For Srinidhi Bengaluru, playing it safe has never been an option. From the science fiction of Blink, starring Deekshith Shetty, to the fantasy-comedy Jerax, starring Nagabhusana, the filmmaker has sought forms that take him away from the familiar. With Video, his third outing, he turns to found-footage horror.

Releasing on September 11, Video is also Deekshith Shetty’s first production under his own banner, Dhee Cinemas, with Bharath Sagar as executive producer. The film uses action cameras to capture its characters and builds its horror without a conventional background score.

“I always wanted to try something different. After Blink, I had Video written. Jerax was an attempt for the OTT space. My friends and I would discuss what would make people spend their time watching a film we made. Love stories and familiar subjects are being made regularly. If we also follow the same route, we might get lost. So I wanted to try a new genre. Even if people criticise it, at least they should have something to talk about. An attempt at a rare genre can bring us an identity,” he says.

That search led Srinidhi to found footage, which also offered a practical way to retain realism without a large budget. The original script, however, was even more experimental.

“I initially wrote only the events, without dialogue or characterisation. I thought we could workshop everything on set and keep the performances candid. But when we tried it, the actors were confused. So I moved towards a style that was close to candid performance, with overlapping dialogue and the way friends actually speak to each other,” he explains.

The characters began as three bloggers, whom Srinidhi called the ‘Tarle Boys’. He later expanded the group, adding two more actors. The first part of Video carries a lighter, humorous tone before the film shifts into horror.

Srinidhi’s understanding of fear came partly from observing how people react to unfamiliar places. He watched found-footage videos and horror experiences while trying to understand what makes people uneasy.

“I had travelled to Andhra Pradesh to meet a relative. One night around midnight, I was in a village and felt a certain fear. I realised that fear comes when you feel alien. You don’t know the place, the atmosphere, or the people around you. That became an important thought for me while making Video.”

He also drew from Kannada cinema. Apthamithra, particularly the idea of a ghost who is not a Kannadiga, made him think about how language and unfamiliarity can heighten fear.

The film was initially titled Blog, but the title changed during production. “The film was initially titled Blog because all the characters are bloggers and their lives are connected to the story. But my friends and even my mother found Blog difficult to pronounce. I felt Video was more direct because these characters live through cameras, videos, and the possibility of going viral," says Srinidhi, adding, “I used between seven and 12 action cameras depending on the scene. I did not want to treat the cameras as a technical element that we figured out later. While writing, I would decide which moments needed to be seen through the primary camera and which could be captured from another angle.”

There is no conventional background score either. Srinidhi cites No Country for Old Men as an influence for its use of silence and ambient sound, while the music by MS Prasanna Kumar takes a less familiar route. “I liked how No Country for Old Men uses ambience instead of constantly depending on music. I wanted that feeling in Video. When there is no BGM telling you what to feel, even a small sound can become important,” he says.

The challenge was to make the experiment accessible without diluting its form. After Blink, Srinidhi felt the film had not connected enough with general audiences. “Found footage works when you allow actors to be themselves. But I also wanted to travel with the commercial aspect. I did not want the format to become a barrier for the audience,” he says.

The cast includes Bharatha, Jeevan Shivakumar, Tejas SM, Priya J Achar and Nalme Nachiya. Bharath, Jeevan and Tejas have been associated with Srinidhi since his theatre days. Priya joined later, while Nalme, the daughter of actor Usha Bhandari, entered the film after Deekshith referred her to the team. The actors underwent workshops and blog training, and spent time together and travelled extensively to make their interactions feel natural. The film has cinematography by Avinaasha Shastry, and editing by Sanjeev Jagirdar.

Srinidhi initially approached Deekshith about crowdfunding the film, but Deekshith chose to come on board as a producer. “I understood his passion. I believe the script chooses the producers,” Srinidhi says.

Deekshith also gave the director room to rethink the film. When some of the comedy was not working and the horror needed to be stronger, the team used three days for reshoots. Srinidhi rewrote and reshuffled some scenes, with Deekshith supporting the process.

The film has already had a paid premiere, giving Srinidhi an early sense of how audiences responded to the experiment. He was particularly curious about the first half. “I had no doubt about the second half, but I take time to set up the story and characters. If the audience does not become interested in them, the horror will not work. Thankfully, they stayed with it. We also got the opportunity to work more on the music and other aspects,” he says.

After Blink and Jerax, Video continues Srinidhi’s preference for the less obvious route. This time, he wants the audience to experience horror through the camera itself.

“I would say it is a new experience, and horror from a new perspective. This is something that should be experienced in a theatre,” he signs off.