‘Why don’t you just do a love story?’ is what Yaniv heard on the regular throughout the filmmaking experience of his forthcoming short film A Dying Soldier. But the young filmmaker didn’t want to do something that had been done time and time again; so he powered through three years of putting this tension-riddled short, using VFX for the first time. The project is inspired by a 2016 incident in Siachen in which 10 soldiers from the Indian Army were tragically crushed under an avalanche. One soldier, however, Lance Naik Hanumanthappa survived under the snow for about six days.
“I wanted to portray the struggle and bravery some of the people in the Indian Army experience all the time. Siachen is the toughest and highest battlefield in the world,” explains Yaniv. “When the 2016 incident had happened, I committed to creating a conversation around it. There was news, yes, and people all over the country were praying for Hanumanthappa’s survival. But that conversation only lasted so long, which is sadly what happens with the military in the news. So I’m ready to put these issues back in the radar, so that’s how I scripted it as well. More than fear of the enemy there, there have been more deaths caused by the weather conditions.”
On that note approaching such a subject had to be done carefully, agrees Yaniv. “As Indians, we are sensitive towards patriotism and our army-folk. I thought this kind of film is one everyone can relate to on some level. I’m not from an army background or family but the actress in the film is the daughter of an army man.”
Yaniv shares he did encounter challenges along the away, as any filmmaker would, explaining, “In my case, one issue was definitely location. We couldn’t travel to the location of Siachen because of budget and safety so we made the film 95% VFX, shooting the whole thing on my terrace. We’ve seen films like Life Of Pi or Mowgli where it’s been completely done in a studio. I recreated the background and created the 3D elements too. I hadn’t worked with VFX before so this has been new for me too.”
Replicating the sound of such a strongly-environmental film was integral for The Dying Soldier. With extreme sub-zero temperatures and taking into account soldiers do not shave their beards, Yaniv wanted it all to be perfect. “For sound design, I recently went to Kashmir where I got to experience snow and walking through such weather for the first time. I had to replicate those sounds. I did a lot of research through YouTube tutorials and so on, to aid that.”
It’s appropriate the film is ready in time for Republic Day, and for Yaniv, it’s all about respecting what often gets forgotten. The release is happening tomorrow (January 26) at Prasad Labs in Banjara Hills with screenings available in both Punjabi and Telugu — and entry is free and open to everyone.
For more information, visit facebook.com/yanivcreations.