3000 spirits out to spook Sandalwood

Hollywood is familiar with the number 3000, with projects such as Mystery Science Theatre 3000, America 3000, Chasing 3000 and Exterminators of the year 3000. Now, a Kannada film titled 3000 is to be released this week. Cinema Express starts the conversation with debutant director Rabbuni Keerthi on the significance of this number. “We are not trying to ride on the popularity of this number in Hollywood. This number has been mentioned in Bhagavad Gita and in Bible too. I have used it to refer to a terror, which is caused by 3000 different spirits. What happens when these spirits enter one body and what is its effect, this is the crux of my film. It is about a person who is driven by the behaviour and attitude of these various spirits,” he says.

Rabbuni says that the story was inspired by a real-life incident. “Johnny Elias, a Dominican priest, is a relative of mine who used to perform exorcisms. I used to accompany him during his visits and one incident caught my attention, which will now be presented as 3000 to the Kannada audience. Though the script was ready two years ago, the film only went on floors nine months ago,” says Rabbuni. “It’s a horror film, with comic moments, and explores the idea of good versus evil,” he adds.

3000 will feature Rubin, Gowrish Akki, Suhan, Pallavi and Swathi. “The story takes place over one night and the next morning, and it was shot entirely on a deserted island in Mangaluru,” says Rabbuni.

The film, made under Shankar and Associates, has music by Clarence Allencrasta and cinematography by Manu. “We have tried out a new sound technology with Dolby Atmos. For the first time, we are introducing a Latin song in a Kannada film, which is presented at the climax,” the director says.

Rabbuni signs off by saying that 3000, despite being a horror film, does not include much graphics and that he has tried to keep it as natural as possible. “We want to scare the audience, not with visuals, but with acting, language and the emotions of each artiste,” he says.