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 ‘Framed’ is an independently-made Indian
English feature film to be released in Chennai at Sathyam
Cinemas on August 24 followed by release in other metros and
mini metros.
With no star names attached, Rawfilm’s maiden
production is an indie film in the truest sense of the word,
making it an unusual cinema-going experience in the country
today, says its director Chetan Shah. 'Framed' is shot on the
rarely-used high definition digital format using live sound,
thus avoiding the need for dubbing, to achieve as natural a feel
as cinematically possible, Chetan added. 'Framed', certified 'U'
by the Censor Board, has a running time of two hours.
"The movie also has four original songs in
Hindi and Hinglish," pointed out Chetan. The songs in 'Framed'
have been composed by ad-film jingle music directors
Aravind-Shankar, Paul Jacob, R Anandh and Sunil Milner. Noted
classical-contemporary dancer Nirmala Seshadri has choreographed
the dance movements for natural spontaneity.
The theme music and background score - using only guitar sounds
- has been composed and performed by Boston-based guitarist
Prasanna. Despite the production’s tight
budget, the cast and crew have been assembled from Boston to
Bangalore. Acclaimed cinematographer Navroze Contactor and actor
Ruchika Chanana are from Bangalore. Actor Rohan Gupta is
studying drama in New York. Actors Shaun
Williams, Asim Sharma and Tinnu Anand are Bombay based. And the
director and other members of the cast: Karthik Kumar, Lekha,
Malavika, P C Ramakrishna, Yusuf Mohamed, Sudhir Ahuja and
Dhritiman Chaterji are from Chennai.
Chetan Shah adds, "The cast is mostly drawn
from stage artistes who have performed on the Chennai, Bangalore
and Mumbai stage, most of who are first timers on film."
'Framed' centres on a group of college
students who think a harmless prank has resulted in their dean’s
death. They cover their tracks making it look like an accident
but when they stumble upon a sinister conspiracy behind their
role in the episode they must follow the clues and unravel the
mystery. Within this murder mystery thriller format, the film
engages with a broader theme questioning the veracity of what
the camera records and the authenticity of what the eye sees.
Chetan Shah, a philosophy graduate from
Cambridge, worked on David Lean’s ‘A Passage to India’ before he
established himself as an independent film-maker of
international documentaries, ads, corporate videos and TV
serials. His Malay language serial for Singapore TV achieved the
highest ratings for a drama serial in the history of the channel
and won six awards. Chetan Shah has written three plays in
English which have been successfully staged.
"'Framed' is an attempt towards believable, intelligent
entertainment for the entire family," says Chetan, adding that
"it's a thought-provoking thriller with elements of fun and
romance." R Rangaraj
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