Ankur Kapoor, an award-winning independent filmmaker from the city and the owner of Q Studios in Delhi, has decided to venture into the lesser known territory of sci-fi genre in India with what he has labelled, Project Fusebox. Before you contest that the Indian film industry had already got there with Ra.One or Krrish, he discounts such films as “cheesy” and “over the top”, saying India needs to move beyond the superhero and futuristic love stories.
The story of the film, Ankur tells us, follows an 11-year-old girl who lives on a desolated cottage atop a hill along with her parents and grandparents, and her journey through a world where most humans have been replaced by personality-simulated computer programmes. “I hope to avoid the regular Bollywood clichés, because I believe that the Indian audiences deserve at least one genuine film in this genre,” says he. With Rs 25 lakh required to bring this idea to fruition, Ankur has turned to crowd funding, wherein he reaches out to the public through social media and seeks help in bankrolling this idea as opposed to going to major studios for help.
To further help himself, the filmmaker is making a 15-minute film to pique peoples’ interest, he says. “Sci-fi is still a new concept in Bollywood and I need the short film first so that I can have the credibility to later pitch this idea to studios,” he explains, adding, “crowd sourcing is a great way to get Project Fusebox going without studio involvement because they almost always change the story.” A major coup for Ankur has been getting Jan Morgenstern, a noted German music and audio composer on board.
With about 20 short films to his credit, which have been screened across India and abroad, Ankur also has to his name awards won at Mumbai and Delhi’s The 48 Hour Film Project. Project Fusebox, however, will be his first attempt at making a feature film. But, he believes it was long overdue. “I felt like it was time for me to take the plunge. We have already shortlisted locations in Uttarakhand for the cottage scene and we’ll also be making a set in either Chandigarh or Delhi,” he shares.
{{/usCountry}}With about 20 short films to his credit, which have been screened across India and abroad, Ankur also has to his name awards won at Mumbai and Delhi’s The 48 Hour Film Project. Project Fusebox, however, will be his first attempt at making a feature film. But, he believes it was long overdue. “I felt like it was time for me to take the plunge. We have already shortlisted locations in Uttarakhand for the cottage scene and we’ll also be making a set in either Chandigarh or Delhi,” he shares.
{{/usCountry}}On the recent trend of what Ankur believes are inane films crossing the 200-crore mark in terms of collections, he quips, “Go watch the right films in theaters and support indie cinema by buying official merchandise, not pirated copies.”