One would expect that after the massive cyclone that hit Fiji, the Pacific island country last Tuesday, it would dissuade filmmaker Anubhav Sinha from shooting his next film, a 3D venture there. However, Sinha is still sticking with his original plans.
In fact, the Fiji government's subsidies, ranging from 15 to 47 per cent, will also reduce his production cost by about 40 per cent.
The filmmaker says, "While that part is prone to cyclones, the cyclone season gets over by the end of April. And we're planning to start shooting there form May 7, " he says, adding that his core technical team had done a recce in Fiji recently and most of the film will be shot under water.
Sinha, however, declines to get into the numbers saved by way of subsidies, insisting that he can't comment anything for sure until the Fiji schedule is underway.
"Suffice to say that we are getting the best possible deal, " points out the producer who has entrusted debutant Gurmeet Singh to helm the film with newcomers. Considering that a project like this would cost about R 10 crore to make, it is learnt that Sinha is saving about R 4 crore by shooting there, thanks to the subsidies.
Speaking about the buzz that he's making a desi version of Hollywood film Jaws with sharks being the villains in this 90-100 minute story, the filmmaker denies it. "In fact, I'm planning a survivor series of films, called Warning.
The first is set against the backdrop of a crisis in the ocean that also affects a group of friends who have ventured there. How some of them survive and some of them fail to make it forms the crux of my story, " he concludes.