The COVID-19 lockdown is a hard blow to the entertainment sector but instead of lamenting and fretting, several artists decided to make use of the time in the best possible manner, exploring the limited opportunities. Vishnu Udayan, an award-winning short film maker from Thiruvananthapuram, along with his friend Kiran Ashokan has brought out 'Quarantine Series', a mini-series based on the real-life incidents and conversations happening during the lockdown.
“Two weeks into the lockdown, there were so many happenings – weddings were postponed, friends stuck at various parts of the world, many working from home, several others binge-watching on OTT platforms, online challenges going on… It was during a conversation that Kiran and I came up with the idea. When we explained the concept, a friend offered to act and immediately, we shot, edited and released the two-minute video. It was an impromptu start,” recalls Vishnu, the director of 'Quarantine Series', which, so far, has aired 15 episodes, each video two to four minutes long.
Click here to visit the Youtube playlist of Quarantine Series
Produced by Green Parrot Talkies, the video production firm he founded with two friends, Vishnu’s creative series, though experimental, tells tales from everyday life, in a simple and honest manner, as if a camera is switched on at a random space with no one knowing about it. The concept of two episodes are by Sruthi Pavithran, the rest are Kiran’s. The characters include, couples, siblings, friends, parents and children, touching upon rivalry, frustration, loneliness, social media obsession, funny conversations, half-left missions and quirky thoughts.
Vishnu says, “We wanted to keep it normal, real life conversations. Most of them are conceptualised as video chats. All of the actors shot the videos by themselves on their phones.” Apart from Kiran, Chinchu Augustine, Madhuri J K, Smitha Bhaskar, Syju John, Athira Sivanand, Malavika Murali, Devika Murali, Dr Rajkumar, Ashwin Jayan, Sanju Prabhakar, Sanjay Nair, Sachin Sathyan and Gibin G Nair acted in the series. All the actors pulled off their roles convincingly, brimming with rawness. Vishnu surprises by revealing that most of them are newbies. “Barring Dr Rajkumar and Gibin, all the others are appearing before the camera for the first time. We wanted this to be a platform for aspiring actors. The lockdown could be a fruitful period for talents out there who are looking for a break,” he says.
Interestingly, the actors who play couples, siblings and friends have never met each other ever, even during the filming. “Two episodes were shot as a conversation happening in the same room, but the actors who play brother and sister do not know each other at all; one is in Thrissur and the other in Thiruvananthapuram,” says Vishnu, who shaped up the film on the editing table, his first attempt in editing, which he has fallen in love with.
Link to Episode 7, featuring Madhuri and Sanju:
“We discuss the concept for the day in the morning. By noon, the shots to be set are explained to the actors over phone, with instructions on recording voice with clarity. We only stress on extra shots and loud dialogue delivery, which the actors are free to improvise. After editing, the episode is released either in the evening or the next day morning,” he says.
The mini-series has become quite popular, one of the episodes, featuring fake news had received a great response. The team is planning a full-fledged web series with the same cast and crew after the lockdown period. “Now people are sitting at homes watching series, movies and exploring OTT platforms, there will be a web series boom in the near future. We have a few more concepts for the 'Quarantine series', and a few out-of-the-box plans. As of now, we are going with the flow,” says Vishnu.
Link to Episode 12 featuring Athira and Rajkumar:
