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Under Ground by Shrikar Madiraju

Synopsis

Title: Under Ground
Color and Black/white
Duration: 30 minutes.
Locations: Georgetown Cemetery, Georgetown University, Rock Creek Parkway, National Cathedral, Potomac. Washington, DC.
Cast: Kabir Kamboh, Mark Wahl, Melissa Hollis, Raj Jagannathan, Avanti Pradhan, Mallesh M, Karthik Srinivasan, Sarita Heda, Kalyani Grasso and Ramu Potarazu.
Editor: Mark Casale.
Assistance: Karthik Srinivasan, Sarita Bhatt and Digital Underground studio.
Producer: Mridulika Menon.
Story and Direction: Shrikar madiraju
Shooting dates: Mid August to Mid September
First screening: November 13th, Aroma Company Film lounge, Washington, DC.

Under Ground written and directed by Shrikar Madiraju is a short film set in 1920 Washington, DC. The film has 3 main characters- Dr. Peel a well known doctor with a strong intellect and keen mind; Reporter Hastings an immigrant passionate about investigative journalism and committed to exposing the truth and Mr. Wells a rich flamboyant bachelor who "wants to be a Samaritan and philanthropist". The film tackles the situation of immigrants flooding Washington, DC increasing the costs of land much to the dismay of Washington DC's elite. At times like this, unimaginable things happen in the film such as immigrants were dropping dead like flies and the rumor was that a vampire was on the lose killing these poor victims. Given that the victims were so carefully picked arises Dr. Peel and reporter Hastings curiosity. This is heightened by the fact that Washington's elite Mr. Wells seems to be present at the grave sites of these unknown victim's - could there be a possible link? This film is a suspense thriller while tacking issues of race and class at the same time which is something that will carry through generations.

Film Review.

Under Ground had its first special screening on November 13, 2003 in Washington, DC, for special invitees only. Though the total budget for the movie was only 1700 US $, the film was acclaimed for its theme, casting, locations, cinema photography and direction. The film will also have special screenings in Boston, Richmond, Hyderabad [Indian] and again in Washington, DC.

Excerpts from the script

"In 1920, Washington, DC was slowly becoming the most diverse city in the world. It was crowded not only with immigrants from Ireland and Germany, but also with immigrants from Africa and the southern states. Most of the enterprises were owned by the elite and the most important government positions were also given to the elite. Suddenly, there was a great divide between the elite and the immigrants. The elite were getting richer and the immigrants were getting nowhere. Land costs were increasing, forcing many of the immigrants to the south of the district. Georgetown, Pennsylvania Avenue and other central parts of the district were bulging with the elite and the immigrants had to move out into the suburbs. The district was fast becoming a haven only for the powerful. The weak and poor had no place in the district. In times such as these, unimaginable things happened."

Scene 1:

Some woods near Washington, DC.
Dark hours.
(Black and white)
Text appears on a black screen: 1920, Washington, DC

There is silence. The woods seem dense, dark and mysterious and not a sound can be heard. The trees stay still and there is no wind to sway them. There is some amount of moonlight, but not sufficient enough to end the secrecy of these woods. The gently flowing stream along the woods, appear to us as the only thing with life. The wilderness of the woods ends on one side of the stream and continues with more density on the other. The stream splits the wood equally, into two halves. Each of the halves is as unsolved as the other. The only thing constant in these woods is the ever changing depth of silence.

The silence grows, but is suddenly broken by a man lugging a sack along a muddy pathway.

He is well dressed, but his face for now is as mysterious as the woods he is in.

Scene 11

The cemetery, (color)

Text appears on a black screen: 2003, Washington, DC

The sky is bright, but it is a cold and a chilly morning. There is complete absence of wind and the leaves on the ground seem to stay still. The unknown man crosses a bridge over a expressway filled with cars. He then comes to entrance of the cemetery and walks over the leaves, and comes to a set of graves.

He wears a black overcoat and is dressed completely in black.

He then places a red rose, on each of the graves, kneels down and folds his hands together, as a sign of surrender to the almighty. He waits for a few seconds to pass, gets up and turns around. He stares at us and we see his face for the first time.

Reporter Hastings smiles and the black screen appears.

Cast and Crew

Shrikar Madiraju (Story, Screen play and Direction)

Shrikar is involved in screen play writing, short story writing, directing and acting in plays. He is an active member of STAGE (South Asian Theater Arts Guild Experiment) and conducts acting workshops. Shrikar has also written "Biryani and Irani Chai", a collection of short stories, inspired by the city of Hyderabad, India. He also directed a short play called "Chaos Theory" for the STAGE festival in October, 2003.

Shrikar is the writer of "Under Ground", a story based on certain supernatural incidents in 1920 Washington, DC, and also directed the short film. He is currently working on developing the script of "The other side of Musi", a love story set in 1560, Hyderabad and "Motherland", a story on the making of a terrorist. He is also working on pre-production tasks for a film based on road accidents and will begin his next venture in February, 2004.

