Kerala   

Panchayat ventures into filmmaking

Children play key roles in the film `Bhoomiyude Kuttikal.'

A grama panchayat venturing into movie production?

Yes indeed, if the 50-minute film for children being made by the Kannapuram grama panchayat with the participation of the people can be treated as the local body's newfound interest in celluloid.

The panchayat, however, is on a mission to inculcate awareness of cinema in children, impart basic knowledge about various aspects of filmmaking and produce a film with the involvement of the people.

The shooting of the film titled `Bhoomiyude Kuttikal' (`Children of The Earth') will be formally switched on by local MLA M. Prakashan at Ayyoth at 10 a.m. on May 8.

Children play key roles in the film and the involvement of children is ensured as far as the medium allows, said those who have worked on the project.

Panchayat president K.V. Sreedharan said at a press conference here on Monday that the estimated cost of the filmmaking was Rs.6 lakh, including the Rs.3 lakh granted by the Kerala Film Development Corporation and the rest allocated from the panchayat's Plan fund under the Kerala Development Programme. The shooting will be held from May 8 to May 13 and the film is slated to be released in July, he said. The film will be screened in schools and other public institutions.

Camp organised

S. Sunil, director of the film, said the film was centred around the world as perceived by children and their self-reliance.

A camp for children was organised in the panchayat on April 24 and 25.

A many as 150 children from different parts of the panchayat participated in the camp.

The programmes included classes on acting and improvisation, screening of world classics such as Charlie Chaplin's `The Kid,' Iranian films, `Children of Heaven,' `Colour of Paradise' and `Turtles Can Fly.' Thirty children have been selected for the movie.

Short story writer V.S. Anilkumar, who was involved in writing the script of the movie, was also present at the press conference.

The film is to be shot at Thekkumbad-Thayakkavu, Ayyoth, Idakkeppuram, Kannapuram, Poomalakkavu, Chunda and Valluvan Kadavu in the panchayat.

Filmmaker K.R. Mohanan will participate in a function on May 13 to mark the completion of the shooting, Mr. Sreedharan said.

Mohamed Nazeer

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Private unaided colleges allowed to conduct CET
PET Engineering College
Call for pro-poor tourism
Panchayat ventures into filmmaking
Rajnikanth fans start countdown
A bilingual journal for music
A machine to make chappati
Dam Safety Authority inspects Mullaperiyar
Briefly

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu