Quirky short films that interpret life for youth in Tiruchi

Online video platform Humans of Trichy reworks its agenda with a newfound confidence
Humans of Trichy (HoT), the social media platform that has been entertaining fans with its short humour and awareness videos in Tamil since 2016, has had a makeover. With a new team and some very, well, hot, ideas, the retooled group is looking to scorch screens (of all sizes) with its content this year.

“We’d like to provide an online platform for people in Tiruchi to showcase their talent through HoT. We’ll have a brief interview plus a brief performance that will perhaps attract the attention of those who matter,” says Shabudeen Qureshi, CEO of HoT. “We had started HoT in 2016 with short written profiles of local achievers on our Facebook page. In a way we’re transmitting the same idea into a more visual medium, because that’s what the public wants these days.”

Engineering graduate Shabudeen, who co-founded HoT with his friend Sajid Manzur (who has since moved on to other ventures), manages production costs of the 1-2 minute videos with his earnings as a wedding photographer, and also plays the lead in most of the episodes.

The other two members of the HoT team, scriptwriter/director Sai Amaran and actress E Jonica, are volunteering their services.

“Of late, as our videos have become more popular, we have started getting local sponsors for clothing and accessories. But serious investors would help us to soar a little higher,” says Shabudeen.

Burst of fame

A recent video of theirs, titled Una enga ponalum vida maten di!, clocked up over 31 lakh views on WhatsApp, which in turn led to it being featured on the tech news segment of a Tamil TV channel. “We didn’t expect Una enga ponalum vida maten di! to be so widely shared on WhatsApp. That’s when I realised that our videos had a definite viewership base outside our Facebook page (which has over 20,000 followers),” says Shabudeen.

Though he doesn’t still know how the video landed up on TV, going viral has forced HoT to raise its standards, says Shabudeen.

The new burst of online fame has made HoT a bit more careful with its content — all the videos now come with clear branding elements and contact information.

With telecom providers tying up with online streaming services like Amazon Prime and Netflix, the HoT team is looking capitalise on the content boom by launching its own horror web series this year. “We want a music composer to create an original soundtrack for the series, because so far we have been managing with pre-recorded tracks. Original music is very important to get the right impact in the horror genre,” says Shabudeen.

HoT is not just about quirky videos geared towards a youthful audience. It also focuses on social issues like the ‘Wall of Kindness’ charity project, communal harmony and anti-tobacco awareness.

Getting creative

Shabudeen currently works from home, and says his family’s initial opposition to his choice of career has slowly turned to acceptance. “I did try to do other jobs, but I seem to be addicted to filmmaking,” he says.

Wedding photography aside, Shabudeen is also experimenting with other projects, such as a hyperlapse video of Tiruchi’s familiar landmarks. The technique involves taking pictures in a sequence by moving the camera a short distance between each shot to create a kind of time-lapse motion picture. Shabudeen shows a rough cut of a hyperlapse video on the Court building on his phone. “It took me 4 hours to click the 1500 photographs that make up this brief clip … now I have to do the other popular spots in the city,” he says.

Perhaps a bit aware that success in online entertainment is still based on an elusive formula, Shabudeen says he tries hard to keep HoT balanced between quality and entertainment.

“You don’t get viewers unless you have material that is entertaining. But this too has to be of a good technical quality. Both are interlinked, and we are still figuring out how to get the best out of our teamwork,” he concludes.

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