Shrikar recently started his own production unit called "Studio eight films", in Washington, DC, to promote and produce films involving local talent and unusual subjects. In his professional capacity, Shrikar is a principal, consultant with IBM, Business consulting services and holds a Masters in Business Administration from Maharshi University of Management, Iowa.

Kabir Kamboh as Mr. Wells (Lead Actor)

Kabir is from Baltimore, Maryland, and has acted professionally for three television shows for the Discovery and Learning Channels in the last year, including FBI Files. His two talent agents are Millennium Model Management (VA) and Mike Lemmon Casting (Philadelphia).

Most recently, He also filmed an independent sci-fi production for Sapling Pictures in Northern Virginia. In addition to his acting career, Kabir is a singer and has been a Bhangra dance instructor for the past 12 years. He graduated from Virginia Tech in December of 2002.

Mark Wahl as Dr. Peel (Lead Actor)

Mark Wahl is a writer and online communications consultant with a passion for innovative artistic expression. He has two short films to his credit, "Zen: Love Dreams in Dover" and "Box", for which he wrote, acted, edited and co-directed, as well as a documentary studying American counterculture in the 1960s and 1990s. He has a healthy quantity of stage experience, having played in various theatrical productions including "Midsummer Night's Dream," "The Elephant Man" and "Busstop" in addition to several one act plays.

He is currently co-authoring a screenplay entitled "Johan's Study" and developing a local artists' community in Washington, DC. In his professional capacity he develops websites and multimedia projects for small businesses and nonprofits, and writes melancholic poetry in his spare time.

Raj Jaganaathan as Reporter Hastings (Lead Actor)

After having lost himself in the terrains of science and technology the past few years, Raj has recently re-discovered his passion for performing and has been actively hamming it up in the DC area the last few months.

He presently trains with the Washington Improv theatre and under their aegis has been performing and playing in the arena of Improv theatre. He recently was part of a public performance in an Improv show and is slotted to perform in another one in September, 2003. He will also be performing in a Murder Mystery cocktail in August, 2003. Further, he has on multiple occasions directed Improv workshops for STAGE a South Asian theatre group.

He also recently played the lead role in "The Ultimate Reality Show", a short comedy which was screened at FUSION 2003, the annual cultural show presented by NETSAP-DC. His future plans include lots of Improv, movies, plays and any other avenue that will let him explore his thespian/comic side.

Avanti Pradhan as Mary/Mrs. Grant (Actress)

Avanti Pradhan has acted in plays, independent films, and TV commercials/specials since childhood. She holds three Iowa State Championships in dramatic interpretation and duo interpretation. Some roles she has held in prominent plays include Helen Keller in "The Miracle Worker", Anne Frank in "The Diary of Anne Frank", Sakini in "The Teahouse of August Moon", and Andy in "Dandelion Wine".

As one of the co-founders and co-chairs of STAGE (South Asian Theater Arts Guild Experiment), Avanti has helped to bring together the South Asian theater and film enthusiasts in the Washington DC area, so that members are able to create forums, develop skills, and produce quality theater/film productions. In addition, Avanti has training in TV production from the University of Missouri's Broadcast Journalism School, as well as in film scriptwriting from American University's Public Communication Graduate School.

Karthik Srinivasan (assistance)

Karthik was bit by the bug, having taken an "Intro to acting" class as a last-choice elective in his last semester of college a year and a half ago. After graduation, Karthik decided to pursue it further by signing with a modeling/talent agency and hoping for auditions. During this time, he was introduced to classes such as camera movement and monologue preparations, which made him more aware of himself. He had his first audition in November of 2002 and landed a lead role in Darkstone Entertainment 's "Alucard" (drama/horror). Karthik is currently in the process of shooting for that movie. He has also been picked up by the director for lead roles in his next two movies, "Skeleton Key 2" (comedy) and "Aces" (fantasy/sci-fi), which we will start filming by the end of this year and midway into next year, respectively.

Karthik is also a member of STAGE and performed in a play called "A Mother's Rose", which was a play put together for the South Asians Against AIDS' DC chapter (SAAAIDS).

Sarita Bhatt (assitance)

Sarita Bhatt has been interested and involved in various aspects of film and video production for several years. While completing her undergraduate degree at New York University, Sarita wrote, edited and produced the short video documentary "Shakti-A Divine Female Energy," which examines the way in which Indian-Americans who came to the United States post-1965 celebrate and balance American and Indian cultures. In addition, while at NYU, Sarita worked on a number of Tisch student film projects in both acting and production capacities. Sarita continued her interests in media and culture by completing a Masters degree at Georgetown University's Communication, Culture and Technology program. While at Georgetown, Sarita developed a number of multimedia tools for the World Bank sponsored project, k2crafts.com.

Most recently, she is in post production for a digital video project about 8 American's who travel to India for a wedding and is finalizing a co-authored short screenplay titled "Johan's Study." Sarita is currently a Telecommunications Policy Specialist with the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, Office of International Affairs. In her capacity there, she focuses on information and communication policy development within Latin America and South Asia. In her spare time she plays bass guitar and eats Raisin Bran cereal.