
For Chethan Jodidhar, 'Time Pass' was never just a casual phrase. It was a label he once carried, one that his family used to describe his laid-back attitude toward life. Instead of letting it bring him down, Chethan made it the title of his first film.
“For eight years, I kept trying to make it as an actor. I faced constant failures,” the first-time director begins. “I was frustrated and decided to give up acting. But my passion for cinema never died. Every night, I’d go to bed feeling restless because I hadn’t achieved my dream,” he shares.
That strong drive eventually led to a change in perspective. “I told myself, if I can’t be an actor, I’ll be a technician. That’s when Time Pass was conceived,” he explains.
The film, which will release across Karnataka on October 17, draws inspiration from Chethan’s own life and two real incidents from the film industry. “When your own family starts saying you’ve treated life as a ‘time pass,’ it hits hard. So I decided to make a film about it,” he says.
Chethan not only directs Time Pass but also writes the story and lyrics for a few songs. The film follows the journey of an aspiring filmmaker and a failed producer, who, along with five others, come together to make a film against all odds.
“It’s about seven characters whose lives intersect. They want to make a film but don’t have even the bare minimum investment. Someone says, 'Today, a day’s film shoot costs two lakh rupees, and we thought let’s bring that experience into a single day, which was shot in a 26-day schedule,” Chethan recalls.
Produced by MH Krishnamurthy, Gundu Shekhar, and Kiran Kumar Shetty, Time Pass features Imran Pasha, Ratsharam, Prabhakar Rao, Naveen Kumar, Om Shri, Ashwini Srinivas, and Bank Sampath in key roles. The film has cinematography by Rajeev Ganeshan, music composed by BM Uday Kumar, and editing by Hariparam.