INDIA: TAMIL FEATURE FILM HOPES TO ENTER GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS FOR FASTEST FULL-LENGTH FILM

Record ID: 388421

  • Title: INDIA: TAMIL FEATURE FILM HOPES TO ENTER GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS FOR FASTEST FULL-LENGTH FILM
  • Date: 22nd April 1999
  • Summary: MORE GENERAL SHOTS OF SHOOTING IN PROGRESS DANCE SEQUENCE
  • Embargoed: 7th May 1999 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: MADRAS, TAMIL NADU, INDIA
  • Country: India
  • Reuters ID: LVABX90DMXP2GRUEKD9NDPHPBWJ4
  • Story Text: A Tamil feature film, which was shot in less than 24 hours in the southern Indian city of Madras, hopes to enter the Guinness Book of World Records for being the fastest full-length film.
    More than 2,000 actors and actresses sweated it out under the arc lights, dancing, joking and fighting at a frenzied pace for nearly 24 hours as an Indian movie-maker raced against time to enter the record books and make a movie in ONE day.
    Giridharilal Nagpal, film's producer, told Reuters in the southern city of Madras that the shooting was completed in 23 hours and 58 minutes and they had already forwarded their log books to the authorities for an entry into the Guinness Book.
    The Tamil language feature film titled "Swayamvaram" (an ancient Indian match-making ceremony where the bride chooses her groom from among several suitors) is a social comedy.
    A 60-year-old-man is suddenly taken ill and his doctor says he will not survive for more than 48 hours.But the old man wants to see all his children married before he dies.
    He places advertisments in the newspaper, inviting marriage proposals.But all his children are involved in relationships and the advertisement fails to elicit much response.
    Nagpal said he had roped in as many as 16 directors to oversee the simultaneous making of different parts of the film, which was shot at 27 different locations, in 19 places, in Madras.
    "We took 25 cameras, we had 17 units working on 27 locations, 19 places and we had 16 directors.It was a great time we had that day," Nagpal said.
    "The basic idea of doing the film in one day has been in my mind for quite some years, nearly 10-12 years earlier.But I was not able to put it together.I wasn't able to justify how I am going to start the thing and how I am going to get everybody together to do it," Nagpal said.
    "Then in the month of December, casually I discussed the matter with another producer and he gave me a lot of support.
    And he said yes it can be done and it is possible.We took off from there.That's how the things started moving.I went to meet some artists.I asked them whether we can do this and whether they would be agreeing to act in my movie.So not a single person told me no we will not be able to do it.The kind of encouragement I got, that gave me a big boost and that's how I started off," Nagpal, the son of a Sindhi-speaking Afghan emigre said.
    The film shot at a cost of about 30 million rupees ($701,000) had a total of 3,045 people -- which included 14 heroes, 11 heroines, 10 comedians, 55 character artistes and over 1,500 junior artistes -- all working non-stop from 7.00 in the morning.
    He said the film was a social comedy written by him which also included five songs and a fight sequence.The inspiration came from his own family where they were nine brother sisters.
    Nagpal said the film would be released for public screenings at cinemas in the city on June 25, after the cricket world cup.
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