Adding to Apple’s iconic ‘Shot on iPhone’ marketing series is a 30-minute visual spectacle created in India by acclaimed director Vishal Bhardwaj that is receiving some high praise. Shot entirely on iPhone 14 Pro, the film titled "Fursat" loosely translated to ‘spare time’, is a love story at the core but also serves as a cautionary tale against the obsessive tech advancements—an interesting choice of theme for the world’s leading tech player.
Rolled out by TBWA Media Arts Lab Singapore, the film is a sweeping time-travel romance that follows the protagonists through various dimensions. Replete with all the ingredients of popular cinema—theatrical drama, songs, choreographed dance sequences through ancient cities, deserts, motorbikes and trains—the film is packaged on a scale that is hard to achieve for a non-commercial.
The impressive cinematography, supported by a young Bollywood cast, is a beautiful reminder that the only obstacle holding filmmakers from their dreams is drive and determination—not the dearth of equipment—owning a smartphone with cinematic features is as good as carrying an in-pocket movie camera.
This was Bhardwaj’s first time professionally shooting on an iPhone, in a behind-the-scenes video, he praises the phone’s capabilities: “The mood we’ve achieved is because of the combination of iPhone’s strengths, which is not possible to achieve on a normal film camera,” he said. “I’ve never had this kind of scale in my film ever before. I thought this is the film in which leaves, wind, snow, mist, fog … let’s use everything.”
Of the phone’s Action Mode, he added: “It’s unbelievable that such shaky visuals can be stabilised so much. This I have never seen.”
The film has earned rave reviews on social media and found a fan in Apple boss Tim Cook who took to Twitter to praise its ‘incredible cinematography’.
I’m humbled with this overwhelming adulation. Thank you @Apple for this opportunity! https://t.co/FOVdil556s
— Vishal Bhardwaj (@VishalBhardwaj) February 5, 2023
Available on Apple’s YouTube channel, Disney and Hotstar, the film is TBWA Media Arts Lab’s second release of the year following the Lunar New Year campaign from the agency’s Shanghai office, directed by celebrated Chinese director Peng Fei.
CREDITS
Creative Agency: TBWA Media Arts Lab Singapore
Director: Vishal Bhardwaj
Music: Vishal Bhardwaj
Lyrics: Gulzar
(This article first appeared on Campaign Asia)
