SURMAAI is a psychological drama about 16-year-old Riya, trapped in quiet routines where grief simmers beneath the surface. As her father returns one evening, suppressed memories fracture the present, and silence turns dangerous in a home where vengeance feels inevitable.

Pre Production

Here, we visualized the enter film before we made it. We started planning the whole thing with visual references on a figjam board. Then to get and give a better idea, we made a ppt compiling all the required information.

To help the shoot run smoothly, we further compiled the information onto Excel sheets with shot break down along with the camera movement and mis en scene further divided into location and time wise.

All these documents you can checkout along with the video on the Behance.
This Project was done under the mentorship of Mr. Rajat Nagpal

(Ticket made by me)

MOODBOARD

Keywords-
Edgy
Psychological Thriller
Paranoia
Revenge
Deception
Grief
Guilt

STILL FRAMES

SURMAAI uses tight close-ups and warm, heavy lighting to make the home feel suffocating rather than safe. Extreme close shots of lips, eyes, and hands focus on small actions like cutting vegetables or adjusting an earring, to build tension through ordinary routines.

The frames often isolate characters within the 1.85:1 ratio, placing them at the edges or partially in shadow to suggest emotional distance.
The color palette leans strongly into deep ambers, burnt oranges, and dark browns, creating a heat that feels intense and uncomfortable instead of comforting. This warm tone contrasts with the cold emotional atmosphere between the characters. Lighting is kept low and directional, casting shadows across faces to highlight fear, anger, and suppressed grief.
The stillness of the camera and the closeness of the shots make every glance and gesture feel loaded, turning silence into the film’s strongest dramatic tool.