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Film production is underway for an English-Hindi movie to be shot entirely in Bahrain, showcasing the beauty of the island and the calibre of its diasporic artistic talent.
The independent Indian crime thriller, titled It Happened That Night, has been produced by Sunil Sasheendran and co-produced by Solitary Queen Studios’ Nabeel Bin Riaz and Anton Miraj, and will be released worldwide on Amazon Prime Video by the end of the year.
Nabeel, the film’s director and co-writer, told GulfWeekly: “The goal of this project is to bring to life a feature film that breathes Bahrain in all its elements. The Indian diaspora in the GCC, especially Bahrain, is significant and we intend to showcase this diversity in our project. The entire cast and crew of the film are expats who were born and bred in the GCC, and are Bahraini at heart.
“As the saying goes, home is where the heart is. We are trying to showcase Bahrain, our home, to the world through our film. We believe the film will create a lasting and impressive impact in the world of entertainment for viewers across the globe.”
The bilingual whodunit flick tells the story of a young policeman, Imran Dalwai (Sunil Sasheendran), who, after his career is destroyed by a mistaken arrest, sets out to prove his own innocence and catch the real murderer.
In addition to scenic locations on the island, the film will highlight local talent like actors Ashwin Shenoy, Sneha Ajith and Amy Vaya, and musicians Xenai (Ashwin’s rap alias) and Romaan.
Nabeel added: “Anton and I were introduced three years ago by a mutual friend. Anton, being an alumni from New York Film Academy, was looking for people to make films with. I met Sunil when he was looking for someone to direct a separate short film.
“As passionate film lovers, we connected. Sunil expressed his interest in funding the project, Anton signed up to be the director of photography and we decided to fund the project ourselves.”
Nabeel, an Indian expat born in Saudi Arabia, started writing the script eight years ago with a vision of filming the entire movie in his adopted homeland. It took him seven years and countless edits before he was able to find the right team that shared his vision.
Nabeel studied filmmaking in college while interning at production houses in Mumbai, India, which is the capital of Bollywood. His short film Solace won the best short film award at the Film Employees Federation of Kerala Short Film Award.
For this project, he has been inspired by numerous murder mysteries, like Zodiac, American Psycho and Inferno.
He added: “I have been influenced by directors like Christopher Nolan, known for his trademark non-linear storytelling, where he presents the plot of a movie out of order, which is apparent in Memento and Batman Begins.
“I am also inspired by David Fincher (Fight Club), who is grounded in dark stylised realism. His films are dark, but not in a traditional sense. Viewers are encouraged to peer into the shadows and mine for details.
“Another director who inspires me and advised me once is Anurag Kashyap (The Lunchbox) who has influenced many filmmakers. He’s the one who took Indian cinema abroad and gave the international market an inside look into our films.”
Despite their entrepreneurial spirit, the team has faced challenges due to the public health social distancing regulations as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The crew is now doing reshoots and looking for supporting cast members, aspiring writers, cinematographers, photographers, film makers and musicians to assist on the project.
If you are interested in being a part of the cast and crew, contact the team via Instagram: @thesilenttraveller and @antonmirajphotography.
