Eleven Times Eleven

While the premise of the film is pretty simple — a computer virus that proves fatal for the gamers,it’s treatment and execution that Chandra,along with producer Ranjan Singh,might have scored in. A concept thriller,Project 11’s unique selling point lies in the fact that it has been shot in 11 different cities across the world by 11 different directors,on a shoe-string budget.

“Unlike a lot of collaborative films,Project 11 is not an episodic film. It’s a story set in 11 cities with 11 principal characters,” says Chandra,who started to work on the film in June this year. That’s when he started seeking out like-minded people who were ‘game’ for this maverick project,and for whom the dateline 11/11/11

was symbolic.

“It’s a major event for me,” says the Mumbai-based filmmaker,who writes for television and films. He has penned Oscar-nominated short film Kavi and other films like Silent Voices and A Green Agony.

Currently writing additional dialogues for the film Listen Amaya with Deepti Naval and Farooque Sheikh in lead,Chandra,along with Singh (who is credited with supporting Indie cinema with his marketing strategies) ran an invitation on Facebook. Following this random sampling through the website,Chandra chose 10 directors and started exchanging notes — scripts,shot compositions,layouts,strategy,actors and production.

The beauty of the film is in its multi-culturalism: filmmakers,technicians and actors from diverse backgrounds coming together for one project.

Come November 11,the film will release on at sharp 11:11am. “This is a precursor,a teaser for things to come. Once this works,the plot will be developed into a full-length feature film,Project 12,by next year,to be released on 12/12/12,” says Chandra.