As the prestigious Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) is on the verge of launching its 2022 edition, one of the Official Selections in their catalogue is a short film called "7 Star Dinosor Entertainment".
Director Vaishali Naik(R) and Cinematographer Swati Jain (L)
Made by a debutante Writer-Director Vaishali Naik, the film is a story of two brothers who wear Dinosaur Costumes for a living, dancing at malls, birthday parties and even weddings in some cases.
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Though a funny premise to begin with, the film chronicles their life during the pandemic. Gatherings are banned, the life-sized dinosaurs are collecting dust in their claustrophobic chawl house and we see the two brothers battling hunger on a daily basis.
Vaishali's tragicomedy had started off as a fun project to begin with. "I was free, like everyone else binge watching movies and shows. Since childhood I have been a crazy fan of Spielberg's 'Jurassic Park'. And after a particularly satisfying marathon of those films, I decided I wanted to make something as crazy, with dinosaurs in it. I started writing a fun short film script, but eventually couldn't ignore the reality unraveling on the other side of Mumbai." The plight of the unemployed daily wage laborers, local entertainers, brass bands, made its way into the script of the film. From being an ode to Spielberg, the film became an ode to Mumbai's migrant workers.
During the height of the pandemic, the dinosaurs took three months to get made, from scratch.
"The men operating the animatronic models from inside, Raj Sutak and Deepak Patil are both experienced Dino operators who lost their jobs at an amusement park, due to the pandemic. Their stories had parallels with the script. Certain parts of the film are based on the anecdotes they shared with me." says Vaishali.
"7 Star Dinosor Entertainment" will next screen at the New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) this year.
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