Eleven Times Eleven

While the premise of the film is pretty simple — a computer virus that proves fatal for the gamers,it’s treatment and execution that Chandra,along with producer Ranjan Singh,might have scored in. A concept thriller,Project 11’s unique selling point lies in the fact that it has been shot in 11 different cities across the world by 11 different directors,on a shoe-string budget.

“Unlike a lot of collaborative films,Project 11 is not an episodic film. It’s a story set in 11 cities with 11 principal characters,” says Chandra,who started to work on the film in June this year. That’s when he started seeking out like-minded people who were ‘game’ for this maverick project,and for whom the dateline 11/11/11 was symbolic.

“It’s a major event for me,” says the Mumbai-based filmmaker,who writes for television and films and is known for TV series such as Tedhi Baat Shekhar Ke Saath ,Kumbhkaran and Angrezi Mein Kehte Hain. He has also penned Oscar-nominated short film Kavi and other films like Silent Voices and A Green Agony .

Currently writing additional dialogues for Deepti Naval and Farooque Sheikh starrer Listen Amaya,Chandra,along with Singh (who is credited with supporting Indie cinema with his marketing strategies) ran an invitation on Facebook. Following this random sampling through the website,Chandra chose 10 directors and started exchanging notes — scripts,shot compositions,layouts,strategy,actors and production. “As a director,it is difficult to give up control,but it was required here,” he adds.

The beauty of the film is in its multi-culturalism: filmmakers,technicians and actors from diverse backgrounds coming together for one project.

Each of the 11 directors has shot in their own country: Pakistan portions were shot in a Balochistan village,cameras panned to Old Beijing with charming tiled roofs and wooden houses,criss-crossed through alleys of Old Luxembourg and also the graffiti sprayed walls of Tel Aviv. What connected all of them was the story. They kept in touch using the video calling software,Skype.

“Computer virus acquiring a physical form is not a far-fetched idea,and this film is set in real time. Such ideas require huge funding,which was difficult for me. So,we took the ‘viral’ path,” says Chandra. There were certain obstacles too — massive power cuts in Tanzania and a cyclone alert in Tokyo.

There is an impressive line-up of actors that includes Nilton Martins from Luxembourg,Chuki Mlehele,who is a star of the Tanzanian Film Industry,Sydney Walsh,who has appeared in CSI: NY ,NYPD Blue,while Zbigniew Sieciechowicz is a very senior Polish actor based in London. The Indian gamer,Pinatubo,the architect of the video game in the film,is being played by Siddhant Karnik.

Come November 11,the film will release on http://www.glamsham.com at sharp 11:11am. “This is a precursor,a teaser for things to come. Once this works,the plot will be developed into a full-length

feature film,Project 12,by next year,to be released on 12/12/12,”

says Chandra.