Pandemic took me back to a less busy era: Mrinal

The actor felt that 2020 gave him time to explore collaborative projects with his friends

Actor Mrinal Dutt’s latest project is a virtually-shot short film, ‘55km/sec’. The sci-fi short directed by Arati Kadav will see him starring opposite Richa Chadda. Set to release mid-Jan, it revolves around a time just before a meteor hits the Earth.

The story explores human connections and relations in times of distress.

Metrolife catches up with Mrinal about shooting virtually and how the pandemic has treated him.

2019 was a busy year for you. How was the shift to 2020? How did you spend your time in the pandemic?

2019 was mostly a busy year but to be honest, this past year has been so stark in nature to it that the memory of 2019 has faded already.

Fortunately for me, the pandemic was great. It reminded me of our childhood when there was nowhere to go and nothing to do; you get to learn, play, eat and sleep and you stay at home.

To be self-sufficient was amazing and I was lucky to be around friends with similar interests. We ended up collaborating and creating music videos, short films and other fun stuff from our homes.

What drew you to 55km/sec?

I have known Arati for some time now and have been wanting to work with her. We had a good location and we thought we could weave a story around it. Arati was very prompt with writing the script.

I would have done anything Arati would have thrown at me but what she wrote was so exciting.

What was it like shooting virtually?

It was definitely a different experience than what we are used to but we got used to it really quick. Having less or no people was a luxury. The director and DOP would join us on Zoom. Having done the mock shoot before, it was easy to just go in and shoot.

What was a little difficult was the fact that we had to send every take via Whatsapp for the director to view it and that would take time. But all in all, we managed pretty well.

Do you have any other projects in the pipeline?

Yes, I am working on a show with the makers of 'Asur'. Then there is 'Hello Mini' season 2 and 3.

My film 'The lonely prince' will also have its digital release soon. Then I have another short film called ‘A moment’ set to release on Hotstar soon.