PREMature
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| PREMature | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Drama |
| Created by | Rohith S. Katbamna |
| Written by | Rohith S. Katbamna |
| Directed by | Rohith S. Katbamna |
| Starring |
|
| Composer | John Atterbury |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English & Hindi |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producers |
|
| Production locations |
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| Cinematography | Rohith S. Katbamna |
| Editor | Rohith S. Katbamna |
| Running time | 46-49 minutes |
| Production company | |
| Original release | |
| Network | Community Channel |
| Release | 22 February 2015 – present |
PREMature is a British television drama miniseries produced by Liger Films Ltd. for the Community Channel [1] that was crowdfunded through Kickstarter [2]. The series marks the first ever drama in the Community Channel's history [3].
Synopsis
The series revolves around Prem Mehta (Karanvir Bhupal), a high school teenager who suffers the loss of his grandmother during his summer holidays closely followed by the separation of his parent's marriage. Prem is forced to take a lonely path during the aftermath of these events as he forms new friendships with the unlikeliest of people.
Throughout this journey, Prem experiences an array of revelations in sometimes surreal circumstances as he builds towards his growth as a young man.
Cast
- Karanvir Bhupal as Prem Mehta – Protagonist.
- Daniel Costello as Will Brown – Prem's friend.
- Meera Ganatra as Neelam Mehta – Prem's mother.
- Manish Patel as Parthav Mehta – Prem's father.
- Samantha Shellie as Nina Mehta – Prem's older sister.
- Tom Carter as Jacob Pearce – Prem's school teacher.
- Simi Dhillon as Suhina Qadri – Prem's friend.
- Sam Bonner as Will's Mother – Troubled single-parent.
- Leo Eaglewood as Darren Baisden – Nina's boyfriend.
- Mirza Hassan as Sunny Kanda – Antagonist.
- Harold Addo as Theo Clarke – Antagonist.
- Surinder Powar as Baa – Prem's deceased grandmother appearing as an apparition.
Production
Development
The series idea was initially conceived in an attempt to bring an unconventional drama series format to a national television audience incorporating experimental techniques that were more familiar in independent and Art house films.
A pilot episode was originally shot during 2013 on a shoestring budget of £1,000 funded entirely by series creator Rohith S. Katbamna and co-producer Terry Mardi. Casting for the pilot involved over 100 performers attending a two day audition [4]. Performers ranged from professional actors to those who had never acted prior. They travelled from many places across the country [5]. The process aimed to find performers/people that possessed similar qualities or had personally experienced certain situations as their on-screen characters. It was the director's intention to cast all unknowns [6].
Casting the title role of Prem Mehta was heavily influenced by the notion to go against the mainstream screen look of teenagers. Karanvir Bhupal partly earned the role of Prem Mehta for his distinctive appearance. The producers also made this as a nod to a joke among the British Asian community where Asian male teenagers physically develop at a faster rate.
After the pilot was completed, it was successfully pitched as a six-part drama series to the Community Channel - a UK broadcaster known primarily for factual content [7]. The series was dubbed as an experimental drama and would contain influences ranging from avant-garde to social realism [8].
Along with an acquisition fee from the Community Channel, a Kickstarter campaign [9] to raise £35,000 between April - June 2014 took place. The campaign was successful raising £35,333, however this total was reduced to £31,893.77 after administration fees from Kickstarter were collected [10].
Principal Photography
Shooting began on 3 August 2014 - 27 September 2014 in various West London locations involving 10 crew members, 46 performers, 60 extras, spread over 34 locations on a total production budget of £35,000. The series was filmed using a Canon EOS 5D Mark III and for one particular shoot, an Arriflex 16SR3 using discontinued 16mm film stock.
The shooting process appropriated a number of dogme film techniques including meticulous use of natural light, real-life settings that had the props in place for those particular scenes and thirdly, handheld camera work.
Throughout the rehearsal process and shoot itself, the script which had already been adapted to natural speech, underwent further changes between Rohith S. Katbamna and the performers. Lines of dialogue and scenes would be altered along with the involvement of improvisation during takes.
All locations used in the shoot were authentic without the use of a studio or soundstage. Examples of these locations were an active hospital (Ealing Hospital), a real secondary school (Cranford Community College), airport terminal (Heathrow) and a museum (London Museum of Water & Steam) to name a few.
Throughout principal photography, a minimal crew of up to 5 people were on set during any given shoot day.
For the school based scenes, Katbamna used a real-life school. It is the same school that he attended as a teenager in 2004 along with lead actor Bhupal who finished school there in 2013. Katbamna obtained the co-operation from the school to shoot certain scenes during school hours.
