{"id":3440,"date":"2025-12-08T14:41:18","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T09:11:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/?p=3440"},"modified":"2025-12-08T14:41:20","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T09:11:20","slug":"from-campus-to-cinema","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/from-campus-to-cinema\/","title":{"rendered":"From campus to cinema\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A group of students turned their dream into a film that recently premiered at Kala Academy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RAMANDEEP KAUR | NT KURIOCITY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Game Khatam\u2019, a student-made feature from MIT ADT University, Pune, was recently screened at Kala Academy. The film, directed by Rohit Vignesh, 22, from Ballari, Karnataka, has Thivim-based Dielle Almeida in the female lead role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Set in a future India where drugs work like cryptocurrency, the story follows a feared smuggler, Rafiq Lala. A rogue officer, a hard-hitting journalist and a slum tailor hunt him down, unaware they share a traumatic past. Their chase leads to violence, betrayal and a shocking identity reveal, until an even darker truth shows the real enemy was in front of them all along.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vignesh, a filmmaking graduate from MIT SFT, Pune, took on the project out of his love for storytelling. \u201cI was never into filmmaking initially but I was always fascinated by stories. After watching \u2018KGF\u2019, I knew I wanted to make something similar,\u201d he says. While he had made a short film before, \u2018Game Khatam\u2019 is his first mini feature.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The project began as his final-year graduation film but was approached with the rigour of a professional production. \u201cMy aim was to create a commercial that feels like a proper theatrical movie. I already had the story written and we developed it fully for the screen,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pre-production began in February and the shoot took place over a tight 10-day schedule from April 9 to 21. \u201cTime was our biggest challenge,\u201d he says. Despite the constraints, Vignesh praises the dedication of his team, especially lead actor Almeida, who delivered her scenes even while unwell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vignesh also credits art director Kaleido for enhancing his vision. \u201cNone of this would have been possible without her,\u201d he says, noting her dedication during one sequence, where she waded into mud, dirtied props, soaked rags in kerosene and set them alight for a \u2018mashal\u2019 shot.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Apart from a few external actors, the cast and crew were entirely MIT students. Vignesh treated the film as an independent project, setting a strict budget with production manager Arpit Modh ensuring it was not exceeded. They also received guidance from head of department Prasad Thorat and chief art director Arpit Modh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kala Academy screening was the film\u2019s first public showing. Currently on YouTube, the film has received 100K views in just 12 days. Vignesh plans to take it to more venues and submit it to festivals. \u201cI want to try a romcom next with a commercial touch and am looking for producers who can trust my work,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Almeida, 20, a drama student, acting has been a passion since early childhood. \u201cWhen I was about three, my parents nicknamed me \u2018Bebo\u2019, after Kareena Kapoor. I remember holding the centre table and dancing to the song \u2018Bebo\u2019. That\u2019s when I realised how much I loved films and television,\u201d she recalls.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Her first professional experience came on an ad shoot. \u201cI was a test model for an underwater scene but the director asked me to double for the lead actress. It was with Sidharth Malhotra and that confirmed I wanted to pursue acting. Amid the chaos on set, being in front of the camera gave me a sense of calm,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Almeida later worked on several ad shoots, including one for Tata\u2019s electric car, the Punch EV. So far, she has been part of three student films, including \u2018Game Khatam\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She adds that humour also punctuated the sets for this film. \u201cDuring a chase sequence, most actors and crew were at one location. In a scene with Rafiq and Oscar, Ranbir had to catch them but the rest of us weren\u2019t supposed to be in frame. When Rohit shouted \u2018clear\u2019, we all pressed against a wall, trying not to laugh. It was chaotic but unforgettable,\u201d she recalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Almeida praises Vignesh for his commitment. \u201cHe barely ate or drank, even fainted once but returned to keep working. That motivated me to give my all,\u201d she says, adding that she will soon begin shooting for the sequel, \u2018Game Shuru\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A group of students turned their dream into a film that recently premiered at Kala Academy RAMANDEEP KAUR | NT KURIOCITY \u2018Game Khatam\u2019, a student-made feature from MIT ADT University, Pune, was recently screened at Kala Academy. The film, directed by Rohit Vignesh, 22, from Ballari, Karnataka, has Thivim-based Dielle Almeida in the female lead […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3446,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aspire-inspire","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3440"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3440\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3447,"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3440\/revisions\/3447"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}