Antariksham 9000 KMPH director Sankalp Reddy: We took 40 days to shoot the anti-gravity scenes

The story is about four astronauts who are on a mission. During their visit to space, they face unexpected hurdles. So, how they solve those issues is the basic outline of the story. In two hours twenty minutes of the film, almost one and a half hours of the story takes place in space.

Q. How was the cast finalised for Antariksham 9000 KMPH?

Varun Tej was just my instinct. We roped in Aditi Rao Hydari after watching her act in Mani Ratnam’s Cheliya (Kaatru Veliyidai). The remaining actors were roped in after discussing with my team.

Q. Ghazi and Antariksham 9000 KMPH, both are out-of-the-box concepts. What was your approach to the stories?

I got the idea of Ghazi when I saw a submarine in Vizag. Similarly, the idea of making Antariksham came from an article I read in the newspaper. There was no intention behind making such films. I like the idea, I worked on it.

Q. Both are VFX-heavy films.

I like VFX but that doesn’t mean that I only prefer making VFX-driven films. I have an idea about how graphics work and the limitations that come with it. That’s why I am able to do these projects.

Q. What kind of research did you do for Antariksham 9000 KMPH?

While working on Ghazi, I researched on the submarine warfare tactics, how the compartments in a submarine appear, its operational process and even the sound effects related to torpedoes launch. Somewhat similar research went into making of Antariksham 9000 KMPH in respect to the space-related elements. For instance, my research included limitations of the spaceship and astronauts, the costumes, the protection gears and other things. I did research based on the online material available on NASA, ISRO websites and scientific journals.

Having said that, we have taken some cinematic liberties.

Q. Did you take any reference for the film?

Story wise, I didn’t take any reference but for execution, I observed films such as Gravity and Interstellar.

Q. How did you shoot zero gravity scenes in the film?

We shot all the zero gravity scenes by using the ropes. Now, keeping actors on rope for days or even hours is almost impossible because it puts their health at risk. These scenes had to be shot in a go. We shot for 70 days out of which it took us 40 days to shoot the anti-gravity scenes.