Music
The score is composed by South African musician John Atterbury. The composition involved a process of fusing audio manipulation and live instrumentation, concurrently with tape loops, recordings in the field and programming to present the most organic and contemporary sound possibly [11]. This entire process concluded with a music score consisting of 97 tracks for all six episodes of PREMature.
Broadcast
United Kingdom
The series began airing on the Community Channel from 22 February 2015 at a post-watershed time slot due to mature content. Repeats of episodes were scheduled every Monday and Friday with new episodes airing each Sunday. This initial broadcast run was made available online to UK based users on two platforms (TVPlayer and TVCatchup) where viewers are able to stream live television. An on-demand service was also made available through the Community Channel with episodes being uploaded to their official YouTube channel 24 hours after the transmission of each episode (for UK users only).
Themes
With teenage characters at the helm of the story, PREMature delves into issues such as bullying in the form of physical, verbal, psychological and online. Also highlighted are teen anxiety, depression, isolation, identity, drugs and relationships. [12] The one constant is that Prem is forced to confront the divorce of his parents [13] and his grandmother's death simultaneously whilst his friend Will struggles in a single-parent home with his deeply troubled mother.
Throughout the relationship between Nina and Darren, existential discussions are heard questioning existence, social behaviour and the reluctance to accept happiness. Nina talks of cynicism and doubting her place in life whilst Darren attempts to counter these feelings with optimism.
Death is a prominent theme that carries on throughout the series particularly the affect of losing someone close and how certain characters are forced to confront and deal with this new absence from their lives. The way in which a teenager and an adult deal with this theme is examined through their respective paths taken.
At times the story shifts into a moments of surreal and often psychedelic sequences [14] that exhibit the inner thoughts and subconscious state of minds of certain characters when found in specific situations of heightened tension or isolation.
Episodes
Season 1 (2015)
| No. in series |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Chapter I: Bad Eggs" | Rohith S. Katbamna | Rohith S. Katbamna | February 22, 2015 | |
|
After an emotionally devastating end to his summer holidays, Prem returns to school for the new year as he suffers through the aftermath of his parent's divorce and the tragic passing of his grandmother. | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Chapter II: Saturdays Are For C*nts" | Rohith S. Katbamna | Rohith S. Katbamna | March 1, 2015 | |
|
Prem and Will's new friendship progresses as Will tries to convince him to come along that evening to an over 18s club night DJ'd by a school bully's older brother. | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Chapter III: Circles" | Rohith S. Katbamna | Rohith S. Katbamna | March 8, 2015 | |
|
There are high tensions at school as controversial material circulates online whilst Prem and Will attempt to deal with pressing matters. | ||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Chapter IV: Trip16" | Rohith S. Katbamna | Rohith S. Katbamna | March 15, 2015 | |
|
Will brings Prem a special birthday present for them both to share. The hallucinatory effects of the gift come to life in this psychedelic episode where subconscious feelings are examined in auditory and visually stimulating fashion. | ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Chapter V: Finger Foods & Spiral Moves" | Rohith S. Katbamna | Rohith S. Katbamna | March 22, 2015 | |
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Prem prepares for a date as he tries to shake off the nerves and pressures of what to do whilst drifting in and out of his own surreal thoughts. | ||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Chapter VI: Exam" | Rohith S. Katbamna | Rohith S. Katbamna | March 29, 2015 | |
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Prem and Will's friendship is tested by a shocking discovery related to a recent incident at school where tensions boil during the day of their mock exams. | ||||||
References
- ^ "PREMature, New Drama for the Community Channel". Retrieved 10 February 2015.
- ^ "PREMature Kickstarter Campaign Page". Retrieved 30 April 2014.
- ^ Baddhan, Raj. "Community Channel to launch UK Asian drama". BizAsia. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
- ^ "Horsham Actor Wins TV Role". Spirit FM. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
- ^ Troughton, Adrian. "Three Leicester Actors to Star in New TV Drama Series". Leicester Mercury. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
- ^ Smith, Lawrence. "Barns Green performer stars in bold TV drama". Mid Sussex Times. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
- ^ Template:Cite article
- ^ Shaheen, Hifzha. "New British Drama Airing on Community Channel About the Trials of Youth". The Asian Today. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
- ^ "PREMature Kickstarter Campaign Page". Retrieved 30 April 2014.
- ^ "Kickstarter UK Fees". Retrieved 30 June 2014.
- ^ "About John Atterbury". Retrieved 10 February 2015.
- ^ Template:Cite article
- ^ Template:Cite article
- ^ Template:Cite article
External links
- Official website
- PREMature at the Community Channel
- PREMature at IMDb
PREMature (TV Series)
| This article, PREMature, has recently been created via the Articles for creation process. Please check to see if the reviewer has accidentally left this template after accepting the draft and take appropriate action as necessary.
Reviewer tools: Inform author |