A skippable intro about me. Read at your own risk!
I have been an ardent lover of music since my childhood. I might have probably watched more music videos than TV shows or feature films. I am sure you remember those days when Michael Jackson’s was all over the news after his demise. It was then when my love for music and dance grew manifold. I was moonwalking all over and listening to Heal the World in the loop. In my 11th class when I was in Kota, I started playing the guitar for the first time and tried out covers of my favorite songs. It was pretty much a self-learning affair, but it grew on me like crazy those days.
Fast forward a few more years, I got access to really good internet in my college and came across international artists’ music videos and some mind-blowing videos on Vimeo. I started to use tools available at my arm’s length and create videos for my college clubs. In my 4th and 5th years of my Dual Degree course, I was quite a lot into editing wedding films. One major reason I loved editing wedding films was that I got to explore a lot of music from different genres, which otherwise I might not have.
I believe that the scale of my projects might have moved up the ladder with time owing to the trust of the clients in me and my portfolio, but the feeling of these small indie projects is unparalleled.
Thanks for skipping/reading or whatever. 😛
The journey of Show Me The Way.
Let’s come back to the journey of Show Me the Way. It all started during the lockdown days of 2020. Anirban’s music instruments stopped working and he was unable to repair them since shops were closed. Imagine being stuck in a room for weeks with your inoperable laptop and guitar. There was a day when he had literally burst out of frustration and even punched his hands against the walls.
Around May, it had gradually become the new normal. Wake up, stare at those empty streets of Mumbai, cook some food, eat sleep, repeat. Alas! This was our routine. We soon realized that it’s not going to be anything better for months to come. Anirban and Mriganka started making songs organically. I lent my MacBook to try with Logic Pro. Sadly, due to overheating, the screen was fucked up in a day!! Murphy’s law you know! Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.
The day when the song was born.
Finally, one evening I saw them playing something that had a really nice vibe to it. It was almost like Cigarettes After Sex playing Apocalypse live. I asked them if they are planning to release it anytime soon. Mriganka was planning for an audio release, while Anirban suggested putting in some stock footage and releasing it.
I realized that the stock clips did not do justice to the music and felt rather generic, so I decided to shoot from scratch. We did a quick try with a Sony A 6300 and kit lens, and got them to Premiere, and tried some colors on them. Those purple skies were eyegasmic. Soon we planned for a proper shoot with rented cameras. Prop wise we could not do much, so we limited ourselves to a few liquid colors and smoke bombs.
The theme of the song.
On the shoot day, we just thought of using the ring light for some good lighting and have the singers sing along. Also, it was the best of monsoon days in Mumbai and the sky looked lovely. We thought of getting a few shots on the terrace as well.
The storyline was nothing so stiff. We just had a theme where Sourav, the lead protagonist, was frustrated and lonely. Based in Mumbai, originally belonging to Odisha, Sourav has been playing a lead role in the whole video. He also choreographed a lot of unique moves for the music video and also for the Musicians.
The theme was something that was very close to us since we have been experiencing that for a few months. With no one to hang around with and being lonely in a room for so long, it was really frustrating at times. The last resort we all had to succumb to was our own art form. I kept creating more videos, while they kept creating more music!
In the video, Sourav tried to be friends with two other people, Anirban and Mriganka. As time passes, he realizes that no one kind of understands him and it was just a figment of his imagination. Later, he gradually finds solace in himself and plays with his own colors. The theme was something that was very close to us since we have been experiencing that for a few months. With no one to hang around with and being lonely in a room for so long, it was really frustrating at times. The last resort we all had to succumb to was our own art form. I kept on creating more videos, while they kept on creating more music. Owing to the situations, we sometimes didn’t feel inspired or had no enough drive; however, we continued creating whatever we could.
Virtual Collaboration from Muscat
A few days before the shoot we planned to have a costume stylist on board and posted about it online. Interestingly, more than 10 people responded back who were willing to voluntarily help us out virtually (owing to COVID). We had to take a quick call. I found Gloria’s approach really interesting and well-structured. We locked her in a day or two and were discussing ideas. We literally send her the whole wardrobe collection with more than 100+ pics. We instantly ordered a few white tees as she suggested. Thanks to Amazon Prime where we literally got shirts and colors in a one-day time span!!
