Simmer Bhatia’s short film Pravaah: The Flow has been well received by the audience, and she is quite happy with the response she has received. She said, “The response has been amazing so far, with over 13k views in 14 days. It feels good, and more than that, the comments and feedback have been overwhelming. As I expected, people are relating to Shivoham’s journey, which is truly overwhelming.”
The short film features Sharad Malhotra, Maninee De, and Vikas Bhalla. She said she knew they were the right people for their respective roles from the beginning. “From the moment I started, I had decided on Sharad. Him being a traveler himself and a fabulous actor who can emote so well, he has that attractive appeal and bohemian mind set that fit perfectly in the role of my protagonist, Shivoham. He flawlessly fitted in it,” she said.
“Maninee De is an amazing actor, and the role of Amara needed someone with depth, intensity, calmness, maturity, and that grace and expressiveness in her eyes that she carries. Vikas Bhalla is someone I have known from before, and I thought he would fit in the role of Vikas really well. I needed a very chilled-out guy, yet someone who has seen life and been there, done that, but now has that stability. He is an actor and a singer, and Vikas just fitted well into all these criteria,” she added.
But it was not always that easy. She faced a couple of challenges while filming the short film. She said, “The line producer was the worst I happened to get. I had the worst experience in terms of production in the North but collectively, with my few team members from Mumbai and the big support of all my artists, we passed through.”
“We shot in the land of Shiva, and I am a Lord Shiva follower, so I feel he saved me from a crazy amount of hurdles there. From sometimes the camera crew disappearing and delaying shoots because of line producers there, to unexpected rains due to which a last-minute change of location happened, and much more. I have worked on this movie, in practically all departments you can think of. Been a crazy learning experience,” she added.
The inspiration behind Pravaah: The Flow is Simmer’s travel journeys, and she said the creative freedom as a writer and director was the most rewarding part of shooting. However, she added, “If I had a better North team, I would have done a much better job as a director.”
Upcoming projects? “Yes, in the pipeline. Working on a bold drama web series as a writer with a known director ENiwas. I am working on a supernatural web series, which I will write and direct. And a romantic, bold contemporary drama on relationships, which I will write and direct.”
