As this is originally an Indian story, I drew on Indian films for story inspiration. Mom and Krack both feature strong female leads, which is typically uncommon in Indian cinema. The plot of Mahakali is hugely inspired by Mom, Kalika is based off of Shruti Haasan's character in Krack, and the graphic depictions of murder for the protection of the people is taken from Badrinath.
While further developing the story, I've come to realize that there are also non-Indian inspirations. Kalika is said to be "the female version of Dexter," and the plot resembles Promising Young Woman. Gone Girl was a huge source of inspiration because it highlights that not all women are innocent and not all men are guilty. The dichotomy between Light and L in Death Note only really appears in the feature film between Kalika and the lead detective, but Light and Kalika share the same intentions, which is to rid the world of all bad people.
My goal is to create a dizzying effect, which is usually how I feel when faced with confrontation and confusion. I really want the audience to get into my head and see how I feel and hopefully relate to the intense anxiety I and other women face on a daily basis.
As music has been a huge part of my life from birth, I really want to have a lot more influence with the original soundtrack for the proof of concept and the feature film. Music plays a huge role in evoking the emotions of the audience, and I intend to rely heavily on audio to convey the discomfort I feel while walking through the city without a sense of safety.
Mahakali is a dark story, so the colors are very muted and dark. I plan on working closely with the production and post-production team to also convey discomfort and paranoia through detail oriented shots.