EP. 1682: Filmmaker Romi Banerjee (GHEE)

GHEE, 21min., India Directed by Romi Banerjee A quiet lunch turns upside down when a secret recipe sets off a chain of surprises. https://www.instagram.com/ghee_theshortfilm Director Statement Ever since I could remember, I was obsessed with the idea of “control.” Do we really have control, or is it just a trick of the mind hacking away at us, desperate to be seen, heard, and felt? With Ghee, I wanted to make a film which touched upon the topics of control, power, and ambition. While writing this short film, I aspired to create a rather simple world. Don’t get me wrong - It’s a simple world, but it is a world where Gods feast on Gods.Structured chaos is the name of the game. I sought after creating a radically dark story without using violence, gore, and external mayhem. I tried to birth an antagonist that was arguably worse than the cruelest dictators of yesteryears - a smiling devil. The kind of devil that sweet-talks you into jumping straight inside boiling, hot lava - all that without lifting a finger. Would you want to live in a world where something like "Enthrallium" has federal approval? A world where conscious thoughts are obsolete? Where hope is a relic? My love for monochrome knows no bounds. I wanted this film to have zero distractions. Also the black and white format allowed me to capture the complex shades of grey that mirror the human psyche reflective of the characters inside the film. The world is grim, and impatient to innocence. This is more than just a story about control; it’s a narrative about the madness required to thrive in a chaotic world. Because in this world, only the truly insane survive.