Kyoorius Advertising Awards
Film

Hidden Truth - Vidya Helpline
Client: Vidya
Entrant: Wunderman Thompson India

Blue Elephant

Entry Title:	Hidden Truth
Brand:	Vidya Helpline
Client:	Vidya
Description:	During the onset of the pandemic, and the ensuing lockdown, while people were urged to stay at home, we had the challenge of throwing light on how unsafe home was for a select few with instances of Domestic Abuse rising and it being called the shadow pandemic by UN Women. While everyone was looking at the pandemic, we looked at the side-effects of the pandemic that had not come to light, by taking on a problem that was hiding in the homes, and setting the narrative against the Covid 19 Pandemic. We also leveraged WhatsApp for its ability to not just reach people but offer help to women in a more discreet and safe manner while they were trapped with their abusers. The film was made strictly observing all the rules of the lockdown. We went through the process of finding an actress who was in the same building as a DP, so when we cast to such specifications, we found a face we really liked and the DOP was locked down at the same place and had a camera with him. We did a pre-shoot of the location with the action on still camera to understand how the action would play out and according to that we worked out the actual shoot plan. Everything was shot and sent to the Director who directed it via video calls until we got exactly the expressions and actions we wanted. Shots were taken at specific points in the day to make the best use of light. So while the whole process took much longer, it achieved the beautiful craft required to tell this powerful story. A narrative quite different from the usual multi-window lockdown films that became popular during these times, this one spent time on craft and authenticity to tell a real story of these times with a strong yet vulnerable character.
Company Credits:	Wunderman Thompson India
Company Credits:	Good Morning Films
Individual Credits:	Writer, National Creative Director: Priya Shivakumar
Individual Credits:	Chief Creative Officer: Senthil Kumar
Individual Credits:	Director: Shashanka Chaturvedi
Individual Credits:	Executive Producer: Vikram Kalra
Individual Credits:	Producer: Robin D'Cruz,
Individual Credits:	Cinematographer: Abhishek Basu Roy
Individual Credits:	Editor: Shashanka Chaturvedi, Tushar Sivan
Individual Credits:	Music Director: Subhajit Mukherjee