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Terahvin (Thirteenth)

Terahvin is the story of a man who mourns a death for 13 days (as per Hindu rites) as he reflects back on his life and emerges stronger at the end of the thirteenth day as he moves on in his life.

  • Swaminathan Venkatraman
    Director
  • Swaminathan Venkatraman
    Writer
  • Swaminathan Venkatraman
    Producer
  • Shruti Seetharaman
    Key Cast
  • Mahat Jalan
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    9 minutes 55 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 1, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    1,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes
Director Biography - Swaminathan Venkatraman

Born and brought up in Mumbai, India Swaminathan Venkatraman worked for bank of America for 14 yers before he decided to take the bold decision of leaving the comfort of a well paying job and follow his passion to become a film maker. Having written 3 feature film screenplays, he decided to enhance his skills as a film maker by moving to US and doing a one year filmmaking course with New York Film Academy. Terahvin (Thirteenth) is his first major short movie shot entirely in New York with his crew and actors all from NYFA. The movie was shot during the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in challenging conditions but the entire team worked together and made sure they completed the movie. The film has been garnering good feedback and appreciation from audience and film festivals. It won the Best FILM Shorts in IndieFest Film Awards and is an official selection in New York Lift-Off Film Festival.
The director is now focussing on his thesis film with NYFA and would start shooting the film once the restrictions to shoot are lifted in the New York city.

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Director Statement

The pain of the end of a relationship is akin to the death of a person. And hence if one mourns the death of a relationship like one would mourn the death of a person, one should then be able to heal his pain and emerge a stronger person.
The story telling is not linear and the director has kept the audience in dark about the fact that the protagonist is actually grieving over the end of his relationship and lead them to believe that he may be grieving over the death of his partner.
The director hopes the audience is able to relate to the pain of the protagonist and also learn that there is always light at the end of the tunnel, you just need to work your way towards it. There are no dialogues in the movie and the director has only used visuals and background music to tell the story.