Ishti is not the country’s first Sanskrit film. But it certainly is the first one to deal with a social theme. Written, scripted, produced and directed by G. Prabha, a Sanskrit professor, the shoot of the film was completed in a 14-day schedule in and around Paduthol Mana at Piravom.
G. Prabha, who was the Head of the Department, Oriental Languages at Loyola College, Chennai, had earlier made two films, Agnaye , a documentary film on Athirathram yagna, and Akkitham , on the life of poet Akkitham Achuthan Namboothiri.
There is an attempt to demystify the language and also to break the accepted notion that Sanskrit is a language only of the saints and priests and that it communicates only with religious and mythological themes. By linking it with the popular medium of cinema the attempt is to set Sanskrit break free from its complexities and exclusiveness.
The film focuses on a very conservative Namboodiri family in a very regressive social milieu. Ishti centres around two main characters, a 70-year-old Ramavikraman Namboodiri, who is a Vedic scholar who preserves the fire from a Somayagam to light his funeral pyre, and Sreedevi, his young, third wife. Sreedevi stands up against orthodoxy. She manages to inspire her husband’s son from another marriage to read and write. The conflict between these characters and those who revolve around their lives is what the film is generally about. It then also becomes a strong comment on the attempt to balance worldly desires and the rigidity of caste and tradition.
The film features thespian Nedumudi Venu and newcomer Athira Patel in key roles. Anoop Krishnan plays the son. Jijoy P.R., actor and associate professor at the FTII, Lakshmi Gopakumar, Mohini, Vinayan, Vasan, Dr. Unnikrishnan, Rajesh, Niveditha, Baby Meenakshi are some of the other actors.
Eldho Isaac cranks the camera. Make-up is by Pattanam Rasheed, lyrics by Akkitham and V. Madhusoodanan Nair and music by Kaithapram Damodaran Namboodiri. The film is slated to be released in December this year.
