Though most of the film was shot on a 16:9 aspect ratio earlier, Arun decided to change it to 4:3 after getting inspired by the Snyder Cut of Justice League. “I also found that not only is there an artistic quality to these 4:3 compositions, but they also served to enhance the mockumentary-related aspects.” Among the influences that Arun drew from is Neill Blomkamp’s District 9, with regard to the mood, atmosphere, and alien spaceships. He also relied on 3D to produce video game-like imagery that briefly depicts the travels of the titular extraterrestrial (Anarkali Marikar), and AI to give a dystopian veneer to images of existing locations in Ernakulam.
Interestingly, AI was also used to enhance the dialogues, using audio samples of some of the cast members, with their permission, of course. “I initially used Midjourney 4, but weeks before release, the 5.5 version came out, and I told the team I needed at least one day more, and the results were far more impressive. In the last couple of years, AI has brought about an explosive change in visual media. It is now possible to make synthetic enhancements to slightly alter someone’s voice on an app. Of course, these are for harmless purposes.”
And the results are indeed impressive. For a film with budgetary constraints, especially for a rarely attempted genre, Gaganachari manages to be fairly convincing with its world-building. A minimalist approach works to its advantage, like dressing up existing locations and vehicles with extra lights to create a futuristic landscape, in the vein of, say, Andrew Niccol’s In Time. There are homages to genre films from Hollywood, too. One surreal night-time motorcycle sequence, for instance, draws from the recent Nicolas Cage thriller, Mandy.
