Richa Chadha and Arati Kadav collaborate for their first film, a short titled 55km/sec

Richa Chadha and director Arati Kadav are have collaborated for their first project as a team. The short film is titled 55km/sec.

The new project with Richa was shot from home during the lockdown and also stars Mrinal Dutt. The story is about what happens a few seconds before a meteor hits the Earth. A man awkwardly confesses his love to his college crush on a farewell call with his school friends. But because the impact calculations are miscalculated, the man still has a few minutes to have the last conversation with her before the World ends. "55 km/sec was a film we wrote during the pandemic, during the initial complete lockdown. The idea was to cheer ourselves up during that phase but we actually ended up having lots of fun. And though it is a sci-fi story about a meteor hurtling towards us, for me this story or process was about finding real connections despite the uncertainties and complexities in the world. It was a way to touch on all that was going on, to recognise the beauty in all that we have, and I truly hope, as 2020 ends, we all find ways to embrace this warmth, love and simplicity in our lives and relationships," says Arati who is known for her film Cargo, which released on Netflix and earned rave reviews.

Speaking about collaborating with Arati, Richa says, "Arati has a strong and unique imagination and a point of view which is what makes her a great director to collaborate with. Science fiction for me has always been a point of intrigue as a genre. And the realm of it meeting the idea of an apocalypse is very exciting. The project was a great experiment to be part of during the lockdown as the story is smartly woven into the narrative of a virtual shoot."

The sci-fi film is an emotional tale of 20 minutes and is set to release on Amazon Prime Video US and UK, and is expected to release in India soon.