We speak with Rahul Prakash, the film-maker of our short film of the week Total Internal Reflection.  

Hi Rahul! Can you tell us something about yourself? Where were you born and how did you enter film-making?

I was born in Gaya, Bihar. Did my schooling from Delhi Public School, RK Puram. My parents had made it very clear to me at a very early age that they would only allow me to pursue films if I had an engineering degree as plan b. After school, I spent one year cracking CET and got into RV College of Engineering for a graduation course in Computer science. While I was finishing my graduation, the IT boom was ON. Software firms were throwing decent packages to 22year olds. One such offer hit me and I joined an IT firm.
Worked as a software professional in Bangalore for a year before I decided it was time to move to the City of Dreams. Finally, I joined Whistling Woods Intl to pursue my childhood fascination for films and stories. After the film school, I got an opportunity to work on Hindi Feature Film, Yamla Pagla Deewana as an AD. I have been working in Mumbai for the past 5 years, have worked as a Researcher for Satyamev Jayate (TV Show). Currently, I work as a TVC producer with an advertising agency.

Total Internal Reflection and Incerto both feature characters that are photographers/videographers and don't do very nice things. You are also a photographer. Is there some connection there?

My film was shot in my house, which is totally covered with frames on all the walls. So, the elder brother in the film had to be a photographer. I would say that I enjoy photography and have a knack for crime fiction and hence I am drawn towards this particular setting involving the two.

 How has being a photographer effected/influenced your film-making and the stories you want to tell?

It helps in composition. The kind of film you are making, based on that, you find it easier to frame each and every shot. In my case, I shot my film inside a 1BHK house and I did not have the money for a cameraman. Also, the character in my film, Navin was more comfortable with a smaller crew.

Who are your influences?

I don't think I have been influenced by one artist or so. In the current youtube generation we are exposed to so many masters. So many things can influence you. If you want me to name some film-makers, I would say Spielberg, Fincher & Nolan.

We love your work Rahul! What are you working on next?

Still figuring it out!

You can watch Rahul's short film, Total Internal Reflection on www.shortfilmwindow.com.