I found Gloria's approach really interesting and well structured. We locked her in a day or two and were discussing ideas. We literally sent her the whole wardrobe collection with more than 100+ pics.
I literally can’t thank Gloria enough for being so proactive in her styling approach. I have attached the images of her final styling deck for your reference. Get in touch with her if you have any such requirements! You won’t regret is all I can promise. I mean literally sitting in a corner in Oman, she did this for us. I sometimes wonder how much the internet has changed the world!
Closing the Mumbai Chapter 🙁
Due to the lockdown, we had also decided to vacate the flat by that time. My parents were tensed and called me back. I had my flight for Bhubaneswar booked on 17th June. So, I did not have any time to edit these. I also had a shoot for Budweiser in the middle of this lockdown. Read about that making of that here. If you have not watched the video, do check it!! As soon as the shoot for Bud was over, I packed up my stuff and left Mumbai.
It was totally a homegrown project with an intensely collaborative mindset.
The platform for release was just ‘Youtube” as per our initial plans. However, for some reason, we just felt this one had a bigger potential. I had talks with Ashay Bhaiya from Camera And Shorts and he shared with me a contact of an ex-senior person from OML. Anirban had talked with Cryosis whose music videos had already been featured in VH1. After exploring a few personal connections, finally, Siddhant Mishra from Cryosis shared with us the email id of one of the senior executives from VH1 who heads the content curation and Artist relations. We shared our music video with them. Surprisingly, we received a mail within a few hours!! As soon as we got a confirmation, we locked the release date and applied for the censor board certificate via an agent.
I asked Rites if he could help out with one album art. I shared around 15 – 20 images with him. He picked one of them and added some glitches and text. We definitely loved the idea but I felt we can do something more on the non-digital side. Soon, I approached Swetaleena for an acrylic painting of the same. She is an insanely talented artist, and she hardly took one evening to pull it off! If you want to buy a few framed prints of the artwork DM me. If you want the original acrylic painting, wait till she puts it on auction in her exhibition.
Later, Priyanjita added up the XY hand lettering over it. She is also a brilliant artist. Do check the amazing works she keeps posting on Instagram. And in this way, we had the album art ready! We had a piece of art that felt so flawless. It definitely exceeded our expectations! Thanks to my NITR family for selflessly supporting me in my journey. Cheers fam!
The VH1 Day!
The D-Day Came and it was up on Youtube on the 26th of December, 2020. The Youtube comments section is indeed filled with some crazy responses.
Soon the VH1 Premiere happened on the 30th of December! Interestingly, on DAY 1 of the premiere, it showed up 4 times or more on the TV, that too in the middle of top pop stars like Ariana, Cardi B, Maroon 5, BTS, etc. Crazy!!!! This would definitely be one of the best days of my life. To see something you have created on a TV is such an inexplicable experience.
I have assisted a lot of shoots, even worked as an intern in big shot production houses with ad films for Tanishq and Vivo with celebs like Deepika and Aamir. But no feeling can beat this. When you direct something for the first time, it’s like your baby. It’s like a singular vision of yours. Also, I had even shot this. I felt like it was a true form of expression from my side. I am so glad that VH1 accepted this crazy visual experiment of mine to air on TV. That meant the world to me. <3
Social media dopamine 101
Instagram and Youtube soon filled with a lot of comments and reshares from people who watched it on TV! Some called it “Artpop” while some felt like “It healed them.”
The best comment for me would be the one where it was written,” I feel lucky to find this gem before it gets big.”
This by itself is a huge compliment for me. 🙂
Oh!!! Did I say to you that we were busted on the terrace by the society members? They clicked this photo and sent it to our flat owner with a complaint that we were creating a nuisance.
Press Mentions
We also got a press mention in The New Indian Express, Homegrown, and Rolling Stone India.
