Production Day 2

Technically still the same day, I woke up at 7 am with barely any rest. I didn’t even give myself time to process how exhausted I was from the previous shoot. The moment I was up, I went straight into action. I started hauling all the equipment downstairs. Lights, tripods, soft boxes, cameras, sound gear, wires, bags of props, everything. By the time it was all packed into the car, I was already drenched in sweat and adrenaline. There was no time to stop.

We drove straight to the shoot location. Once we arrived, I began setting up immediately. Before a single actor had even entered the space, I was already lighting the set, arranging the layout, shifting furniture around, and experimenting with different lighting styles and set designs. It was a one-man army operation. I had to envision how every shot would look and feel before the camera even rolled. That meant testing shadows, blocking out scenes, checking framing angles, and making sure everything had emotional and visual coherence.

The actors started arriving around 10 am. For many of them, it was their first time meeting one another. So before we jumped into anything serious, I had everyone sit around, chat, get comfortable. It would’ve been awkward and disconnected otherwise. The chemistry between them had to feel real on camera, so we took about thirty minutes to an hour just to loosen up as people first.

Then came the rehearsals. And as I feared, something was missing. The emotion I needed wasn’t there. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. It’s just that the intensity of this film was something deeply personal to me, and unless they understood where I was coming from, they wouldn’t be able to tap into that space authentically.

So I made a call. I took the two main actors into a separate room, shut the door, and told them everything. I broke down the character’s backstory. I explained the trauma behind the story. I opened up completely about where the idea came from, how personal it was to me, what pain it was rooted in. We didn’t rush through it. We all got emotional, vulnerable, human. That was the turning point. They understood. I saw it in their eyes.

When we came back out and rehearsed again, it was completely different. They weren’t just playing characters anymore. They were carrying the weight of the story. We began filming, and from that point on, things got serious. I was managing everything all at once. I had to keep the vision alive in my head, make sure the performances stayed consistent, monitor camera framing, focus pulls, and light balance as the natural lighting shifted.

I was also responsible for sound, despite guiding my friend to record the audio. I wore headphones while filming to check for clarity and background noise. I had to make sure every line of dialogue was recorded cleanly, and then separately record all the diegetic sounds. This included doors opening and closing, bags being placed down, helmets being set on tables, chairs dragging, footsteps, fridge sounds, and even something as specific as the tone of a couch sinking under weight. These little sounds add layers of realism and help ground the edit, so missing one could ruin a scene.

Continuity was constantly on my mind. I was checking sitting positions, eye-lines, object placement, lighting shifts, all while simultaneously thinking like a cinematographer and a director. I tried to shoot each scene from a cluster of different angles, so that later in editing, I’d have options. I didn’t want to rely on one perfect take. I wanted a palette of shots I could play with to tighten the rhythm of the final cut.

After several hours of intense work, we took a much-needed food break. Everyone chilled out. We joked around, laughed, did dumb things like teenagers do. Someone spilled cola on the carpet. Someone else accidentally scratched it while moving furniture. It was chaotic, but weirdly comforting. It meant we were in it together.

Then we got back to filming. The most emotionally intense scene of the day was a conversation where Saif’s character opens up. The entire room fell completely silent during each take. You could hear people holding their breath. We did multiple takes because the actors kept saying they could do better. And they did. With each attempt, the emotion got more refined, more raw, until it finally clicked and everything landed. That moment fulfilled the vision I had been carrying in my head for weeks. It was one of those rare times where reality met the idea and didn’t fall short.

Even after everything had been shot, I decided to reshoot a few earlier scenes and gather extra coverage. Those backup shots actually ended up being useful in the final edit. Once I was satisfied, I sent the cast and actors home.

But my work wasn’t over. My mother and I were the only ones left. Together, we (mostly me) carried all the gear, props and furniture back into the car. That’s nearly 250 kilograms of equipment and props. After back-to-back shoot days, that was physically brutal. When we reached home, I still had to unload it all and carry it back upstairs to the studio.

Finally, when everything was in place and the doors were shut, I came downstairs, collapsed onto the sofa, and passed out. My body was destroyed. But my mind was at peace. I had done what I came to do. Even as I was juggling all these roles: director, cinematographer, set designer, producer, sound recordist etc. there were two people who really helped lighten the load. Zainab was in charge of taking behind-the-scenes content and did a phenomenal job capturing candid moments, workflow snippets, and the overall atmosphere of the shoot. It’s thanks to her that I now have a documented memory of all the chaos and magic that went into those two days. Emaan (Zar) stepped in to help with audio, making sure dialogue recordings ran smoothly and giving me the space to focus on framing and direction without constantly switching between devices.

Beyond their practical help, both Zainab and Emaan were also incredible moral support throughout the day. Their presence brought a sense of calm and encouragement that genuinely kept me grounded and focused when things got overwhelming. I couldn’t have pulled this off without them.