New Delhi: Writer-director Ravi Muppa’s short film Incognito premieres on Wednesday on Oh Flip Shorts, the new YouTube channel for short films started by filmmaker Anurag Kashyap. According to Muppa, the industry has long needed a “tastemaker” and curator figure who assures viewers that a short film is worth their time.
“Your short film can get lost on OTT and YouTube because there is too much content. What’s missing is a platform that vouches for quality. Kashyap and Ranjan Singh have the right ingredients for it and the credibility for that role. They are promising to showcase films of all types and build a community around it,” Muppa told ThePrint over a Zoom call in an exclusive interview.
Oh Flip Shorts is the brainchild of producer Ranjan Singh, with Kashyap coming on board as a curator. The plan is to release one new short film every month, and slowly build an audience for independent short-form storytelling.
Muppa, who previously earned development credits in films like Stree (2018), Bala (2019) and The Family Man (2019-present), spoke about the difficulties faced by short filmmakers.
“There is no ecosystem and there are very few grants. You will get a grant if you make a film on the environment, climate change or similar topics,” he said.
Drawing a comparison between India and Europe, he said that India lacks a proper system for first-time filmmakers, particularly when it comes to feature films and short films.
“It is always a leap of faith. An experiment,” he added. “There is no other way, but no better way.”
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Make a short film to sell your feature
Incognito follows a cash-strapped receptionist who earns extra money by secretly filming guests and selling the footage. Things take a darker turn when he films a woman who appears to be a trafficking victim, leaving him torn between staying safe or stepping in to help.
Incognito already had a strong festival run, screening at more than 20 international festivals. It was also screened at the Oscar-qualifying Palm Springs International ShortFest.
Conversations around a feature-length version of the 25-minute Incognito are now underway, with Invention Studios and Campfire Studios joining Flip Films as co-producers.
“Feature film is the mother, and the short is the baby. In fact I first wrote the feature film. But to give producers, audiences a sense of my story, I created a short film,” he explained.
Muppa shared how that decision worked in his favour. Beyond being well received on the festival circuit, which brought Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane on board as producers, the short also gave him constructive feedback from festival audiences.
“Their reaction and review helped me to rewrite the feature. The feature film script is radically different now from what I originally wrote. But the core of the story, the message of the story is the same,” he said.
That feedback also led him to change the film’s setting from India to the US.
“It will be an American film with an Indian protagonist,” he added.
Speaking about his approach of writing a feature first and then shooting a short film out of it, Muppa said the concept itself isn’t new, but he’s surprised that more Indian filmmakers don’t follow this route.
“The short film tells the tone of the feature. It is such a great way to see what a first time filmmaker brings to the table, a great way to convince producers to back your script,” he said, calling the short an “MVP.”
(Edited by Stela Dey)