Abis Rizvi

A tale of passion and belief

"It is an impossible film to make..."

"It is a very risky project as your first production..."

These were some of the mild advice given by experts and friends from the movie industry. Words that propelled and charged me to move ahead and make a movie I believed in.

Although I manage a large real estate company using all the creative energy with Architects and Planners, there was a huge influence of movies in my life. My uncle Sibte Hasan Rizvi ('Khandan', 'Joshiley') and my cousin Anjum Rizvi ('Charas', 'A Wednesday') have been in the Film Industry for 30 years. Having grown up with several friends from the movie industry this was a seed waiting to be germinated.

Creativity is not limited to a professional field, a fact I realized while co- writing 'ROAR' with Kamal. With a movie as challenging as 'Roar' I needed to get involved in the creative and technical areas of the film. Kamal and me did a VFX course before approaching companies just so we could speak the language and contribute in the approach of making Roar. This tale of passion needed a hero and we found that in Jesh Krishnamurthy of Anibrain - The VFX Company which made 'Roar' their own and allowed us to visualize our sequences without any limitations.

Our challenges were like several battles which we strategized and planned in detail as we didn't have to just win the WAR but all the battles in it.

With over a year in preparation with VFX R and D shoots, scripting, casting, previz, our first day of shooting - 'In a Hollywood studio with all American crew with 3 of the largest Bengal Tigers'. That was the day we felt like a mother of a new born child - "Roar' had taken birth'.