In the early 2010s, one of the hottest technologies in Silicon Valley was video calling, led by Apple’s FaceTime, which was first shown to the public in 2010. As cameras and screens of smartphones and tablets improved, and as wireless networks offered higher bandwidth, more companies got into the business. The importance of the technology during the pandemic cannot be overstated. FaceTime is also at the heart of the storyline of director Aditya Kripalani’s new film Main Actor Nahi Hoon for which Nawazuddin Siddiqui won the Best Actor award at the New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) a few days ago.
The plot involves FaceTime calls — it’s integral to the script — between an actor (played by Chitrangada Satarupa) in Mumbai who connects with a banker (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) in Frankfurt.
“I found the concept interesting. The format is interesting — connecting over FaceTime. And over FaceTime, we are exploring our emotions. I have never done a film with such a concept. I had to believe in what was in front of me — the character before me over FaceTime; she is in Mumbai. And I am in Frankfurt. And through that I had to create a journey in emotions,” Siddiqui told t2 over, well, a video call.
For many people across generations, video calling was considered cool soon after it first became possible. But the real potential of the technology came to the fore during the pandemic, when families were separated within a city, across towns and continents.
Two iPads for playback with live feed from different countries
“During Covid, I used to get on calls with my family members. Those calls were very emotional and in-depth. So, technology was not a barrier. I realised that over video calls you can take a relationship to some depth. But I wondered how deep that depth was. Usually, we have an aversion (to technology after a point). Nawazuddin’s character is in one city while that of Chitrangada is in another. How far can a video call go? Here, video call becomes part of the circumstance. During the course (of their interactions), there are entry points to psychology, childhood and more. After a point, you forget the situation is evolving over a video call in the film,” said Kripalani.
‘Script is solid and engaging’
In 2007, when Apple launched the iPhone, co-founder Steve Jobs made the first public call on stage to one of his best friends in the whole world, Jony Ive, the former design chief of the company. Jobs once again called Ive on stage in 2010 but this time over FaceTime.
Jobs spoke about how he grew up in the US with the Jetsons and Star Trek Communicators. He always dreamed of a moment when he would be able to catch up with his friends over a video call on the phone. Ive spoke about how he also watched the same shows on TV and loved the optimistic view of the future.
Satarupa believes in the story of Main Actor Nahi Hoon. She said: “The concept is interesting and fresh. The entire script is solid and engaging. I had not read something like this before. If I were a member of the audience, I would like to watch a film like this. Aditya always comes up with very interesting ideas. He is constantly pushing himself and making the ideas refreshing and quirky. And your co-actor is Nawazuddin Siddiqui… I always wanted the day to arrive. I never thought I would get to act with him so soon. It was one of the reasons that makes this one of the most special projects ever.”
FaceTime has been a part of storytelling before but not to the extent of what Main Actor Nahi Hoon has achieved. In the 2023 film Missing, directors Will Merrick and Nick Johnson used all kinds of technologies to deliver a “screenlife mystery” thriller.
“At the start, it was slightly difficult to believe in the structure. Once the story started progressing, I thought the idea was beautiful. No matter where my character was — park or train — the only focus for me was the person on the video call. In a way, the two characters make up the entire world in the film,” said Nawazuddin.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Aditya Kripalani go through the rush post-shoot
When it comes to acting via FaceTime, they had to forget whatever was around them and focus on each other in the conversation. “When you speak to someone over video call, you tend to push your volume a bit. If a person is in front of you, there are times you would murmur and whisper. On video calls, you tend to project your voice. We were actually FaceTime-ing; it wasn’t imagination. My character’s rhythm, energy and speed got along with the whole (voice) projection,” said Chitrangada.
During FaceTime, the idea is to face each other directly; one can’t look away or at a distance. “In the movie, I am looking at Nawaz sir’s eyes and talking. That helped me connect with the character and most of the time, we forgot where we were. I will be in the park, the riverside… we forgot because we were deep into the conversation, which kept getting deeper,” she said.
Many aspects of technology
The leaps in technology are changing the way films are being made. But that doesn’t mean directors don’t need to have deep knowledge of the medium.
“I think you still have to focus on technology. Film is a technological medium, unlike theatre. Even for someone like me, who is active, I cannot say that I don’t want to deal with technology at all. I have to have a certain awareness of the lenses. But I don’t want to make people around me to keep hearing about the technology involved in the medium, like talking about lenses. I want to keep the medium as human as possible.
“This is a very technical film but you won’t feel that. I have approached the film with a certain level of simplicity. The actors were working from so many places, so technically, it’s a nightmare. Even the actors have to deal with it. There were so many times they had given a great take but somehow there was a problem with the network. It could be irritating for an actor to do something time and again, but they were very kind. Technology needs to be embraced,” said Aditya.
Filmmaker Aditya Kripalani
For Siddiqui, he has seen more and more technology being used since he made his film debut in the late 1990s. He said: “Technology has always been improving our craft. Think of the microphone used during plays. But there are differences in how it needs to be used. For example, if a negative character needs to be shown in a film, the person can do a few things to that end and the camera can pick up those actions. In the theatre, there is no camera. So posture, body gesture and other acting tools need to be used. If technology is used properly, it can be a great thing. Aditya used it in a way — and in a very technical film — that we didn’t feel that technology was at play.”
Three unique ways to use FaceTime
Baby monitor: When you leave babies in the care of babysitters, why not put a charging dock on a nightstand and place an old iPhone that can help do FaceTime. You can see what’s going on in the baby’s room.
Create a periscope or R/C cars for children: Sounds silly, but why not replace two small mirrors at either end of a cardboard tube with a couple of iPhones? Or mount two R/C cars with iPhones and pilot them around the house while keeping FaceTime on.
Pictionary and charades: Both games work well over FaceTime and can involve family members and friends scattered all over the world.