When Rohan Prashant Chavan made his independent debut short film, Echo, little did he expect that the 17-minute film would be selected by the Prague International Film Awards to feature in their Recommended Projects of 2024. Echo is the only Indian project to make it to the list for the ‘short’ category, along with Jaga Akheda in the ‘documentary’ section.
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Talking about his maiden venture, Rohan, a self-made filmmaker from Mumbai, says, “Echo is a science film made in English. With 2024 considered to be a pivotal year for AI, we aspired to present a story that shows the ways in which AI can permeate our lives with the power to alter our conscious perception of reality. We wanted to make something that would jolt the audience and make them sit up and take notice. Exploring the power of technology, we wanted to show what would happen if AI got too much power and became sentient. The narrative is spun around the same theme, where we explore the nuanced relationship between technology and human consciousness.”
The plot of Echo revolves around a delivery executive who comes across a laptop controlled by artificial intelligence. A series of mysterious incidents alter his perception of reality.
Elaborating on the challenges during the making of the film, Rohan says, “Since I am an independent filmmaker, we had budgetary constraints. We kept the crew small and filmed at real locations. Echo is a narrative fiction, and the highlight of the project is its cinematography. We shot on Sony cameras and an ARRI lens, and the visuals are stunning. We used minimal special effects as well.”
The star cast includes Aishwarya Ojha (of Haseen Dilruba and Kaagaz 2 fame), Priyanshu Gupta, Yogesh Semwal, and Muskaan D Chandra. The film is written and directed by Rohan Chavan. While the cinematography is by Karan Davda, the editing is by Tushar Rathi.
Though Rohan says that he hasn’t given thought to his next project yet, he maintains that science fiction and technology remain his areas of interest.