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7 Rounds is about a racially-driven incident that happens in a bar.
What message were you trying to get across and why do you think
this is such an important issue to highlight?
It was defi nitely a controversial topic to work with. It was inspired by a hate
crime that occurred in February 2018 at a bar in Kansas. Our main aim was to
shed light on how the current political climate, and rhetoric being used by the
current government, is beginning to signifi cantly cause a racial distress not only
in America but also globally. It’s a country that has struggled with racism for
years, but you’d be a fool not to admit that there was defi nitely some level of
progress over the past decade or so. Now suddenly, it feels like we’re travelling
back in time, and since three people involved in the production are immigrants
in America, we felt like we should be the ones to send this message across. I
think the success of this movie is purely based on its message, that with a slight
amount of racial tolerance, all of this blood, gore, sadness and hate can come to
an end. We wanted people to question if it’s really that hard to care and value
someone’s life, without basing it on their skin colour or religion.

How did the screenplay writing process for 7 Rounds work? How many
people were involved?
Initially, it involved three people, both of whom are very close to me. One of them
was the lead actor, Akshun Abhimanyu, and the other was George Saviddis, the
director of the fi lm. Akshun pitched me the idea of the incident that had taken
place in Kansas, and George happened to be my best friend, and coincidentally
a fantastic director, so we got him on board. Together, we used the incident as
inspiration, and developed the characters and plot points. Once we had a decent
outline, I penned down the entire screenplay.

Did you expect your fi lm to be selected for the Cannes Short Film Festival?
How did you fi nd out?
Well we were very proud of the fi nal product, but Cannes — that was something
we laughed about a couple years back. It was the day after I landed in Dubai when
I got the call from George at around 3am. I missed the call, but it woke me up, and
I noticed my notifi cations had blown up. It was unreal. For the longest time, I was
convinced that the jetlag was playing mind games with me.

What’s your eventual goal? Do you want to move into proper movie-making
or continue with short fi lms?
I want to do both. I mean I can speak for most fi lmmakers out there when I
say that short fi lms are a stepping stone, and if you have a chance to make a
full-length feature, you’re not going to deny that opportunity. With that being
said, short fi lms are extremely underrated. Just because it lacks the commercial
success, doesn’t mean it’s not “proper movie-making”. As a writer, it is far more
challenging to convey a message in 15 minutes, than in two hours. Short fi lms for What do you do to unwind on weekends?
me, are pure, personal, and often way more artistic and powerful than half of the A speakeasy bar, a small dance fl oor in the corner where you’re not forced to
commercial feature releases out there. dance but it’s your choice, and of course, good company.

You’ve written other screenplays for Fated (2017) and Spice Aff air (2017), What keeps you motivated every day?
among others. Where do your ideas come from? Choosing this line of work, you have no option but to force yourself to stay
Most of my work that has been produced in LA has been work for hire. I’ve had motivated. It’s shaky and unpredictable. Today I’m going to Cannes, but
directors/producers approach me with a certain concept, after which I retreat into tomorrow I could be homeless in Hollywood. My passion for it defi nitely fuels
my bat cave for a week or so, and attempt to make it come to life. When it comes most of my motivation. Some days, it’s harder than most. But I think if you
to writing about my own ideas, it just sort of happens. An idea can come from have a good amount of faith in your abilities, and you try not to get carried
what I am reading, watching, or even during a conversation — that’s the exciting away by a hint of success or let failure rattle you, you’ll make it. At least that’s
bit. You never know what you’re going to get. what I keep telling myself.

In your opinion, what is the key to writing an impactful screenplay? In your opinion, where do you want to see the future of short fi lms?
Characters. Characters. Characters. Pick any award-winning successful movie I think gradually, short fi lms are picking up some traction. Honestly, in this
and you will see. I’ve said this before, and hopefully will say it for the rest of my day and age where everything is so instant and nothing can keep our attention
journey, that a character drives the plot, not the other way around. span for more than fi ve minutes, there’s a market for it.

Can you explain why short fi lms are harder to write than features? Any upcoming projects?
In features, you have the space and ability to experiment with your characters I’m working on a few more feature length fi lms. Nothing I can speak about just
and plotlines. For me, a powerful short should not be more than 15 minutes, and yet. But stay tuned, I suppose.
within that time frame, you need to be able to convince the audience why they
should be rooting for the protagonist, what his or her goal is, and the overall Where do you see yourself in fi ve years?
message you want them to walk away with. For what I wish to achieve, fi ve years is too soon. I just hope I can keep doing
what I’m doing, as a lot of people eventually stray down diff erent career
paths just because what they want to do isn’t bringing in any income. But that
comes with the territory because when you sign up for being a fi lmmaker, you
sign up for the struggle, and in fi ve or 10 years, if I haven’t made it, I don’t want
to stop. If I have to die trying, so be it.

“I think if you a have good amount of
faith in your abilities, and you try not to

get carried away by a hint of success, or let
failure rattle you, you’ll make it.

ALL- A C CESS INT O B ANGK OK ’ S C ONTEMP OR AR Y INDIAN LIFEST YLE