Time travel is a subject that fascinates us. Probably, because the idea of such a thing is incredibly intriguing and holds a certain mystique that inevitably draws us in. In turn, a lot of movies about time travel have been made. And what if sarcasm and comedy blend with the time travel – that's how the mini film ‘Project Kronos’ was born – as India's first mockumentary time-travel comedy.
The team
The film was scripted by Cherian and his friend, Vishnu Premkumar. Interestingly, both of them have acted too. While Vishnu played the hero, Cherian played the villain. Moreover, the cinematographer is Cherian’s brother Joseph C Mathew.
“I always had a fascination for movies. But each time I approach people for direction, I am asked to show proof of work. And since there are too many short films these days, I wanted to do a step ahead of it. And that's how I decided to make a mini-film,” said Cherian.
The director is an IT professional based in Kanjirapally near Kottayam.
Project Kronos
Mockumentaries present fictional stories shot in the documentary style of filmmaking, and the 45-minutes long video here include a mock interview through which the plot is revealed.
Dimitry Kudukkathundiyil is being interviewed. He has designed a time travel machine and a few people are behind him to get the machine. Why, that you should find out after watching the film.
Ask Cherian about the title and he says, “I wanted to connect with the Indian mythology with regard to time. But inspite of much search, I couldn't find that could establish a connection with the time travel. So, ultimately, I opted with the greek God of time – Kronos.
Unique concept
" Many time travel stories are out there. We, as makers, have tried to justify the genre here. People are visually educated these days and they need different and innovative approach. That's what I have tried to do,” said Cherian.
Talking about the inspiration, “I had a thread for this since a long time and I used to wonder why time travel movies are not coming in Malayalam. Right from the begining credits, everything was intentionally designed to set the tone of the movie.”
There were instances were our hero is seen at varied situations. He travels back to the time when directors Siby Malayil and Faasil were auditioning for a villian. He meets up Mohanlal there and not just that the refrences goes to the character from Lucifer movie - Zayed Masood including the ‘Bhaijaan’ calls.
Cherian points that though there's been a rise in the making of short films especially during the pandemic era, he had finished shooting this one before lockdown. And did the post-production while the lockdown was on.
Wide applauds
Cherian says the reception has been positive right from the time it was released on YouTube. Many netizens prasied the video for it's excellent concept and execution.
