Private Project

The Carnival

On their long walk back home, Raksha finds herself leading the family when her pregnant mother's water breaks. With only an abandoned carnival in sight, she asks its gatekeeper for shelter for the night but soon realizes the price of their admission.

  • Syed Shadan
    Director
  • Syed Shadan
    Writer
  • Naman Pincha
    Writer
  • Rishabh Mukim
    Writer
  • Rishabh Mukim
    Producer
  • Shivek Gupta
    Producer
  • Naman Pincha
    Producer
  • Syed Shadan
    Producer
  • KhushI Maheshwari
    Key Cast
    "Raksha"
  • Rajeev Agarwal
    Key Cast
    "Naresh"
  • Sigma Upadhyay
    Key Cast
    "Harini"
  • Suhas Bansod
    Key Cast
    "Gatekeeper"
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Mela
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Horror, Drama
  • Runtime:
    21 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    January 10, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    1,500 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    India
  • Country of Filming:
    India
  • Language:
    Hindi
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Hidayatullah National Law University
Director Biography - Syed Shadan

Attracted to filmmaking from an early age, Syed Shadan has been writing, directing, and producing short films since he was 14. In the last seven years he has made over a dozen advertisements, music videos as well as narrative and experimental shorts and even a web series. Shadan is also a writer and is currently developing feature and television screenplays that bring his unique voice to Indian cinema. His most recent professional experience includes working under director Hansal Mehta on an upcoming feature film.

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Director Statement

Alternating wails grow louder and louder; one stems from pain, the other from mortal fear. A fever dream, a nightmare, an attempt to shine a light upon those who have been left to live in the dark since the pandemic hit. Those who could afford neither to live in cities nor to find safe passage back to their villages. The Carnival (Mela) is a horror film shot in an amusement park that was set to open in a week when the government announced a complete lockdown to slow the spread of COVID-19. Human beings were left to languish, much like the rides and tents of the mela, without a care for their agony, their pain. Although the fair has since been taken down and put in storage, more than a thousand people have died and many more still haven’t recovered from being left in this state of limbo. Though entirely a fictional story, Mela asks its viewers to reckon with the deep inequities entrenched in Indian society.