Gurmeet Singh on Challenges of Making Underwater 3D Film in India

Prior to landing a wider audience via Mirzapur, director Gurmeet Singh was working on an underwater 3D film which provided an entirely set of creative and technical challenges. Singh said while reflecting on his past work with Rahul Varun on The Filmy Charcha Podcast that his film, while it did not live up to expectations at the box-office, was an important lesson in his journey as a filmmaker.

Singh did not regret the film's box-office performance but instead focused on the opportunity it gave him experiment with a challenging format and work with a team that would stick by him.

The film was a worthwhile experience for him as he got to engage in a project that was different from the norm and pushed his technical and organizational skills.

Singh noted that the film was shot with a single 25mm wide-angle lens as a 3D film, which added additional constraints to an already challenging medium.

Set-ups had to be changed sparingly and technically complex underwater photography added to the difficulties.

Constraints of this kind affected the film's visual language and impacted the choices open to Singh as a filmmaker, who had to work within the technical boundaries of a single lens rather than using a variety of traditional lenses as one might expect

It was an exercise in imagination and organizational skill that allowed Singh to think outside the box and develop an understanding of how to tell a story differently.

While Singh spoke of the film's box-office performance failing to meet with his expectations, he reiterated the importance of engaging in such a project and the opportunity it provided to learn new skills, develop professionally, and build a sense of camaraderie with his team.

Singh's experience serves as a useful lesson in the importance of thinking beyond box-office performance and reaping the rewards of a rewarding experience, however brief it may be.

A project's financial success should not be used as a measure of its value to an artist, their development as one, or their ability to engage wider audiences in future projects. For Singh, the film was a valuable learning experience which shaped him as a filmmaker and provided opportunities for growth that have since informed his later works.