Anyway, it’s been a long article now and I think I should end it. Just a couple more things I would love to mention. Never underestimate the power of a potential collaboration. And it’s mostly the people who matter in the collab. Their vibes, their inspiration, and the things they want to bring on board. I mean the similar frequency with which you resonate with people. <3
Also, I believe that one should understand their privilege and acknowledge it. I believe that people should introspect and retrospect to know how privileged they are to have whatever they have. It’s about being grateful for having the basic needs of life, viz. shelter, food, and clothes. Also if your family is at ease, without a lot of internal conflicts, be grateful for that. All happiness will be sucked up or else.
That’s it. Thanks for reading till the end of this long-ass article. Haahah!! I can safely presume you to be one of my 1000 true fans!! <3 Cheers!
Now go and show some love for the song!
Watch it on Youtube and drop some rad comments there! Drop a comment below in this post! Share over IG stories!
Share the story with your creative fam!
Do check my other cool stuff on Instagram as well. It’s pretty much like my online journal. I drop in random memes there and shit post about all the fucks up I do during my shoots. Interestingly 2000+ people seem to like it.
In NIT, first I knew you as a dancer..after some days I saw you as photographer..then musician..cinematographer..FMS president..(may be some more things that I missed)..now I got to know you as a writer as well..oh my god 🙂 all rounder.. A very well written blog.
Seeing your hard work and the way you are moving forward make me feel proud of knowing you. Keep going dude. Wish you every success in your way.
Thank you Swaraj didi for this lovely comment. I love dabbling around in fact. That keeps my creative spirit fresh and alive. 🙂 These days mostly I am focusing on filmmaking and photography though.
All the very best to you as well! Keep shining! 🙂
Amazing effort guys.
Thank You Nikhil! Means a lot coming from you!
I have always looked up to the way you have taken your brainchild “foreign admits” to such a stage now! Keep shining brother!
Superb guys! Keep it up. Waiting for more like this!
Cheers bro!! Thanks for all the love and support! It’s a different feeling to have your childhood friends stand by your side in your journey! 🙂 Hope you excel in whatever you do in life!.
Amazing Video . . I have complete faith in you to keep soaring and (over-) achieving with your art. Waiting for many more of these beauties.
Thank you Pratyush! 🙂 Cheers to the NIT fam! Love you guys!
This is exceptionally good! Kudos to you, Abodid! I´m glad to have met you at DFF and look forward to seeing more wonders from you. Cheers!
I am so glad you loved it! DFF was fun. One of my best experiences in Mumbai yet. May be it was my first month in Mumbai, owing to which the memories are so heartfelt. 🙂
Keep shining girl! Looking forward to some epic collaboration with you down the lane. 🙂
This is crazy good work Abodid. Also very well written. From meeting you on your early days moving to bombay for design fabric festival shoot till this I’ve seen passion within you to capture the stories as a constant. The moodboard collage looks sic and now can’t wait to see what more cool things you create to much more bigger screen. Wish you luck and keep documenting your journey 🙂
Oh my gosh!! Can’t thank you enough for writing this! Such a pleasure to have a friend like you. Keep up the love and support!! Tbh I did not expect this project to get so much love. It was such experimental stuff we did that too during the lockdown days mainly. Definitely, I will be documenting everything I can. I love doing it. 🙂
All the very best to all your future endeavors as well! Keep rocking Saloni!
Beautiful read, brother! I can feel the blood, sweat and tears that have gone into making this masterpiece. To create such a magnificent video with limited resources is commendable to say the least. Hats off to you and your team. I see you growing bigger and better with each passing day. Never doubt your creative skills and keep pushing hard. As I keep saying this regularly, I’m in awe of your talent. Feel lucky and privileged that I came across you and I count you as one of my closest friends even though we’ve had very limited physical meetings. Keep shining. Keep inspiring!
It was a perfect team effort I would say. All like minded passionate folks in one place in the right time. 🙂
The imposter syndrome is real bro. The moment a project is over, it feels like a fluke, like an arrow in the bush that happened to hit the right spot. I am sure this must be common amongst all creatives.
Also, I am really happy that we crossed paths! Undoubtedly, one of my closest friends even though we hardly meet. Interesting! It’s a vibe match bruh! I feel it. <3 Awaiting to go for a shoot together sometime soon! My gut says we would definitely create something really really good together. Really really good. My gut rarely lies. <3