Director Vijaya Prasad explains how he shot Petromax in only 36 days

Although permissions to resume shooting of films came in June of last year, it was only towards the last few months that activities really picked up. In fact, several new projects were announced and began production during the auspicious festive season in October, one of which, the Vijay Prasad-directed Petromax even managed to wind up shooting in two schedules spread over only 36 days.
Planning is key for a tight schedule: Vijaya Prasad
Vijaya Prasad, who shot his film completely in Mysuru, says planning was key to stick to a tight schedule. “We realised the risks of shooting outdoors in different locations like a car garage and houses that have a heritage touch, but these places were free from the movements of outsiders, which allowed us to shoot without any fear. All actors were given their portions of the script and their lines in advance, so they knew what was expected of them on set. As Petromax relies heavily on conversations, the crew required was minimal. Also, this film has no action sequences and only two songs,” he explains.
Cast members were punctual: Sathish
Lead actor Sathish adds, “All the cast members, including Hariprriya, Nagabhushan, Karunya Ram, Arun and Vijayalaksmi Singh, were available on the set when they were required, which helped avoid delays in shooting. Also, unlike Bengaluru, there’s no chance you will get caught in a traffic snarl in Mysuru, so, even when we had to move locations, we did so on time.”
Nagabhushan adds, “We are still amid the pandemic, yet, we have managed to show other teams how to successfully complete a movie with minimum risk for everyone involved.”