A digital-only ad film that is also a web film that runs for 8-and-a-half-minutes! Created by Taproot Dentsu and written and directed by Titus Upputuru, ‘Parcel’ is a web film made on behalf of their client, book publisher Harper Collins India.
The length of the film is a subtle nod to Harper’s core product – books! Books are losing to short pieces of content on digital platforms, just like longer films are losing to short clips of only 15-seconds, on platforms like TikTok. So, to create a longer film for a book publisher is almost like poetic justice!
The film reminded me of popular short story TV shows on Doordarshan, like Katha Sagar and Darpan. I have so many fond memories of watching some fantastic short stories from the world come alive through those shows. The intrigue in the story is kept alive till the end and that made me sit through the multiple enactments of the woman being spoken about. It was nice to see Titus anticipate that the audience would start guessing the scenarios once they are told the intriguing one-line introduction to the premise. And the script goes into each direction, showing us how it may unfold.
It is also a manifestation of how we visualize things in our heads if we were reading these in (or from) a book, with only our own inner voices speaking to ourselves inside our heads! I often imagine a well-known actor/actress who suits some character in the book I’m reading… and this happens very naturally and almost instinctively, without any effort. For instance, when I was reading (or rather, listening, via audiobook format) Gone Girl, my first instinctive thought was to visualize the character of Amy Dunne with the face of actress Kirsten Dunst – I have no idea why! When actress Rosamund Pike later played that character in the movie version, I found it very jarring in my own head 🙂
The denouement seemed a bit unrealistic to me given how rigorously the people in that profession prepare, up to the last detail. But if you assume a creative license, that’s a satisfying ending! Good work!
PS: There’s a subtle clue to the ending in one of the early shots, featuring a book by Harper Collins India 🙂