Stealing the show

Stealing cookies and chocolate cake at home was the only experience I had in burglary through my childhood. But to transition into hot-wiring cars, chain snatching, pick pocketing and breaking into houses in my role as the lead in the movie ‘The Burglar’s Christmas’ was a fun experience.

This movie was directed by Michael Muthu and produced by The Mellow Circle, in aid of Prathyasha - A home of hope for HIV affected children. I volunteered to play the role of Manny, a young boy with circumstances that turned him into a burglar. This film was also a great opportunity to convey a social message to my peers.

This was the maiden film production of The Mellow Circle. The group has two decades of Christmas themed theatre productions and music shows to their credit, and I was a part of a few of them. The proceeds of these shows go on to support Prathyasha.

Though I had played roles in plays previously, the film experience was different. In theatre, memorising our lines was essential and with a lot of enthusiasm, I would even memorise the lines of other characters, which landed me the job of ‘prompter’. But with film, there are more complicated tasks. Coordinating costumes with tight schedules, having to do multiple takes, dubbing and making sure continuity isn’t disturbed to name a few.

Another interesting addition to this experience was that this production was limited to a tight budget. This meant that unlike high-budget films that involve large expenses, every aspect of this film had to be meticulously planned to get as close to the director’s vision as possible without exceeding budget constraints. I was impressed with director Michael’s creativity in improvising scenes, sets, props and sequences in many ways to achieve his vision in the best way he could. I even had to be my own stuntman, which was the highlight of my experience with this character. Because all the ledge walking, jumping across compound walls, climbing up onto roofs and other stunts were the most fun I had in acting for this movie.

The end result of this film was what I loved most and was worth all the hard work put in by everyone involved. The link to the full-length movie, is attached below. Do check it out!

Link to movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSMjdCGn7n0