrooms, shave, wash up, and know how to be ready just about anywhere. What also happens is that in an audition room, whatever is happening outside doesn't count. You may have come from a funeral, but inside the audition room you have to behave as if nothing has happened. You may already be a working actor, and may
have come from a set, but here, you are like a beginner giving an audition."
In Between, then, was his way of letting the audience and aspiring performers into an actor's life, especially the patches of frustration and the politics. "They should know that this is a playground and you have to get dirty to get some place. And even once you get what you want, you have to keep at it because then it's about getting the next good part, and the next. It's not easy at all."
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