At the end of each academic year when results are announced, inevitably there are a few heart-warming stories about children from economically struggling households making it to the top. These are inspirational stories of triumph.
At the other end of this spotlight, it’s also true that several children may not have impressive marks to show, simply because they may not be academically inclined. This might happen to anyone irrespective of the social background. But viewed from the point of view of parents in an impoverished background who toil relentlessly with the hope of seeing their child well educated and eventually land in well-paying jobs, the lack of focus in studies looks like a bleak situation. The boy or girl in question might be deemed incompetent.
Gurukulam , a 15-minute short film directed by Shiva Kumar BVR, which will soon be unveiled on YouTube, turns the attention to one such student who flunks every subject other than science much to the dismay of his father who struggles to earn ₹50 a day. The story is set in Proddatur and the narrative begins on a predictable note with the father (essayed by Rajiv Kanakala) worried about his eldest son’s no show in academics. The worry lines stem from the fact that he himself hadn’t heeded to his father’s advice of studying well and hence, ended up with a cycle puncture shop.
Shiva Kumar takes a slightly message-heavy route to drive home the point that one needs to identify what the child is truly interested in and help him/her hone the skill. In this film, the boy has the ability to apply science lessons into practice and generate power harnessing wind energy.
The story, says Shiva Kumar, is a cinematic expression of his own childhood. He, too, was least interested in academics and barely scraped through school and a bachelor degree. “My father was in the government service and all through my childhood, I remember being under pressure to study well. It was a big issue that I was not good in mathematics,” he tells us, taking a break from his work at the digital intermediate section in Annapurna Seven Acres. At this studio, several technical experts begin their work early, around 7:30am, and clock in 12 to 15 hours a day.
Shiva Kumar has worked in the post production teams of several films, the biggest among them being Ghazini, Arundhati, Magadheera, Eega and Baahubali . When he introduces himself as a ‘colourist’ most people outside the film industry still respond with a blank expression, unsure what the job entails. Over the years, he struggled to explain his work to his family in Proddatur. But all that changed with the release of Baahubali - the Conclusion . A few theatres in his hometown had his posters and people hailed him for being a part of a milestone film. It was a defining moment at home as well. “My mom called me in tears to say how happy she felt when a senior forest official spoke highly of me to my dad,” says Shiva Kumar.
Shiva’s journey has been far from glamorous, as he worked his way up from being a data entry operator for a vernacular newspaper in Proddatur before moving to Bengaluru, Madurai and then Chennai, from print media to film laboratories, learning graphic design and clocking in long hours in different job profiles before finally getting a foothold in computer graphics department. “Most of the things that have happened in my life have taken the 1 or 11 day/weeks/month journey before I hit a turning point,” he tells us. The tasks completed by him getting appreciated by established cinematographers such as Sethu Sriram and Senthil Kumar were turning points.
Now, he is keen to narrate stories and Gurukulam is the first step. He is working on a few more ideas. The immediate focus is to take Gurukulam to school and college students and highlight the need for holistic education that identifies your strengths and helps you put theory to practice.
( Gurukulam , which has already been screened at several film festivals, will be available for viewing on Arkamedia channel of YouTube from January 25, evening.)
