In a first, Kannada film shot using ‘computer screen’ concept

Express News Service

Love in the Time of Covid is an upcoming romantic comedy-drama that will be an experiment of sorts. Director Jayanth Seege S, who has channeled the film with a computer screen concept, has roped in former Bigg Boss Kannada contestant, actor and singer Shruti Prakash, along with Rakesh Maiya, in the lead.

This shooting for this feature film is complete and post-production work is now on. Set during the lockdown, Jayanth’s romcom is inspired by Searching, a film that was first made using the ‘computer screen’ concept. Another film that employs this concept is Malayalam film, C U Soon.

“In this method the film is shot on a computer screen, and is more device-based. Though some thrillers have been made using this concept, this is the first time it is being used for the romantic comedy genre,” explains the director. In fact Jayanth did give a thriller a try, but after it didn’t work out, he decided to switch genres.   

Sharing how he went about this rom-com, Jayanth said he reconnected with an old friend, Sheela, on social media. “This became my one-liner— about two good friends connecting in the time of Covid. The story revolves around the lockdown,” says the director, who has named Shruti’s character as Sheela.

“The two lead actors are former collegemates who rekindle their romance after a virtual meeting during the pandemic. It also looks at how the lockdown affects their relationship. This is the crux of the story,” he further adds.

Interestingly, the entire episode has been shot individually without the actors coming face to face. “Since the story happens during the lockdown, we wanted to shoot it keeping the actual situation in mind. There’s a lot of usage of social media— all of this to keep it realistic. Every episode was shot separately. This film uses a completely new technology,” he says.

Apart from the lead actors, the film’s cast also comprises Apoorva Bharadwaj, Goutham HC, Shankar Murthy, Shravan Aithal, and Pavan Venugopal.

The movie consists of four songs and brings together a couple of music directors. The film’s music and background are by Bharath B J of Simple Agi Ondh Love Story fame. The original soundtrack is by Pravana Karanth and Sanjeevini Shastry. The film’s camerawork is handled by Pradeep B Reddy and has costumes designed by Shachina Haggar.

The film which was shot in December, will be ready for release in theatres in about two months. “We will take a call about the medium of release once the film is ready,” says Jayanth, who has previously worked as an assistant director for Rakshit Shetty’s Ulidavaru Kandante. He is also the writer of Girigtle, a short story for the anthology Katha Sangama, starring Raj B Shetty.

The director, who has worked on the visual effects of Arishadvarga made his debut with 96. “It is a thriller starring Sheetal Shetty and is yet to see its release and we are in talks with an OTT platform. Love in the Time of Covid will be my second project,” he says.

Love on screen

Shruti was excited to shoot for a film in the comfort of her home. “This is a film which was shot without meeting the hero. Imagine romancing anyone without even seeing the person. This is what I did,” she chuckles.