Avichi Social Media Accounts:

Facebook Page- https://www.facebook.com/avichithefilm/

Instagram- @avichithefilm (http://instagram.com/avichithefilm)

Twitter- @avichithefilm

What inspired you to create “Avichi”?

I was writing a film for a few years. As it was my first feature length film, I kept working on it, kept developing it and when I finished it, I realized that it was too big in terms of the budget. It would take a miracle to get it financed especially as my first film, but more importantly the story structure, the way I wanted to tell it and the atmosphere that needed to be created to bring that film to life I had not done any thing like that before. I needed to explore on a smaller scale how to make a film that is not set in any particular time or place, a film that creates its own world by creating a unique atmosphere. So I started working on something that I could make on a smaller budget and would be an extension of the world I had already created. And Avichi came to life.

I found it very interesting and artistic, the absence of dialogues in the film but why did you decide to do it so? And I think it is a brilliant idea because you can take your film to any corner of the planet and people will understand the plot.

It was not a conscious choice in the beginning. My first drafts usually end up as visual descriptions of scenes. The emphasis is more on where the character is, their subtle behaviors, reactions to things rather than dialogues. Then I go back and add dialogues to take the story further or even sometimes out of fear of not communicating it to the audience. But in the case of Avichi, every time I went back, adding a dialogue, it would some how feel irrelevant. It would take some life out of the film. A film has a way of telling you what it wants and what it doesn’t.

Also for me when actors come into the mix I don’t expect them to be puppets, I want them to be storytellers. I want them to tell the story with me. So when the actors came on board and we started rehearsing, my first direction to them was that, whenever you feel uncomfortable or feel the need to speak just say what you feel and I will find a way to incorporate that to the script. But surprisingly and more to the credit of the actors, they never needed to vocalize anything. Everything just flowed freely. 
And I think one of the reasons for this is that Avichi is a film that explores animalistic side of humans in a world devoid of hope. Having no dialogues created an atmosphere that brought all that into the forefront.

I know that to work on a tight budget is a challenge; but what, besides that, was the greatest challenge on filming Avichi?

It is an extension of a small budget but the size of crew on Avichi was 8 to 10 people depending on the day and that too out in the wilderness in extreme winters. This meant that the actors were carrying equipments into the wilderness, the cinematographer was climbing trees to rig the lights, our EP was digging holes, lighting fire and a million other things- basically whatever the scene required. All this meant chaos but fortunately it was controlled chaos, thanks to an unimaginable & amazing crew. The fear was not to let the chaos leak into the film. Avichi needed to have a particular feel to it, a particular pace and a definite atmosphere. So it was extremely important that between action and cut, for all the chaos to disappear and for those few seconds we all needed to transport ourselves into the world of Avichi. So that we could tell the story the way it deserved to be told.

How did you cast the team that worked on the film?

From the cinematographer to the actors, basically everyone in the team are people I have been working with for almost 10 years now on almost every project. The common feeling for me has always been that after every project I would think I had let them down. They are such talented, versatile people that I would always feel I could have pushed them further, I could have given them something more to sink their teeth into. So when Avichi came along I was excited. I knew I had something that would challenge them and knowing them, they would be thrilled. Without them I would not even have dared to make a film like Avichi, especially with the budget that we had.

The film has a very strong and unique atmosphere to it. Was that a conscious choice on your part?

Right from the beginning, when Avichi was just a concept, I knew it had to be told in a way where the external world and the internal conflict in the minds of the characters had to sync. Visually the world had to mimic what the characters were feeling. The soundscape inside the head of the characters had to leak out and engulf the world around them and fill it with life. The music had to be the bridge that connects the external and internal world in an inseparable bond. This, then, gave me an opportunity to create a world that is unique and would give the audience a new experience while staying true to the story I wanted to tell.

What are your expectations for Avichi?

Well, as a filmmaker what you really want is to make the people connect with your film, make them feel the way you feel when you watch the films that inspire you. I hope that, with Avichi I can take the audience on a journey they’ve never been on. And if I can do that, then I can then start my journey of making more films and telling more stories, which frankly are burning a hole in my head.

Thank you, Varun! We wish an excellent future to your film. It is a real work of art.