100-member team releases first part of trilogy sci-fi film

One of the toughest undergraduate academic schedules in the country proved no deterrent for the superhero fantasy of these medicos at the Jawaharlal Institute of Post graduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER).

Armed with nothing more than their imagination and some personal computers, laptops and a camera, a team of around 100 students spanning four batches and working over three years have recently released the first part of a sci-fi trilogy, graphics-loaded film, Nemesys: A Tale of Vengeance , shot on a shoestring budget and made entirely by them in-house from start to finish.

Given JIPMER’s diversity of students, the cast and crew included students from Kashmir to Kerala, say the team.

Directed by student Sajjad Rahman Saleem under the banner of DGC (Docs Gone Crazy) Entertainment, the first part of the trilogy was released on YouTube last month, garnering more than 2,000 views so far.

Set in 2025, the film is the story of an underground genetic modification experiment gone horribly wrong, unleashing on the world a superpower-strong humanoid on the path of destruction.

The idea for the film took off with Mr. Sajjad’s roommate Favaz Vellekat’s fascination for animated films. Having already made two animated short films as a teen, he was inspired by the 2008 film Iron Man that used computer-generated imagery (CGI) alongside filming on actual locations.

A group effort

When Mr. Favaz expressed his dream to attempt something similar, his fellow medicos, all of them superhero fans of course, jumped in.

Their budget did not cross Rs.5,000, with the team innovating and spending when only absolutely necessary. “We realised that popular movies like Avatar had been created on an enormous budget. We were discouraged, thinking that considerable investment would be a prerequisite, whereas we had neither the income nor the sponsors. That is when we decided to prove that a short film could be made on the least budget possible, without compromising on the quality,” says Mr. Sajjad.

Real and virtual world

Undoubtedly, the graphics which merge the real and virtual worlds is the highlight of the film. “We wanted to include action and graphics in a single short film, which was a challenge. Each second of graphics after about three hours of developing took approximately two to three days just for rendering (final processing of creating the actual image from a prepared scene). We lost almost two laptops owing to overheating during the rendering process,” says Mr. Sajjad.

“Favaz has learnt about graphics extensively. He designed the graphic models of cars, robots and buildings, after which we shot with people on actual locations. The virtual and real worlds were then merged,” he adds. The arrival of Favaz’s brother, Faheem Vellekat (student of Indira Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute) to Puducherry was also a boost, given his expertise in graphics, VFX (visual effects) and colouring, says Mr. Sajjad. For dubbing and sound recording, student Sharan Murali went about converting the JIPMER Music Room into a studio. “With the help of the technical committee, microphones, monitors, mixers and speakers were installed and the ‘studio’ witnessed 150 hours of dubbing and music making. It was a great learning experience,” says Mr. Sajjad.

The film has been set almost entirely in JIPMER, with a few scenes in the U.A.E.

The team wants to release the second part before end- January 2016.

With the core group finishing their medical internship this year, the team hopes the final part can be released on convocation day, July 2016.

The team has been inspired by former President A.P.J Abdul Kalam whose message it was ‘to dare to dream,’ says Mr. Sajjad. “The idea of doing the film was purely based on our passion as well as the excitement of facing the numerous challenges that came along. This project is our way of inspiring other youngsters and reminding them that no dream is too hard to fulfil. If we do generate sufficient funds, we propose to donate 15 per cent of the proceeds to the SMILE foundation in Puducherry,” says Mr. Sajjad. It will be something to remember their years at JIPMER, he signs off.