GETTING into the film industry is challenging, and getting the chance to direct your own film or series is much more difficult. While breaking into the industry might be difficult, even the greats had to start somewhere. Every new filmmaker who makes a debut film or series has to experience a certain uncertainty and obscurity.
That is exactly how it was for Joshua Micheal, a 31-year-old content creator turned filmmaker. Joshua knew exactly what he wanted to do from a young age. He knew filmmaking was something he had always desired to pursue, because movies had always been his major source of entertainment.
“The Tamil cinema industry in Malaysia is still expanding, and it essentially comprises of the same actors – and breaking in as a young, completely inexperienced newcomer would be a challenging undertaking. So, I chose to first build a certain amount of ‘face value’ with the public – in which the audience would already be familiar with me, before attempting to break into the filmmaking profession,” he explained.
Essentially, that was the start of his profession as a content creator. Slapstick comedy was one of the ways Joshua attracted a following when he first started creating videos to achieve popularity among Tamil-speaking viewers. But his big success came when South Indian viewers watched several of his videos, which considerably increased his social media profile.
“Being one of the major Tamil movie makers, South India was the ideal location for me to pursue my passion for filmmaking. Here is where I gradually changed from creating quick, amusing films to a more cinematic video to appeal to a wider audience.”
As a Malaysian-Indian content maker, Joshua claims that one of his main goals is to show the public that, given enough time, anybody can convert their passion into a job. Having first only used his phone to record videos, he now shoots his movies with cutting-edge cinematic equipment. He also thinks that social media has the potential to be an amazing medium for creative expression.
“The days when we exclusively regarded films that were shown in theatres as having “true content” are long gone,” he declared.
“Now that we have access to tools, cameras, and talent, we can create high-quality films that match the production value of movies at a fraction of the cost.”
When asked what motivated him to pursue a career in filmmaking, he stated: “I spent most of my time watching movies and I have always respected the brains behind the screen – which then made me realise the existence of a director. The innovative brilliance of a filmmaker attracted me, and I knew it was something I wanted to achieve as well.” When talking about his most recent series, Joshua said he came to the conclusion that 2022 was the greatest year to start shooting movies.
“I had the idea to write, direct, star in, and create a YouTube series called But Andha Dealing Enakku Pudichirukku (BADEP) to show that a social media content creator can also develop high-quality web series that can compete with anything aired on the mainstream platform.” The show eventually became quite popular with the viewers and received a lot of social media views. Astro then approached him with the offer to produce a Season 2 as a result of this.
For the first time ever, a Malaysian Tamil television series, BADEP Season 2, was primarily filmed in Chennai, India The goal of this endeavour was to establish Malaysia’s Tamil-language entertainment internationally, and show that Malaysia is capable of creating high-caliber international material.
Though Joshua acknowledged that the process of filming in India was undoubtedly difficult given the short amount of time, logistics and budget that they had to coordinate, the effort was unquestionably worthwhile when viewing the series as a whole. “We are extremely thrilled to see it air next year,” the filmmaker said. “We are now halfway through production, and the Malaysian [segment] still has to be filmed.”
Joshua claims that observation and patience are the keys to his success. He stated: “I spend a lot of time analysing and consuming information from my colleagues in addition to creating my own. I can learn what works and what might not by doing this. When it comes to creating content, patience is essential since not every video we create is successful.”
He said that he experienced several ‘firsts’ in the previous two years. He has collaborated with some of the country’s biggest brands, including Netflix Malaysia and Milo Malaysia, and their created web series was chosen as one of five content producers by META to be highlighted as Malaysia’s Creators of Tomorrow.
I asked him what advice he would offer to his 18-year-old self, if he could travel back in time. He stated: “I’d push him to be more proactive in following his dreams. I’d like him to study filmmaking in college and learn more about it before embarking on a career as a content producer.”
He also professed his thanks to his late mother, who always believed in his potential to be creative, as well as his audience for always supporting and encouraging his work. He added that the reason that he has accomplished so much in the past several years is mostly due to the love that has been shown to their work, and he hopes that the upcoming TV series will make them proud.
