Malayalam cinema has been constantly pushing the boundaries in terms of content, making and performances. Joining the list is Footage, a found-footage movie, which is the directorial debut of seasoned editor Saiju Sreedharan.
Found-footage cinema has video footage supposedly shot by the characters. The film released in theatres last week to mixed reviews and Saiju has taken the criticism in his stride. “I was aware of the risks involved, especially as a debut project. Nevertheless a section of the audience has liked the movie and have called it a new visual experience.”
While there are scores of found-footage films in the West, Indian cinema has only a handful, Dibakar Banerjee’s Love Sex Aur Dokha being a notable one.
Footage, set around the time when the pandemic broke out, revolves around a vlogger couple in a live-in relationship. They unabashedly zoom their cameras on their lives and that of others, capturing the intimate moments of a couple living in a nearby building as well as their own. A woman living in another flat in their building piques their curiosity. When her actions make them suspicious they follow her, only to be led into a life-threatening situation.
Editor and filmmaker Saiju Sreedharan | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Saiju, who has edited notable Malayalam films such as Maheshinte Prathikaram(2016),Mayaanadhi(2017),Kumbalangi Nights(2019),Virus(2019) and Android Kunjappan Ver 5.25 (2019) says he decided to focus on the genre because he wished to give something new to the audience. “Instead of spoon-feeding them with a conventional film, I wanted them to think. This genre works well for a low-budget film. I was also encouraged by the fact that our audience is now open to all kinds of experiments.”
The film does not give you a conventional viewing experience — the first half of the film has footage from the male actor’s camera, the second half has visuals from the female actor’s. “I understand that this genre may not work for everyone. Visuals appear amateurish and shaky. That is why not everyone is keen to do found-footage cinema.”
Footage leaves behind several questions as well, about which, Saiju says, “We have given it an open-ended treatment. Everything is there in the script. You will get some of the answers in a re-watch.”
Vishak Nair and Gayathri Ashok play the couple, while Manju Warrier is their mysterious neighbour. All characters are unnamed. “That is because I didn’t want to bracket them into a particular region, religion or caste. In fact, even the couple’s apartment has no rooms or any partition. So there is an openness to everything.”
Saiju adds that he had Vishak in mind while writing the film and the actor happily accepted the role. Finding the female lead, however, took some time. “Not all were ready to do it, mainly because of the intimate scenes and the fight sequences.”
About the inclusion of quite a few intimate scenes (the film was cleared with an A certificate), Saiju clarifies that he has looked at it as something that happens naturally in the life of the couple who are living life on their own terms.
He has co-written the story with Shabna Mohammed. “I was particular about making a film with strong women characters. I did not want to come up with yet another Malayalam film that was all about masculinity.”
Manju Warrier in Footage | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Citing The Blair Witch Project (1999) and Paranormal Activity (2007)as among the typical found footage films, Saiju says, “The footage in these films look like proper video recordings. I have tried to break away from that. Since my protagonists are excellent photographers we have made the shots cinematic.”
Bankrolling the project took time. “No one was willing to invest in an experimental film with no songs, beautiful frames or action sequences. So we (Saiju and Bineesh Chandran) decided to produce it.”
The next challenge was the execution. Everything was there on the paper but it was not easy to actually shoot those scenes. He mentions that five to six people were involved in each shot. “We used the Sony Venice camera, which can be used as two pieces. But many hands are needed to operate and control it — a focus puller who was around with a mini monitor, others to take care of exposure, zoom, to hold the body of the camera and operate it. It was tough when we shot in cramped spaces, like the abandoned ship. Timing had to be spot on for each shot.”
Vishak Nair and Gayathri Ashok in a promotional still of Footage | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
It was a first-time experience for the whole team. They would spend at least half a day planning the sequences and the shooting started once they were ready to execute, he says. Shinoz is the DOP of the film shot in parts of Ernakulam and Thrissur. While sound design is by Nixon George, Sinoy Joseph has done the sound mixing.
Saiju adds that among the toughest shots to execute were those featuring the interiors of Manju’s flat, the one in the parking lot of the apartment and the fight sequences. “Action scenes are usually shot from different angles. But here we had to capture everything in just one wide shot. It had to look convincing and exciting.”
Saiju adds that the actors gave their all for each scene. “Vishak mounted the camera on his body for some shots in spite of the camera being heavy. Full credit to him for the way he pulled it off.”
They were careful about not overshooting the budget. “We wanted to surprise the audience and create maximum impact but without splurging money.”
The bonus was the entry of filmmaker-actor Anurag Kashyap to present the project. “He came into the picture because of Manju chechi. He is known for creating or being part of out-of-the-box content. He liked the work and was happy to associate with it.”
Manju Warrier in a scene from Footage | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The 44-year-old says that his personal favourite in the found-footage genre is the first part of Cloverfield (2008).
As for editing Footage, Saiju says, “The film didn’t need much of an editing since I shot only what we wanted. That is the advantage when you are an editor and director. Usually a director would shoot a scene from several angles so as to help the editor with enough choices. That was not needed here,” he says.
Saiju stresses that direction just happened in his decade-long career. “I had no plans to become an editor let alone a director. I have no background related to cinema. It’s that I loved watching films and eventually ended up here.”
He started a design company, Papaya Media, with friends, one of them being filmmaker Aashiq Abu. When Aashiq became a director, Saiju designed posters for his movies. He later shot a promotion video for Aashiq’s film, Da Thadiya, and debuted as an editor in his film, Gangster.
“I have this habit of watching at least one film a day. I try to do that even now. Cinema fascinates me and as I went behind that, I decided to direct.”
His next project, Munpe, starring Tovino Thomas, is in the pre-production stage.
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