A man is sitting in his dimly lit living room when a figure appears from a distance, long hair covering the face. The figure hides when the man turns but walks when he doesn’t. Finally, when the figure is about to lay hands on the man, he turns the television on and Malayalam filmmaker Santosh Pandit begins to sing: “Music is the name of lala, Puppy your name is love, love.” The man and the ghostly figure begin to dance together, ending a ‘super-short horror film’ in one and a half minutes.
The man and the ghost are a Malayali couple based in the United Arab Emirates. That was the family’s first home video, made in May, a month into the lockdown induced by the spread of the coronavirus.
Arjun Doney, a businessman in Sharjah, his wife Tara Susan George and their two little kids then made it a habit of making home videos involving the family every few days. The videos, adorably humorous and seemingly effortless, are all less than a minute or two.
“We don’t try to act funny. Most of the videos are based on what really happens in our lives. If we try to become ‘comalis’ (funny people), it may not work out!” says Tara, who often uses her long straight hair to produce ghostly effects in their videos.
It began as a sort of practice for Arjun who was trying to make some fitness videos after getting a certification in personal training. “I was learning how to use video editing software and downloaded Filmora9. At first the fitness videos didn’t come out very well, so I wanted some sort of practice. It is then that the lockdown happened and there was little to do. So we began by doing a Harlem Shake video – a trend from a few years ago when a group of people begin dancing to the ‘Harlem Shake’ song,” Arjun says.
When Arjun and Tara realised friends and families loved their videos, they began doing more and started involving their little kids – Sarah, aged three and a half, and Maria, aged one. Later Arjun’s parents – Jolly and Doney Varghese – also joined them.
“Sarah is aware of what we’re doing and gives us attitude at times! But she loves watching the videos later. She’s the best among the four of us, she’s not conscious of what she’s doing. Tara is also good, they are both the stars. And my mother is a funny person,” Arjun says.
In a recent episode, Arjun’s mom joins the family’s celebration dance after actor Nyla Usha shared one of their videos. “We had another dance video earlier on, titled ‘Everybody can’t dance’. Most family members know that I can’t dance. Arjun is better than me. We – Arjun, Sarah and I – dance in the living room and Amma comes up and says, ‘ah you’re doing another horror video. Nice, kids!’,” Tara says, laughing.
The videos could be based on a funny comment one of them made or just another mishap that happens in most families. “The above video was triggered by a comment from me that if we dance, people will call it another horror video,” Tara says.
Most of their ideas therefore come from real life, with a bit of exaggeration. “These are things that happen in most young families. We put a comical twist to it. Every time we think we’ve run out of ideas, something or the other happens,” Arjun says.
The videos are all shot at home, the couple arranging props to make it look like different places. A green screen showed up when they set up a mall in their living room. A bedroom was converted into a hotel room for another video.
“We were unsure if anyone outside our circle would like the videos. At first, it was only family and friends who watched them. But slowly we began hearing nice things from others. We too began enjoying the process,” Arjun says.
Watch their videos here.