By GULSHAN SINGH

It was around the middle of 2014. Due to some unavoidable incidents, which were amusing in terms of learning but at the same devastating in their impact, I got curious about the empowering nature of the system. This system. A system to which we succumb to quite gladly – for the intensity of our surrender to its supremacy defines our social quotient.

A general pattern that I could figure out back then was quite simple: higher the intensity of our acceptance, higher is the value of our social quotient and vice versa. Around October 2014, I met Judhajeet Mukherjee to discuss that I wanted to explore more about this phenomenon. We met twice or thrice, tried to cook some raw ideas but nothing significant happened. After that he got busy with his semestorial formalities and could not meet me until January 2015.

Finally when we met around first week of January, I told him I had figured out a story ready to be shot. He agreed immediately to take up his role and in a way set the ball rolling for the production of VIGIL BASTARD. Him agreeing to play the titular role completed the process of casting all the male characters as Rohit Upadhyay, Dhruv Kandpal & Gyanesh Jha were already in my mind – and when I asked them, they were gentlemanly enough to accept their roles.

As we moved further into pre-production, locations were figured out but two major things remained to be done: casting the leading female and finding a cinematographer. And when I say it was Judhajeet who set the ball rolling for the production of film, it is not just for him accepting the role but also for the reason that it was him who introduced me to Amita Nowal, Shreshth Vats and Anmol Sachdev. Amita accepted to play the female lead, and Shresth & Anmol collaborated to work as cinematographers on this film.

Amita & Judhajeet on the sets.

              Amita & Judhajeet on the sets.

As all pre-production boxes were ticked, we began filming towards the last week of January 2015. As an extremely low budget production, we started shooting maximum of one scene a day or at times even just one camera set-up a day. We were a small crew shooting while eating extremely cheap food, mostly comprising of tea and biscuits, occasionally some burgers. We were aware that our production cost per day was minimal; so we all agreed not to rush it and hence went on to shoot till mid of March 2015. The day we wrapped up our shooting, being the producer and director of the film, I had nothing to offer to this fantastic team of people except heartfelt gratitude. I know it’s a cliché, but sometimes there is really not much else that can be said. Only filmmakers going through this process will understand the essence of these indie templates.

After wrapping up the production of Vigil Bastard, I rushed to finish my previous film A DEVIL’S CONSPIRACY, which was languishing in post-production for more than a year. Hence, as a result, the post-production on Vigil Bastard could not begin until September 2015. But it had to be systematic. And patient.
Gautam Singh came onboard as the editor of film and by the middle of November, we had the final cut of Vigil Bastard ready to go ahead with sound and colour grading.

Nirvan Athreya began working on the sound track from November 2015 and it was not until July 2016 that he would come up with nine brilliant sound tracks rendering essence and tone to the story of Vigil Bastard. By the time final print of the film was delivered i.e. on August 7, 2016 (who can ever forget the date?), it was almost 20 months into its making! A short film, that’s right.
Finally the long gestating Vigil Bastard was released on the Youtube channel of Bakait Entertainment on 15th of August 2016.

Rohit Upadhyay

                            Rohit Upadhyay

During these 20 months, we as a team faced plenty of obstacles — some crippling, some casual — but I deliberately avoided describing them due to their sheer banality. Or rather, I find myself quite incapable and unworthy of describing them. In the long run, they feel necessary. Needless to say, I was happy to see the final culmination of my ideas into visuals, but at the same time I also realized that it was no more than just the tiny idea of mine shimmering on my computer screen. But it now belonged to an excellent, committed and passionate team of cast and crew-members who put it together with, and for, me.
And every day since, I wonder as to why they would go ahead with my whims when each one of them had all the reasons in this world not to! I suspect I’m not the only director who contemplates on this nature of unconditional surrender.
To all those great human beings…

LINK to the FULL film: